San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
A LOOK AT WEEK 10
COLTS (4-5) VS. PATRIOTS (2-7)
in Frankfurt, Germany
Today: 6:30 a.m., NFL Network
Line: Colts by 11 ⁄2
Series record: Patriots lead 53-30
Outlook: The final international game of the season features a matchup that would have been a good one about a dozen years ago with Tom Brady facing Peyton Manning. Instead, the Germans will see Mac Jones against Gardner Minshew . ... Colts CB Kenny Moore II last week became the first player in franchise history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in a game. He could be poised for more this week with the Patriots tied for the fifth-highest interception total (nine) this season . ... New England would prefer to establish RB Rhamondre Stevenson, who finished last week’s loss to Washington with nine carries for 87 yards for a 9.7 yards per carry average . ... Minshew has been up and down following Anthony Richardson’s season-ending shoulder injury. In his first two starts since, both losses, Minshew had eight turnovers. He’s had just one the past two weeks . ... Indy is the only team to score 20 or more points in all nine games this season.
49ERS (5-3) AT JAGUARS (6-2)
Today: 10 a.m., Ch. 5/69
Line: 49ers by 3
Series record: 49ers lead 4-2
Outlook: DE Chase Young is set to make his debut for the Niners, who acquired him from Washington at the deadline for a compensatory third-round draft pick . ... The Niners also expect to get back two injured players: LT Trent Williams and WR Deebo Samuel, who each missed the last two games . ... San Francisco has scored just 17 points in each game during its three-game skid, marking the first time since 2017 it failed to score more than 17 points in three straight games. QB Brock Purdy threw five INTS in those games after having none in the first five . ... RB Travis Etienne has seven touchdowns in Jacksonville’s past four games. He set a franchise record by scoring two TDS in three consecutive games before getting one last time out against Pittsburgh . ... RB Christian Mccaffrey tied Lenny Moore’s NFL record during San Francisco’s most recent game by scoring a touchdown in his 17th consecutive game, including the playoffs . ... The Jaguars rank third in the NFL against the run, allowing 79.3 yards a game. … Jacksonville is off to its best start since 1999, including a 5-0 October during which PK Brandon Mcmanus made all 12 of his field-goal attempts, including four from beyond 50 yards.
SAINTS (5-4) AT VIKINGS (5-4)
Today: 10 a.m.
Line: Saints by 3
Series record: Vikings lead 24-13
Outlook: QB Joshua Dobbs will make his first start for the Vikings after arriving last week in a trade following the seasonending injury to Kirk Cousins and replacing the injured Jaren Hall against the Falcons. Dobbs has 324 rushing yards, including his eight games with the Cardinals, for the second most among NFL QBS behind Lamar Jackson (440) . ... Vikings OLB Danielle Hunter leads the NFL with 10 sacks and also has forced three fumbles . ... Saints CB Paulson Adebo has three interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his past two games. His career-high four INTS this season has him tied for second most in the NFL . ... QB Derek Carr completed a season-high 73.5 percent of his passes last week for 211 yards and two TDS without an interception as New Orleans beat Chicago. … Alvin Kamara, the NFL RB leader in receptions (43), had 155 rushing yards and a league-record-tying six rushing TDS the previous time he played against the Vikings on Dec. 25, 2020.
PACKERS (3-5) AT STEELERS (5-3)
Today: 10 a.m.
Line: Steelers by 3
Series record: Packers lead 20-16
Outlook: Green Bay’s offensive line could struggle against Steelers edge rushers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith after allowing four sacks to the Rams last week . ... Packers RB Aaron Jones ran for 73 yards to lead a 183-yard rushing attack in the Green Bay win, which snapped a four-game skid. The Packers had a season high in total yards (391) and time of possession (35:16) in that game. ... Talented but mercurial Steelers WR George Pickens raised some eyebrows — outside the locker room anyway — with actions on and off the field after Pittsburgh’s win over Tennessee. The Steelers say they need to get Pickens the ball more after he had just three receptions over the past two games . ... The Packers are averaging an Nfl-low 4.5 points in the first half of games and a league-high 15.5 points in the second half of games . ... The Steelers are the only team in NFL history to be outgained in each of their first eight games and still post a winning record.
TEXANS (4-4) AT BENGALS (5-3)
Today: 10 a.m.
Line: Bengals by 61 ⁄2
Series record: Texans lead 8-5
Outlook: Houston QB C.J. Stroud set the NFL record for most yards passing by a rookie last week by throwing for 470 yards and five touchdowns. The second overall pick in the NFL Draft ranks seventh in the NFL and first among rookies with 2,270 yards passing. He has thrown 14 touchdown passes with just one interception . ... Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow also had a big showing, passing for a season-high 348 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Bills. He’s thrown for 10 of his 12 touchdowns during Cincinnati’s four-game win streak . ... Houston will have a new kicker, Matt Ammendola, after Ka’imi Fairbairn was injured last week. … The Texans have already surpassed their win total from last season and a win today would give the team its most victories since going 10-6 in 2019. … Bengals WR Tee Higgins won’t play tody with a hamstring strain.
TITANS (3-5) AT BUCCANEERS (3-5)
Today: 10 a.m.
Line: Buccaneers by 11 ⁄2
Series record: Titans lead 10-2
Outlook: The Bucs face a rookie quarterback for the second straight week, but Will Levis will have to go quite a distance to equal Stroud’s 470-yard effort. The No. 33 overall draft pick out of Kentucky has passed for 500 yards with four TDS and one INT while going 1-1 in his two starts . ... Bucs RB Rachaad White is averaging just 3.4 yards per carry rushing in a struggling ground attack, although he’s gained more than 100 yards from scrimmage each of the past two weeks while playing a more prominent role in the passing game . ... This is Tennessee’s second of three straight road games. The Titans have dropped seven straight on the road, including the first four this season. Five of those losses were one-score games. … The Titans are 10-1 under coach Mike Vrabel with nine or more days between games and 4-1 playing on Sundays after a Thursday night game. … K Nick Folk has made 27 straight field goals and converted a league-record 72 consecutive FGS on attempts of less than 40 yards . ... Bucs QB Baker Mayfield threw for 265 yards and two TDS without an interception and had a season-best passer rating of 119.4 last week.
Cleveland and Jerome Ford (center) will face a Baltimore defense that’s allowed just nine TDS thus far.
BROWNS (5-3) AT RAVENS (7-2)
Today: 10 a.m.
Line: Ravens by 61 ⁄2
Series record: Ravens lead 36-13
Outlook: Browns QB Deshaun Watson missed the first matchup against the Ravens with a strained right shoulder, an injury that sidelined him for two other starts and most of a fourth game. He returned last week, and while Watson still isn’t 100 percent, his presence should give the Browns a fighting chance against a defense that has a league-high 35 sacks . ... It won’t help that Browns starting LT Jedrick Wills Jr. will miss at least four games with a knee sprain sustained against the Cardinals . ... Cleveland is coming off its first shutout since 2007 but facing Clayton Tune obviously isn’t anything like facing Lamar Jackson; the Ravens QB passed for two TDS and ran for two more in the first meeting. ... Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell never had an NFL carry before last weekend, when the undrafted rookie ran for 138 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts against Seattle . ... Baltimore has allowed just nine offensive touchdowns, the fewest in the league.
FALCONS (4-5) AT CARDINALS (1-8)
Today: 1:05 p.m.
Line: Falcons by 11 ⁄2
Series record: Cardinals lead 17-16
Outlook: Arizona QB Kyler Murray’s every move will be scrutinized in his expected return from an ACL injury last December. The Cardinals are on a six-game losing streak after falling to the Browns 27-0 last week. They had a 1-13 record in the games Murray missed, counting the game against the Patriots last season on Dec. 12 when he got hurt in the first quarter . ... For Atlanta, QB Taylor Heinicke will make his second straight start after replacing Desmond Ridder. With the Falcons approaching their bye week, coach Arthur Smith has said he plans to announce a long-term starter after the game. Heinicke can keep the starting job by avoiding interceptions and sacks. He threw for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception last week . ... The Falcons have averaged 392.4 total yards since Week 5, third in the league behind Baltimore and Detroit in that span. … Bijan Robinson leads rookie running backs with 514 rushing yards and 197 receiving yards.
GIANTS (2-7) AT COWBOYS (5-3)
Today: 1:25 p.m., Ch. 5/69
Line: Cowboys by 171 ⁄2
Series record: Cowboys lead 74-47-2
Outlook: Tommy Devito is about to become the first rookie free agent to start a regular-season game at quarterback for the Giants in the common draft era, except for Jim Crocicchia in a 1987 strike-replacement game. Devito was 15 of 20 for 175 yards with his first career TD pass against the Raiders after Daniel Jones sustained a season-ending knee injury . ... When these teams played in the season opener, the Cowboys had seven sacks and 12 QB hits in a 40-0 win . ... Giants RB Saquon Barkley, who is looking for his fourth straight game with at least 110 yards from scrimmage, hasn’t had 100 yards rushing in a game against the Cowboys since the 2019 opener . ... Dallas WR Ceedee Lamb will try to get a fourth consecutive 100-yard game for the first time in his four-year career. The 2020 first-round pick has reset his career high in yards receiving each of the past two weeks, capped by a 191-yard performance against the Eagles . ... The Cowboys have an 11-game home winning streak. A victory would make it the longest run at home since winning 18 in a row from 1979-81 at since-demolished Texas Stadium . ... Dallas PK Brandon Aubrey has an Nfl-record streak of 19 consecutive made field goals to start a career.
COMMANDERS (4-5) AT SEAHAWKS (5-3)
Today: 1:25 p.m.
Line: Seahawks by 51 ⁄2
Series record: Commanders lead 13-9
Outlook: The Seahawks thought they were seeing improvement in their run defense, only to watch the Ravens rush for 298 yards last week. It eschewed all the statistics that showed Seattle was improving at stopping the run and brought into question just how good the Seahawks are in that aspect of their defense. The Commanders rank only 26th in the league in rushing, but slowing down Brian Robinson Jr. must be a priority for Seattle . ... The Commanders gained 400-plus yards in consecutive games for the first time since 2020. … QB Sam Howell became the first player in franchise history to throw for 2,500 yards in 10 or fewer games, the 12th in NFL history to do so and the first since Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert in 2020 . ... Seattle QB Geno Smith has thrown six INTS in the past four games. Smith threw 11 INTS all of last season.
JETS (4-4) AT RAIDERS (4-5) 5:20 p.m., Ch. 7/39 Jets by 1
Today: Line: Series record: Raiders lead 24-18-2 Outlook: The game marks the second prime-time game in a week for the Jets and the fourth this season. Their most recent one was something less than enthralling, a 27-6 home loss to the Chargers in which they failed to reach the end zone. That’s nothing new: The Jets have scored just eight touchdowns on offense in eight games and they rank last in the NFL in third down conversion rate (22.2 percent) and red zone conversion rate (24 percent) . ... QB Zach Wilson had season highs Monday in completions (33), attempts (49) and yards passing (263), but was sacked eight times and lost two fumbles . ... This is also the fourth prime-time game for the Raiders, but their first under interim head coach Antonio Pierce, who led Las Vegas to a 30-6 rout of the Giants in his debut last week. RB Josh Jacobs had his best game of the season with 98 rushing yards.