NFL Winners and Losers, Week 10: Dolphins, Raiders surging at right time
Biggest NFL winners and losers from a wild Week 10 slate on Sunday.
Whether it was storms in Cleveland, Foxborough and elsewhere, shocking endings or simply some surprising results, NFL Week 10 has continued a very important trend for the 2020 NFL season: Chaos is on the menu. Throughout the world, 2020 has been a calamitous year in itself, so it only figures that the world of professional football has followed suit.
Sunday in Week 10 was a whirlwind in a wildly fun way. Kyler Murray hitting DeAndre Hopkins for a game-winning Hail Mary for the Arizona Cardinals, the New England Patriots thoroughly handling the Baltimore Ravens in bad weather on Sunday Night Football, and Jameis Winston leading a second-half charge after a Drew Brees injury in a New Orleans Saints win, among many other things, made for a wild slate of games.
You could obviously look at the scores from NFL Week 10 and figure out the teams that quite literally won and lost on Sunday. However, we’re looking at the action, teams and players on a more macro level and figuring out what we saw on Sunday actually means.
Taking that mindset into it, let’s dive into the biggest NFL winners and losers from Week 10.
NFL Week 10 Winner: Las Vegas Raiders
Albeit seemingly quietly, the Las Vegas Raiders would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. That was the case coming into Week 10 and, after a statement 37-12 win over a divisional foe in the Denver Broncos, that remains the case.
Following a Week 7 loss to the Buccaneers, the Raiders have reeled off three straight wins, beating the Browns, Chargers and now the Broncos. They’ve improved from a .500 team to a 6-3 club right when they need to, making a push into playoff positioning. And this isn’t a smoke-and-mirrors situation.
Josh Jacobs had his best game of the year against Denver, as did the Las Vegas defense. Throw in the fact that Derek Carr is having one of the best seasons of his career and the Raiders aren’t a team that should be trifled with. They may not be Super Bowl contenders but Jon Gruden clearly has this team ready to compete with anyone.