New York Jets (2-2) vs. Minnesota Vikings (4-0) in London
The Vikings are 4-0 for the first time since 2016 and own a 3-0 record in international games. Minnesota has won three games in a row against the Jets, who arrive frustrated by a 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos last week. Standing in their way of a get-happy game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is Sam Darnold, the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft by the Jets who is thriving under Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota. Darnold leads the NFL with 11 touchdown passes and a passer rating of 118.9. He said he won’t shy away from the Jets’ confident secondary, including Sauce Gardner, when looking for No. 1 receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson is shooting for his sixth consecutive game with a TD catch. Rodgers plays the Vikings for the 30th time in his career and has more passing yards — 7,157 — against Minnesota than any other team.
Carolina Panthers (1-3) at Chicago Bears (2-2)
Teams entangled by their draft and quarterback decisions the past two years measure up in Chicago, where the Bears are 2-0 this season with close wins over the Titans and Rams. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams hasn’t always looked comfortable or confident, but head coach Matt Eberflus does sense improvement. On the other hand, the Panthers are trying to bounce back from a 34-24 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4. They are finding far more positives with former Bears quarterback Andy Dalton, who replaced Bryce Young as Carolina’s starter after an 0-2 start. Young was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2023 — Carolina acquired the pick from the Bears in a deal that included the slot Chicago would use to select Williams. Among Williams’ top targets is receiver DJ Moore, who’s in his second season with the Bears after five years with Carolina. Dalton, a former starter with the Bengals, has thrown five touchdowns across the past two games.
Baltimore Ravens (2-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
Baltimore has won three of the past four meetings in this AFC North rivalry and has a chance to get to the top of the division standings after an 0-2 start depending on the outcome of the SNF game (Steelers-Cowboys). Bengals QB Joe Burrow has eyes on a rebound from another sluggish start to the season. He has seven touchdowns and one interception in three career home starts in this series. Burrow said this week he’ll need to be close to perfect to beat Baltimore. That’s partly because the Ravens found an explosive running game featuring Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, who’ve combined for 788 rushing yards in four games. Jackson is 8-1 in nine career starts against the Bengals.
Buffalo Bills (3-1) at Houston Texans (3-1)
Stefon Diggs reunites with the Buffalo Bills, who traded the four-time Pro Bowl receiver to the Texans to shed his salary and abrasive personality. Diggs is thriving in Houston as a co-No. 1 receiver with Nico Collins. Collins starred last week with a career-high 12 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown. Diggs has 25 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing score, well on his way to matching or bettering the numbers he put up all four seasons he played with the Bills. Diggs’ old team took its first loss last week, getting routed 35-10 in Baltimore. Buffalo was outrushed 271 yards to 81. It was a striking result for the AFC’s highest-scoring offense (30.5 points per game), as the Bills managed only 236 total yards (to the Ravens’ 427) and picked up only 12 first downs to Baltimore’s 22. The Bills’ defense also took a hit off the field Wednesday when linebacker Von Miller drew a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The active leader among NFL players in sacks with 126.5, Miller is tied for the team lead this season with three.
Indianapolis Colts (2-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4)
Everything is fine and we’re close to a breakthrough. That’s the common refrain in Jacksonville, where head coach Doug Pederson argues he hasn’t lost the locker room and QB Trevor Lawrence hasn’t won a start in his last nine tries. The stars might be aligning for the Jaguars with the Colts limping in with a 1-4 record in their last four tries against Lawrence. Colts QB Anthony Richardson (hip) was ailing all week after being replaced by Joe Flacco in the Week 4 win. The 1992 San Diego Chargers are the lone 0-4 team to recover and reach the playoffs. That team started slowly while adjusting to new coach Bobby Ross and had strong leadership from Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau. Lawrence’s completion percentage of 53.3 is second worst in the NFL among qualifiers — only Richardson (50.6) is lower. Richardson played high school and college football about 75 miles down the road in Gainesville and hopes to be on the field Sunday.
Miami Dolphins (1-3) at New England Patriots (1-3)
Points are next to impossible to come by for these AFC East clubs riding three-game losing streaks since winning Week 1. Quarterbacks are the root cause of consternation on each side. Tua Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve with a concussion suffered Week 2. Miami has tried to replace him a few different ways and starts Tyler Huntley for a second game in a row. Huntley ran for a TD, the only Dolphins’ trip to the end zone in 10 quarters, in a lopsided loss to the Titans last week. Without the threat of the deep ball, defenses aren’t giving Miami the running lanes that made the Dolphins’ offense a wrecking ball last season. The Dolphins are averaging 11.3 points per game and the Patriots are one slot better among the NFL’s 32 teams at 13 points per game (31st). Jacoby Brissett is New England’s starter with rookie Drake Maye waiting in line. Brissett isn’t blessed with a Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle or Odell Beckham Jr. at wide receiver and New England relies on a ground-and-pound approach that strains its own defense with a non-existent margin for error.
Cleveland Browns (1-3) at Washington Commanders (3-1)
The drumbeat grows in Washington around rookie QB Jayden Daniels, the first player in NFL history with a completion percentage of 85 percent or better in consecutive games. Daniels leads the NFL in completion percentage and has accounted for four rushing touchdowns along with three TD passes and one interception. While Brian Robinson wasn’t full strength in the lead up to Week 5, the Commanders cleared veteran RB Austin Ekeler to return. He has five touchdowns in his last two games against the Browns. Cleveland’s stout defense might have better luck getting Washington’s offense off the field. The Commanders are averaging 30.3 points per game and have punted only once per game (four total) this season. Protecting QB Deshaun Watson is a sore subject for the Browns. Watson has been sacked 19 times with two fumbles and three interceptions. Injuries wrecked the offensive line the first month of the season. In obvious passing situations, Watson has been a sitting duck. Cleveland’s third-down conversion rate of 20.8 percent is last in the NFL.
Las Vegas Raiders (2-2) at Denver Broncos (2-2)
Of all the problems percolating around the Raiders, the one thing that hasn’t been much trouble for the franchise is beating the Broncos. They’ve won 10 of 11 from Denver and are 8-0 in the matchup since moving to Las Vegas. By holding three consecutive opponents under 14 points, the Broncos are flexing their muscles defensively as rookie QB Bo Nix inches forward with an offense still searching for its identity. Head coach Sean Payton wants to be a run-first team and made inroads down that path in September without a bell-cow ball-carrier. He might be in for a bit of good news Sunday with the Raiders allowing 5.1 yards per carry and 550 rushing yards in four games. Las Vegas survived apparent infighting and a trade request from wide receiver Davante Adams to beat the Browns in Week 4. They arrive in Denver going for a third consecutive win in the series, hopeful that pass rusher Maxx Crosby can get back on the field. He missed last week’s game with an ankle injury.
Arizona Cardinals (1-3) at San Francisco 49ers (2-2)
Brock Purdy and Jordan Mason are becoming a dynamic duo as the 49ers evolve without RB Christian McCaffrey (Achilles). Mason had 160 yards from scrimmage last week and is the only player in the NFL with three 100-yard rushing games. Purdy is second in the NFL with 1,130 passing yards and had four TD passes in his last shot at the Cardinals. Arizona enters knowing it will need more offense than the back-to-back games with no more than 14 points in losses to the Lions (20-13) and Commanders (42-14). Finding a way to push Purdy to get rid of the ball before he’s ready is part of the plan, but opposing quarterbacks have completed 78.6 percent of their passes vs. Arizona this season. Cardinals rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. liked his first taste of NFC West football with four catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams. He leads Arizona with four TD grabs.
Green Bay Packers (2-2) at Los Angeles Rams (1-3)
Could the Packers be 4-0 this season? Pretty easily, had the late fourth-quarter sequences in Brazil (vs. Eagles) and last week in a near miraculous rally against the Vikings gone differently. Head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense continues to show flashes of potency, averaging 410 yards and 26 points per game. The Packers begrudge the No. 1 receiver label but Jayden Reed put up 7-139-1 last week and is one of two NFL players (Nico Collins) with two 135-yard-plus receiving games this season. Getting the ground game going at a consistent level is a focus for the Packers. RB Josh Jacobs is averaging 4.6 yards per carry but looking for his first rushing touchdown this season. The Rams fell to the Bears last week and played three of their first four games on the road. Back home Sunday, QB Matthew Stafford hopes another playmaker emerges behind RB Kyren Williams, who has six of the Rams’ seven touchdowns this season.
N.Y. Giants (1-3) at Seattle Seahawks (3-1)
Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers had a career-high 12 catches for 115 yards in a Week 4 loss to the Cowboys, but spent the week in concussion protocol. Without Nabers, the Giants are in a pickle with few playmakers to help Daniel Jones survive the noisy torture chamber that is Lumen Field. WR Wan’Dale Robinson had 11 receptions last week but operates almost entirely out of the slot, where he benefits from coverage shaded to slow Nabers. The Seahawks lost for the first time this season at Detroit despite 395 passing yards from Geno Smith and three touchdowns from RB Kenneth Walker III. WR DK Metcalf has three 100-yard games this season. Sunday’s matchup could be big for Seattle’s shot at challenging for a playoff spot under rookie coach Mike Macdonald. Up next is a short week, primetime home game with the 49ers, a trip to Atlanta to face the Falcons (3-2) and a visit from the Buffalo Bills (3-1).
Dallas Cowboys (2-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
A high injury toll ushers the Cowboys to Pittsburgh for a primetime date with the Steelers. T.J. Watt has three of the Steelers’ 11 sacks and one of Pittsburgh’s five takeaways through four games. The Cowboys face a challenge of generating pressure while containing dual-threat QB Justin Fields, the type of passer that has given Dallas fits in the past. Fields has three touchdown passes and three rushing TDs, operating a conservative passing attack that thrives on play-action. Six targets have 20-plus yard gains and top receiver George Pickens (14.2 yards per catch) had chances for multiple big plays called back due to penalty. Fields could get comfortable with Dallas dealing with injuries to Micah Parsons (ankle) and DeMarcus Lawrence (foot). The Cowboys are still searching for the right mix at running back. Rico Dowdle leads the team with 34 carries for 134 yards. Ezekiel Elliott has averaged 3.4 yards per carry and his longest run covered 9 yards.
New Orleans Saints (2-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (4-0), Monday night
Undefeated two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City has a perfect record despite a flawed start to the season. The Chiefs have won four one-score games but might need to find retro mojo to dispatch the Saints, who are tied for largest scoring margin in the NFL. New Orleans lost late leads in both losses. The Chiefs are without RB Isiah Pacheco (fibula), WR Hollywood Brown (back) and WR Rashee Rice, leading head coach Andy Reid to bring back Kareem Hunt and utilize rookie first-round pick Xavier Worthy in the lead receiver role. Patrick Mahomes is on pace for 18 interceptions while working through the novelty of revolving personnel. He did reconnect with TE Travis Kelce (7-89) last week to defeat the Chargers. Saints QB Derek Carr has been mostly efficient and RB Alvin Kamara leads the NFL with 536 yards from scrimmage to drive the Saints’ offensive resurgence (31.8 points per game). Thanks in part to being No. 7 in scoring defense (18.0), Kansas City has sparred with all four opponents into the fourth quarter before landing the decisive blow. New Orleans took a lead with 2:03 left before a loss to the Eagles and scored in the final minute last week only to fall 26-24 to the Falcons on a decisive field goal.
–Field Level Media