Season: 101-47-1
NYJ (2-7) @ NE (8-2)
Thursday, November 13 | 8:15 PM ET | Prime Video
As was the case for the Broncos last Thursday night, New England has a chance to take sole claim of the top record in the league to begin Week 11; but as we saw with Denver barely escaping with a win over Las Vegas (and similar outcomes for other divisional games on a short week), the Patriots could be given a fight with New York winning two games in a row since an 0-7 start. Last week, the Jets were powered by a 99-yard kick return touchdown by Kene Nwangwu and a 74-yard punt return touchdown by Isaiah Williams in the first quarter, but I expect Mike Vrabel will make sure his guys are focused in all phases to prevent a game-changing play like those were. My big concern for New York is them falling behind and needing to throw after Justin Fields had just 11 pass attempts last week (and was still sacked three times), and his long delivery leading to strip sacks—especially with the wideouts being overmatched by the cornerbacks for the Pats—would be something that could make this a slanted result.
Winner: New England Patriots
WAS (3-7) @ MIA (3-7)
Sunday, November 16 | 9:30 AM ET (Madrid) | NFL Network
The Dolphins couldn’t capitalize on the “easy” schedule a few weeks ago to climb back into contention, but the shocking win over the Bills gives them the smallest glimmer of hope to make an unprecedented run to the postseason—with a string of games versus the Commanders, Saints, and Jets setting up a legitimate chance to reach 6-7. While things get a lot tougher after that, Miami can be a scary opponent when they feed De’Von Achane, and Jaylen Waddle has seemed to elevate his play with 82+ receiving yards in all but one game since Tyreek Hill (knee) went down in Week 4. We’ll see if Dan Quinn taking over as defensive coordinator for Washington leads to better results for them, but it’s more of a personnel issue with the defense simply being too slow, so Achane could shred them similar to Jahmyr Gibbs last week (172 total yards and three total touchdowns). I have faith in Marcus Mariota playing well again and it was funny to hear President Trump talk him up in the FOX broadcast booth last week, but the Dolphins are suddenly in a better spot as a team right now.
Winner: Miami Dolphins
CAR (5-5) @ ATL (3-6)
Sunday, November 16 | 1:00 PM ET | FOX
The lack of national attention about the Falcons has been curious with them underperforming expectations as much as any squad in the league—and it’s fair to wonder if team owner Arthur Blank regrets not hiring Bill Belichick a couple of years ago. There are weaknesses on the interior defensive line and behind A.J. Terrell Jr. at cornerback, but the Falcons have too much talent on defense to not be better, and we can’t forget about how badly they mismanaged the quarterback situation by giving Kirk Cousins a monster contract only to take Michael Penix Jr.—who has 12 passing touchdowns in 11 career starts—with the No. 8 overall pick; and I liked Penix coming out of Washington, but there have been too many games like the 30-0 loss to Carolina earlier this year on an offense that doesn’t lack for talent. That said, the Panthers have also been inconsistent this season, and the pass rush needs to be better for them to avoid being 5-8 by the bye week with games versus the 49ers and Rams up next.
Winner: Atlanta Falcons
TB (6-3) @ BUF (6-3)
Sunday, November 16 | 1:00 PM ET | CBS
Buccaneers-Bills is a very important game with each side trying to keep pace in their respective conference, and there might be some urgency for Tampa Bay to get Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder) and Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula) back in the lineup with the pair returning to limited practices to begin the week. Godwin was expected to be back closer to the end of the month, though, and the Bucs will at least be without Mike Evans (collarbone) in a game that might not match typical shootout expectations with snow and/or cold rain in the forecast. For the Bills, Dalton Kincaid (hamstring) being week-to-week will put more on the wide receivers, and Sean McDermott saying they are still trying to find different combinations that work at the position isn’t what you want to hear in the middle of November—and the team might end up wasting another year of Josh Allen’s career by not being more aggressive at the trade deadline (or in the offseason). In general, Buffalo is not the same level of offense with Kincaid off the field, but the weather should play in their favor, and they can’t let another game slip away with a trip to Houston (a team they have struggled against some) next Thursday night.
Winner: Buffalo Bills
LAC (7-3) @ JAX (5-4)
Sunday, November 16 | 1:00 PM ET | CBS
Travis Hunter (knee) having his rookie campaign end after just seven games is a massive blow to a franchise that surrendered a 2026 first-round pick, the No. 36 overall pick (which turned into Quinshon Judkins), and the No. 126 overall pick (Dylan Sampson) to move up three spots—and you could feel tension rising for the team after the blown lead last week versus Houston. Liam Coen saying Hunter might not remain a two-way player moving forward was a very curious statement considering the investment in him, but I continue to believe the best path for Hunter to provide maximum impact as a No. 2 overall pick would be primarily playing cornerback (where he has the highest likelihood of becoming an All-Pro) and sprinkling in on offense. Debatable mistakes for the new regime in Jacksonville go beyond Hunter, as the midseason trade for Greg Newsome II has yet to pay off (four touchdowns allowed in four games with the team), and it’s taken them leaning on Travis Etienne Jr. and Parker Washington as holdovers on offense to get going lately. Unless the pass rush with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker can reach Justin Herbert behind a shaky offensive line, the Jags could find themselves at 5-5 despite their 4-1 start.
Winner: Los Angeles Chargers
CHI (6-3) @ MIN (4-5)
Sunday, November 16 | 1:00 PM ET | FOX
We can’t write the book of a quarterback’s career based on four games, and J.J. McCarthy deserves credit for having wins over the Bears and Lions under his belt already. However, there is no doubt that Minnesota must be discouraged about his overall play thus far, as McCarthy is in a tremendous situation for a quarterback—but having Kevin O’Connell in his ear, throwing to an all-time great in Justin Jefferson, and being on a team that went 14-3 last year (not to mention having a season to learn instead of being thrown into the fire as a rookie) still has the 22-year-old looking lost for the most part. Chicago shouldn’t have any questions about their signal-caller with Caleb Williams coming through with another comeback win last week to beat the Giants, and his ability to avoid sacks—and often turn the scrambles into clutch gains as a runner—is a dangerous combination with Ben Johnson calling the shots. We could see Jefferson and Jordan Addison get on track this week due to the injuries at cornerback for the Bears, but I have much more faith in Williams than McCarthy, and Chicago will come in with some anger after the blown lead to Minnesota in Week 1.
Winner: Chicago Bears
GB (5-3-1) @ NYG (2-8)
Sunday, November 16 | 1:00 PM ET | FOX
The Giants deciding to fire Brian Daboll and not Joe Schoen doesn’t seem to make a ton of sense when Daboll is the one who identified Jaxson Dart as the hopeful franchise quarterback; and I would say no one really knows what’s going on inside the building, but that’s not the case with the offseason Hard Knocks showing a lack of conviction and vision from the GM, who respectfully doesn’t seem impressive enough to keep such an important role. If you want to focus on the results, Schoen comes out even worse (20-40-1 record), and the organization got way over their skis by viewing the 2024 draft class as some franchise-altering haul—which I fear might also end up being the case for 2025. This week, Jameis Winston could at least provide some fun with Dart (concussion) out, but New York’s lack of weapons hurt his chances of pulling out a win, and the volatile play of Jordan Love could slope upwards based on the opponent.
Winner: Green Bay Packers
CIN (3-6) @ PIT (5-4)
Sunday, November 16 | 1:00 PM ET | CBS
The first matchup between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh this season was a 33-31 thriller with Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers going off, and the teams are meeting exactly one month later for the rematch—with more offensive fireworks expected. To me, the Steelers are similar to the Bills in that it seems things need to be nearly perfect (in terms of health) to prevent the team from going off the rails, and we saw it again last Sunday night when Darius Slay left with a concussion and the Chargers started having some success on offense. I wonder if putting Jalen Ramsey back in the slot and having Jabrill Peppers (quadricep) start at safety in his return to the lineup might be a better strategy, but whatever the alignment is, they can’t allow Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to get free releases and roam across the middle with deep in-breaking routes for Flacco to hit like we saw in Week 7. On the other side of the ball, DK Metcalf said he hopes the Bengals use DJ Turner II in shadow coverage again after he was mostly held in check last month, but Calvin Austin III is a name to watch, and I’ll lean towards homefield advantage being more important than the rest Cincinnati had with the bye week.
Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers
HOU (4-5) @ TEN (1-8)
Sunday, November 16 | 1:00 PM ET | FOX
Davis Mills led what might have been a season-saving comeback after trailing 29-10 to the Jaguars last Sunday, and Houston’s backup will be under center again this week with C.J. Stroud still in the concussion protocol. The momentum built could certainly carry over to another divisional matchup, but the Texans shutting out the Titans in the first meeting (26-0) might be a bit misleading in terms of how close the game was; it was a 6-0 score until the fourth quarter, and this week, Tennessee is coming off the bye for what might have been a soft reset for Cameron Ward and the offense. Of course, Houston’s defense will want to be a lot better themselves with the 29 points surrendered to Jacksonville being a season high—and Danielle Hunter (who had 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble last week to fuel the victory) was able to get to Ward twice in Week 4. If they don’t look ahead with games against the Bills, Colts, and Chiefs over the next three weeks, the Texans should take care of business.
Winner: Houston Texans
SF (6-4) @ ARI (3-6)
Sunday, November 16 | 4:05 PM ET | FOX
The injury to Nick Bosa (knee) was obviously crushing, but the 49ers ranking last in the NFL in sacks (12) doesn’t match what we’ve come to expect from the unit in recent years—so that needs to get boosted somehow to take the pressure off the secondary. Still, cornerback Renardo Green has been a breakout star with zero touchdowns allowed this year, and the level of difficulty in keeping opposing wideouts in check is increased when pressure isn’t getting home. The coverage won’t be as stressed this week with the Cardinals not having Marvin Harrison Jr. (illness), but Robert Saleh needs to make sure Trey McBride doesn’t go off with Jacoby Brissett helping the All-Pro contender be more productive than ever. On the San Francisco offense, Brock Purdy (toe) has a real shot at returning this week, and to eliminate any talk of a quarterback controversy (which is only happening because of how great Mac Jones has played), Sunday is an ideal launching point for Purdy with three games in a row where the Niners are favored (@ ARI, v CAR, @ CLE).
Winner: San Francisco 49ers
SEA (7-2) @ LAR (7-2)
Sunday, November 16 | 4:05 PM ET | FOX
Seahawks-Rams getting overshadowed by Chiefs-Broncos in the late-afternoon slate is disappointing, but it doesn’t take away from the first-place battle in the NFC West. The big storyline is Sam Darnold seeking a bit of vengeance for the playoff loss to Los Angeles that ended his time in Minnesota (when he was sacked nine times), and we shouldn’t forget about the controversial regular season meeting either—as a blatant facemask on a safety prevented Darnold from a possible game-tying drive. Focusing on this week, the Rams need to have an answer for Jaxon Smith-Njigba after he roasted them for a 7/180/2 line last year (though LA still got the win in overtime), and JSN has been on a historic run in 2025 with a season-long pace of 1,966 receiving yards (which would beat Calvin Johnson’s record by two yards). Overall, I think this weekend could be a clinic with a bunch of wide receivers shining, but Puka Nacua and Davante Adams might get the upper hand with the Rams firing on all cylinders right now.
Winner: Los Angeles Rams
BAL (4-5) @ CLE (2-7)
Sunday, November 16 | 4:25 PM ET | CBS
The Ravens have climbed back into the Super Bowl picture with three consecutive wins after a 1-5 start, and we haven’t even seen Derrick Henry reach his final form with usual late-season dominance. Cleveland did a great job stopping King Henry in Week 2 with 11 carries for 23 scoreless yards, but it came at the cost of Lamar Jackson throwing for four touchdowns on them—so I’m curious how the Browns will defend Baltimore’s offense in the rematch. Last season, Henry seeing only 11 carries in an upset loss to the Browns was followed up by 20 carries for 138 yards and two scores in the second meeting, and we’ll see if the motivation is there like it was earlier this year with Cleveland now at 2-7 after losing to the Jets. Keep an eye on first-round safety Malaki Starks going for his third game in a row with an interception for an emerging Baltimore defense, and another game of struggles for Dillon Gabriel (even with two touchdown passes last week) could get us closer to Shedeur Sanders seeing action for the Browns.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens
KC (5-4) @ DEN (8-2)
Sunday, November 16 | 4:25 PM ET | CBS
The Chiefs get the advantage of a bye week (when Andy Reid is 22-4 in his career) and won’t have to face reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II (pectoral) in this weekend’s highly anticipated AFC West clash—so those are two significant factors in Kansas City’s favor. Plus, Reid’s offense is set to get standout rookie Josh Simmons (personal) back at left tackle after a few weeks away from the team, which is huge with Denver having the best pass rush in the league trying to get to Patrick Mahomes; and the Broncos won’t have J.K. Dobbins (foot) with the run defense of the Chiefs being their biggest weakness at this point. That said, all the negative talk about how Bo Nix looked last week (as if he’s not allowed a down game, even in a win) combined with Denver having high motivation to take the divisional crown by putting Kansas City on the mat should lead to them playing with an edge on both sides of the ball. Instead of listening to dumb people on social media or reading think pieces from even dumber “experts” on what’s wrong with Nix at the first sign of weakness, I’d go back to what Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce said last year after the first battle (which Nix would have won if not for a blocked field goal). If that version of Nix shows up on Sunday, watch out.
Winner: Denver Broncos
DET (6-3) @ PHI (7-2)
Sunday, November 16 | 8:20 PM ET | NBC
Lions-Eagles is the NFC Championship matchup we didn’t get last season as injuries struck Detroit, so the top contenders will meet for the first time since 2022—when Dan Campbell’s squad had just started to emerge. Some of the players and all the coordinators have changed since then, but the last matchup was a 38-35 shootout that Philadelphia won, and it’s notable that A.J. Brown went off in that game (10 receptions for 155 yards) while DeVonta Smith has been held to a combined one reception (on seven targets) for 15 scoreless yards in two career matchups; Smith is too good to be shut down again, but I do think the heavy man coverage could slant things towards Brown as he tries to bully a smaller cornerback group. I’m more intrigued by the other side of the ball as a real test for how good the Eagles are defensively and if Detroit’s switch to Campbell as the offensive play-caller is enough to make them NFC favorites. I sense we’ll get the real battle in January, but if the Lions want to avoid another trip to Lincoln Financial Field this season, they’ll need to bring their A-game on Sunday night.
Winner: Detroit Lions
DAL (3-5-1) @ LV (2-7)
Monday, November 17 | 8:15 PM ET | ESPN/ABC
The Cowboys have not been good at all on defense this season, but the offense needs to be better, too, as the two-game losing streak has also been about the passing attack cooling off. Before the bye, Dak Prescott was sacked five times in the upset loss to Arizona, and I think Dallas needs to recommit to the running game to open things up for CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens (it’s no coincidence that the Cowboys are 3-0-1 when Javonte Williams handles more than 15 carries). But back to the defense, the group gets big-time reinforcements with Quinnen Williams, DeMarvion Overshown (knee), Logan Wilson, Shavon Revel Jr. (knee), and Malik Hooker (toe) returning, nearing a return, or being set to make their team debut—which comes just in time with a gauntlet versus the Eagles, Chiefs, and Lions coming after this week. The worry would be new faces on defense missing an assignment and leading to a crease for Ashton Jeanty to get through on Monday night (not to mention Saquon Barkley and Jahmyr Gibbs in the weeks to come), but at least for this week, I assume the Prescott will be able to outduel a Las Vegas offense with a struggling quarterback and lack of weapons on the perimeter.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys