WHAT WE LEARNED: WEEK 10

BY ADAM GREENE

Another chaotic weekend of NFL football wrapped up and we all have more reason to be confused than ever. Seven underdogs won outright and the Detroit Lions tied the Pittsburgh Steelers, meaning that, against the spread, dogs were 8-6 on the week. Let’s parse through some of it.

THIS COULD BE THE WILDEST SUPER BOWL RUN OF ALL TIME

We are this deep into the season and I can tell you that, in either conference, there is no definitive favorite. Of course, in years past the favorite doesn’t always go as Aaron Rodgers, freshly returned from his COVID-19 vacation, can attest. No human alive has lost more NFC championships at home than the Invermectin poster boy.

But we usually have a vague idea right about now. Certainly last season the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs had all but wrapped up a date in the AFC title game. In the NFC, the Green Bay Packers were as sure a bet as you could get for the NFC Championship game. The only real quandary was if they’d play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints or Seattle Seahawks.

Let’s start with the NFC.

The problem isn’t the top teams’ records. It’s the fact that those same top teams keep getting their asses kicked by inferior opponents. Both the Los Angeles Rams and the aforementioned Bucs, both Super Bowl favorites, have lost back-to-back games and the losses were not even close. Both the QBs, Matthew Stafford and Tom Brady, have turned the ball over at an alarming rate at key moments in those losses. Their defenses too are being pushed around.

The Rams had the chance to set up a match up with the Packers for first place in the NFC in two weeks coming off a bye, but were absolutely obliterated by the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football 31-10. This was a week after getting their heads kicked in by the Tennessee Titans 28-16 on Sunday Night Football.

The Dallas Cowboys righted the ship thanks to a hapless Atlanta Falcons team, but just the week before fell to the Denver Broncos 30-16.

And while the Packers can blame their Chiefs loss on Aaron Rodgers being home taking camel erectile dysfunction pills for his COVID-19 infection, there’s still no explanation for the epic bed soiling 38-3 loss on opening day to the New Orleans Saints.

The Arizona Cardinals are the only team without a bad loss, as the beatdown the Carolina Panthers handed them last week was to their B team. But they can’t get healthy, with Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins missing multiple games, and it’s not going to get any easier. Plus, and I can’t stress this enough, however good the Cardinals have looked this season, no one, and I mean no one, thinks for a second they’re going to the Super Bowl.

And while we all can agree that it’ll probably be the Bucs, Rams, Packers or Cowboys in the NFC, the AFC is wide open. After the 8-2 Tennessee Titans, there are four teams with six wins (the Bills, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs) and seven teams with five wins (the Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders and Broncos). That’s right. Every team in the AFC North and AFC West has at least five wins or better.

And regardless of where they show up on any Power Rankings and their current record, the Titans are just like the Cardinals in the NFC. There is no one that thinks they can go to the Super Bowl, regardless of their record right now, without Derrick Henry. Nobody.

So we’re set up for what could be the wildest NFC and AFC brackets of my lifetime, where any team that makes it into the tournament can win out (outside of the sixth and seventh NFC seeds, because, come on).

Nothing exemplifies it more than the sudden emergence of the Chiefs, a team that looked dead on arrival just three weeks ago. They now lead the AFC West and are looking at a playoff home game. Would any of us be shocked at this point to see them turn it on and tear through the postseason once again?

My preseason pick of a Chiefs vs Bucs Super Bowl rematch is still very much on the table.

SPEAKING OF THE PLAYOFFS

After a third straight week full of shockers, the seedings haven’t changed significantly. Here’s what we’re looking at heading into Week 11.

AFC

1. Tennessee Titans (8-2)

2. Buffalo Bills (6-3)

3. Baltimore Ravens (6-3)

4. Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3-1)

6. New England Patriots (6-4)

7. Los Angeles Chargers (5-4)

NFC

1. Green Bay Packers (8-2)

2. Arizona Cardinals (8-2)

3. Dallas Cowboys (7-2)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3)

5. Los Angeles Rams (7-3)

6. New Orleans Saints (5-4)

7. Carolina Panthers (5-5)

AFC Wild Card Games

Chargers at Bills

Patriots at Ravens

Steelers at Chiefs

NFC Wild Card Games

Panthers at Cardinals

Saints at Cowboys

Rams at Buccaneers

In the AFC, every one of those five win teams are still alive and could jump into the mix literally next week. The Broncos (5-5) host the Chargers. The Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) travel to the Las Vegas Raiders (5-4) and the Indianapolis Colts (5-5) go to the Buffalo Bills. Only the Cleveland Browns (5-5) have what looks like an easy match up against the hapless (and winless) Lions.

The teams on the outside looking in on the NFC have a tougher time of it. The Minnesota Vikings (4-5) host the Packers. The San Francisco 49ers (4-5) are at the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Atlanta Falcons (4-5) welcome the Patriots on Thursday Night Football and the startlingly still realistically alive Philadelphia Eagles (4-6) will play host to Saints.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan

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