Week 10 is off to a blazing start.
Maybe not so much in Germany, though, as the New England Patriots continued to struggle in a 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
But things picked up after that. The San Francisco 49ers returned to form with a blowout versus the hottest team in the league, the Houston Texans upset the Cincinnati Bengals on the road and the Cleveland Browns coming back against the Baltimore Ravens, among other intriguing storylines.
Let's analyze a frantic week with winners and losers:
WINNER: 49ers reintroduce themselves
The 49ers were the most complete team in football through five weeks. Then they lost key players to injuries and dropped three in a row, including two one-possession games that were within reach. They came out of the Week 9 bye against another team doing the same: the 6-2 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars had won five in a row prior to hosting San Francisco, but the real contender is now evident.
San Francisco routed Jacksonville 34-3 in an all-around performance. Chase Young helped revitalize Nick Bosa and Co. as the defense logged five sacks and four forced turnovers in a game Trevor Lawrence will want to forget.
NFL
Brock Purdy also eliminated his turnovers and posted 296 yards on 19 of 26 completions for three touchdowns and no picks. If the 49ers can stay healthy, it takes a flawless game to beat them.
The only negative for the 49ers was Christian McCaffrey's 17-game streak with a touchdown came to an end. He was one shy of making history.
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LOSER: Patriots plummet to 2-8
Bailey Zappe's fake spike to an interception summarized it -- the Patriots are just a mess. They fell to 2-8 on the year after a 10-6 loss in which Gardner Minshew completed 18 of 28 passes for 194 yards, no touchdowns and one pick.
But Mac Jones' stat line was quite similar, and his long-term future in New England got more and more bleak. The lack of quality skill players is an issue, but there's numerous issues plaguing Bill Belichick's team and it won't get fixed this year.
WINNER: C.J. Stroud, Texans deliver a stunner
C.J. Stroud shouldn't just be in Rookie of the Year conversations, he probably deserves MVP shouts. Stroud led the way as Houston moved to 5-4 following a gritty 30-27 road win versus Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
The rookie QB completed 23 of 39 passes for 356 yards, one touchdown and one pick, with the Texans' defense intercepting Burrow twice to find some breathing room.
With the game tied 27-27 after Tyler Boyd's end-zone drop, Stroud led a game-winning drive that ended in kicker Matt Ammendola scoring the winner.
Cincinnati had been picking up steam with Burrow healed from a calf injury, but Stroud isn't playing like a typical rookie and that's a huge bonus for the future of Houston. It's the franchise's first time winning at least five games in a season since 2019.
LOSER: Derek Carr gets outperformed by Josh Dobbs
Josh Dobbs made waves last time out for leading the Minnesota Vikings to a win without knowing the playbook or having familiarity with his teammates. He continued to shine in Week 10, completing 23 of 34 passes for 268 yards for a passing touchdown and a rushing score.
Most of Minnesota's work came in the first half, allowing the second to be more calm. But Derek Carr's unfortunate injury paved the way for Jameis Winston to enter, which sparked a lowly New Orleans' offense.
Carr has been decent statistically, but he doesn't move the needle. Winston came in and threw two tough touchdowns, but also negated himself with two picks. That's just who Winston has been, though. But Carr should be delivering more after inking a four-year, $150 million deal, not being outplayed by a QB new to his system.
WINNER: The AFC North battle
The Baltimore Ravens looked like the most complete team in recent weeks when the 49ers' wheels fell off. But they threw away a three-possession lead as the Cleveland Browns rallied on the road to pull off a major upset with a game-winning field goal at the buzzer.
Baltimore still leads the AFC North with a 7-3 record, but both Cleveland and the Pittsburgh Steelers are right on its tail at 6-3. And that's before including the 5-4 Bengals.
Week 11 will start with the Ravens hosting the Bengals on Thursday Night Football before the Browns host the Steelers on Sunday. Grab your popcorn.
LOSER: Justin Herbert's four-TD day ends in heartbreaker
Justin Herbert threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns as the Los Angeles Chargers dropped 38 points on the Detroit Lions. The only problem is that they allowed the Lions to score 41, with Riley Patterson scoring the winning field goal at the buzzer.
The Chargers dropped to 4-5 on the season while the Lions moved to 7-2 thanks to some heavy lifting on offense from Jared Goff, David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
It's a win Detroit sorely needed after being humiliated by the Baltimore Ravens last time out, but it came at the cost of Herbert and Co. falling short yet again.
WINNER: Kyler Murray's return ends in comeback win
It's been 335 days since Kyler Murray last played for the Arizona Cardinals. His first game since the ACL injury resulted in a home win versus the Atlanta Falcons.
Murray, with the Cardinals down 23-22, led a game-winning drive in the fourth to set up a chip-shot field goal for the 25-23 win. The 26-year-old QB looked sharp with his movements en route to completing 19 of 32 passes for 249 yards and a pick. He rushed for 33 yards on six tries to go with a rushing touchdown.
The Cardinals picked up just their second win of the year, but it's one the franchise needed to gain some optimism under Murray.
LOSER: Giants get blown out by Dallas...again
After losing 40-0 in Week 1, the New York Giants were once again blown out by the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10. Dak Prescott and Co. had no trouble slicing New York en route to a 49-17 win.
Prescott threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns with Brandin Cooks and CeeDee Lamb each racking up over 150-plus receiving yards.
The Giants were always going to be underdogs without Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor, but Tommy Devito just had no chance. Devito posted 87 total passing yards on 14 of 27 completions for two touchdowns and a pick while rushing for 41 yards on seven attempts. One of those touchdowns came in the final seconds while Saquon Barkley rushed for 66 yards on 13 carries.
New York dropped to 2-8 while Dallas went to 6-3.
