Scott Van Pelt’s One Big Thing: 49ers, Lions excel in Week 10

Let’s start this Sunday recap with two teams on a bye, one of them looking like the team we all thought they would be before a three-game losing skid. With the return of Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel, the San Francisco 49ers crushed the Jacksonville Jaguars, 34-3. San Francisco had almost twice as many yards and four takeaways. I don’t think Jacksonville is a fraud, they are good, they just looked at what the ceiling looks like. San Francisco’s is as high as anyone’s.

The Detroit Lions are going to have a chance to rise to the top of the NFC – their schedule isn’t as tough in the coming weeks as the Philadelphia Eagles’. The Lions’ aggressiveness was on display in Los Angeles on Sunday as they attempted fourth down five times – the last of the four they converted allowed them to run out the clock and prevent Justin Herbert from ‘equalize this match for the fifth time. The Lions kicked out the game-winning FG as time expired to improve to 7-2, which is tied for their best nine-game start in the last 50 years.

I have to admit, going up 14 in the fourth, at home, I thought the Baltimore Ravens were good. Instead, for the third time in three losses, they let a lead evaporate. Credit the Cleveland Browns defense for their role in the comeback — they outscored the Ravens 17-0 in the final nine minutes for the franchise’s first 14-point fourth-quarter comeback since 2014. They are 6- 3, and the schedule is rather favorable to the Browns for the future.

Stay in the AFC North where the Cincinnati Bengals were rolling – but the Bengals lose at home to the Houston Texans who have won five of seven, and both losses are by two points. CJ Stroud has that one thing you know when you see it: competitive excellence that’s there when you need it. He has the assets and they are a five-win team for the first time in four seasons – and they have eight games left.

Some quick thoughts:

• The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-3 and have been dominated in all nine games. Is it sustainable? Probably not. Mike Tomlin: Are you interested? He does not do.

• The Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants looked like the top of a power conference versus the bottom – a total competitive mismatch. What seems important, though, is the confidence with which Dak Prescott plays. He leads the NFL in TD passes, yards per attempt and QBR over the past five weeks.

• On the other end of the spectrum, I feel for Mac Jones. He made a few throws that looked like a putter with the yips. There’s not much to say about it. Sunday was the first time the New England Patriots had allowed 10 points or less and lost since September 23, 2001. It was the day Tom Brady came in to replace the injured Drew Bledsoe, who began a journey two decades, but now New England has the worst record in the AFC – it’s the proverbial divide and they’re in it.