NFL 2017 Week 10 Preview

NFL 2017 Week 10 Preview

The race to playoffs intensifies in NFL's second half. Here's a preview of key games and what to look for in Week 10 of the 2017 NFL Regular Season.

The second half of the NFL season is here and the race to the playoffs is in full swing.

Thirteen teams have won at least five games, led by the 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles. This is the fifth time in franchise history the Eagles have started a season 8-1 or better (1949, 1960, 1980 and 2004) and the team advanced to the NFL Championship / Super Bowl in each of the previous four instances. In the Super Bowl era, 91 teams have previously started 8-1 or better through the first nine games and 88 advanced to the playoffs (96.7 percent). Of those 91 teams, 40 reached the Super Bowl (44 percent) and 22 won the Super Bowl (24.2 percent).

The Eagles (7) and New Orleans Saints (6) have the longest active winning streaks in the NFL.

New Orleans, which started the season 0-2, is the third team in the Super Bowl era to win its next six games immediately following an 0-2 start. The other two teams to accomplish the feat -- 1993 Dallas Cowboys and 2007 New York Giants -- both won the Super Bowl in that season.

As the season moves into the second half, it's all still to be decided, with plenty of football left to play. So don't count anyone out. Since 2000, 44 teams have reached the halfway point of their season with a .500 or below winning percentage and advanced to the playoffs, including at least one in each season. Last year, there were four such teams: Detroit (4-4), Green Bay (4-4), Miami (4-4) and Pittsburgh (4-4).

Of those 44 teams, seven have advanced to the Conference Championship Game, including both the Packers and Steelers last season. The 2001 New England Patriots reached the midway point with a 4-4 record and went on to win Super Bowl XXXVI.

Week 10 began with the Seahawks' prime-time 22-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night in an NFC West matchup. Week 10 concludes with a pair of primetime contests as the Denver Broncos host the New England Patriots on Sunday night (8:30 PM ET, NBC) and the Miami Dolphins visit the Carolina Panthers on Monday night (8:30 PM ET, ESPN).

Some of the other notable NFL games in Week 10:

New Orleans Saints (6-2) at Buffalo Bills (5-3)

(Sunday, FOX, 1:00 PM ET)

The Saints, who defeated Tampa Bay 30-10 last week, have won six consecutive games and are the third team in the Super Bowl era to win its next six games immediately following an 0-2 start.

Rookie running back ALVIN KAMARA had a career-high 152 scrimmage yards (84 receiving, 68 rushing) and scored two touchdowns against the Buccaneers. Kamara is one of only three players (KAREEM HUNT and TODD GURLEY) in the NFL this season with at least 300 rushing yards (311), 300 receiving yards (341) and five touchdowns (five).

The Bills are 5-3 at the halfway point and are aiming for their first 10-win season since 1999. Buffalo leads the NFL with a +11 turnover differential (17 takeaways, 6 giveaways) and safety MICAH HYDE ranks second in the league with five interceptions.

Buffalo is 4-0 at home this season and has outscored opponents 111-69 at New Era Field. The Bills have scored at least 20 points in a franchise-record 13 consecutive home games.

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) at Indianapolis Colts (3-6)

(Sunday, CBS, 1:00 PM ET)

The Steelers have won three consecutive games and are tied with New England for the best record in the AFC (6-2). Pittsburgh had a bye last week and defeated Detroit 20-15 in Week 8.

Wide receiver ANTONIO BROWN leads the NFL with 57 catches and 835 receiving yards and is on pace to record his fifth consecutive season with at least 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards. Rookie wide receiver JU JU SMITH-SCHUSTER had seven catches for 193 yards and a touchdown (97 yards) in Week 8 and was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Smith-Schuster leads all NFL rookies with 424 receiving yards.

The Colts recorded a 20-14 win at Houston last week. On the final play of the game, which started at the Indianapolis seven-yard line, Colts linebacker JABAAL SHEARD recorded a sack and forced a fumble -- which was recovered by linebacker BARKEVIOUS MINGO -- to seal the victory.

Wide receiver T.Y. HILTON had five catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the win at Houston. Hilton has 10 career games with at least 150 receiving yards, tied with JULIO JONES for the fourth-most 150-yard receiving games in a player's first six seasons. The only players with more such games in their first six seasons are Pro Football Hall of Famers LANCE ALWORTH (13) and JERRY RICE (13) and RANDY MOSS (12).

Minnesota Vikings (6-2) at Washington Redskins (4-4)

(Sunday, FOX, 1:00 PM ET)

The Vikings, who had a bye last week, defeated Cleveland 33-16 at London's Twickenham Stadium in Week 8. Running back JERICK MC KINNON had 122 scrimmage yards (72 receiving, 50 rushing) and a touchdown against the Browns.

Wide receiver ADAM THIELEN, who had five catches for 98 yards and a touchdown versus Cleveland, ranks second in the NFC with 627 receiving yards. Defensive end EVERSON GRIFFEN ranks third in the NFL with 10 sacks and is one of only three players (DWIGHT FREENEY and ROBERT MATHIS) to record a sack in each of his team's first eight games of a season since the individual sack became an official statistic in 1982.

Washington running back ROB KELLEY rushed for two touchdowns -- including the game-winning score with 59 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter -- in the Redskins' 17-14 come-from-behind victory at Seattle.

Quarterback KIRK COUSINS led the game-winning drive, completing a 31-yard pass to wide receiver BRIAN QUICK and connecting with wide receiver JOSH DOCTSON on a 38-yard completion to set the Redskins up at the Seattle one-yard line.

Dallas Cowboys (5-3) at Atlanta Falcons (4-4)

(Sunday, FOX, 4:25 PM ET)

The Cowboys have won three consecutive games, including last week's 28-17 victory over Kansas City. Quarterback DAK PRESCOTT threw two touchdown passes -- both to wide receiver COLE BEASLEY -- and added a rushing TD. Prescott joined CAM NEWTON as the only players in NFL history to have at least 35 touchdown passes (39) and 10 rushing touchdowns (10) in their first two seasons.

Defensive end DEMARCUS LAWRENCE ranks second in the NFL -- and leads the NFC -- with a career-high 10.5 sacks. Lawrence has recorded at least one sack in seven of the Cowboys' eight games this season.

Atlanta quarterback MATT RYAN passed for 313 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 20-17 loss at Carolina. Ryan, who played in his 150th game, has 39,858 career passing yards, the most in NFL history by a player in his first 150 games.

Falcons wide receiver JULIO JONES leads the NFC with 658 receiving yards. In his career, Jones is averaging 95 receiving yards per game (8,268 yards in 87 games), the highest mark in NFL history (minimum 50 games).

Miami Dolphins (4-4) at Carolina Panthers (6-3)

(Monday, ESPN, 8:30 PM ET)

Miami quarterback JAY CUTLER passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns in last week's 27-24 loss against Oakland.

Wide receiver JARVIS LANDRY ranks second in the league with 56 catches and has 344 career receptions, the most by a player in his first four seasons in NFL history.

The Panthers improved to 6-3 with a key 20-17 divisional victory over Atlanta last week. Carolina rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons, led by quarterback CAM NEWTON (86 yards, one touchdown) and rookie running back CHRISTIAN MC CAFFREY (66 yards, one touchdown).

McCaffrey, who leads the NFC with 54 receptions, is the only player in the NFL this season with at least 150 rushing yards (183) and 50 catches (54).

Top Billing for Bill Belichick

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has 269 career wins, including the post-season, in his 23-year head coaching career with the Browns and Patriots.

With a victory on Sunday night at Denver, Belichick would tie Pro Football Hall of Famer TOM LANDRY (270) for the third-most total wins by a head coach in NFL history.

The head coaches with the most total wins (including the postseason) in NFL history:

 

NFL Head Coaches: Most Total Wins

 

Complete Players

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback PHILIP RIVERS (3,984) and Pittsburgh quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER (3,972) enter Week 10 ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, on the NFL's all-time completions list.

This week, Rivers and Roethlisberger can become the eighth and ninth players in NFL history to record at least 4,000 career completions.

The Quarterbacks with at least 4,000 career completions in NFL history:

 

QBs with at Least 4,000 Career Completions

 

Stellar Streak

New York Giants quarterback ELI MANNING, who became the seventh player in NFL history with 50,000 career passing yards (50,034) in Week 9, has started 207 consecutive games.

With a start on Sunday at San Francisco, Manning would tie his brother, PEYTON MANNING (208), for the second-longest streak of consecutive starts in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer BRETT FAVRE (297) has started more consecutive games.

The players with the most consecutive starts in NFL history:

 

Most Consecutive Starts in NFL History

 

Dak Prescott's Dak Attack

Dallas Cowboys quarterback DAK PRESCOTT passed for two touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown in the Cowboys' 28-17 victory against Kansas City in Week 9. Prescott, who is in his second NFL season, has five career games with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown.

This Sunday at Atlanta, Prescott can tie CAM NEWTON (six) for the most games with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a player's first two career seasons.

The players with the most games with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in their first two seasons:

 

Most Games Multiple TD Passes and Rushing TD in 1st 2 Seasons

 

Awesome Adrian Peterson

Arizona running back ADRIAN PETERSON rushed for 159 yards on a career-high 37 carries in the Cardinals' 20-10 victory at San Francisco in Week 9. The performance marked Peterson's 19th career game with at least 150 rushing yards.

On Thursday night against Seattle, Peterson can join Pro Football Hall of Famers BARRY SANDERS (25), JIM BROWN (22) and WALTER PAYTON (20) as the only players in NFL history with 20 career games with at least 150 rushing yards.

The players with the most career games with at least 150 rushing yards in NFL history:

 

Most Games 150 or More Rushing Yards

 

Dynamic Duo: Le'veon Bell & Antonio Brown

Pittsburgh running back LE'VEON BELL (979 scrimmage yards) and wide receiver ANTONIO BROWN (835) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the NFL in scrimmage yards.

If Bell and Brown each reach 1,000 scrimmage yards on Sunday at Indianapolis, it would mark the seventh time in NFL history that a pair of teammates had at least 1,000 scrimmage yards each in their team's first nine games of a season.

Bell and Brown, who also accomplished the feat in 2014, would join Indianapolis' EDGERRIN JAMES and MARVIN HARRISON (1999 and 2000) as the only pairs of teammates in NFL history to each record at least 1,000 scrimmage yards in their team's first nine games of a season multiple times.

The pairs of teammates in NFL history with at least 1,000 scrimmage yards each in the first nine games of a season:

 

Teammates with at Least 1,000 Scrimmage Yards Each 1st 9 Games

 

Catching Christian McCaffrey

Carolina rookie running back CHRISTIAN MC CAFFREY ranks third in the NFL and leads all running backs with 54 catches.

With eight catches on Monday against Miami, McCaffrey would surpass REGGIE BUSH (61 in 2006) for the most receptions by a rookie running back in his team's first 10 games of a season in NFL history.

The rookie running backs with the most receptions in their team's first 10 games of a season:

 

Rookie Running Backs Most Receptions 1st 10 games

 

Every Day Everson Griffen

Minnesota defensive end EVERSON GRIFFEN ranks third in the NFL with 10 sacks and has recorded a sack in all eight of Minnesota's games this season.

With a sack on Sunday at Washington, Griffen would become the first player to record a sack in each of his team's first nine games to start a season since the individual sack became an official statistic in 1982. Indianapolis' DWIGHT FREENEY (2009) and ROBERT MATHIS (2005) are the only other players to each record a sack in their team's first eight games of a season.

The players to record a sack in each of their team's first eight games of a season since 1982:

 

Players to Record a Sack in First 8 Games

 

Terrific Titan: Kevin Byard

Tennessee Titans safety KEVIN BYARD, who had three interceptions in Week 7, had two interceptions in the Titans' 23-20 victory over Baltimore in Week 9.

With an interception on Sunday against Cincinnati, Byard, who has five interceptions in the Titans' past two games (Tennessee had a bye in Week 8), will join JAIRUS BYRD (2009), ALBERT LEWIS (1985) and Pro Football Hall of Famers KENNY EASLEY (1984) and MIKE HAYNES (1976) as the only players in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) with six interceptions over a three-game span in a single season.

With two interceptions on Sunday, Byard would become the first player in the Super Bowl era with seven interceptions over a three-game span in a single season.

The players with the most interceptions over a three-game span in a single season in the Super Bowl era:

 

Most INTs Over 3-Game Span - Single Season

 

NFL 2017 Week 10 Schedule

(All times local)

Byes: Baltimore, Kansas City, Oakland, Philadelphia

Thursday, November 9

Seattle 22 at Arizona 16

Sunday, November 12

Cincinnati at Tennessee, 12:00 PM

Minnesota at Washington, 1:00 PM

Houston at Los Angeles Rams, 1:05 PM

New Orleans at Buffalo, 1:00 PM

Dallas at Atlanta, 4:25 PM

Green Bay at Chicago, 12:00 PM

New York Giants at San Francisco, 1:25 PM

Cleveland at Detroit, 1:00 PM

New England at Denver, 6:30 PM (NBC)

Pittsburgh at Indianapolis, 1:00 PM

Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville, 1:00 PM

New York Jets at Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM

Monday, November 13

Miami at Carolina, 8:30 PM (ESPN)

 

NFL Football ...

 

SPORTS

BASEBALL | BASKETBALL | COLLEGES | FOOTBALL | GOLF | HOCKEY | OLYMPICS | SOCCER | TENNIS

 

 

 

NFL Super Bowl History

NFL Super Bowl History, Scores, Summaries & Super Bowl MVP Articles

NFL Football: "NFL 2017 Week 10 Preview"