NFL Week 10: Notes and observations

The NFL is done with another week of action — and yes, that’s including the Monday night game between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants.

So let’s give some Week 10 observations…

• The New England Patriots simply can’t lose that game to the Tennessee Titans. Look, it isn’t about whether or not the Patriots are going to make the playoffs, because of course they are. New England is still 7-3 and clearly the best team in the AFC East. It holds a two-game lead on the second place Miami Dolphins. However, the Patriots are now two games back of the Kansas City Chiefs for the top seed in the AFC. They even slipped behind the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second seed due to percentage points.

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• Did the Detroit Lions just completely give up on the season? After starting 0-2, the Lions rallied to beat the Patriots. Eventually they got themselves to 3-3 on the year before a game with the Seahawks. Since then, the wheels have completely come off with Detroit losing three straight games. The latter two were blowout losses within the division to the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. It’s understandable that trading Golden Tate was like a pin into the balloon, but we still need to see something out of the Lions.

• The Cincinnati Bengals ought to be ashamed of themselves. It’s one thing to lose to the New Orleans Saints, one of the best and most high-powered units in the sport. It’s quite another to be coming off of your bye week, at home, and get buried 51-14. The Bengals can never beat good teams, something evidenced by the trouncings they’ve bee given by New Orleans and Kansas City this year. At some point, either step up or just tear the whole thing down.

Read: Le’Veon Bell Not Expected to Join Steelers, Will Forfeit Entire Season

• The Packers saved their season by winning on Sunday against the Dolphins at Lambeau Field, but let’s not go overboard. Aaron Rodgers is going to need some magic up his sleeve to beat the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on Thursday night, playing in a tough stadium on a short week with travel. Green Bay is 4-4-1 and hoping to get back into the NFC playoff picture, but losing to Seattle would be a major blow to those dreams.

• Finally, the Oakland Raiders continue to be the worst team in football by a wide margin. The Cardinals and Bills are always lumped into that category with Oakland, but last I checked, those teams have more than one win. On Sunday, the Cardinals lost a hard-fought game at Arrowhead Stadium to the Chiefs while the Bills rolled over the Jets. Meanwhile, the Raiders scored six points in a loss to the Chargers, barely showing up to a divisional battle.