Week 10 of the NFL season produced quite an impressive share of dramatic finishes and exciting moments, as well as some serious letdowns. After all, the Miami Dolphins won a game, and that has to come at someone’s expense.
Who didn’t have it together in Week 10? Here are ten big disappointments.
Jared Goff, QB, Rams
Take Goff out of his home stadium and this appears to be what he is. It gets even worse when he’s facing a good defense like Pittsburgh’s. He turned the ball over three times, including one very bad interception, and couldn’t even hook up with Cooper Kupp once in a loss to the Steelers. In tough road environments, Goff barely even looks like an NFL starter. The fact that his great disparity in play between home and road games has not ceased suggests has to be a major worry for the Rams.
Josh Allen, QB, Bills
Allen completed just over half his passes, but didn’t find the end zone against a Browns defense that has been vulnerable this year. He was fortunate not to turn the ball over, as he had it punched out on a pass just shy of the goal line that could have been disastrous had a teammate not fallen on it. The Bills are a good team buoyed by a great defense, but it’s easy to see what happens to them if they run into an equally solid defensive unit — Allen might not be good enough to overcome it.
Saquon Barkley, RB, Giants
Barkley was running behind a makeshift offensive line on Sunday and it showed. He was held to one yard on 13 attempts as the game script went against him, with the Giants going pass-heavy as they played catch-up in the second half. Barkley’s nagging ankle issues are likely still impacting him. Last week he was limited to 28 yards on 14 carries, and it’s playing a role in the Giants’ continued issues. He may not be healthy this season.
Detroit Lions’ defense
The Lions’ defense proved a capable antidote to Mitchell Trubisky’s issues on Sunday. While Trubisky’s 173 passing yards remain unimpressive, he threw for three touchdowns and did not turn the ball over. That is not a credit to the Detroit defense, which continues to have issues against even lesser opponents like the Bears. They’re just not good enough to carry this team, especially with Matthew Stafford sidelined for the week.
Ryan Finley, QB, Bengals
Finley’s first chance to audition for a 2020 job didn’t go great. He was held to 167 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Granted, he was facing a good defense, but it’s a defense the Bengals will be facing twice a year no matter what. The Bengals continue to inch closer to the No. 1 pick in next April’s draft, and Finley doesn’t look like he’s going to do much to convince the team that they shouldn’t be taking a quarterback.
Brian Hoyer, QB, Colts
It would be reasonable if you thought the Colts could survive the Miami Dolphins without regular quarterback Jacoby Brissett. It turns out that was not the case. Hoyer was awful in fill-in duty, getting shut out in the first half and throwing three interceptions. Two of those were down to embarrassingly inaccurate passes. The entire Colts’ offense was dreadful in this one, but Hoyer just didn’t look ready to contribute at all. The Colts will be desperately hoping they can get Brissett back for Week 11.
David Johnson, RB, Cardinals
Johnson hasn’t played at full strength in a month, and it showed on Sunday — in fact, it looked like he was still not healthy against the Buccaneers. He was a total and complete non-factor in the Arizona offense, carrying the ball twice and making one catch. On one of those carries, he fumbled. It calls into question just how healthy Johnson really is right now. The situation should bear watching going forward based on this performance.
Kansas City Chiefs’ special teams
There were lots of reasons that the Chiefs fell apart late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, but if they’d been remotely competent on special teams, it’s hard to imagine they’d have done much worse than force overtime. There was the botched snap on a 47-yard try that led to nothing, then the somewhat controversial block they allowed on a game-tying try as time expired. This was a brutal loss for Kansas City, and an entirely avoidable one.
New Orleans Saints’ offense
This was an absolute stunner. On paper, the Saints looked set up to have a huge day. The Falcons have been awful defensively; the Saints were at home; and Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara were both healthy. Instead, they got stuffed. The Saints didn’t score a touchdown, Kamara wasn’t a big factor, and Brees couldn’t get going. Worst of all, the Falcons, who have been inept at getting to the quarterback in recent weeks, sacked Brees six times. This is probably a one-off, but it’s a baffling one for the Saints.
Adam Vinatieri, K, Colts
Surely this is it. The Colts could look the other way when Vinatieri’s misses were coming in wins, but things are starting to get serious now. Vinatieri made both of his field goal tries Sunday, but missed an extra point for the third week in a row. This comes on the heels of Vinatieri costing Indianapolis a win a week ago. He’s a legend, but if this keeps up, the Colts might lose more games on his account in 2019.
