New York Jets (2-3) at New England Patriots (3-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Patriots -7.5. Total: 43.5.
Series Rewind: The Patriots have won 18 of the past 20 meetings.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown could be back for the first time since he hurt his right ankle in a 13-10 Week 1 loss to Seattle. The Patriots are waiting until at least Saturday to gauge whether Brown is fully ready. The Jets snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Cleveland 17-12 last week. The Jets have committed just three turnovers through five games, with quarterback Geno Smith throwing six touchdown passes and no interceptions on 147 attempts. New York wide receiver Garrett Wilson has 31 receptions for 374 yards and three touchdowns. New England cornerback Christian Gonzalez practiced Friday and could be back for another showdown with Wilson. In three head-to-head meetings, Gonzalez limited Wilson to eight receptions for 72 yards on 51 total routes. The Jets have the NFL’s fifth-best scoring defense (19.2 ppg) and will be facing a New England offense that may not have running back TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) or starting left tackle Will Campbell (knee). Henderson and Campbell were both injured against the Raiders, and, like Brown and Gonzalez, were limited in Wednesday’s practice. New England quarterback Drake Maye was intercepted seven times during New England’s first four games, but completed 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns without an interception during the Patriots’ 45-17 victory over Las Vegas last week.
Chicago Bears (3-2) at Atlanta Falcons (2-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Bears -1.5. Total: 51.5.
Series Rewind: The Bears demolished the Falcons, 37-17, in the last game between these teams in 2023. Four different Bears scored TDs in a matchup of quarterbacks Justin Fields (Bears) and Taylor Heinicke (Falcons).
Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr. were drafted seven picks apart in the 2023 draft. Health willing, they’ll play on the field again Sunday for the first time since the ’23 college season. That Top 25 matchup ended a 52-42 victory for Penix and the No. 5 Washington Huskies over Williams and No. 24 USC. If either team wants to hit that level this NFL season, protection in the pocket has to become a higher priority. That’s why head coach Ben Johnson said he’s bringing a meat-and-potatoes approach to the offense with a focus on a timeshare at running back and controlling time of possession. The Falcons have less cause for concern this week after Chicago lost top pass rusher Montez Sweat to a two-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Atlanta never needs an invitation to pound the rock with running back Bijan Robinson. He’s second in the NFL with 732 total yards this season.
Tennessee Titans (0-5) at Indianapolis Colts (2-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Colts -6.5. Total: 44.5.
Series Rewind: The Colts have swept the season series from the Titans three consecutive seasons. Tennessee’s last win was in 2022, a 19-10 victory in which the lone touchdown for the Titans was Andrew Adams’ 76-yard interception return.
The Colts ran into plenty of problems last week in Pittsburgh, specifically 188 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns from the Steelers’ Jaylen Warren and 235 passing yards and three TD passes from Aaron Rodgers. That was too much to overcome for an Indianapolis offense looking to regain the form that carried the team to an 8-2 start last year. Indianapolis is scoring 24.8 points per game this season (11th in the NFL) but ranks in the bottom half of the league in rushing, passing, total yards and third-down conversion percentage. Although Jonathan Taylor has rushed for 398 yards and six touchdowns in five games, quarterback Daniel Jones hasn’t been quite as efficient. Losing No. 1 wide receiver Alec Pierce hasn’t helped, but Jones has averaged 5.8 yards per attempt. Tennessee could help Jones find the explosive plays the offense has been missing. The Titans are allowing opponents to complete 74% of their passes, a rate surpassed only by the Miami Dolphins’ 76.6%. Tennessee’s offense has been consistently ineffective, averaging a league-low 11.6 points per game. The Titans suffered a 26-3 home loss to the previously winless Houston Texans last week. Tennessee ranks last in total offense, 31st in passing, 27th in rushing and last in average time of possession. Second-year quarterback Cam Ward is averaging 5.8 yards per attempt, the same as Jones. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Titans have lost 33 of 39 games, with four of the defeats coming against the Colts.
New Orleans Saints (1-4) at New York Giants (3-1-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Saints -1.5. Total: 45.5.
Series Rewind: New Orleans has won three consecutive games against the Giants. The all-time series (regular-season games only) between the teams is tied 17-17.
Jameis Winston played four seasons in New Orleans and made 10 starts for the Saints. Now he’s the Giants’ starter after Jaxson Dart’s season-ending knee injury. Winston is 2-0-1 as the starter in potentially his most extended opportunity since being Tampa Bay’s No. 1 quarterback from 2015-19. The Giants leaned more heavily on Winston last week than they had previously and he responded by passing for 326 yards and three touchdowns in leading the team back from a 14-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter to escape Washington with a 27-27 tie. He passed for 254 yards and all three touchdowns after halftime. New York is 3-0 at home, including a 28-20 season-opening win vs. the Cowboys, the only full game Dart played. The Saints played their last three games at home and lost all three, prompting owner Gayle Benson to publicly call the team’s performance “not acceptable to me” and to say she was committed “to making the decisions necessary to improve this team.” After the game Sunday, the Saints will fly to Paris to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 25, then have their bye week, meaning they won’t play at home again until Nov. 8 against the Cleveland Browns. During the final nine quarters of the three-game homestand, New Orleans turned the ball over eight times, including three interceptions and two fumbles by Shough.
Baltimore Ravens (4-1) at Cleveland Browns (3-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Ravens -3.0. Total: 39.5
Series Rewind: Baltimore swept last season’s two meetings and has won the past three. The Browns have started Dillon Gabriel, Joe Flacco, Bailey Zappe, Jameis Winston, Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback in the past six meetings.
The Ravens will see former offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who’s now on the enemy side as Cleveland’s first-year coach. Watson has received another chance with Monken around and he’s been productive early with 1,010 yards and seven touchdowns against two interceptions. Wideout Denzel Boston has been an immediate hit, leading all rookies with 330 receiving yards and leading the NFL with a 20.6 average per catch. The Browns are improved but the old warts were back during last week’s 17-12 loss to the New York Jets. Cleveland had just 198 yards in the contest. Overall, the Browns are struggling offensively and rank 29th in total offense (273.6) and are tied for 27th in scoring offense (18.6). Cleveland defensive tackle Mason Graham (knee/ankle) practiced Friday after missing last week. The Ravens are hoping that quarterback Lamar Jackson (ankle) will be ready after he missed last week’s 30-23 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons. But he missed his second consecutive full week of practice. Tyler “Snoop” Huntley could land another start. Huntley scored the game-winning points on a 1-yard run against the Falcons and completed 24 of 32 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Derrick Henry rushed for 102 yards against Atlanta. He ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing yards (476) and is tied for second with seven rushing touchdowns.
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Fan Duel odds: Steelers -2.5. Total: 38.5.
Series Rewind: Pittsburgh has won six of the past seven meetings and 10 of 12 all-time. Tom Brady was Tampa Bay’s quarterback the last time these teams met in 2022 and the Buccaneers fell 20-18 after Brady’s two-point conversion throw was broken up by Devin Bush with 4:38 remaining.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has thrown three touchdown passes in three consecutive games and completed a season-best 71% of his throws in last week’s 34-22 home win over the Indianapolis Colts. Rodgers has overall passed for 1,234 yards and 10 touchdowns against four interceptions. But the MVP of the offense has been 5-foot-8 Jaylen Warren, who became the sixth player in NFL history to have a rushing touchdown of 50 or more yards and a receiving score of 80 or more yards in the same game. Warren had a career-high 188 scrimmage yards (101 rush, career-best 87 receiving yards) against the Colts and is tied for sixth in the NFL with 410 rushing yards. Steelers star linebacker T.J. Watt continues to excel and has 4.5 sacks and an interception return for touchdown. Undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels is in line to make his third straight start with Baker Mayfield still recovering from a dislocated right thumb. Mayfield missed practice again Thursday. Daniels guided the Buccaneers to a 24-16 victory over the host Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 8 as he completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown. But the biggest contributor was running back Bucky Irving, who had a career-best 165 rushing yards to go with two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) to fuel a ground attack that rolled up 241 yards. Irving ranks eighth in the NFL with 406 rushing yards.
Carolina Panthers (2-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (2-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Panthers -3.5. Total 38.5.
Series Rewind: The Eagles are 9-4 against the Panthers in the regular season. The last four meetings have been decided by six or fewer points, including Carolina’s 22-16 loss at Philadelphia the last time they met in Week 14 in 2024.
Philadelphia has lost three straight games and is playing without Jalen Hurts and possibly Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith. Fourth-year backup quarterback Tanner McKee is poised to make just his third NFL start after drawing Week 18 assignments in each of the past two seasons. He will need help from wideouts Darius Cooper (four touchdowns on seven catches this season) and Dontayvion Wicks, who has averaged just 37.7 yards during the losing streak. Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense ranks 29th in the NFL with only three takeaways, including zero fumble recoveries. The Panthers are rested after a bye week and looking to climb above .500 for the first time this season. Bryce Young leads the NFL with 317 passing yards per game and has thrown three TD passes in each of his past two starts. Running back Chuba Hubbard has had success in the past against Philadelphia with a combined 241 yards from scrimmage and one score in two meetings. The defense ranks 31st against the run (156.5 yards