Tyreek Hill on Sunday became the fifth receiver in NFL history to reach 1,400 yards in 12 games. He had 1,324 before the meeting between the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders. The receiver had a day of 157 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air. He wasted no time winning with a 78-yard touchdown on his first catch of the day, on the third play of the game. The celebration that followed the sequence also lived up to its performance. Hill thus set the tone for the Dolphins’ ninth victory of the season, by a score of 45-15. Favored by the tiebreaker, Mike McDaniels’ men (9-3) now find themselves in first place in the American Conference, ahead of the Baltimore Ravens.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have already had better days at the office. Not only did they lose to the Arizona Cardinals (3-10), one of the worst teams on the Goodell circuit, but they also lost the services of Kenny Pickett due to a right ankle injury suffered in the first half . The quarterback finished the game on the sidelines, his foot in an orthopedic boot, watching his team lose 24-10. According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Gerry Dulac, Pickett will undergo surgery and will then need a two to four week recovery period. But back to the Steelers’ performance. The latter allowed 24 points without reply in a duel which was delayed by bad weather. James Conner came to haunt his former team with 105 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing. Despite their defeat, the Steelers (7-5) are fifth in the American Conference due to the tiebreaker. However, they are followed by three teams with identical records.
The New England Patriots offense has been out of fuel for the last three games. She only scored 13 points in that span, and the final week was highlighted by a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Once an NFL powerhouse, the Patriots became the first team since 1938 to lose three straight games while allowing 10 points or fewer. Bill Belichick trusted Bailey Zappe for this duel. But obviously, whether it’s Mac Jones or Zappe, the weeks follow one another and are similar at the quarterback position. The Patriots are now 2-10, good for a .167 winning rate. If the trend continues, Belichick could become the head coach with the lowest win rate in history on a team he won the Super Bowl with. It is currently Tom Landry who claims this sad record with a rate of .188 during the 1988 season, his last with the Dallas Cowboys.
Mike Evans on Sunday became the first NFL player to record at least 1,000 yards through the air in each of his first 10 career seasons. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver had 850 yards before facing the Carolina Panthers. He had his third game of over 100 yards, with 162. He also scored a touchdown in a 21-18 victory against the team languishing in 32nd and last place in the NFL. Evans also became the first player in NFL history with at least 60 catches in each of his first 10 campaigns; there are 61 after 13 weeks. The 30-year-old athlete can boast of being the only one, along with the legendary Jerry Rice, to have obtained at least 1,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons. Rice, however, achieved the feat in 11 straight seasons.
