Los Angeles Rams (5-4) at Arizona Cardinals (3-6)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Rams -9.5, total 39.5
Series Rewind: Sean McVay is 16-4 against the Cardinals in his career, but 0-1 versus former assistant Mike LaFleur, who led Arizona to a win over the Rams 18-16 last month.
Los Angeles put together late-season surges in 2023 and 2024 to reach the playoffs. Rallying from a 2-4 start this season will have to come amid even more injury issues. The Cardinals can relate. They’ll try a third quarterback in three weeks as rookie Carson Beck takes over following an injury to Gardner Minshew II on Sunday and the trade last week of Jacoby Brissett to the Baltimore Ravens. Beck has yet to play in an NFL game, but he did guide Georgia into the College Football Playoff two seasons ago before going down with an elbow injury and then led Miami into the CFP title game last season. Beck takes over an offense that enters 22nd in total yards at 318.0 per game and 26th in scoring with 19.8 points per game. Adding to Beck’s challenges is a Rams defensive line that will have Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald playing together for the second time. Last week, Garrett had three sacks and forced a fumble in his return from a knee injury in a 20-13 road victory over the Washington Commanders. The Rams’ offense was far from dynamic. Los Angeles needed a 7-yard Puka Nacua touchdown reception in the fourth quarter to break a 13-13 tie. With under two minutes remaining, Nacua was stopped on a running play and ended up with MCL and PCL sprains in his right knee that will keep him “out for an extended period of time,” McVay said Wednesday. Wide receiver Davante Adams (hamstring), who last played in the Week 6 loss to the Cardinals, remains out.
San Francisco 49ers (7-1) at Dallas Cowboys (4-5)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: 49ers -4.5, total 55.5
Series Rewind: San Francisco has swept the last four meetings, including playoff victories in the 2021 (wild-card game) and 2022 (divisional round) seasons. Prior to that stretch, Dallas went 6-1 in the series between 2005 and 2020.
Expect fireworks with the 49ers (29.4) and Cowboys (27.3) ranked third and sixth, respectively, in the NFL in scoring. Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott have both thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game this season. San Francisco star Christian McCaffrey caught his 37th career TD pass last week, passing Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk for the most by a running back in the Super Bowl era. He faces a Dallas defense that ranks 31st against the run (147.4). Niners linebacker Fred Warner is the only player since 2000 to register at least 75 tackles and five forced fumbles over an eight-game span. Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb is the first player in NFL history with at least 70 catches and 900 receiving yards in each of his first seven seasons. Dallas DT Quinnen Williams enters Week 10 with a league-high 14 tackles for loss. The Cowboys are just 1-3 this season at AT&T Stadium. Six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen could make his 49ers debut after arriving in a trade-deadline deal with the Colts.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) at Atlanta Falcons (3-6)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Chiefs -3.5; Total 47.5
Series Rewind: The Chiefs have won the last three times they have faced the Falcons (2016, 2020, 2024) and hold an 8-3 lead in the all-time series.
It was a week filled with good news for Kansas City and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who will travel with reinforcements this week. B ut KC’s luck turned when RB Kenneth Walker III (groin) was declared out. The Chiefs, who will be seeking their first road win in six weeks, added wide receiver Josh Downs in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday in hopes of bolstering an offense coming off a season-high offensive output last week. Perhaps equally important was the positive outlook on Mahomes’ availability for this week. The superstar injured his throwing elbow while being sacked last week but has practiced fully Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Atlanta enters with a bleaker outlook. The Falcons have lost consecutive games by a combined 33 points and traded away two starters this week, sending center Ryan Neuzil to the Baltimore Ravens and safety Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars. And yet, the Falcons still are contending in an NFC South division where all four teams have three wins. In two games since being named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is averaging just 143.5 yards passing and has been intercepted five times.
Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) at Tennessee Titans (1-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Jaguars -10.5, total 46.5
Series Rewind: The Jaguars have swept the division series each of the last two seasons and won seven of the last eight against Tennessee. The Titans, though, still lead the all-time series 35-28.
At a trade deadline that didn’t leave much of a wake, the Jaguars made far and away the biggest splash, acquiring safety Jessie Bates III and defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Davon Godchaux to bolster a defense which already ranks first in the league in turnover margin (plus-nine), second in scoring defense (15.1 points per game allowed) and 10th in total defense (318.3 yards per game allowed). Jacksonville appears destined to win the AFC South for the second straight year — leading by three games just past the halfway point of the season — and sets its sights on the AFC No. 1 seed, one game back of the Bills. Bates and Davis won’t play Sunday due to the fact they didn’t have a bye week with their team this season and Jacksonville already had its week off. The Titans represent, on paper, a chance at a third straight blowout win for Jacksonville. But Tennessee’s record betrays a team that has been playing better and is coming off a bye week. After failing to score more than 20 points in any of their first five games — all losses — the Titans have scored 24-plus in each of their last three, including a season-high 36 points in their last game at Cincinnati. After struggling at times to live up to the hype of being No. 1 overall pick, second-year QB Cam Ward threw for a career-high 304 yards and a season-high two touchdowns in the overtime loss.
Seattle Seahawks (5-4) at Las Vegas Raiders (4-5)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
FanDuel: Seahawks -6.5, total: 40.5
Series Rewind: The Seahawks and Raiders were AFC West combatants until Seattle moved to the NFC West for the 2002 season. The teams have met just six times since then with each side winning three times. In the last meeting, the Raiders prevailed 40-34 in overtime in 2022 with Josh Jacobs scoring the winning points with an 86-yard run.
Fernando Mendoza’s first NFL start comes against the defending Super Bowl champions after the Raiders traded Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline. The No. 1 overall pick who won the Heisman Trophy while leading Indiana to last season’s college national title certainly will be tested by a Seattle defense that leads the NFL in total defense (244.2 yards per game) and passing defense (155.1) and is tied for fourth in scoring defense (18.0). The Seahawks also rank fourth in rushing defense (89.1), which is not good news for Mike Washington (minus-3 yards on six carries against San Francisco last week) and struggling Ashton Jeanty (3.2 yards per carry). Mendoza faces quite a challenge for a Raiders’ squad that has dropped five of six games following a 3-0 start. The Seahawks haven’t come close to last season’s form and the defense held the Arizona Cardinals to 198 yards in last week’s 17-3 victory. Sam Darnold (quadriceps/ribs) will miss his second straight game and fourth start of the season. Backup quarterback Drew Lock (elbow/oblique) also is battling injuries. The elbow has been bothering him for weeks but he was able to complete 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown against Arizona. Lock has completed 71.1% of his throws this season for 597 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is having another monster season as he leads the league with 1,036 receiving yards and nine touchdowns and ranks second with 71 receptions. He had seven catches for just 51 with a long of 18 against Arizona