NFL – 2024 WEEK 10 – STATS THAT STICK OUT
PASSING – JOE BURROW (QB, BENGALS) CIN 34 at BAL 35
The Week 10 contest on Thursday Night Football between the Bengals and Ravens was easily one of the best games this season. An absolute slugfest unfurled between those division rivals – the scoring went back/forth like a seesaw up to the very end. And while Baltimore would prevail by 1 point when the Bengals failed to get a 2-point conversion with seconds left in the game, Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow would eke out more passing yards than Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson to become this week’s passing leader. The 27-year-old Iowa native had 34 passing completions in 56 attempts for 428 passing yards and he threw 4 TDs with no interceptions. On the other side of the aisle, the 27-year-old Jackson had 25 completions in 33 attempts, had 290 passing yards and 4 passing TDs, 0 interceptions. He also ran the football 7 times for 33 yards. Interestingly, Jackson was the one honored as AFC Offensive Player of the Week despite his Ravens having won by a decision made by the Bengals (to go for 2 points after the last TD instead of 1). But a win is a win … All told, both the Ravens and Bengals combined for 859 offensive yards, 10 TDs and amazingly – no field goals in Week 10’s matchup, the second one between the teams this season. Unfortunately for the Bengals, their playoff hopes slipped away a bit farther with the loss as they fell to 4-6 on the season and third in the division. (ESPN’s Football Power Index currently projects Cincinnati only has a 35.7% chance to make the post season.) A win against the surging Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11 would help the Bengals cause. But, even if they win out the rest of the way, it seems less and less likely that the heroics of Burrow and his elite receiverJa’Marr Chase will save the Bengals’ season this year.
RUSHING – CHUBA HUBBARD (RB, PANTHERS) NYG 17 at CAR 20
With a 3-7 record and sitting on the bottom of the NFC South heading into Week 11, the Panthers have one of the worst records in the NFL. The team has been plagued with multiple problems this season including an historically poor defense, multiple injuries, lack of depth at key positions and major struggles developing their sophomore QB Bryce Young. If it wasn’t for their 25-year-old bell cow running back Chuba Hubbard, the team’s outlook would be even worse. The Oklahoma State alum has basically carried the load for the offense on the ground this season, having racked up 818 of the team’s 1100 total rushing yards, scored 6 of the 8 rushing TDs and is averaging 81.8 rushing yards per game. This helps explains why Hubbard currently ranks third league-wide in total rushing yards only behind Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley… When we take stock of the Panthers passing offense, currently the fourth worst in the league, it helps us appreciate the importance of Hubbard’s outstanding performance this season even more. While Bryce Young tries to find his way and the team searches for its identity under first year HC Dave Canales, Hubbard has given the team (and the fans) something to cheer for especially as the season wears on. He’s also provided a bedrock of consistency during dark times for the franchise. So, when Hubbard had a career day in Week 10 carrying the football 28 times for 152 yards and scoring a TD, while the young QB also minimized mistakes and the defense performed better, it helped us see the possibility of success in the future for this team. Again, much of this encouragement is directly due to Chuba Hubbard who is quietly becoming one of the best running backs in the NFL.
RECEIVING – JA’MARR CHASE (WR, BENGALS) CIN 34 at BAL 35
It seems fitting that the main recipient of the football coming from Week 10’s passing leader (Joe Burrow) also became Week 10’s receiving leader (Ja’Marr Chase). The four-year Pro Bowler out of LSU had a stellar night during the Bengals/Ravens TNF rumble with 11 catches for 264 yards (24 avg) and 3 TDs including a 67-yard TD. Combining Chase’s 264 receiving yards in this game with the 193 he had when the Bengals took on the Ravens in Week 5, he now has the league’s record for most receiving yards against a single team in a season (457). That shatters a record previously set by Jerry Rice in 1990 (396 yards against the Atlanta Falcons). Chase’s Week 10 performance also marked the third time in his career that he had a 200+ yard game against Baltimore… To put what Chase has been doing on the field in a broader (and more historical) perspective, his Week 10 performance of 264 receiving yards was the 19th most in a single NFL game by a player. He also had 266 receiving yards against KC in 2022 which was the 16th most. Only one other active WR has more receiving yards in a single game (Tyreek Hill – 269 in 2020) … So, who has the record for most receiving yards in a single game? That would be Flipper Anderson, the former Ram who had 336 receiving yards in a Week 12 Sunday night game in 1989 against the Saints. At first blush, this accomplishment seems almost out of reach. Or is it? Given how pass-happy the NFL has become, and the protection afforded the QB these days, maybe this record is more vulnerable than it appears. And it wouldn’t at all be surprising if the person to break it in the near future is Ja’Marr Chase, especially with Joe Burrow throwing him the football.
DEFENSE – TARON JOHNSON (CB, BILLS) BUF 30 at IND 20
Whenever the mighty Kansas City Chiefs comes to town (Week 11), it helps a team like Buffalo to look back at their season and take stock of what has helped them get to 8-2 and win 5 games in a row. Luckily for the Bills, there is a ton of positivity right now as the team is playing complimentary football while their efficiency is through the roof. But in Week 10, the Bills defense shined brightest when they forced the Colts to cough up the football 4 times (1 fumble and 3 interceptions). And the player who contributed massively towards this defensive beat down was seven-year all pro cornerback Taron Johnson. He set the tone for the Bills win against the Colts right off the bat with a pick-six interception then added 3 tackles, 1 sack and 2 passes deflected. For this performance, he earned his very first AFC Defensive Player of the Week award. Known for his modesty, Johnson didn’t boast much about his big performance after the game. Instead, he said that his “focus” and the team’s focus was already looking towards a much more difficult task: playing the Chiefs at home in Week 11. When asked about defending Chiefs TE Travis Kelce, Johnson said a goal of his would be to “effect/disrupt the chemistry [between Kelce and Mahomes]”. He also added a big challenge for defenders like him against the dynamic duo from KC is “how smart” they both are “them being on the same page”. He was also asked about the parallels between Patrick Mahomes and his QB Josh Allen, both equally troublesome for defenses. Johnson said, “[They both] can make any throw… extend plays… both are hard to get down, both have running ability.” It will be interesting to see if the Bills can be the first team to defeat KC this season, or if the reigning Super Bowl Champs will find a way to go undefeated this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS – JAKE BATES (K, LIONS) DET 26 at HOU 23
In preparation for this blog, I was struck by a stat in the research about Lions kicker Jake Bates: Of all the starting kickers that have played in every game this season, he’s the only one with a perfect record of field goals made. But that doesn’t mean he has the most field goals made. The Lions have only needed Bates to make 14 FGs through 9 games. Austin Siebert of the Commanders holds the honor of the most made (25 for 27, or 92.6%) through 8 games. So, Washington has basically asked their kicker to make almost double the amount the Lions have… The kicker with the most attempts (29) this year is Ka’imi Fairbairn of the Texans. He’s made 24 of those 29 attempts. Again, that’s more than double the amount Bates has attempted. Interestingly, in Week 10’s matchup between the Lions and Texans, we saw a duel unfold between Fairbairn and Bates in the fourth quarter. With a Houston 3-point lead and 5 minutes remaining, Bates managed to tie the game for the Lions with a 58-yard field goal. Fairbairn then had the chance to give the Texans back the lead but missed his 58-yard attempt with almost 2 minutes remaining. Finally, with the clock expiring, Bates made a 52-yarder for the Lions win. Bates also made 2 PATs in the game and for all of that, he was named the NFC special teams player of the week for the second time this season… One more note about Fairbairn- he has been asked to do a great deal for his team this year and while not perfect, he’s been tremendous. No team has asked their kicker to make more 50+ yarders than the Texans. He’s made 11 of 14 and his longest was 59 yards. He’s also 20-20 in extra points. Meanwhile, Bates is 32-33 on extra points. And he’s gone 3-3 on 50+ yards. So both kickers have obviously been busy, but in contrasting ways for their teams which is very telling about their offenses.
THE GREAT MVP BIAS
Since 1957, the Associated Press (AP) honors an NFL player with the Most Valuable Player Award at the end of every regular season. Most of the time, this award has gone to a QB. In fact, the last time a QB was not named MVP was in 2012 when RB Adrian Peterson was given the honor. And only 7 times since 1987 has another position player other than a QB been named MVP. Those 7 other times, it was a running back. So about 69% of the time, this award has gone to a QB and 19% of the time it’s gone to a RB. Only three non-offensive players have ever been MVP in 68 years and those include two defensive players (Lawrence Taylor 1986 and Alan Page in 1971) and a kicker (Mark Moseley in 1982).
Yeah, you read that right. A kicker once got NFL MVP. Let that sink in a moment. Can you imagine a kicker right now winning MVP? I can’t. It’s not because I don’t think a kicker would deserve this award. It’s because the league currently puts a tremendous emphasis on quarterbacks and the passing game. Dare I say too much? Look no further than the NFL’s most lucrative contracts for 2024 for proof as to where the NFL literally places most of its “value”. The top 17 paid players are QBs…
So, what about the other 52 players on each team’s roster? With 32 teams, that means approximately 1700 players are prepared to play in a football game each year. Over the course of 68 years, that means about 115,000 players have seen the field in some capacity. Yet, the league seems to load most of the value into one position, i.e: the QB?
Look, I get it. I really do. But I just ask for a little more balance here. I’d like to see other positional players beyond the QB considered in the running for the MVP Award. And if we’re not going to do this, then why don’t we all just assume the most “valuable” player on the field every day and every way is the QB and rename the MVP Award the “Best Quarterback of the Year Award”.
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