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Giants (2-7) at Panthers (2-7): What could possibly be more exhilarating, worthy of shooting out of bed at 6:30 a.m. on the West Coast than Giants versus Panthers? Woohoo! Jokes aside, the turn-off isn’t even necessarily the four combined wins—both the Bengals and Jets sport losing records but I’d pay to see them play. Nothing is more frustrating than watching the tree of bad decisions spawn rotten fruit and we’re getting that in spades early Sunday morning. My main focus (other than deciding why the snooze button isn’t the answer) lies with Daniel Jones and whether or not there’s a future here. Big Blue needs to mop the floor with the Panthers for all intents and purposes, because if they lose Danny Dimes may get left in Germany.

49ers (4-4) at Bucs (4-5): With the return of 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey looming, Injury news dominates my bullet points—the top one reading “Wonder what the spread would be with a healthy Mike Evans and Chris Godwin?” Tampa managed to keep it together on offense without its dynamic duo versus the Falcons’ sketchy D, but unsurprisingly turned into a pumpkin against the Chiefs. San Fran will provide another difficult obstacle, conversely experiencing rare good injury luck and returning players on both sides of the ball. Far be it from me to question Vegas’ omnipotence, but 6.5 points feels low so I’ll be watching for anything positive from TB to justify it. For the record, I'm assuming a full workload from CMC—I can’t envision a scenario where the 49ers rush the precious back before he’s 100%.

Falcons (6-3) at Saints (2-7): We may have never seen a more swift and decisive fall from grace than the 2024 Saints. Once (2-0) with a +62 point differential, New Orleans turned around to lose seven straight, and with that its best player in Chris Olave. It’s essentially a wrap for the spiraling Saints, who Atlanta must handle to prove their playoff chops. 

Broncos (5-4) at Chiefs (8-0): The worry-free Chiefs, undefeated through eight, are starting to feel inevitable—as if they snapped a missing stone into their gauntlet with the addition of DeAndre Hopkins. Averaging +28 points/game since the bye, all Patrick Mahomes needed was pass catchers in the right spot and he’ll take it from there. Even if it gets delivered upside-down or side-armed. Despite a strong W/L record worthy of praise, Denver has somewhat predictably failed against serious defenses. Bo Nix’s Broncos averaged just 10 points/game on -0.19 EPA/play (!) against PIT, NYJ, LAC, and BAL. I’m rightfully terrified Chris Jones and those boys eat up DEN, which lacks explosives throughout.

Bills (7-2) at Colts (4-5): All eyes on Buffalo’s injury report for updates on Amari Cooper (wrist, LP) and Keon Coleman (wrist, DNP). Just as the Bills prepared for launch, their bud got nipped. As much as I like this offense, we’ve seen the obvious limitations without clearly defined roles in BUF’s WR room. As far as Indy goes, there’s just a big question mark next to Joe Flacco’s name in my binder. Aside from Michael Pittman (back, DNP), the Colts are healthy but sit under .500 while still 4-point underdogs at home. Isn’t this the perfect time to get Anthony Richardson meaningful (and desperately needed) reps at game speed? I guess I’m watching to see what Shane Steichen and Jim Bob Cooter have up their sleeve as the season slips away.

Steelers (6-2) at Commanders (7-2): Titled “Where did I go wrong?” in my notebook, PIT/WAS making my must-watch list in Week 10 stands with my biggest preseason whiffs. Pittsburgh’s doing Pittsburgh things—running the ball effectively to force extra defenders into the box with play-action deep shots keyed up on the backend. Washington as a top-3 scoring unit through nine wouldn’t have made my bet ticket with your money this summer. Luckily, I’m not a stubborn mule, and able to realize they’re 100% the Real Deal Holyfield. If anything, there’s growth happening in WAS, one of the league’s most exciting stories. The thing I’ve had the hairy eyeball fixated on (and our oldest readers know this) is the Commanders’ defense, which has shown the ability to neutralize poor offenses. I’m curious to see if Mr. Unlimited poses a decent enough threat to assess this one in its wake.

Hope you enjoyed the part one of the Week 10 NFL Sunday Blitz … and oh yeah, we’ve hit an unbelievable 14 straight NFL bets WOW!