Here are five takeaways from Week 10 of the NFL season.
1. Did you know Brock Osweiler is 6-foot-7?
It’s amazing that it has come to this. The team with the best defense the NFL has seen in many years is now in the hands of Brock Osweiler. The Denver Broncos, at 7-2, are the only team above .500 in the AFC West and are in no real danger of missing the playoffs. Lets be real, they’ve gotten to this point with Peyton Manning playing like one of the worst quarterbacks across the league. The only reason he wasn’t benched earlier was because his name was Peyton Manning. Osweiler, a second round pick in 2012, has only thrown 54 career passes and has never started a game. A team with a legit chance at winning the Super Bowl now falls on a complete unknown, which might not actually be worse than the alternative. Amazing to say that considering who the alternative is.
2. Why?
The Dallas Cowboys are 2-7 after losing 10-6 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. They’re planning on starting quarterback Tony Romo when they face the Miami Dolphins during Week 11. He hasn’t played since he broke his collarbone during their win against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. The Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons are tied for the two Wild Card spots in the NFC at 6-3. The New York Giants lead the NFC East at 5-5. Is there any realistic chance of Dallas getting to the postseason? I’d say extremely slim. How the organization has handled the injuries of wide receiver Dez Bryant and now Romo has been poor. These are the two cornerstones of your franchise and risking them off injuries in a lost season doesn’t make sense.
3. What’s happening with the Green Bay Packers?
A sentence I never expected to type during this NFL season — the Packers are no longer in first place in the NFC North. Green Bay has dropped three straight to fall to 6-and-3 and trail the Minnesota Vikings by one-game. The two teams face each other in Minneapolis on Sunday. Aaron Rodgers has thrown for over 300 yards three times this season and Eddie Lacy is non-existent. This isn’t the offensive juggernaut most were projecting going into the season. Now they’re in danger of not only missing out on a bye in the playoffs, but losing the division. Who would have guessed the season finale against the Vikings in Week 17 at Lambeau Field could potentially have so much meaning?
4. Time for more Ellington
Chris Johnson was one of the feel good stories of the season for the Arizona Cardinals, but his play has stalled. In three of the last four weeks Johnson has averaged under four yards per carry and in the last two he’s ran for 167 yards on 55 carries. That’s 3.04 yards per run. Since returning from injury against the Detroit Lions in early October, Andre Ellington has only received 17 carries, but two of those have gone 63 and 48 yards. Ellington is also better as a pass catcher out of the backfield. He makes the Cardinals more dynamic than Johnson and is their best option going forward.
5. Getting hard to laugh at.
Everyone loves to make fun of Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. That’s getting hard to do. Cutler picked apart a respected St. Louis Rams’ defense to the tune of 258 yards and three touchdowns. On the season, Cutler is completing 64.2% of his passes for 7.55 yards per attempt, with 13 touchdowns to five interceptions. Cutler has throw more touchdowns than picks in every season of his career, completes over 60-percent of his passes (a career-high of 66% last season) and consistently averaged over seven-yards per pass. I know he makes funny faces and can be frustrating at times, but his overall performance has always been better than given credit for. It’s time for that to be recognized.
