If your first first name is Justin, you should take a bow after Sunday’s performance. Plus, a future Hall of Fame cornerback seals the Vikings’ upset win over the Bills.
Week 10 on the NFL schedule is almost in the books (we still have Monday Night Football) and the best performances deserve to be recognized by our MMQB staff. Even if you’re feeling down because your team didn’t win, maybe one of your favorite players or coaches gets awarded a game ball by our staff.
Here are this week’s standouts:
Mitch Goldich: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Dolphins. If you go by the box score, Tagovailoa went 25-for-32 for 285 yards and three touchdowns. If you go by the eye test, he put balls right where he needed to for his receivers to make plays, particularly the pretty throw to Trent Sherfield in the corner of the end zone. Tua piloted four touchdown drives (84, 53, 70 and 77 yards) before the game was put out of reach. Miami later tacked on a fifth TD on a short field. Plenty has been made of Tyreek Hill opening up the offense (Conor Orr wrote Sunday about him and Justin Jefferson being MVP candidates), but on this day no Miami receiver had more than 66 yards. Jeff Wilson Jr. has arrived to throw a 49ers reunion party in the backfield with Raheem Mostert every week, and Tua has a very fun job gobbling up yards with great players around him. The Bills’ chaotic 33–30 loss to the Vikings allowed the Dolphins to take over first place in the AFC East. The way they are playing, maybe they’ll just stay there for good.
Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
Michael Fabiano: Justin Fields, QB, Bears. Fields continues to roar in the stat sheets. The hottest quarterback in all of fantasy land remained on fire this weekend, amassing 39.4 fantasy points in a 31–30 loss to the Lions. The mobile quarterback rushed for 147 yards and has now rushed for a combined 325 yards in his past two games. Fields also scored four total touchdowns (two rushing), and he’s now found the end zone 11 times in his past three games. His transition to an elite fantasy quarterback has been quick, as he averaged 9.4 points in his first four games (QB31) but has averaged 32.7 points in his past four contests (QB1). Fields is now a must-start quarterback in all leagues until further notice.
Claire Kuwana: Patrick Peterson, CB, Vikings. This was easily one of, if not the best game of the year—and Peterson’s two interceptions made up two of the most decisive moments in it. The first came right at the start of the fourth quarter, as Minnesota trailed 27–17 with the Bills attempting to finish a five-minute drive at the seven-yard line. The interception in the end zone flipped the momentum for the Vikings and kickstarted their comeback, as they scored 13 points the rest of the quarter to tie the game. Then, Peterson came up big again: He was in the right place at the right time to grab a game-ending interception in overtime.
John Pluym: Stefon Diggs, Bills/Justin Jefferson, Vikings/WRs. I’m splitting my game ball and giving Diggs and Jefferson each a half. What a performance by two players who will forever be tied together because of a Vikings-Bills trade. Buffalo acquired Diggs from the Vikings and a 2020 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick (No. 22 overall), a 2020 fifth-round pick, a 2020 sixth-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick. With that 2020 first-round pick, the Vikings selected Jefferson, who might be the best receiver in the league or the best player after Sunday’s 10-catch, 193-yard performance, including a touchdown. And Diggs had himself a game, too, with 12 catches for 128 yards against his former team. If there’s a better trade that’s worked out evenly for both teams, I can’t think of one.
Conor Orr: Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers. White eclipsed 100 yards against the Seahawks in Germany, and got the start instead of Leonard Fournette. I think it may be time to start reading into this as a changing of the guard. The Buccaneers require a multidimensional running game and have been sprinkling White into the offense. This was an outright marination, and the offense could look markedly different in a few short weeks.
Gary Gramling: Kirk Cousins, QB, Vikings. This is less about what happened on the field in Buffalo (I didn’t catch the end of that game—who won?) and more about Cousins being the most rational and self-aware quarterback in the NFL. This was Cousins, last week, to my personal friend Albert Breer: “Last year, we struggled to find those inches. And this year, we’ve been able to find them. I think we’ve actually probably not played as well this year as we probably did last year through eight games, but we found the inches at the end, and that’s been the difference.” And he’s right! This Vikings team is pretty much the same as last year’s edition, but they’re just getting a bounce or two every week that just never came in 2021. On Sunday, that included an iconic Justin Jefferson one-hander and a Josh Allen flubbed end zone snap, among other things (see, I did watch the game!). There’s no reason to beat your chest and talk Super Bowl like some other quarterbacks around the league. Realize you’re getting some good karma, thank the football gods, and keep winning football games. That’s the Kirk Cousins way.
More NFL Coverage:
• Don’t Forget About Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill in the MVP Race
• Dear Bears: Sorry About Saying Justin Fields Should Demand a Trade
• NFL Midseason: First-Half Surprises, Second-Half Story Lines, Super Bowl Predictions
• Midseason Mock Draft: Three Quarterbacks in the Top Five Picks
• NFL Midseason Power Rankings: Biggest Risers and Fallers Since Week 1
• NFL Execs Make Midseason Award Picks