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Week 10 Rewind: Jordan Matthews joins the party

It was scheduled as Week 10 of the NFL season. It turned into a repeat of the 2014 Scouting Combine.

The rookie receivers continue to demolish everything in their path. Hope you're having fun with the best rookie wideout crop of all time.

What was your favorite freshman moment of Week 10? Throw a dart, pick out a name.

Jordan Matthews had a coming-out party in Monday's blowout over Carolina, exploding for seven catches for 138 yards and two scores. Matthews showed rapport with Mark Sanchez over the summer, it carried over to last week's relief appearance, and it was unmistakable Monday night. Have fun with your new slot machine, Chip Kelly.

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Martavis Bryant (4-143-1) and Kelvin Benjamin (3-70-2) didn't show their best foot, but they made fantasy owners happy in garbage time. It's difficult to keep those guys quiet for a full three hours.

Mike Evans had his way with the Falcons secondary (7-125-1), which may or not impress you. Odell Beckham (7-108-0) did the same at Seattle, and that should impress you (even Richard Sherman validated the rookie).

Brandin Cooks posted a score and 90 yards on the New Orleans carpet. John Brown's distance touchdown sparked Arizona's comeback. Jarvis Landry had seven grabs, Allen Robinson five (plus a conversion).

And to think this all came on a day where Sammy Watkins was quiet.

It's surprising to see Matthews owned in just 27 percent of Yahoo leagues, but that number is sure to fix itself in the next few days. There are plenty of mouths to feed in Philadelphia's offense, but it's obvious Matthews is more dangerous and dynamic than Riley Cooper. A high-scoring feast could be on the way at Green Bay this week, and no one is scared of the Titans in Week 12. Start pointing and clicking, gamers.

-- Benjamin's garbage-time touchdown party partially obscured a horrendous night for the Panthers, and a brutal evening for Cam Newton in particular. Newton absorbed a savage pounding (nine sacks, countless knockdowns), and there's no logical reason why Ron Rivera kept Newton on the field for the entire game. The Eagles held a 38-7 lead into the final period.

[Week 11 pickups: Who should you target on the waiver wire? ]

What's especially puzzling about Rivera's decision is that it goes against earlier patterns. Derek Anderson logged significant mop-up time in Weeks 3, 4, and 7, all blowout Carolina losses. Perhaps Rivera felt he would embarrass Newton if he benched him during a National TV game. But with Newton clearly hobbling around at less than 100 percent – and with the NFC South still up for grabs – last night's decision seemed short-sighted and reckless. Carolina now heads into a short week of preparation before hosting the Falcons on Sunday.

-- We can't respect Ron Rivera this morning, but we'll say some nice words about Mychal Rivera, emerging tight end in Oakland. Rivera doesn't flash on the screen or leap off the measurables page; he's slow for a receiving option and small for a tight end. But Derek Carr keeps targeting him heavily, especially around the goal line, and you know us, we're just in it for the numbers.

Rivera's posted a delicious 21 catches for 185 yards and three touchdowns over the last three weeks (only Gronk and Graham are ahead of that pace). One of his spikes came late in the third period and the other two came in the fourth. You want garbage-time production, Rivera's your man: he has 16 catches for 147 yards in the final quarter this year, as opposed to 18 catches for 139 yards in the other periods.

I rewatched all of Rivera's Week 10 snaps, looking to be inspired. He shows decent hands and a rapport with Carr, but he's certainly not running away from defenders. Bluntly put, he looks ordinary. He's averaging a mere 8.4 YPC for this season and 9.6 over his two-year career. Mostly, it's a case of opportunity trumping everything else.

The upcoming Oakland schedule is also messy for a tight end, no getting away from that. But after watching Rivera produce for three straight weeks, I'm willing to give him some benefit of the doubt. He's still unowned in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues.

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