Thursday, Oct. 24
8:20pm ET on FOX/NFL Network in Select Markets
Washington Redskins (1-6) vs Minnesota Vikings (5-2) Washington made one of their better showings of the first half of the NFL season in a rain-soaked slog of a game in which they got shutout 9-0 by the undefeated San Francisco 49ers, in a game in which they managed just 154 total yards on offense. They now have the worst point differential in the NFC, -86, despite playing in the conference’s weakest division. Kirk Cousins gutted the Detroit secondary last week, completing 24 of 34 for 337 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 42-30 victory. Cousins has 10 TDs in his last three games and now leads the league with a 114.3 passer rating. The Vikings will bury these clowns in this revenge game for Cousins against his former team.
Sunday, Oct. 27
1pm ET on FOX in Select Markets
Seattle Seahawks (5-2) at Atlanta Falcons (1-6)
Russell Wilson finally stumbled last week, throwing his first interception of the season, a pick six, en route a 30-16 loss to the Ravens. Wide Receiver D.K. Metcalf also had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown in the same game. Their win total now matches their point differential. The Falcons took their fifth loss in a row, falling 37-10 to the Rams, as they went scoreless for a stretch of more than 50 minutes and QB Matt Ryan was sacked five times. The Seahawks will squeak by, because that’s what they do.
Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) at Buffalo Bills (5-1)
It was quite a week for Eagles fans as the team failed to land Jalen Ramsey and they fell to their hated division rivals, the Cowboys, 37-10. The Cowboys converted three Philly fumbles into touchdowns. The Eagles are now tied for fourth in the league with 13 turnovers. The Bills vaunted defense showed some cracks as they surrendered season highs in yards, first downs and points to the lowly Dolphins, but still managed to win 31-21. The Bills will crush the Eagles.
Los Angeles Chargers (2-5) at Chicago Bears (3-3)
It was another wasted day for Philip Rivers, who hit on 24 of 38 for 329 yards and two TDs only to lose 23-20 to the Titans in one of the gut-punchingest games of the year as the Bolts twice had what appeared to be the winning touchdown reversed in the final minute before fumbling the ball away on the 1 with 19 seconds to play. It marked the fifth time this year they’ve turned the ball over on goal-to-go plays. The Bears 36-25 loss to the Saints wasn’t nearly as close as the score would indicate as they trailed 36-10 with four and a half minutes to play, at which point the Saints kinda just kinda let them have at it. In this battle of misfits, take the Chargers if only because they have Rivers.
New York Giants (2-5) at Detroit Lions (2-3-1)
The return of Saquon Barkley wasn’t nearly enough to save this drowning ship, as the G-men lost 27-21 to the Cardinals as the New York defense gave up three touchdown runs of 20+ yards to Chase Edmonds. After winning his first three starts, the Giants’ newly minted starting QB Daniel Jones has gone 0-3. The Lions’ defense is coming off its worst game of the year, giving up 503 yards and 42 points to the Vikings, rendering pointless Matthew Stafford’s 364-yard, four TD effort. The Lions’ defense is giving up 6.1 yards per play, but they’re still better than the Giants.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4) at Tennessee Titans (3-4)
The Bucs are coming off a bye week following a 37-26 loss to Carolina. Despite Jameis Winston leading the league with 25 sacks and three pick-sixes, and ranks second with 10 interceptions. Tampa is averaging 28.8 points per game. Try as they might, the Titans simply couldn’t lose last week’s game against the Chargers as Ryan Tannehill went 23 of 29 for 312 yards and two TDs. The Titans’ O-line continues to let pass rushers wreak havoc, as they’ve allowed a league-high 31 sacks. Tampa’s pass rush isn’t good enough to exploit this weakness, however, so the Titans should win two in a row for the first time this year.
4pm ET on FOX in Select Markets
Carolina Panthers (4-2) at San Francisco 49ers (6-0)
The Panthers are coming off a bye week after winning four in a row since Cam Newton went down and Kyle Allen has been announced as the starter for at least one more game. The Carolina defense has allowed 914 yards over the last two games, but redeemed themselves with 10 turnovers. The Niners D has allowed just 176 passing yards total over the last three games as they remain the only undefeated team in the NFC. The Panther defense will be too much for Jimmy Garoppolo and Christian McCaffrey will remind the Niners what it means to face a fully functional offense.
8:20pm ET on NBC in Select Markets
Green Bay Packers (6-1) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)
Aaron Rodgers finally unleashed the Kraken last week, passing for 429 yards, five TDs and a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a 42-24 win over the Raiders. It was Rodgers’ first double-middle fingers game since Matt LaFleur took over as head coach this year — if this is how things will go for the rest of the season, San Francisco may need to rethink their Super Bowl plans. Patrick Mahomes remains sidelined with a dislocated knee cap, thereby depriving us of an epic QB matchup. Instead, we’ll get Matt Moore lining up over center for KC. At 35, he’s started five games over the last seven seasons. This one is a gift for the Pack.
Monday, Oct. 28
8:15pm ET on ESPN
Miami Dolphins (0-6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4)
The Miami Dolphins are chasing history. Thus far they’ve been outscored by 148 points, more than halfway to the record of 287 set by the 1976 Tampa Buccaneers. The Fins are also on track to lose by an average of 24.67, which would shatter the ‘76 Bucs’ average margin of -20.5. Steelers’ QB Mason Rudolph says he’s ready to get back to work after being knocked out in Week 5 with a concussion. More importantly, the defense has gotten its act together after allowing 400+ yards in each of the first three games, allowing just 266.67 yards per game since. The Steelers might be the most heavily favored 2-4 team in league history.
All stats courtesy Pro-Football-Reference.com
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