Bama in the NFL: 10 Things to Know For Week 10

A little something different we preview Week 10 for Bama in the NFL:

1. Tua Talk. Tua Tagovailoa, who leads the NFL with a 115.9 passer rating and has clearly entered the MVP chase, went out of his way to praise head coach Mike McDaniel for the scheme that has allowed the quarterback and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to put up big numbers this season.

"Well, the thing that Coach Mike has helped us offensively with is he's kind of tailored the offense towards what we do best," Tagovailoa said according to All Dolphins. "And if you look on film, he tries to tailor it to what Tyreek runs the best, what Jaylen likes running, what I like throwing, what I'm good at throwing and things like that. As you watch their film from when they were with the Niners, they did things a little different because of what those guys were good at and what they like, so I really think it's just things that are tailored to our strengths, and then he builds off of that, so not much of, why are we doing it like this? Or why are we doing it like that? It's more so, how do you see that play if they get this or if they get that, how do you see him running it and where do you think I should go with all of this? Just more of that kind of conversation."

2. Derrick Henry back on top: The running back leads the NFL with 870 rushing yards and ranks second with nine rushing touchdowns this season. Since 2018, he tops all players with 64 rushing touchdowns, including at least 10 rushing touchdowns in each of his past four seasons.

With a rushing touchdown against Denver this week, Henry can become the fifth player in NFL history with at least 10 rushing touchdowns in five consecutive seasons, joining a group that includes Shaun Alexander (five, 2001-05).

3. Game of the Week: For the league, it's Minnesota (7-1) at Buffalo (6-2). For our purposes it's Washington at Philadelphia. Granted the 8-0 Eagles should remain undefeated, but it's a chance to see defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne line up against Landon Dickerson while trying to get to Jalen Hurts.

4. Mis-Match? The last time the Eagles and Commanders played during Week 3, DeVonta Smith had eight catches for 169 yards and a touchdown.

5. Tide tacklers: C.J. Mosley is tied second in the league in total tackles with 88, just two behind Seahawks linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who finished second last season to Falcons linebacker Foyesade Oluokun. Now with the Jaguars, Oluokum is tied with Mosley and Roquan Smith (who was recently traded from the Bears to the Ravens). In fifth from the Falcons is Rashaan Evans with 85. Last week against the Chargers, Evans had 12 tackles, with a tackle for a loss, a pass defended and his second career forced fumble. He could be looking at another big game against the Panthers.

6. Julio Getting Caught: Hill leads the league with 76 receptions and 1,104 receiving yards, the most receiving yards by a player in his team’s first nine games of a season in the Super Bowl era. On Sunday, Hill can surpass Julio Jones (1,189 receiving yards in 2015) for the most receiving yards by a player in his team’s first 10 games of a season in the Super Bowl era and become the fifth player in NFL history to reach 1,200 receiving yards in his team’s first 10 games of a season.

7. Jameson Williams update: The former Alabama wide receiver who suffered an ACL tear during the National Championship Game is still expected to make his NFL debut for the Detroit Lions this season. "I think we're looking at December," Campbell said on a Detroit radio show per All Lions. "If I'm trying to forecast here a little bit, I'm hoping for sometime in December we get him." The Lions aren't considering shutting him down despite their 2-6 record. "I don't forecast that being an issue, because I think when he can go, I think it would be good for him to go," Campbell said. "He needs some in-game experience, even if it's only for a couple of games -- two or three games. I think those are critical to get under his belt before next year. If you can do it."

8. Player to Watch: Amari Cooper. Cleveland is at Miami, which of course means a showdown with Hill and Waddle, Cooper grew up in South Florida and attended Miami Northwestern High School. He'a coming off a season-high 131 receiving yards on five catches against the Bengals, and has a touchdown catch in three of the last four games.

9. Not a One-Hit Wonder: Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs has nine passes defended and three interceptions over his past six games on the road. Overall, he leads the NFL with 33 passes defended and 14 interceptions over the 2021-22 seasons.

10. Praise for the Calvin Ridley trade: From Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, "I really like the acquisition of Calvin Ridley for the Jaguars. They keep stocking that cupboard for Trevor Lawrence, who was 25-of-31 for 235 yards and a touchdown in coming back to beat the Raiders."

In case you missed it: The Steelers waived linebacker Ryan Anderson from the 53-man roster. He played 28 defensive snaps in five games this season and had one tackle.

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