Houston Texans (2-5) at Los Angeles Chargers (0-7)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Texans -3.5, Total 39.5
Series rewind: Houston has won three of the past four meetings in the regular season, including 20-16 at Los Angeles last season.
The Chargers began this season with dreams of playing in a home-stadium Super Bowl in Inglewood, Calif.; then they went 0-for-September and October. The lone winless team in the NFL is off to the worst start in franchise history. Houston stumbled out of the starting blocks for the second consecutive season. It appeared to be finding its way last month while giving vibes of the team’s nine-game winning streak to close last season, but its bid for a third consecutive victory was thwarted in a 27-21 overtime loss to the New York Giants on Oct. 25. After C.J. Stroud threw for a season-low 153 yards against New York, the team spent its bye week trying to figure out ways to get better balance. The season-low effort came one week after Stroud was named AFC Player of the Week for his 312-yard, three-touchdown performance in a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Stroud has the offense seventh in the NFL in passing with 253.4 yards per game. Houston’s ground game ranks 29th with an average of 84.7 rushing yards. There is no deeper hole than the one where the Chargers are buried. Their defense looked up to the task last Sunday by not allowing a first down over the Los Angeles Rams’ first five drives of the game. Quarterback Justin Herbert had a season-high 257 yards passing in the defeat, but his two interceptions gave him 10 on the season, most in the NFL. Two years ago, Herbert threw just three picks while starting all 17 games.
New York Jets (2-6) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Chiefs -9.5, Total 47.5
Series rewind: The Jets last won in Kansas City in 1998 and have since dropped four visits in a row. The Chiefs have also controlled the overall series recently with four victories in the past five meetings. Harrison Butker kicked a 26-yard field goal with 10:51 remaining for a 23-20 Kansas City victory in the last meeting in 2023.
The Chiefs have slipped into second place in the AFC West with consecutive road losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. They are back at home this week and look to get back on track before they play four of their five on the road. Patrick Mahomes matched a season best with three touchdown passes and had his second-highest yardage output (321) in last week’s 28-24 loss in Denver. Running back Emmett Johnson had five catches for 128 yards, including a 73-yard score, while Travis Kelce had five grabs for 67 yards. Rashee Rice returned from the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 4 and had seven catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. Kenneth Walker has rushed for just 105 yards on 35 carries the last two weeks. He had 665 yards through the first five games. The Chiefs have just nine sacks through seven games. New York has lost three straight games and is entering a stretch of three road contests in four games. The Jets notched a season high in points last week but also allowed their most while falling 38-33 to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders. New York’s Geno Smith passed for 290 yards and two touchdowns while Braelon Allen rushed for a career-best 147 yards in his second straight 100-yard outing and third of the season. Allen is 10th in the NFL with 565 rushing yards. Star wideout Garrett Wilson (concussion) is out.
Las Vegas Raiders (4-4) at San Francisco 49ers (6-1)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: 49ers -9.5, Total 51.5
Series rewind: San Francisco has won five of the past six meetings, with the first five taking place while the Raiders were still based in Oakland. The 49ers prevailed 37-34 in an overtime shootout in Las Vegas late in the 2022 season. Christian McCaffrey had 193 scrimmage yards (121 rushing, 72 receiving) and rushed for a touchdown in that contest.
The 49ers’ unbeaten run was halted two weeks ago out in a 29-20 loss to the host Atlanta Falcons. San Francisco had its bye last week. McCaffrey (hamstring) was injured against the Falcons and was a limited participant in practice Thursday. McCaffrey’s highest rushing output this season is just 75 yards, but he does have eight rushing touchdowns. Brock Purdy has passed for 1,748 yards and 15 touchdowns against four interceptions. He threw two picks against Atlanta. Tight end George Kittle leads the club with 425 receiving yards and five touchdowns and is tied with McCaffrey (34) for the receptions lead. Cornerback Renardo Green has all three of San Francisco’s interceptions. Former Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa (knee, calf) was limited Thursday and could return after a five-game absence. The Raiders broke a four-game skid with last week’s 38-33 victory over the host New York Jets. Kirk Cousins threw for 247 yards and had three passing scores for the fourth time that season. Overall, he has 19 touchdowns against five interceptions and has played well enough to keep the organization from being tempted to replace him with No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. Mike Washington Jr., a fourth-round pick this season, rushed for 83 yards on 25 carries against the Jets. Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2025 draft, received just two carries for 9 yards despite being healthy. Maxx Crosby registered a sack against New York, his third of the season.
Arizona Cardinals (3-5) at Seattle Seahawks (4-4)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Seahawks -8.5, Total 39.5
Series rewind: The Seahawks are gunning for their 11th consecutive win in the series, which includes a 31-7 victory at Arizona in September.
Gardner Minshew took over as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback after rallying Arizona from a 17-3 deficit in the third quarter at Dallas last week. A few days later, Jacoby Brissett, who started the first eight games of the season, was traded to the Baltimore Ravens. The Seahawks kept the QB carousel spinning for this game as they ruled out Sam Darnold with a quadriceps injury. Drew Lock will start for the second time this season against the Cardinals. He is coming back from a two-game hiatus to treat an elbow injury. Lock threw three TD passes at Arizona in Seattle’s 24-point win in Week 2. The Seahawks expect other backfield reinforcements to be available. Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price could give Seattle a loaded RB corps with Emanuel Wilson, who rushed for 92 yards against Arizona in the first matchup. Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier had 191 yards from scrimmage at Dallas.
Green Bay Packers (5-3) at New England Patriots (5-3)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
FanDuel odds: Patriots -3, Total 44.5
Series rewind: Green Bay leads the series 7-6, won the last game the teams played 27-24 in overtime in 2022 and beat the Patriots 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997.
After each got off to slow starts, both teams have won four of their last five games. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love is averaging 280.8 passing yards per game, has thrown 16 touchdowns passes and been intercepted six times. Love leads the NFL with 2,246 passing yards and is also No. 1 among quarterbacks in pass attempts of at least 20 yards (52). Green Bay has been forced to throw because of its lackluster running game. The Packers are averaging 2.9 yards per carry, last in the league. Green Bay could become the first NFL team to finish a season with a rushing average of less than 3.0 yards per carry since the 1994 Patriots. New England quarterback Drake Maye got off to an exceptionally slow start in the follow-up campaign to finishing second in MVP voting last season. He has passed for 15 touchdowns and has been intercepted eight times, but has 14 TD passes and two interceptions in his last five games. He’ll be facing a Green Bay defense that has forced 15 turnovers, second-most in the NFL. Ten of those turnovers have been interceptions. Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson leads the Patriots with 119 touches; no other player has more than 57. Stevenson has a team-high 367 rushing yards, and his 23 catches rank third on the team.