Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-4), 1 p.m. ET
If Saquon Barkley’s mission was to prove the value of the running back position, he’s on the right path. He had 176 yards rushing on 17 carries with a touchdown in a 28-3 rout of his former team, the New York Giants, last weekend in New Jersey. Barkley ranks third in the NFL with 658 rushing yards, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Henry (873) and the San Francisco 49ers’ Jordan Mason (667). Barkley’s total is the most ever by a Philadelphia running back through six games. He has three games of at least 100 yards rushing this season and is second in rushing yards per game (109.7), trailing only Henry (124.7). Cincinnati takes a shot at slowing Barkley and QB Jalen Hurts with a fully healthy defensive line that showed well against the Giants and Cleveland Browns the past two weeks. Joe Burrow and his deep receiving corps give the Bengals one of the best passing attacks in the NFL. Cincinnati receivers have 31 total touchdowns since the start of last season. Philadelphia’s defense has not allowed a touchdown in back-to-back games, a feat not achieved since the 2017 season. It’s the longest streak in the NFL since New England turned the trick in the first three games of the 2019.
Baltimore Ravens (5-2) at Cleveland Browns (1-6), 1 p.m. ET
Lamar Jackson’s next stop on his MVP repeat tour is Cleveland, where the Dawg Pound is singing the blues. QB Deshaun Watson (Achilles) is done for the season and Jameis Winston steps in behind a fragile offensive line as head coach Kevin Stefanski offloads play-calling chores to Ken Dorsey. Dorsey preached physical football, a hint there could be more of RB Nick Chubb in his second game back from a 2023 knee injury. The Ravens are running over, around and through opponents at a baffling clip this season. They’ve averaged 35 points per game since starting the season 0-2 and RB Derrick Henry has proved a worthy sidekick to Jackson. Henry leads the NFL in rushing (873) and Jackson has 21 pass plays of 20-plus yards with 15 TD passes. Jackson also has 455 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Browns haven’t scored 20 points in a game this season and have 11 total touchdowns.
Tennessee Titans (1-5) at Detroit Lions (5-1), 1 p.m. ET
The encore to a 47-9 blowout of the Dallas Cowboys was just as impressive for Detroit. The Lions handed the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the season, 31-29 last week on Jake Bates’ 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining. QB Jared Goff completed 83.5 percent of his passes over the past four games while throwing for nine touchdowns and getting intercepted once. Goff went 22 of 25 for 280 yards and two touchdown passes against the Vikings. The Titans are in a state of upheaval. They traded wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs and linebacker Ernest Jones IV to the Seattle Seahawks this week as they look to shed salary and accumulate draft picks. Will Levis (shoulder) is unlikely to start, meaning a second consecutive week with Mason Rudolph operating the Titans’ offense. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown with one interception in a 34-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills last week.
Arizona Cardinals (3-4) at Miami Dolphins (2-4), 1 p.m. ET
The Dolphins own the least productive offense in the NFL, but they feel one player could make a big difference. QB Tua Tagovailoa returns from injured reserve to find an offense he might not recognize. The Dolphins are worst in the NFL with 11.7 points per game, a slide that began when Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills. Tagovailoa returned to practice on Wednesday and was a limited performer, but he’s expected to play. Miami scored 40 total points in the four games Tagovailoa missed. Receiver Tyreek Hill said his QB’s return almost moved him to tears. That might be because of the dropoff in production. Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for 191 receptions, 2,813 yards and 17 scoring receptions last season. They have 46 catches, 563 yards and one score through six games this season. The Cardinals arrive after a win over the Chargers in which RB James Conner had a season-best 152 yards from scrimmage. Conner rushed for 504 yards and three touchdowns in the first seven games. QB Kyler Murray scrambled for a 44-yard touchdown in the contest. He has 325 yards and two scores on the ground while passing for 1,331 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
New York Jets (2-5) at New England Patriots (1-6), 1 p.m. ET
“Soft” is not a label any team wants, especially from its own head coach. But the Patriots drew that tag from Jerod Mayo after being run over by the Jacksonville Jaguars and RB Tank Bigsby in London last week. The Jets have lost four in a row since beating New England 24-3 in Week 3. Mayo said he’s confident an inspired bunch will show up for the Patriots, who might not face Aaron Rodgers (knee, hamstring). New York also is out to turn things around after a 37-15 setback against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week pushed its losing streak to four games. Star wideout Davante Adams, acquired in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 15, was reunited with Rodgers, but he hauled in just three catches for 30 yards.
Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3), 1 p.m. ET
Only four teams in the NFL have created three-and-out defensive stops less often than the Falcons, who hit the road trying to overtake the Buccaneers for the NFC South lead. Tampa is reeling from a painful loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week. Top receivers Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring) were hurt in the game and won’t be back any time soon, leaving QB Baker Mayfield to find new ways to move the chains. He depended on TE Cade Otton against the Ravens but said he also trusts his young, relatively untested receivers stepping into larger roles. The Falcons have 1,844 passing yards this season and the Buccaneers are 28th in the NFL in pass defense. QB Kirk Cousins is finding WR Drake London frequently. He has 44 receptions (third in the NFL) and is third in the league in total targets (62). Opposing wide receivers have 98 receptions against the Buccaneers, fourth-most in the NFL.
Green Bay Packers (5-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5), 1 p.m. ET
The Packers are picking up the defensive intensity and had four sacks of C.J. Stroud to beat the Texans 24-22 last week. Green Bay has allowed 54 points during its current three-game winning streak, helping the Packers stay in the mix in a solid NFC North. The Jaguars beat New England in their second of two consecutive games in London last week. Trevor Lawrence was not sacked while completing 15 of 20 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown. He’ll aim for the same efficiency against the Packers, while Jacksonville continues to lean into a newfound strength: running the ball. Tank Bigsby has become a problem for defenses and rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries against the Patriots. Containing QB Jordan Love is a concern for a Jacksonville defense that has allowed the second-most TD passes (43) in the NFL since the start of last season. During the same stretch, Love has a league-leading 47 TD passes.
Indianapolis Colts (4-3) at Houston Texans (5-2), 1 p.m. ET
DT DeForest Buckner is back for the Colts just in time to test Houston’s leaky pass protection. Under constant duress at Green Bay last week, C.J. Stroud threw for just 86 yards — a good quarter for Stroud most games — and absorbed four sacks in a 24-22 setback. Stroud still is hitting 66.4 percent of his passes for 1,663 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions. Stefon Diggs has 42 catches to lead the team, but Houston has to play without Nico Collins (club-best 567 yards in five games). The absence of Collins is welcome news for the Colts. In a season-opening 29-27 victory last month in Indianapolis, Collins bagged six catches for 117 yards. The Colts are trending in the right direction in the standings and the injury report. Not only have they won consecutive games, including last week’s 16-10 decision over Miami, but it appears they might get running back Jonathan Taylor (ankle) back after a three-game absence. Indianapolis is the only team in the NFL to have every game decided by one score in 2024.
New Orleans Saints (2-5) at Los Angeles Chargers (3-3), 4:05 p.m. ET
The telling number for the Saints during a five-game losing streak isn’t injuries, but run defense. That just happens to be the preferred mode of movement for the Chargers. Through their past three games, the Saints allowed 641 rushing yards on an average of 5.9 yards per carry while missing a combined 24 tackles. J.K. Dobbins, who has 95 carries for 478 yards and three touchdowns this season, leads the Chargers’ ground game. Much of that production came in the first two games, however, and Los Angeles has been limited to 61 or fewer rushing yards in three of its past four contests. With the running game in a rut, the Chargers aired it out in a loss to the Cardinals last week. Justin Herbert posted a season-high 349 passing yards. The Chargers are preparing to face Saints rookie Spencer Rattler, with injured quarterback Derek Carr (oblique) out for a third consecutive week. Rattler has completed 47 of 75 passes for 415 yards with one touchdown and two picks in losses against the Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Buffalo Bills (5-2) at Seattle Seahawks (4-3), 4:05 p.m. ET
DK Metcalf (knee) is no sure thing for Seattle, which shifts the attention of the Bills’ defense to stopping the run. But Seahawks QB Geno Smith is willing to throw underneath to Tyler Lockett and outside to RB Kenneth Walker III to move the chains. Walker and Seattle running backs are third in the NFL with 7.1 targets per game this season. Buffalo’s offense looked crisp in the first game for WR Amari Cooper with the Bills. QB Josh Allen could benefit from the quick-separating route-runner after posting a 79 percent stop rate when pressured in the first seven games. Seattle is fourth in the NFL in quarterback pressures, creating pocket collapse on 32.1 percent of passing plays this season. Cooper, acquired in the middle of last week from Cleveland, had four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown in his debut with Buffalo last Sunday.
Carolina Panthers (1-6) at Denver Broncos (4-3), 4:25 p.m. ET
Bryce Young returns to the starting lineup for the Panthers, but not exactly by Carolina’s choice. His replacement, Andy Dalton, was in a car accident Wednesday and won’t be available. Now the Panthers face the NFL’s leader in pass-rush pressure with a quarterback battling crises of confidence and calm in the pocket. Denver has turned around its season sharply by leaning on a stronger running game. Carolina is 29th in the league, allowing 136.4 yards per game on the ground. The Panthers are pointing to defensive playmakers as a reason they can stick around in what can be a challenging road environment. But the team is 1-12 on the road the past two seasons. The Broncos are winless since the start of last season when they have more than one turnover (0-9). That’s part of the reason Broncos rookie RB Audric Estime was carrying a football around the facility — and everywhere else — this week.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-0) at Las Vegas Raiders (2-5), 4:25 p.m. ET
A revolving door at the skill positions for the Chiefs spun once more this week, but there’s great optimism around the acquisition of WR DeAndre Hopkins. A three-time All-Pro with a minuscule drop rate and reputation for winning in jump-ball situations, Hopkins could play three days after his first practice with the Chiefs. That’s good news with previous purported No. 1 receivers Hollywood Brown (shoulder), Rashee Rice (knee) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (hamstring) all out and the Chiefs already leaning on September pickup Kareem Hunt as RB1. It might not matter against the Raiders, who subtracted their own No. 1 receiver – Davante Adams – and are shuffling quarterbacks looking for a spark. There’s one matchup edge for the Raiders’ offense to exploit featuring TE Brock Bowers. Kansas City is worst in the NFL covering tight ends with 7.2 catches per game allowed. The Raiders lead the NFL in tight end targets with 11.0 per game.
Chicago Bears (4-2) at Washington Commanders (5-2), 4:25 p.m. ET
A matchup of high-performing rookies and the top two players drafted in 2024 might not come to fruition. Caleb Williams, in a homecoming to the region he grew up in, has the Bears in playoff contention while No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels has helped to propel the Commanders to the lead in the NFC East. Daniels (ribs) didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday and would be replaced by well-seasoned Marcus Mariota if the Commanders hold their rookie out of this game. Mariota played in his 92nd career game last week and completed 18 of 23 passes with two TDs. Williams has been a major threat outside the pocket and brings plenty of firepower. But he’s been noticeably weaker on the road early in the season with a 68.4 passer rating, 26th among qualified quarterbacks in 2024. Washington’s approach, regardless of the QB, has been to win with the run. The Commanders have the fourth-highest run rate in the league at 56.2 percent, setting up shots downfield to WR Terry McLaurin.
Dallas Cowboys (3-3) at San Francisco 49ers (3-4), 8:20 p.m. ET
Dak Prescott described his performance to date as “average” with the Cowboys entering a critical stretch in the schedule. Eleven turnovers have handicapped the offense, and Dallas’ defense isn’t the same without injured pass rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. Minus the menacing Parsons rushing from all angles, the Cowboys have only five takeaways. Dallas heads to San Francisco coming out of the bye week trying to replicate the three-INT game from the Kansas City Chiefs against Brock Purdy and the 49ers last week. Purdy has nine touchdowns, seven interceptions and no sure things at wide receiver. Brandon Aiyuk (knee) was lost for the season, Deebo Samuel started the week in the hospital with a respiratory infection and Jauan Jennings (hip) wasn’t in position to step up last week, when rookie Ricky Pearsall came off of IR and caught three passes in his pro debut. Dallas knows Purdy has other weapons, even without RB Christian McCaffrey, considering he threw three TD passes to TE George Kittle when these teams met on a Sunday night last October. San Francisco sails into the bye week after this one, with Dallas staring at this pre-Thanksgiving gauntlet: at Falcons, vs. Eagles, vs. Texans (MNF), at Commanders.
