NFL, Expectations, What to Look For in Week 10

TOP 10 SHOWDOWNLos Angeles Chargers rookie quarterback JUSTIN HERBERT,the No. 6 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, and Miami rookie quarterback TUA TAGOVAILOA, the No. 5 ove​rall selection, will face off on Sunday (4:05 PM ET, CBS) for the first time in their careers.

Herbert leads all rookies with 17 touchdown passes and ranks second among rookies with 2,146 passing yards this season. With at least two touchdown passes on Sunday, he will become the first rookie with at least two touchdown passes in six consecutive games in NFL history.

Tagovailoa has passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 103.8 passer rating in his first two career starts. With a win, he will become the first rookie quarterback since LAMAR JACKSON in 2018 to win his first three career starts.

Miami has returned an opponent fumble for a touchdown in each of its last two games – a 36-yard return by defensive end SHAQ LAWSON in Week 9 and a 78-yard return by linebacker ANDREW VAN GINKEL in Week 8. Only two teams in league history have done so in three consecutive games within a single season: the 2019 BALTIMORE RAVENS and 1999 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS.

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DUAL-THREAT IN THE DESERT: Arizona quarterback KYLER MURRAY enters Week 10 with 2,130 passing yards and 16 touchdown passes, while leading all quarterbacks with 543 rushing yards and tying for the lead among quarterbacks with eight rushing touchdowns. Last week, he became the fourth quarterback in the Super Bowl era with at least three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in consecutive games.  

With a rushing touchdown on Sunday against Buffalo (4:05 PM ET, CBS), Murray will become the fourth quarterback with a rushing touchdown in at least five consecutive games in NFL history.

Murray has totaled 5,852 passing yards and 1,087 rushing yards in 24 career games. With 148 passing yards on Sunday, he will become the second quarterback with at least 6,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in his first 25 career games in NFL history, joining CAM NEWTON (6,194 passing yards, 1,060 rushing yards).

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ALL IN ON ALLEN: Last week, Buffalo quarterback JOSH ALLEN passed for 415 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 138.5 passer rating and added a rushing touchdown. It marked his fourth career game with at least three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown, tied with JACK KEMP for the most such games by a player in his first three seasons in NFL history.

Allen has 19 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns this season. In 2019, Allen had 20 touchdown passes, while leading all quarterbacks with nine rushing touchdowns. With a touchdown pass on Sunday against Arizona (4:05 PM ET, CBS), Allen will become the third player with at least 20 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons in league history, joining DAK PRESCOTT (three consecutive seasons) and DESHAUN WATSON (two).

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BALL SECURITY BALLERS: Kansas City quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES ranks second in the NFL with 25 touchdown passes, while Green Bay quarterback AARON RODGERS ranks third with 24. Mahomes, with one interception this season, and Rodgers, with two interceptions this season, are the only two quarterbacks in the league with at least 20 touchdown passes and fewer than five interceptions in 2020. ​

Last week, Mahomes became the sixth player to throw his 25th touchdown pass before throwing his third interception of a season in NFL history. Rodgers, who accomplished the feat in 2018, has a chance to do it again on Sunday and join TOM BRADY (2007 and 2016) as the only players in league history to do so in two seasons.

In Week 9, Rodgers passed for 305 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 147.2 passer rating. It marked his third consecutive game with at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

If Rodgers records at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions on Sunday against Jacksonville (1:00 PM ET, FOX), it will mark the fifth time a player has done so in at least four consecutive games within a single season in NFL history. Having also accomplished the feat in 2014, Rodgers would become the first player to do so twice.

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TENNESSEE HOME COOKING: Since becoming the Tennessee starting quarterback in Week 7 of last season, RYAN TANNEHILL has passed for 29 touchdowns with three interceptions for a 122.4 passer rating in 11 games at Nissan Stadium. In each of those 11 games, Tannehill has recorded at least two touchdown passes.

With two touchdown passes against Indianapolis on Thursday Night Football (8:20 PM ET, FOX/NFLN/Amazon), Tannehill will have recorded at least two touchdown passes in 12 consecutive home games, tying Pro Football Hall of Famer KURT WARNER (1999-2000) for the fifth-longest streak in NFL history.

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DALVIN IS COOKING: Last week, Minnesota running back DALVIN COOK totaled a career-high 252 scrimmage yards (206 rushing, 46 receiving) and two rushing touchdowns. After recording 226 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) in Week 8, Cook became the third player in league annals with at least 225 scrimmage yards and two-or-more touchdowns in consecutive games.

In seven games this season, Cook leads the NFL with 858 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns entering Week 10. With a rushing touchdown at Chicago on Monday Night Football (8:15 PM ET, ESPN), he will become the fourth player with a rushing touchdown in each of his first eight games of a season in NFL history, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers LENNY MOORE (1964) and JOHN RIGGINS (1983), as well as GEORGE ROGERS (1986).

Cook has recorded at least two rushing touchdowns in four of his first seven games this season. With at least two rushing touchdowns on Monday, he will become the fourth player to record at least two rushing touchdowns in five of his first eight games of a season in league annals, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers JIM BROWN (1958), TERRELL DAVIS (1998) and EMMITT SMITH (1995), as well as CHUCK MUNCIE (1981).

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MARCHING INTO RECORD BOOK: New Orleans wide receiver MICHAEL THOMAS has 478 receptions for 5,580 yards and 32 touchdowns in his five-year career.

With four receptions on Sunday against San Francisco (4:25 PM ET, FOX), Thomas will surpass JARVIS LANDRY (481 receptions) for the most receptions by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history.

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COURTESY NFLmedia.com

Posted in NFL