Week 10 of the NFL 2021/22 season is here, and so far, the season has yet to disappoint. There was a lot of back-and-forth between the teams over the opening weeks, as the squads scrambled to establish some kind of order and give us a clearer picture of which have what it takes to compete for the title.
However, even now, it’s hard to say who belongs here, and the handful of upsets that have happened this weekend surely don’t help. Regardless, that only adds to the excitement, as we patiently wait to see which teams might have overperformed, which are feeling a bit too confident, and which players have yet to show off their full potential.
Mac Jones Leads Patriots a commanding 45-7 win over Cleveland Browns
We’re already ten weeks deep into the 2021/22 NFL season, and if there is one thing that is certain is that every team that passed on Mac Jones in the draft is starting to regret it. While it’s way too early to say, but the Patriots rookie is arguably the best QB of the class of 2021.
Even those who doubted the 23-year-old last week should consider Jones as one of the top candidates for the offensive rookie of the year award following his exceptional performance against the Cleveland Browns. In what was his best performance of the year, Jones led Patriots to a commanding 45-7 victory last Sunday.
Most notably, Jones ended the game with three TD passes and no interceptions, making him the first Patriots rookie to achieve that since 1960.
It’s evident that Jones is getting more comfortable on the field week after week, making bolder throws. Admittedly, Jones’ numbers in Patriot’s win against the Browns weren’t exactly spectacular – he threw only 198 yards – however, he has completed 82.6% of his passes and came up clutch in almost every pass he has made.
On the topic of his accuracy, the 82.6% is the second-highest total in the Patriot’s history in a game where the QB threw more than ten passes. And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the record is held by no other than Tom Brady.
Patriots seem to be well aware of how important Jones is to them and are giving him more and more responsibility each week. And it looks like the added responsibility is enabling the 23-year-old to step up his game.
Largely thanks to their rookie QB, the Patriots are now 6-4 and are slowly gaining respect from other teams in the AFC. It’s also worth pointing out that New England could have easily been 8-2, but they missed a field goal against the Buccaneers in Week 4 and lost a fumble against the Dolphins in Week 1.
The season is still fairly young, and the AFC seems wide open. However, if the Patriots and Jones can continue playing this way, we could see them win the AFC East and possibly make it back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018.
A Strong Start Leads 49ers To An Upset Win Over The Rams
San Francisco 49ers crushed Los Angeles Rams 31-10 on Monday night, handing them their third defeat of the season. Interestingly, the Rams were priced as -180 favorites for the match, but they couldn’t deliver under the Santa Clara lights.
The game featured Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller, who made their debuts for the Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, they have had their debuts spoiled by the 49ers, who opted for a physical run-based approach, which earned them a huge upset win.
But not only was it an upset loss for the Rams – who are now sitting in second place in the NFC West – but also an awe-inspiring performance from the 49ers, who ran the ball 44 times for 156 yards to lock in their fifth consecutive head-to-head win against the rival team.
The match proved that the 49ers are a more physical team on each side of the ball. That showed from the onset when the 49ers took over following Jimmie Ward’s interception and secured a 7-0 lead that would never relinquish.
“It’s the way we want to do it,” said Jimmy Garoppolo, who ended the opening math with an eight-yard TD pass to George Kittle. “I don’t want to say it took their soul away, but it definitely did something.”
The 49ers did not stop there and got another interception when Matthew Stafford’s pass was dropped by Tyler Higbee and picked up by Ward, resulting in another TD.
The strong start of the 49ers allowed the outsiders to take full control of the match, leaving the Rams in shambles, as they could never recover.
The match eventually ended in a commanding 31-10 win for the home side, who picked up their fourth win of the season and clawed their way to the no.3 spot in the NFC West.
