MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Byrnes

The Raiders are circling the drain under Pete Carroll, while the Broncos are among the AFC elite.

Week 10 began at Mile High…

Thursday Night:

Las Vegas (2-6) @ Denver (7-2): Denver 10-7

Denver overcame a poor offensive night by registering six sacks of Geno Smith, and allowed under 200 yards of total offense, in the divisional win.

It was an ugly game.

Denver quarterback Bo Nix shook off two interceptions, and four 3-and-outs to start the game, to eat up the final 4:26 and preserve the NFL’s best record (8-2).

Las Vegas’ Aston Jeanty had 60 yards rushing and a score to pace the Raiders offense, while Kyu Blu Kelly had two interceptions on defense, in a losing effort.

Sunday:

Atlanta (3-5) @ Indianapolis (7-2 in Berlin: Indianapolis 31-25

On the anniversary of the “Fall of the Berlin Wall”, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor treated Europe to what real American Football is like! Taylor rushed for a bruising 244 yards, 3 touchdowns and added 3 receptions for 42 yards to completely dominate the Falcons defense.

The 8-2 Colts had an amazing 512 yards of offense but Atlanta had seven sacks and forced Daniel Jones to fumble three times. They also had nine tackles-for-loss, keeping the game close.

Atlanta has now lost four games in a row, which has the Rams watching closely, as a 2026 pick is predicated on Atlanta’s final record. The worse the Falcons finish, the higher the pick for the Rams, which stands at #11.

Los Angeles Rams (7-2) @ San Francisco (6-3): LA Rams 42-26

For the third game in a row, the Rams scored a touchdown on their opening drive and didn’t look back, as they blew out their divisional rival, the 49ers.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford (280 yards-4 TDs), who threw his 400th career touchdown pass in the contest, has thrown four or more touchdown passes without an interception in three consecutive games. He also leads the NFL with 25 total touchdown passes with just two interceptions.

Linebacker Nate Landman continues to give the Rams reasons to extend him, garnering 11 tackles, two for losses, and he punched out a forced fumble for the second game in a row.

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan really likes Mac Jones (319-3 TDs/Int), in spite of the loss, and given the franchise history of moving on quickly from good quarterbacks (Alex Smith, Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lantz) it will be interesting to see if Purdy gets his job back, when healthy, given his $53 million salary.

Other Sunday Games:

NYJ 27 – Cle 20

Hou 36 – Jax 29

Mia 30 -Buf 13

Chi 24 – NYG 20

Bal 27 – Min 19

NO 17 – Car 7

Sea 44 – Ari 22

Det 44 – Was 22

LAC 25 – Pit 10

Key Injuries:

-Phi RT Lane Johnson (ankle)

-LAR WR Davante Adams (oblique)

-Den RG Quinn Meinerz (illness)

-NYG QB Jaxson Dart (concussion)

-Buf TE Dalton Kincaid (hamstring)

-NYJ WR Garrett Wilson (knee)

-Hou S MJ Stewart (knee)

-Sea C Jalen Sundell (knee)

-Pit CB Darius Slay (concussion)

Monday Night:

Philadelphia (6-2) @ Green Bay (5-2-1): Philadelphia 10-7

This will go down as one of the most uneventful, boring games in MNF history. With as many punts as winning points, the game was decided by one of the worst field goal attempts in recent memory.

My pre-season prediction that someone would hit a 70-yard field goal hasn’t happened yet, but kickers are trying longer kicks, as shown by Jacksonville’s Cam Little’s 68-yard kick earlier this month.

Green Bay’s Brandon McManus had a second opportunity at a 64-yard game tying kick but in trying to get extra power behind it, he shanked it.

The game was the first to be scoreless at halftime since 2023.

Byrnes Picks

Week 10 Results:

(9-5) (98-50-1)

Week 11 Picks:

NE over NYJ

LAR over Sea

Was over Mia

Pit over Cin

LAC over Jax

Buf over TB

Chi over Min

Hou over Ten

Atl over Car

GB over NYG

SF over Ari

Bal over Cle

KC over Den

Det over Phi

Dal over LV