Week 10 was full of some great plays and some great games, but some of those games were a complete show of dominance. In a time when teams must show dominance and put themselves in position for a playoff run, here are some of the best examples from Week 10 of the NFL season.
NFL Team’s that Dominated During Week 10
Los Angeles Chargers over Oakland Raiders
Home field advantage didn’t help the Raiders this week as the Chargers were charged up and ready to roll. Although the Raiders were the only ones to score in the first quarter, it was only three points and the rest of the quarter was a defensive battle as neither team could get in the end zone. In the second quarter, the Chargers pushed harder and were able to go up 10-3.
The second half didn’t go much better for the Raiders as they allowed another ten points while only scoring one more field goal in the fourth quarter. This loss dropped the Raiders to a 1-8 record and surely puts in question what needs to be done to fix a team that, years ago, was known as an up and coming perennial contender.
Green Bay Packers over Miami Dolphins
While the Packers are frequently known as a team of nothing but dominance, this year hasn’t been that way. The Dolphins have shown more promise than failure this year so it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that this game could have gone the other way. That being said, the Packers refused to allow that.
While in the first half the Dolphins kept it close. The second half opened up for the Packers and they never looked back. Aaron Rodgers and company made the plays when necessary and increased their lead to a final of 31-12.
Tennessee Titans over New England Patriots
Yes, you read that right. In one of the more surprising shows of dominance this week, the Titans kept the Patriots from doing almost anything this week. Most importantly, keeping Tom Brady from hitting most of his targets, completing only 21-41 passes for 254 yards and most importantly, no touchdowns. While in comparison Marcus Mariota threw for 26 fewer yards (228), he was efficient throwing 16-24 with two touchdowns.
With both of the Titans offence and defence hitting the right notes, the underdogs were able to walk away with not only a win but an impressive 34-10 win. That will surely stick in the minds of the Patriots next week when they watch teams play from their homes on the bye week.
Buffalo Bills over the New York Jets
This was another huge surprise of the week as the Bills have been the lowest scoring team this year. However, in a rare show of dominance, the Bills kept the Jets so far off their game that they only scored a field goal at the end of the first half and one touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter. The rest of the time was spent by the Jets trying in vain to either get their offensive going with a more experienced quarterback in Josh McCown. This didn’t seem to help at all either. New York’s defence looked asleep all day as the Bills all of a sudden knew how to score over and over again. Buffalo piled on the points leading to a 41-10 win over their division rival.
New Orleans Saints over the Cincinnati Bengals
Not sure if this is a surprise or not. The Saints with Drew Brees as their leader have shown dominance more often than not. However, the Bengals have been playing strong of late and the beginning of the game looked as if it would be a competitive game.
First, the Saints scoring a touchdown and then the Bengals doing the same. Then the floodgates opened. Between the great offensive plays from Brees and the Saints defence harassing Andy Dalton and picking him twice, New Orleans scored over thirty unanswered points before the Bengals scored a last-gasp touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it to a final of 51-14. This was a big blow to the Bengals in their close division while strengthening the lead for the Saints in theirs.
Pittsburgh Steelers over the Carolina Panthers
Watching this game, the only word that came to mind was dominance. In what could easily have been a close back and forth game, and just like the Saints game, looked that way at first with the Panthers scoring a touchdown first. Then the Steelers not only came back and scored their own touchdown, but they also grabbed another score via the defence. In one play from Ben Roethlisberger to Ju-Ju Smith Schuster, the Steelers got on the board with their first play from scrimmage. They then rushed Cam Newton so hard on their next possession that while almost succumbing to a safety, Newton threw in desperation and Vince Williams caught the ball and scored the second touchdown for the Steelers in 13 seconds of play.
After that, there was very little that the Steelers could do wrong and even less that the Panthers could do right. Newton was sacked five times as well as rushed and hurried multiple times. A normally productive quarterback couldn’t get his team out of first gear. While on the flip side, Roethlisberger had a near perfect day, finding his receivers all night and throwing for five touchdowns. He was pulled late in the game when the win was assured to not overwork him on a short week.
Last Word
In a sport that never fails to excite. Some of these games will not only excite but surprise us. However, one thing is certain, whether the team is in line for the playoffs at this moment or not, all teams who have the drive for the playoffs are showing it now. The ones who are slipping need to get off the matt or they are going to have a pattern of getting run over every week by those with the Super Bowl in mind. On to week 11.
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