NFL Week 10: Sloppy play, penalties, and drops reign

DENVER (AP) — Election Day has come and gone. So has the trade deadline. The autumn leaves are mostly on the ground. The days are shorter, the nights longer. And yet here we are watching sloppy football across the NFL.

Week 10 looked a lot like Week 1, or even the preseason tilts chock full of NFL wannabes who may have made the play but not the cut.

The slate started with a Thursday night snoozer in which both the reeling Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) and the surging Denver Broncos (8-2) had more penalties (11) than first downs (10). The Broncos prevailed 10-7 — the same score the Eagles beat the Packers on Monday night to wrap up the wacky week — despite going three-and-out eight times thanks to a bevy of bad throws, dropped passes and, yes, yellow flags.

On Sunday, the Chicago Bears, who are accustomed to playing in wet, windy weather, dropped six of Caleb Williams’ passes in their 24-20 comeback against the New York Giants that cost Brian Daboll his job.

And in their 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Minnesota Vikings were whistled for a whopping eight false starts — at home, where these things generally don’t happen.

Except that it’s the NFL in 2025: cockeyed, confusing and chaotic.

The Patriots are atop the AFC East this late in the year for the first time since Tom Brady was throwing darts and dunks to Gronk instead of arrows and flowers from the broadcast booth and Bill Belichick was steamrolling NFL opponents instead of getting crushed in college.

The Colts are chasing their first AFC South title since Andrew Luck was QB in 2014, and the Broncos are alone atop the AFC West for the first time since 2015 when they won their last Super Bowl title.

The Seahawks are tied with the Rams at 7-2 atop the NFC West. They haven’t won their division since 2020 before Russell Wilson was traded and benched in Denver, chased out of Pittsburgh and demoted in New York.

The Broncos have been flagged 101 times this season, second only to Jacksonville's 102. Both teams have 83 penalties against them that were accepted. Seventeen by Denver were declined and one was offsetting.

“Certainly, it's a point of emphasis,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said.

Yet, the Broncos are tied with New England and Indianapolis at 8-2 for the best record in the league in this topsy-turvy season in which we're into November and the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of nine straight AFC West crowns, five of the last six AFC championships and three Super Bowls, are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

The Vikings' eight false-start penalties against Baltimore were the most by a home team since the Buffalo Bills had nine against Cleveland on Oct. 11, 2009, according to Sportradar.

“Whatever was unearthed today needs to be corrected immediately,” coach Kevin O’Connell said after the Vikings’ eight false starts among 13 flags short circuited their comeback hopes against the Ravens

The eight false-start penalties also were the most in a game by any team since the Carolina Panthers at Seattle on Sept. 24, 2023, according to Sportradar.

Right tackle Brian O’Neill was flagged three times. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy and star receiver Justin Jefferson also were penalized. The quarterback and his offensive line struggled with snap counts, cadence and presnap adjustments, especially in the fourth quarter, when the Vikings had three false starts in the final 10 minutes.

Running back Aaron Jones said some Ravens defenders seized on the confusion by barking “Hut!” when McCarthy changed the play call or protection. Still, the friendly crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium should not have made it that problematic, he said.

“That’s what they get paid to do,” Jones said. “We’ve just got to lock in, especially when we’re playing at home.”

The Vikings, 14-3 in the regular season a year ago, fell to 4-5.

“It’s going to be tough to win games like that,” Jefferson said. “Go back to work and do the things that allow us to move forward, not backward.”

At five yards a pop.

With contributions from Associated Press Writer Brian Murphy in Minneapolis.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones Sr. (33) appeals to the officials in the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon before they were set to attend his State of the Union address later in the day.

Videos and photos shared on social media by Trump administration aides showed hockey team members posing for a photograph in front of the South Portico. They walked along the West Wing colonnade where Trump has posted portraits of every U.S. president just steps away from the Oval Office, where they were welcomed by Trump.

As they approached the Oval Office, some of the players popped into the press office’s open door to flash the medals from their 2-1 overtime win over Canada on Sunday at the Milan Cortina Olympics. It was the Americans’ first gold medal in men’s hockey since the “Miracle on Ice” group won in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980.

Staffers applauded and shouted, “We love you!”

“I recognize every one of you. I know every one of you,” Trump said as the players entered the Oval Office, which he has redecorated with numerous flourishes of gold that matched the players’ medals.

“Big guys,” he said, standing near his desk and shaking hands with the players, who wore dark tops with “USA,” the American flag and the Olympic rings on the front and light colored pants.

After their victory, a video that circulated on social media appeared to show Trump inviting the team on a phone call in the locker room, as he joked that he’d also have to invite the women’s team, which also won gold over Canada.

The women declined, citing scheduling issues.

For forward Matthew Tkachuk, the trip to the White House was becoming a regular visit.

“Good to see you again,” Tkachuk told Trump, as the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion was making his third White House trip in just over 12 months. For some of the approximately 20 players who made the trip, this was a first.

Tkachuk, who won those Cups with the Florida Panthers, posted pictures on social media of members of the team celebrating on what appears to be a U.S. government plane and a group shot of them deplaning at Joint Base Andrews. The team chartered into Miami on a flight from Italy on Monday, and then dined together on Miami Beach and visited a nightclub where hundreds of fans clamored to get inside. They were also given a heroes’ welcome at Miami International Airport.

“Our sport just got the biggest stage in the world of sport,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito, an assistant GM for the men’s Olympic team, said Tuesday. “That’s wonderful. And we need to celebrate it.”

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States hockey player Matthew Tkachuk arrives at E11EVEN after the team won the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)