I spent the first portion of this weekend’s 13-hour NFL grip on my attention in Berlin’s famous Olympiastadion. That ancient monolith has borne witness to some of sport’s most iconic moments, not least Jesse Owens’ defiant victory in the face of an evil regime, Usain Bolt’s record-shattering run and Zinedine Zidane’s ignominious end to a glittering career.

The stakes for Jonathan Taylor’s magnum opus might not be as high — an NFL regular season game doesn’t quite have the same stakes as a black athlete shattering the pretence of a poisonous ideology right in front of its architect, I’ll give you that — but it is right up there in terms of a pure athletic feat.

Taylor’s special performance set the table for a Week 10 Sunday slate that saw a staggering upset in the AFC East, yet another two-score comeback in the fourth quarter in Houston, and a late window characterised by runaway offensive performances by NFC contenders that are rounding nicely into form.

WEEK 10 SCORES
(to Sunday 10^th November)

Thursday

(2-7) Las Vegas Raiders 7 @ 10 Denver Broncos (8-2)

Sunday:

(3-6) Atlanta Falcons 25 @ 31 Indianapolis Colts OT (8-2) (Berlin)

(2-7) Cleveland Browns 20 @ 27 New York Jets (2-7)

(2-7) New Orleans Saints 17 @ 7 Carolina Panthers (5-5)

(8-2) New England Patriots 28 @ 23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3)

(4-5) Baltimore Ravens 27 @ 19 Minnesota Vikings (4-5)

(6-3) Buffalo Bills 13 @ 30 Miami Dolphins (3-7)

(2-8) New York Giants 20 @ 24 Chicago Bears (6-3)

(5-4) Jacksonville Jaguars 29 @ 36 Houston Texans (4-5)

(3-6) Arizona Cardinals 22 @ 44 Seattle Seahawks (7-2)

(6-3) Detroit Lions 44 @ 22 Washington Commanders (3-6)

(7-2) Los Angeles Rams 42 @ 26 San Francisco 49ers (7-2)

(5-4) Pittsburgh Steelers 10 @ 25 Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)

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GAME OF THE WEEK

Atlanta Falcons 25 @ Indianapolis Colts 31 OT

Where the London games largely failed to provide high quality or entertaining entertainment, the Colts and Falcons played a well-contested game with plenty of standout performances, more of which later.

The Colts entered the day as favourites and, for the most part, played up to that tag. They almost doubled their opponent’s offensive output on the day, generating 519 yards with more than half (323) coming on the ground as they gained seven yards per play. Tyler Warren was deployed expertly off the back of that punishing rushing attack; the rookie tight end was consistently open in the flat on play action calls, demonstrating his ferocious after the catch ability by trucking over would-be tacklers. The game was largely kept close thanks to a solid red zone defense from the Falcons, which twice turned the Colts over on downs inside the 20.

This game was there for the Falcons to win, but patchy play from Michael Penix Jr. ultimately cost them their tenuous fourth quarter lead. The second-year signal caller had multiple balls skip into the dirt over the middle, while sideline throws sailed onto the Olympiastadion’s running track far too often. The Falcons went 0-for-8 on third down on the day.

A special mention is needed for the Colts trade deadline acquisition, Sauce Gardner. While he was beaten by Drake London on a two-point conversion that gave Atlanta a three-point lead late in the day, the former New York Jet was otherwise brilliant when matched up against one of the league’s best receivers, allowing just two catches in man coverage.

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MVP OF THE WEEK

Jonathan Taylor (RB, Indianapolis Colts)

The Colts’ staggering start to the 2025 season has been characterised by ruthless efficiency. Before their Week 9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Shane Steichen’s side were on pace for the most points per drive since the turn of the millennium, besting even the 2007 New England Patriots and 2013 Denver Broncos.

Mike Tomlin’s defense was able to stymie their otherworldly success rate through turnovers. In the German capital, that trend continued, with QB Daniel Jones throwing an interception to end the first half after another promising drive was rebuffed by a strip sack. Indianapolis were lucky to not turn the ball over more, recovering three of their own fumbles. Factor in two missed kicks from Michael Badgeley, and two turnovers on downs in the red zone, and the veneer of invincibility that has served this offense so well was starting to wane.

Sensing that the game would be won by his superstar, Steichen started to lean on Taylor in the third quarter, the running back toting the rock on eight of the Colts 14 plays in a nine-minute third quarter drive. While he was unable to cross the whitewash, it set the table for ensuing success, with Taylor housing an 83-yard run in the fourth, when he emerged from a pile of bodies before bouncing outside and taking it the distance. Of course, when the game went to overtime, it was only fitting that the 28-year-old would finish the day’s play in front of a baying German crowd. His haul included three more touchdowns, plus 283 yards from scrimmage on a whopping 35 touches. His second score gave him sole possession of the franchise’s all-time scoring record, moving ahead of Edgerrin James.

Taylor’s punishing running style is a joy to watch in person. His balance, power and speed sees him win almost every collision; you can feel the spines of safeties and cornerbacks compacting when lowering his shoulder. With Jones starting to exhibit some of the bad habits that brought his time in New York to an unceremonious end, Steichen and the Colts might just start to lean more and more on the talents of their superstar rusher.

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Winners: The cream of the NFC West

Peculiarly, the late window on Sunday featured all four NFC West sides doing battle, with the Arizona Cardinals travelling to Seattle while the San Francisco 49ers took on the Los Angeles Rams.

The Seahawks confirmed their credentials as one of the league’s best sides; racing out to a 38-0 lead against Jonathan Gannon’s hapless outfit. Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba continued their nascent bromance, with the former Vikings quarterback finding his favourite target for a 43-yard score to open proceedings. Cooper Kupp then reminded us of his brilliance by turning a short pass into a 66-yard rumble down the sideline, setting up a Zak Charbonnet score. The defense was smothering Jacoby Brissett, sacking him five times on the day and converting two first half strips into a pair of DeMarcus Lawrence touchdowns. The 38-0 score midway through the second quarter ended this game as a contest before it ever really started.The Seahawks are the NFL’s best team according to DVOA, and waxing inferior opposition like this is further proof they should be considered the frontrunner in a stacked division.

That’s not to say the Rams will go quietly. L.A. had a tougher assignment, but were no less impressive in their 42-26 win over the Niners. The Rams’ D forced two turnovers and twice stopped the Mac Jones-led San Fran offense, providing a perfect complement to Matthew Stafford’s four touchdown passes.

A Week 11 matchup between the Rams and Seahawks could have profound implications for the division crown, at the very least. A win for either side would leave them fancying their chances of clinching a top seed in a competitive NFC.

Loser: Giants fans everywhere

This might seem like gloating coming from a Philadelphia Eagles fan, but the Giants luck really is awful this season.

A Week 3 season-ending injury for Malik Nabers was followed by Cam Skattebo leaving the field on cart in Week 8. Jaxson Dart was a lone bright spark for a franchise that has little to cling onto for more than a decade. That’s why it’s hard to justify Brian Daboll’s predilection for putting the rookie signal caller in danger. Dart left the Giants 24-20 loss against the Bears in the third quarter after failing a concussion test. The injury occurred on a designed run, with Dart taking a heavy hit.

That was the fifth time that Daboll had called a designed quarterback run during the game. Dart has the joint most rushes on the season for a signal caller, despite only becoming the starter in Week 3. He has been checked for a concussion on four separate occasions. He is a dynamic player in the run game, there’s no doubt about that, but, with little to play for, why expose him to unnecessary hits to see more? Surely Daboll should be keeping his young star in the pocket for developmental reasons? Is he coaching Dart to be the best he can be for the rest of a long career, or is he trying to save his job?

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THE ROUND UP

Houston’s 36-29 win over Jacksonville was the fifth time this season that a team has won after entering the fourth quarter trailing by more than 15 points. Prior to 2025, the last 135 times a team was losing by that margin before the final 15 minutes had all resulted in losses. Why can’t teams close? Well, in the Jags’ case, much of the blame can be laid at the feet of their pass protection. Trevor Lawrence faced pressure on 65 percent of his snaps on Sunday and, while the defense and special teams were able to pull the stifled attack out of the mire in the first three quarters, their luck eventually ran out. Houston found a running game in the final knockings: their 11 designed runs in the second half went for 75 yards, while Davis Mills scrambled to paydirt for the winning score with just 37 seconds left on the clock.

Mike Vrabel has to be the frontrunner for Coach of the Year. His decision to eschew a first down play at the end of the first half meant Drake Maye could find Stefon Diggs in the corner of the endzone with zeroes on the clock, providing the Pats with a 14-10 lead over the Bucs at the break. An emerging run game, powered by two long TreVeyon Henderson touchdowns was enough for New England to pull out a statement win over Tampa Bay on the road. They are true contenders in the AFC.

Donald Trump’s appearance in the booth, and resulting reception by the home fans in Washington will make the headlines following the Lions 44-22 win over the Commanders. The football nerds will instead be noting Dan Campbell’s decision to take over playcalling duties from John Morton. The head coach’s management generated 30 first downs and eight yards per play in the nation’s capital.

Will the real Buffalo Bills please stand up? Just a week removed from a statement win over the Chiefs, Sean McDermott’s side laid an egg in Miami, falling 30-13 for their first loss to the Dolphins in more than three years. Josh Allen’s stat sheet looks clean enough — he threw for more than 300 yards — but it came on 40 attempts. When the run game gets bottled up, the Bills look like a pedestrian offense. Is that good enough for a team with Super Bowl aspirations and the league’s reigning MVP?

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STATS OF THE WEEK

• Derrick Henry has finally matched his rushing yardage from his high school career. The future Hall-of-Famer now holds a career rushing total of 12,127, and is just the 17th player to eclipse 12,000 yards on the ground. During his four years at Yulee High School in Florida, Henry blitzed the opposition en route to 12,124 career rushing yards. Some 4,261 of those came on 462 carries as a senior. That’s an average of 327.8 rushing yards per game. Throw in his 55 rushing touchdowns, and you have a statline that looks like a legendary quarterback season in the NFL. Mind-boggling stuff from the King.

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