What to Look For - Week 10

Sports talk media has been buzzing in recent days over which young quarterback — Justin Herbert or Tua Tagovailoa — emerges not only as one of this year’s top Rookie of the Year candidates, but also as the guy who becomes the face of his team and a star for years to come.

Obviously, only one can be this season’s top rookie, but both could fill the role of “franchise quarterback,” a player who eludes many teams for years and years in the quarterback-centric National Football League.

Herbert and the Los Angeles Charges face Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins this week in a showdown of Top 10 picks from the 2020 NFL Draft. If each player matches his per-game average for passing yards so far this season, then they would combine for the second-highest total ever in a meeting of rookie QBs in the common-draft era.

Here are more stats from that matchup plus other things to look for as the NFL enters Week 10 of its 2020 season:

​TOP 10 SHOWDOWN:

Herbert leads all rookies with 17 touchdown passes and ranks second among rookies with 2,146 passing yards this season. With at least two touchdown passes on Sunday, he will become the first rookie with at least two touchdown passes in six consecutive games in NFL history.

Tagovailoa has passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 103.8 passer rating in his first two career starts. With a win, he will become the first rookie quarterback since LAMAR JACKSON in 2018 to win his first three career starts.

Below is a look at the most combined passing yards in a matchup featuring two rookie starting quarterbacks each selected in the top 10 of the NFL Draft in the common-draft era:

Miami has returned an opponent fumble for a touchdown in each of its last two games – a 36-yard return by defensive end SHAQ LAWSON in Week 9 and a 78-yard return by linebacker ANDREW VAN GINKEL in Week 8. Only two teams in league history have done so in three consecutive games within a single season: the 2019 BALTIMORE RAVENS and 1999 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS.

DUAL-THREAT IN THE DESERT​: Arizona quarterback KYLER MURRAY enters Week 10 with 2,130 passing yards and 16 touchdown passes, while leading all quarterbacks with 543 rushing yards and tying for the lead among quarterbacks with eight rushing touchdowns. Last week, he became the fourth quarterback in the Super Bowl era with at least three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in consecutive games.  

With a rushing touchdown on Sunday against Buffalo (4:05 PM ET, CBS), Murray will become the fourth quarterback with a rushing touchdown in at least five consecutive games in NFL history.

The quarterbacks with the most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown in NFL history:​

Murray has totaled 5,852 passing yards and 1,087 rushing yards in 24 career games. With 148 passing yards on Sunday, he will become the second quarterback with at least 6,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in his first 25 career games in NFL history, joining CAM NEWTON (6,194 passing yards, 1,060 rushing yards).

ALL IN ON ALLEN: Last week, Buffalo quarterback JOSH ALLEN passed for 415 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 138.5 passer rating and added a rushing touchdown. It marked his fourth career game with at least three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown, tied with JACK KEMP for the most such games by a player in his first three seasons in NFL history.

Allen has 19 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns this season. In 2019, Allen had 20 touchdown passes, while leading all quarterbacks with nine rushing touchdowns. With a touchdown pass on Sunday against Arizona (4:05 PM ET, CBS), Allen will become the third player with at least 20 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons in league history, joining DAK PRESCOTT (three consecutive seasons) and DESHAUN WATSON (two).

The players with at least 20 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons in NFL history:​