We’re trying something a little different this week. If you see it next week, that means we like it. If you never see it again, well, it won’t be accidental.
It’s a one-stop place to get a quick look at the upcoming Sunday and Monday games. It’ll show up at some point on Friday or Saturday. It will include the basic information plus something about each game that has caught my eye, and thus might catch yours.
This is a good week to give it a try, given that five games include teams that are both above .500 through six weeks.
Here we go, with what will be the first (and could be the last) set of weekly game previews.
1-5 Patriots at 1-5 Jaguars (-5.5), Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network (Chris Rose and Joe Thomas)
The Pats have a five-game losing streak, longest in the league. The Jaguars were embarrassed last week against the Bears, with safety Andrew Cisco saying the defense showed “a lot of quit,” and with coach Doug Pederson saying the team needs a culture change.
With another Jacksonville loss, the question becomes whether the Jags will have a coaching change.
3-3 Seahawks at 4-2 Falcons (-3), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX (Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma)
Atlanta has won three in a row; Seattle has lost three in a row. Seahawks coach Mike McDonald went to high school and college in the Atlanta area.
All four Falcons home games have been decided by one score, and all four came down to the final minute of regulation or overtime.
The Seahawks will have defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, who has missed three games (all losses) with a hamstring injury. He’s got extra motivation, given that the Falcons passed on him in the draft.
1-4 Titans at 4-2 Bills (-9.5), Sunday 1 p.m. ET, CBS (Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber and Jason McCourty)
Titans quarterback Will Lewis, questionable for the game with a lingering right shoulder injury, leads the league with 10 turnovers. He has at least one in every game this season, with a nine-game turnover streak dating back to last year. He has had turnovers in 12 of his 14 NFL starts.
Last week, he played like he’s concerned about getting benched; maybe he will.
The Bills have added receiver Amari Cooper as they play on a short week after beating the Jets on Monday night.
The 4-2 Bills don’t play a team that currently has a winning record until Week 11. This is their chance to fatten up their record.
2-4 Bengals (-6) at 1-5 Browns, Sunday 1 p.m. ET, CBS (Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta)
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is 1-5 against the Browns. Cleveland has won six in a row at home against the Bengals.
Deshaun Watson is the only quarterback to not have a 200-yard passing game through six weeks. The return of running back Nick Chubb from a serious knee injury suffered in Week 2 of the 2023 season could give the offense a boost.
With the first of three home games after not playing in Cleveland since Week 3, the crowd could get more than a little restless if Watson continues to struggle — and if the Browns continue to refuse to bench him.
5-1 Texans at 4-2 Packers (-3), Sunday 1 p.m. ET, CBS (Jim Nantz and Tony Romo)
The Packers rank second in the NFL in rushing, behind the Ravens. Quarterback Jordan Love, fully recovered from a Week 1 knee injury, looked like he was fully back to form in a Week 6 rout of the Cardinals.
Green Bay will be wearing white helmets, jerseys, and pants for the game.
Houston hasn’t had a signature road win since the Texans’ unexpected resurgence in 2023. They lost badly in Minnesota four weeks ago, 34-7.
With a win, Houston will be 6-1 for the first time since 2012.
2-3 Dolphins at 3-3 Colts (-3), Sunday 1 p.m. ET, FOX (Kevin Kugler and Daryl Johnston)
In what could be their last game without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins emerge from the bye at 2-3. Will the offense look better without its starting quarterback.
The Colts, at 3-3, anticipate getting quarterback Anthony Richardson back in the starting lineup. However, running back Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out again, with an ankle injury.
4-1 Lions at 5-0 Vikings (-1.5), Sunday 1 p.m. ET, FOX (Adam Amin and Greg Olsen)
The Vikings had an extra week to get ready for their biggest test of the year to date. Did the Jets provide a blueprint for slowing down quarterback Sam Darnold, or was the sputtering in London the product of a very good New York defense?
Running back Aaron Jones is questionable with a hamstring injury. Without him, the offense is very different. (The arrival of Cam Akers via trade with the Texans could help, if Jones is hindered.)
The Lions have scored 40 or more points in consecutive games for the first time since 1962. With a win, they’ll be 5-1 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1933-34.
Although the Lions have won three in a row against the Vikings and four out of five, the Vikings are 21-5 in the series since 1998.
3-2 Eagles (-3) at 2-4 Giants, Sunday 1 p.m. ET, FOX (Chris Myers and Mark Sanchez)
The Eagles have won one and lost one, all season long. They haven’t won back-to-back games since winning five in a row last year, culminating in a 10-1 record. They’re currently 0-4 in their last four games after a win.
In this one, running back Saquon Barkley returns to MetLife Stadium. After scoring five touchdowns in the first three games of the season, he has none in two straight games.
Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers returns to action after missing two games with a concussion. That might help quarterback Daniel Jones reverse a trend that has him at zero passing touchdowns and four interceptions at home, while throwing six touchdown passes and zero picks on the road.
2-4 Raiders at 1-4 Rams (-6.5), Sunday 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS (Kevin Harlan and Trent Green)
Receiver Cooper Kupp is questionable to return after an extended absence for the Rams, who are off to their worst start under coach Sean McVay. A loss on Sunday would drop L.A. to 1-5, their worst six-game record since going 0-6 in 2011.
The Rams are 2-0 against the Raiders since returning to Los Angeles. The Raiders will be playing their first game without receiver Davante Adams since trading for him in 2022. This week, defensive end Maxx Crosby made a comment that will invite speculation as to whether he’d like a change of scenery, too.
1-5 Panthers at 4-2 Commanders (-8), Sunday 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS (Ian Eagle and Charles Davis)
In every loss, the 1-5 Panthers have finished 10 or more points behind. They’ve been outscored by 100 points, the worst differential in the league, by 35 points.
Andy Dalton remains the starting quarterback for Carolina. It seems that, inevitably, they’ll pivot back to Bryce Young.
Rookie phenom Jayden Daniels will try to push the Commanders to 5-2. The teams they’ve beaten have a combined record of 7-17. Washington’s losses were to teams that are 8-4 combined.
With a win, Washington will be 3-0 at home for the first time since 2005. That’s the last year the franchise won a playoff game.
5-0 Chiefs at 3-3 49ers (-1.5), Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX (Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady)
For the 10th time ever, the Super Bowl teams have a rematch the next regular season. The Super Bowl winner is 6-3.
The more important trend for the Chiefs are these: coach Andy Reid is 21-4 after a bye, and Patrick Mahomes is 11-1-1 as an underdog.
For the 49ers, rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall, who was shot Labor Day weekend in a robbery attempt, will make his NFL debut. The 49ers won’t have receiver Jauan Jennings, who’s out with a hip injury.
2-4 Jets (-2) at 4-2 Steelers, Sunday 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC (Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth)
Russell Wilson is expected to get his first start as a Steeler. If/when that happens, he’ll reunite with Aaron Rodgers. The duo were on either side of an epic NFC Championship in 2014, with the Packers blowing a big lead and Seattle winning in overtime.
The Jets will try to push their way into contention with the arrival of receiver Davante Adams, who is expected to play after missing three games for Las Vegas with a hamstring (or “hamstring”) injury.
Some believe the Jets did the deal for Adams to help owner Woody Johnson justify the quick-trigger firing of coach Robert Saleh. If they lose on Sunday night, will Johnson have more moves to make?
The Steelers have a pair of prime-time games at home against the two New York/New Jersey teams before a Week 9 bye.
If Wilson starts, watch for a possible Justin Fields package. There was a belief the Steelers would incorporate Fields in Week 1 against the Falcons, before Wilson aggravated his training-camp calf injury.
4-2 Ravens (-3.5) at 4-2 Buccaneers, Monday 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN (Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
The Ravens average 205.3 rushing yards per game, nearly 40 yards more than the Packers, at 167.2. Running back Derrick Henry has 704 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in six games.
The Bucs might have found a potent tailback of their own in Sean Tucker. The undrafted second-year player from Syracuse had 136 rushing yards, 56 receiving yards, and two touchdowns in a 51-27 win over the Saints.
The game pits the first player taken in round one of the 2018 draft — Baker Mayfield — against the last player taken in the first round that year — Lamar Jackson. Jackson is a two-time MVP, and he’s already generating chatter about a third MVP award. He’d be the youngest in NFL history to be named league MVP three times.
Mayfield has a shot at his first one. If the Bucs finish with the top seed in the NFC, he’ll definitely get votes.
By the way, last week Jackson extended his record against NFC teams to an uncanny 22-1. A win on Monday night will make him 23-1 all time in interconference play.
3-2 Chargers (-2.5) at 2-4 Cardinals, Monday 9 p.m. ET, ESPN+ (Chris Fowler, Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky)
The subscription-service afterthought, which starts 45 minutes after Ravens-Bucs, features the Cardinals trying to get their third win of the season. They’ve scored 14 points or fewer in three of their last four games.
The Chargers rolled to a 23-0 lead over the Broncos in their first game after the bye, holding on to win, 23-16. The outcome was overshadowed by coach Jim Harbaugh’s atrial flutter, which sent him to the medical tent and then to the locker room for an IV and medication. He’s wearing a heart monitor for two weeks.
Harbaugh had a procedure in 2012 after a similar incident. He declared after the win over the Broncos that he’s 2-0 with an arrhythmia.
Which means, as we’ve observed a time or two this week, that he knows how to attack the day with an arrhythmia unknown to mankind.
