Week 10 of the NFL season followed a pattern of unpredictability. Several former Wolfpack players are impacting offenses and defenses around the league to add to the chaos this year.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling – Kansas City Chiefs, WR
The Kansas City Chiefs have been on a tear this season, but what’s new. Valdes-Scantling, who spent two years in Dave Doeren’s offense, is in his first year with the Chiefs and fifth overall in the NFL. Valdes-Scantling has been productive this year, but put up his best stat line of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
MVS scored his first touchdown of the season, catching three passes for 60 yards. He was a deep threat for Aaron Rodgers for four years and proved he’s still dangerous with Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball. MVS ran free into the secondary for an 18-yard touchdown to put the Chiefs up two scores in the second quarter. Fellow receiver Juju Smith-Schuster was forced out of the game with a head injury. If Smith-Shuster is to miss time, MVS should see a boost in targets alongside Travis Kelce and Kadarius Toney as the Chiefs continue to truck through opponents.
Jacoby Brissett – Cleveland Browns, QB
The Browns fell to 3-6 on the season after going up against a red-hot Miami Dolphins team. Brissett threw for 212 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Tua Tagovailoa and company.
Brissett has filled in as a starter this year for the Browns, and he’s been serviceable. Brissett has proven that at his core, he is a backup quarterback and will look to keep the Browns afloat until Deshaun Watson comes back from his suspension in week 13 versus the Texans.
Ikem Ekwonu – Carolina Panthers, OT
The Panthers dominated the Falcons on Thursday night. They beat Atlanta by forcing Marcus Mariota into difficult situations and pounding the ball with running back D’Onta Foreman. Foreman carried the ball a season-high 31 times for 130 yards and a touchdown. Foreman has been surprisingly great as the new starter in the Carolina backfield in the post-McCaffrey era, going over 100 rushing yards in three of four starts. This all starts with good blocking from the front five, Ickey included.
It’s hard to tell what the Panthers are as a team. Star players have been traded, coaches fired and quarterbacks benched. Through all of this, Ekwonu has started all 10 of the Panthers games, providing a source of consistency and hope towards the future for the franchise. The Panthers are 3-7 on the season, but are still in playoff contention in the lowly NFC South.
Bradley Chubb – Miami Dolphins, LB
Chubb and company ran rampant on Brissett and the Browns Sunday afternoon. Chubb stood out with three QB hits, three total tackles and half a sack. In addition to holding Brissett to one touchdown through the air, the Dolphins defense held arguably the best running back in the NFL, Nick Chubb, to a modest 63 yards, 33 of which came on a garbage-time touchdown at the end of the game.
The Dolphins are contenders. The offense has been the best part of this football team, but with Chubb the defense is catching up. Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle will draw a lot of attention as the season goes on, but keep your eye on Chubb and company, especially when they go up against mediocre offenses such as the Browns.
