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Week 10 of NFL The season was full of drama, talking points, and some great solo performances.

Sunday’s games began in Germany with the Carolina Panthers beating the New York Giants in overtime, while there were also Late drama as Kansas City Chiefs remained undefeated and the Dallas Cowboys suffered a tough loss at home.

Here are the top stories from Sunday’s action.

The Arizona Cardinals had a successful afternoon and that was largely due to the historic performance of their quarterback, Kyler Murray.

Murray, whose play embodied the Cardinals’ up-and-down start to the 2024 season, was extremely accurate and dynamic with his legs as Arizona handily beat the New York Jets 31-6 at home.

It marked the team’s fourth consecutive victory to stay atop the NFC West division, but perhaps most impressive was Murray’s overall display.

He completed 22 of 24 pass attempts, throwing for a touchdown and rushing for two more scores. The 27-year-old finished the game by completing 17 consecutive passes, breaking the Cardinals’ record of 16 consecutive completions set by Carson Palmer in two games in 2017.

Murray also became the first player in NFL history to complete 85% of his passes with 250 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

He convincingly outplayed four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers on the opposite sideline, and Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon was quick to praise his quarterback after the win.

“I think the quarterback was the best player on the planet today,” Gannon said. “And so, congratulations to him.”

It looked like it could have been a very different afternoon for Murray when he was caught hard by an unblocked blitzer mid-play, causing his helmet to come loose. However, Murray reappeared and was even seen sharing a joke with his opponents shortly after.

“I told them this is the best I felt,” Murray told reporters afterward. “Obviously, having the game taken away from you and being in a system like this, the attention to detail, I say this all the time with (offensive coordinator) Drew (Petzing), the way he communicates it, there’s no gray area.

“We are on the same page and being in the second year in the system, I feel good. The game slowed down. Obviously, it’s my sixth year in the league, so I’m still trying to take it day by day and keep playing well.”

Murray was helped by a defense that has been shining in recent weeks. They allowed just two field goals against the Jets, meaning they have allowed fewer than 10 points for the second straight game and haven’t allowed a touchdown in three games at State Farm Stadium.

To put that in perspective, the Cardinals had allowed double-digit points in 52 consecutive games entering Week 9, while the last time the team had not allowed a touchdown at home for three consecutive games was in 1926.

Overall, it was an overwhelmingly positive afternoon for the Cardinals as they continued their excellent recent form.

On the other hand, Rodgers called the 25-point loss “just disappointing,” as the Jets fell to 3-7 and their playoff hopes look increasingly slim.

Although the San Francisco 49ers pulled out a last-second victory on Sunday, it appears all is not well within the team.

Sunday’s 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should have been cause for celebration, with Jake Moody kicking a game-winning field goal as time expired, Christian McCaffrey playing for the first time this season and rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall scoring his first goal in the NFL. landing two months after being shot in the chest.

However, the game will be remembered for an incident between the team’s star receiver Deebo Samuel, its long snapper Taybor Pepper and Moody, who missed three field goal attempts at Raymond James Stadium.

And it was after Moody missed his third attempt near the end of the fourth quarter with the 49ers leading by three that Samuel appeared to exchange heated words with Pepper and Moody.

Samuel was seen grabbing Pepper near the throat and pushing him, as he did so he hit Moody in the helmet. As Samuel and Pepper returned to their places on the bench, the two continued to argue with each other.

Afterwards, Samuel explained that he was just “frustrated” at the moment and “went a little out of character.”

“I wasn’t telling him anything crazy,” he told reporters. “I was a little frustrated at the time, but he went out and won the game for us. “He didn’t mind, so we left him behind.”

He also added that Moody “had a little dog in him” to come back out and hit the game winner.

For his part, Moody downplayed the incident.

“It’s an emotional game and things like that happen all the time,” the second-year kicker said. “We just got through it and won, so that’s all that matters.

“There doesn’t need to be (an apology). … Yes (I need to) do those kicks at the end of the day, that’s all I’m focused on. “I’m not worried about any of that.”

Pepper echoed Moody’s sentiment while also praising the 24-year-old’s mental toughness in recovering from three missed field goals.

“He was telling her to focus and we know what our job is,” Pepper said. “We have each other. It’s hard to be a specialist, sometimes it’s feast or famine. As a young development specialist like Jake is… I don’t know how much better it is than missing three in a row and having to step up and hit a nearly 50-yard winner. “I’m very proud of Jake.”

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he would address the situation on the flight back to California.

“I don’t think the pressure of them pushing people around with a helmet or something like that is much,” Shanahan said. “You’re only as good as your last kick, you’re as good as your last shot, you’re as good as your last game.

“It was great practice for (Moody) to put himself in a situation like that and come out ahead. I think that gives the guys confidence as they’ve been there before. But I’m proud of how he did it in the end.”

The victory was momentous for San Francisco, which is approaching .500 for the first time since Week 1.

It’s been a tumultuous season for the New Orleans Saints over the course of 10 weeks. And after firing their head coach Dennis Allen last week following a seven-game losing streak, they are finally back in the win column.

The Saints defeated the NFC South division rival Atlanta Falcons 20-17 in their first game under interim head coach Darren Rizzi at the Superdome on Sunday.

They started quickly, scoring 17 points before halftime, including two touchdown passes from quarterback Derek Carr to wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed with the team just a few weeks ago.

And although the offense faltered in the second half, they benefited from a day off from Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo, who missed three field goals, while New Orleans’ defense stepped up when it really mattered with the game. at stake.

A fourth-quarter interception of Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​by Tyrann Mathieu halted a drive with just 1:59 left before handing it over to the Falcons as time expired.

“What an incredible week,” Rizzi said after the game. “As I just told the players, this will not happen (it does not happen today) without full acceptance of the building. You have all been informed about all the changes and that is very good, but the acceptance, the execution and the preparation. “I just told those guys that there is no substitute for good preparation, and we had a really good week of practice.”

It wasn’t a perfect day for Rizzi, who was unable to join the celebrations at the end of the game after a hit by Saints defensive tackle Payton Turner meant his left arm went “completely numb.”

He also talked about how his day as interim head coach of the Saints started in a less than ideal way.

“Down to the Superdome. “I walk into the head coach’s locker room, which I had never used before,” he said. “So here I am, early in the morning, I go to the bathroom. This is how my day started. I clogged the toilet. I thought, ‘This is going to be a horrible day’ (pun intended).

On the other hand, it was a disappointing result for the Falcons, who fall to 6-4 despite still leading the NFC South division by a two-game margin after the Buccaneers’ loss to the 49ers.

Away versus home (winners in bold)

New York Giants (2-8) 17-20 overtime Carolina Panthers (3-7)

New England Patriots (3-7) 19-3 Chicago Bears (4-5)

Buffalo Bills (8-2) 30-20 Indianapolis Colts (4-6)

Minnesota Vikings (7-2) 12-7 Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8)

Denver Broncos (5-5) 14-16 Kansas City Chiefs (9-0)

Atlanta Falcons (6-4) 17-20 New Orleans Saints (3-7)

San Francisco 49ers (5-4) 23-20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)

Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) 28-27 Washington Commanders (7-3)

Tennessee Titans (2-7) 17-27 Los Angeles Chargers (6-3)

New York Jets (3-7) 6-31 Arizona Cardinals (6-4)

Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) 34-6 Dallas Cowboys (3-6)

Detroit Lions (8-1) 26-23 Houston Texans (6-4)