Week 10 Takeaways for the 2025 NFL Season
As usual, the NFL brought us chaos and wild play in week 10. Jets’ DE Will McDonald had 4 sacks, and that didn’t even register because the team scored KR and PR touchdowns on consecutive touches. Saints’ QB Tyler Shough earned his first win in an upset of Carolina, throwing the draft order into disarray. The Vikings somehow false started 8 times in one game (yes, they lost). Seattle LB Tyrice Knight earned a strip sack, which DE DeMarcus Lawrence returned for a TD…and then they did the same thing AGAIN. And that’s just the start! Let’s see what we can make of all this in my week 10 takeaways for the 2025 NFL season!
TNF: Broncos Hang on Against Raiders in Very Sloppy Game
I guess we should’ve seen this coming. The Raiders have a poor offense and had to go up against a top-notch Denver defense. Meanwhile, the Broncos don’t score many points until the 4th quarter. How the game actually went down was surprising though, particularly because of all the mistakes. Both teams sabotaged themselves with penalties: Las Vegas committed 11 for 83 yards, while Denver also had 11 but for 78 yards. Two big offensive plays for the Raiders came off the board during the first half because of penalties, leading to punts. The Broncos’ offense couldn’t even get one first down until 6 minutes remained in the half.
Interestingly, the early difference between these teams was punting. While LV’s AJ Cole hit two fantastic boots inside the 2, Denver’s Jeremy Crawshaw shanked 3 punts in the first half alone, setting the Raiders up with great field position. One bad kick set Las Vegas up at the Denver 41, which led to their lone TD of the day. A drop by rookie WR Dont’e Thornton before halftime kept the Raiders from adding to their score, and we reached intermission tied at 7 once Denver finally had a good drive. Very few points went on the board from there, but plenty of interesting events happened in the final two quarters of action.
On Denver’s 2nd drive following the break, they ran a bizarre play that seemed like it was supposed to be a pass by WR Courtland Sutton (3/24). The non-QB took a 5-yard sack, and K Wil Lutz came up short on a 59-yard FG. On the next play, Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty (19/60/1), who had a pretty tough day, dropped a perfect pass and saw it bounce into the hands of OLB Dondrea Tillman. Denver did nothing with the ball and passed on a 57-yard FG try. The Broncos then blocked a Cole punt on the subsequent drive, which they turned into a field goal to take a 10-7 lead after their offense went -2 yards on their gifted possession.
And that was all the scoring. The one other time Denver threatened, WR Troy Franklin (5/40/1) did the same thing as Jeanty and popped a good throw right up to CB Kyu Blu Kelly (2 INTs). Oddly, the only two players who scored TDs also nearly became the goat of the game. Poor Bo Nix (16/28, 150 yards, TD, 2 INTs) couldn’t get anything going; RB JK Dobbins (18/77) was the entire offense. Vegas had a poor game plan, which stopped them from scoring. TE Brock Bowers (1/31) only got one catch and basically went unused. Still somehow second on the team in receiving yards, Bowers needs to be involved if LV wants to win a game.
The biggest impediment to Las Vegas’ chances (other than 3 backup linemen who yielded 6 sacks) was the left quad of Geno Smith (16/26, 143 yards, INT). After scrambling, the veteran went down normally but clearly felt pain. I credit him for battling and finishing the game, but he may have been his own worst enemy. The Raiders missed a 48-yard FG during their only decent drive from then on, as Smith couldn’t get out of his own way. He doesn’t need to fight so hard for a 2-7 team. Denver is riding high at 8-2 and plays Kansas City next week in a game that could help decide the AFC West. More points will be needed in that one.
Berlin Game: Jonathan Taylor Carries Colts Past Falcons in OT
Far too often, we send our international audiences dreadful games. I’m excited to say that this year’s Berlin game was not one of them! Indianapolis probably felt glad to be leaving the country after their disappointing loss to Pittsburgh last week. Atlanta’s heartbreaking loss to the Patriots had to be nice to escape as well. Luckily for fans, both teams checked their baggage at the airport and put on a show. When I say that, I don’t mean the QBs. Indy’s Daniel Jones (19/26, 255 yards, TD, INT; 7/53 rushing) still had trouble holding onto the ball, throwing a pick and fumbling three times (losing one). His incredible start is clearly over.
Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr can’t seem to escape his accuracy woes. He completed just 12 of his 28 attempts for 177 yards and a TD, taking 3 sacks and losing a fumble. The inadequate QB play was odd since both teams’ pass catchers really produced. Falcons WR Drake London (6/104/1) was unguardable, and the Colts’ Tyler Warren (8/99) and Alec Pierce (4/84/1) excelled on short and deep passes, respectively. The true story of this game came from the RBs and the defenses. Bijan Robinson (17/84) was good as usual, but the Falcons insist on giving Tyler Allgeier (11/57/2) too many carries. Why limit your best player?
Indianapolis made no such mistake. Jonathan Taylor (32/244/3; 3/42 receiving) got the ball early and often, and Atlanta had no answer for him. His mix of speed and power is exceptional, and he seems reborn playing on a winning team. Taylor did almost everything in this game, including a lead-changing 83-yard TD run in the 4th quarter. It was the longest run of Taylor’s career and the longest play from scrimmage in the NFL this year. His heroics were needed because of Colts’ miscues. They got stuffed on 4th down after a 9-minute drive, and K Michael Badgley missed a field goal and a PAT while filling in for Spencer Shrader.
The Colts’ defense did alright; trade acquisition Sauce Gardner was fine but not overly impressive. Aside from how they handled Taylor, Atlanta’s defense was the eye-opener. Their pass rush, the league’s worst last year, sacked Jones 7 time. Rookie OLB Jalon Walker (strip sack) is really coming on, and he recovered a fumble on a strip sacked forced by fellow rookie first-rounder James Pearce two plays later. Both defenses stepped up on third down: Atlanta went 0/8, while Indy went just 2/12 on the crucial down. With such a back-and-forth affair, of course this game went to OT. The Falcons got the ball first but lost 8 yards and punted.
Once Indianapolis got the ball, you knew what was coming. Following a nice deep pass to Warren, the entire drive was all Taylor. He took 5 straight carries for 33 yards and the walk-off TD. The team wasn’t going to trust Badgley to win it when their star could do it with such ease. 31-25 looks better than 28-25 anyway.
Texans Dominate 4th Quarter to Stun Jaguars with Wild Comeback
You’d be forgiven if you missed this game. Davis Mills quarterbacking the Texans because CJ Stroud was out with a concussion? Jacksonville should’ve crushed them. And that’s exactly what they did…for 3 quarters. WR Parker Washington (3/33/1; PR TD) had a fantastic day and accounted for 14 of Jacksonville’s 29 points. The defense only sacked Mills twice, but they kept Houston down for most of the game. It wasn’t flashy, but entering the 4th quarter up 29-10, the Jags didn’t seem like they could lose. Nothing would’ve told you that the Texans had a run in them. But that’s exactly when Houston went completely berserk.
The Texans’ 3 offensive possessions in the 4th quarter went for TDs. Mills (27/45, 292 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 3/20/1 rushing) found a groove, particularly when targeting WR Nico Collins (7/136). He didn’t throw many deep balls, but he kept the chains moving and the points flowing. On defense, Houston tightened as much as possible. DE Danielle Hunter had 3.5 sacks, part of a 5-sack day for the unit. Jacksonville didn’t score a single 4th-quarter point and barely cleared 10 yards of offense during the period. Soon enough, Houston only trailed 29-24 with 6:10 left and the ball in their hands, albeit at their own 7-yard line.
Mills’ subsequent drive was sheer perfection. He led his team 93 yards while only leaving 31 seconds on the clock for Jacksonville, and his slick rushing TD capped the drive and gave Houston a 30-29 lead, their first advantage of the game. With one last gasp, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (13/23, 158 yards, TD, INT; 5/35 rushing) came up short. Despite having Cam Little, the kicker with arguably the biggest leg in the game, he couldn’t get his team into FG range, and DE Will Anderson strip sacked him to finish the game off. DT Shelton Rankins took the ball back for a TD to put an exclamation point on the Texans’ stunning 36-29 victory.
This was a crippling loss for Jacksonville. After their hot start to the season, they’ve stumbled of late. A Stroud-less Texans team should’ve been easy pickings, but their pass rush couldn’t get home for some reason. Lawrence also still isn’t taking the next step. Even with a win over Kansas City, I only ranked them 16th in my midseason power rankings. I’m not completely sold on the Jaguars, and a 26-0 fourth-quarter meltdown explains why. Conversely, Houston may have saved their season. 4-5 looks a lot different than 3-6. Mills did his job, but now it’s up to Stroud to take the Texans back toward the playoffs.
Dolphins Stun Bills, Wreak Havoc on AFC East Race
If you watched Miami play last Thursday, you likely left them for dead. I suspect that Buffalo came to the same conclusion because they looked like they were caught completely off guard. It makes sense: the Bills almost always beat the Dolphins. Why would this inferior Miami team be the one to change that? The answer is that the unit we’ve trashed the most played its best game of the season. Miami’s defense did what few others have been able to do: make Josh Allen look average. The reigning MVP threw for 306 yards and 2 TDs on 28/40 passing, and he ran for 31 yards. However, he made far more mistakes than usual.
Allen threw an INT in the end zone and lost a fumble to kill another drive. As a team, Buffalo ran for just 87 yards. Miami shut the Bills out for 3 quarters, earning 3 sacks and 7 QB hits in the process. I haven’t seen Allen this uncomfortable and without answers in quite some time. Offensively, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa (15/21, 173 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) had a couple of regrettable deep shots but otherwise played well. WR Jaylen Waddle (5/84/1) continues to step up, and RB De’Von Achane (22/174/2; 6/51 receiving) is a stud. The dynamic RB broke two long TD runs to put the game away, and he constantly made Bills miss.
This was a shocking result on many levels. A 2-7 Dolphins team bludgeoned 6-2 Buffalo by a score of 30-13. They did so just one week after the Bills convincingly beat Kansas City. This was also a rare result, as Miami tends to struggle against the Bills. In fact, this was their first head-to-head win in the series since 2022. I still can’t say that the Dolphins are in the playoff chase, as even winning out to reach 10-7 might not be enough. The intrigue comes at the top. With Buffalo’s loss and New England’s win, the Patriots now have a 1.5-game division lead AND a win over the Bills. NE might be the prohibitive favorites in the AFC East.
Former NFC Commissioner Paul Tagliabue Dies at 84
Finally this week, I wanted to end by paying respects to a giant of the game. Paul Tagliabue, the commissioner who preceded Roger Goodell, died this weekend. He led the league from 1989 until 2006 and oversaw the growth of the NFL as a juggernaut. No commissioner boosted the finances of the NFL like Tagliabue did. He oversaw the construction of numerous stadiums and inked unprecedented TV deals. Amazingly, no labor stoppages took place under his watch, which is truly rare. Cleveland lost and regained a team, while Baltimore and Houston each joined the NFL as expansion teams under Tagliabue.
An implementation of his that affects the league to this day is the Rooney Rule. Originally designed to bring more minority candidates to leadership positions within the coaching and front office ranks. Though we clearly have much work to do on that front, the league wouldn’t be where it is today with regard to diversity without Tagliabue. One forgotten aspect of his tenure was the debut of NFL Europe. Though the league failed, it laid the groundwork (and foreign appetite) for the current international series. It also acted as a minor league that provided an NFL pathway for unheralded players, most notably Kurt Warner.
No commissioner is perfect, and Tagliabue was no exception. His biggest flaw was the blind eye he turned to concussions. He refused to confront the reality that football could injure players’ brains and downplayed the impact of hits to the head. As much as I’ve praised Tagliabue, that’s one real stain on his legacy. In his defense, the research wasn’t as robust back then, but he still knew better. On balance though, Tagliabue was a net positive for the NFL. He took the league to new heights that nobody thought were possible. The outpouring of sadness confirms his status as a revered figure in the game of football.