NFL Week 10 Takeaways: Colts Win Over Raiders Epitomizes Upside Down 2022 Season

Week 10 may have provided us with the NFL game of the year between the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings. In that contest, stars on both teams made incredible plays, and pundits can take a lot from that heavyweight battle.

Bleacher Report NFL analyst Gary Davenport dissected the Bills-Vikings game from the victor's perspective, so we'll touch on a troubling trend in Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen's play over the past few weeks.

In the early time slots on Sunday, a couple of AFC teams looked phenomenal offensively. One of those clubs has great depth at the skill positions, and the other squad added a running back who largely went unnoticed until his standout Week 10 performance.

Speaking of impressive offensive showcases, the NFL has a budding dynamic quarterback who, right now, is more exciting to watch than Lamar Jackson. No, he's not a better signal-caller than the 2019 league MVP, but you can see the thrill factor in him.

Lastly, the Las Vegas Raiders hit a new low in an embarrassing loss.

Let's go through the biggest takeaways from Week 10.

The Indianapolis Colts drew widespread criticism for their decision to replace former lead skipper Frank Reich with Jeff Saturday, who hasn’t coached on the collegiate or pro level. But on Sunday, his team beat the Las Vegas Raiders 25-20.

The Colts led the Raiders throughout the first half. The Silver and Black took their first lead with one minute and 51 seconds left in the third quarter and went up by one point with 11 minutes and 36 seconds left in regulation. But Matt Ryan, who regained his starting position over Sam Ehlinger under Saturday, engineered a touchdown drive to seal the victory.

The Raiders played a sloppy game and gave up 207 yards on the ground. They committed 10 penalties that cost them 74 yards. Jonathan Taylor ran for 147 yards and a touchdown, and Ryan cut through Vegas' defense like a dull butterknife while scampering 39 yards downfield.

Critics need to turn their attention away from the Colts and Saturday and instead focus on Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels.

Ziegler and McDaniels took over a 10-7 team that went to the 2021 playoffs and added wide receiver Davante Adams and edge-rusher Chandler Jones only to start this season 2-7.

Though tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) and wideout Hunter Renfrow (oblique) have battled injuries, quarterback Derek Carr, Adams, Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs and team sack leader Maxx Crosby haven't been able to help the club close games. The Raiders have blown three 17-plus-point leads, and they failed to maintain a one-point fourth-quarter advantage Sunday.

Weeks ago, owner Mark Davis released a statement in support of McDaniels beyond the 2022 season, but he must look at this loss to a first-time head coach with a critical eye. His team looks like a complete laughingstock following Sunday’s defeat.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won consecutive games—something they hand't done since the first two weeks of the 2022 season—thanks to a 21-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Tampa Bay leaned on rookie third-round running back Rachaad White to ice the game on the final drive, and he sealed the win with an 18-yard run just after the two-minute warning. Though Tom Brady made a couple of key completions on the last drive, he didn't have to do everything on his own, which is a key element in this victory as Tampa Bay builds some momentum.

White, who started with the first unit, recorded 22 carries for 105 yards. That's significant output considering the Buccaneers went into Sunday's game with the fewest rushing yards per game in the league and hadn't run for more than 75 yards since Week 1. Also, running back Leonard Fournette exited the game with a hip pointer.

Brady, who attempted 29 passes on Sunday, threw the ball at least 40 times in every game between Weeks 3 and 9, and the Buccaneers went 2-5 in that stretch. Perhaps White’s emergence leads Tampa Bay to a more balanced offensive attack and, in turn, more wins.

At 5-5, the Buccaneers have a decent NFC South division lead over the Atlanta Falcons (4-6), whom they beat in Week 5. It looks like Tampa Bay has shaken off its first-half-of-the-season slump.

The Miami Dolphins made headlines before the November 1 trade deadline by acquiring Pro Bowl edge-rusher Bradley Chubb from the Denver Broncos. They had another yet, albeit quieter, addition too, as they acquired running back Jeff Wilson Jr. from the San Francisco 49ers.

Since joining the Dolphins, Wilson has racked up 215 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in two games.

Heading into Week 10, Miami had the fourth-fewest rushing attempts and yards. During Sunday's 39-17 win over the Cleveland Browns, the Dolphins rushed for a season-high 195 yards along with two scores. Wilson led the ground game, registering 17 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Through the first nine weeks of the season, the Dolphins showcased an explosive aerial attack with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throwing to wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Now, Miami has some balance with Raheem Mostert and Wilson on the ground.

Before the trade deadline, the Dolphins traded Chase Edmonds in the deal that involved Chubb. They essentially replaced him with Wilson, who played under head coach Mike McDaniel when McDaniel was the run-game and offensive coordinator for the 49ers.

Thus far, Miami looks like it made the right move, and it has injected life into one of the league's least productive ground attacks.

Remember when some of us thought the Kansas City Chiefs offense would regress without Tyreek Hill? Fun times.

Going into Week 10, the Chiefs fielded the No. 1 scoring offense with the second-most yards. While Kansas City expectedly beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, a few unheralded offensive players shined in the victory.

Rookie seventh-rounder Isiah Pacheco led the Chiefs' ground attack with 82 yards on 16 carries. Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes, including one to second-year tight end Noah Gray and another to wideout Kadarius Toney, marking his first NFL score in his second game with the Chiefs.

Kansas City acquired Toney from the New York Giants on October 27. He could see an increase in his role if fellow wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster misses time with a concussion.

Defensive coordinators may be able to key in on All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, but Mahomes has a bevy of pass-catching options, which makes it extremely difficult to slow the Chiefs down. Once Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman (abdomen) return, the Chiefs will have the league's deepest pass-catching unit.

Oh, and by the way, free-agent wideout Odell Beckham Jr. has the Chiefs on his short list of potential teams to join, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter,

Last week, we noted Justin Fields had officially arrived with his record-breaking 178 rushing yards against the Dolphins, eclipsing Michael Vick’s 173-yard performance as the most by a quarterback in a single game.

While critics would like to see Fields do more with his arm, he’s had a big part in the Chicago Bears' recent scoring surge. The club has finished each of its past four games with at least 29 points.

With 147 yards on Sunday, Fields is the first NFL quarterback to rush for 140-plus yards in back-to-back contests. He's also the first signal-caller to run for 100 yards, two touchdowns and throw for a couple of touchdowns in one game (Sunday).

Unfortunately for Fields, Chicago's defense has regressed following the departures of edge-rusher Robert Quinn and linebacker Roquan Smith via separate trades. Despite the signal-caller's electric performance against the Detroit Lions, the Bears lost 31-30 on Sunday.

While Fields' run-heavy style likely isn't sustainable at this level, he's arguably the league's most eye-catching quarterback right now because of his ability to make defenders miss while on the run.

The Buffalo Bills lost 33-30 to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime on Sunday in arguably the best game of the season thus far. Josh Allen had some big plays in the seesaw matchup, but he also made some head-scratching decisions.

Those miscues included two interceptions in the red zone. After the first, he tried to tackle cornerback Patrick Peterson and went down in pain.

While teammates may commend Allen for his effort on a defensive stop, he didn't have to lunge at Peterson with other players around to make the tackle. Remember, Allen came into the game with a UCL (elbow) sprain. His overly competitive nature put him at risk for another injury.

Let's focus on Allen's turnovers though.

He’s thrown two interceptions in each of the past three games—four of those in the red zone. While the Bills have benefitted from their signal-caller's go-for-it mentality, they need him to make better judgement calls in critical situations.

Buffalo relies heavily on Allen with a pass-heavy attack that ranked seventh in pass attempts before Sunday's game. With that much responsibility on his arm, he cannot continue to turn the ball over at a high rate and expect to beat top-tier teams. Buffalo has now lost consecutive outings, will the defeat to Minnesota (8-1) following a stumble against the New York Jets (6-3).

The Vikings made Allen pay for his mistakes Sunday, scoring a touchdown on the drive after his first interception. They then sealed their victory by picking off Allen in overtime, with Peterson again doing the honors.

The Minnesota Vikings entered Sunday with the biggest division lead (4.5 games) through the first nine weeks of a season in 11 years, per Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network. Well, they maintained that gap with a 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills.

At this rate, Minnesota may be able to wrap up the division title shortly after Thanksgiving, which highlights the poor state of the NFC North.

Over the past two years, the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears have brought in new regimes (front offices and coaching staffs) to rebuild their respective franchises.

Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers—a team many expected to retain their NFC North crown for a fourth straight year—had to scratch out a 31-28 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday just to keep their meager playoff hopes alive. With their backs against the wall, the Packers (4-6) have enough fight to go on a midseason run, though Minnesota remains the clear-cut favorite in the NFC North.

This past offseason, the Vikings hired a new general manager (Kwesi Adofo-Mensah) and head coach (Kevin O'Connell), but they retained their core roster pieces and added edge-rusher Za'Darius Smith, who leads the team in sacks, and linebacker Jordan Hicks to bolster the defense.

Most importantly, O'Connell has elevated the Vikings offense, with quarterback Kirk Cousins, wide receiver Justin Jefferson and running back Dalvin Cook leading a top-eight scoring attack. Minnesota's defense bends but doesn't break, and its offense has the firepower to go drive-for-drive with high-scoring teams like the Bills.

The Vikings seem primed to win the NFC North for the first time since 2017 when they advanced to the NFC Championship Game. Still, we cannot count the Packers out just yet.

With a 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Angeles Rams (3-6) fell to the bottom of the NFC West. On top of that, they may lose wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who exited Sunday's game with an ankle injury.

When asked about Kupp's status, head coach Sean McVay didn't sound optimistic.

"Didn't look good, didn't sound good," McVay said to reporters.

Two weeks ago, Kupp said he "dodged a bullet" when he suffered an ankle injury in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

While McVay didn’t have an official update on his star receiver after Sunday's game, the Rams may have to climb an uphill battle for a playoff spot without Kupp. That could prove to be an impossible task for a team that scored the fourth-fewest points and racked up the second-fewest yards in the league going into Week 10.

If Kupp misses extended time, we can officially stick a fork in the Rams' 2022 season.

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.