The Bears walked into Seattle on Monday night, hung 34 points on the defending champs, and left town just half a game out of first place. Seattle, meanwhile, came out of the same game at 4–4, with a division rival coming to town and a lot less time to figure things out. Same stadium, same night, two teams heading into very different Novembers.

That’s the kind of week we’ve got ahead. Week 9 starts with football before breakfast on the West Coast and makes us wait until Monday for the best game. In between, the Giants can take a real grip on the NFC East, the Packers and Patriots get to see what those matching 5–3 records are actually worth, and Baltimore has to get an offense ready by Thursday with a quarterback room held together by duct tape.

How Much Can Baltimore Ask Of Derrick Henry?

Jaguars at Ravens — Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET — Prime Video

Lamar Jackson made it through one offensive snap in his return from an ankle injury before hurting his throwing thumb against Buffalo. Now he needs surgery. Tyler Huntley came in and ended up hurting his toe, which left undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano to finish the game while dealing with an injury of his own. Fagnano could make his first NFL start Thursday. Buffalo got 12 hits on Baltimore’s quarterbacks Sunday, so whoever takes the first snap this week could use a little more help than that.

At 4–4, Baltimore's already chasing Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Cleveland. The obvious answer is to feed Derrick Henry, but that gets a lot tougher if Trevor Lawrence hangs two touchdowns on you before you’ve even settled in. Lawrence threw three touchdowns on just 14 attempts against Indianapolis, and Jacksonville’s defense held Jonathan Taylor to 23 yards. Keep an eye on Baltimore’s first downs. If Henry’s picking up four or five yards at a time, the Ravens have a real shot. If they’re asking their quarterback to pick up eight yards on third down all night, well, good luck.

Madrid Gets Two Quarterbacks Going Down Opposite Paths

Bengals vs. Falcons — Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET — NFL Network

Yes, 6:30 in the morning on the West Coast. Cincinnati and Atlanta are playing at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu, where it’ll be 3:30 in the afternoon. If you’re waking up for this one, there’s at least a decent chance somebody does something ridiculous before the coffee’s ready.

Joe Burrow threw five touchdowns and three picks against Tennessee, then ran in the winner in overtime. There were stretches where I had no idea what he was seeing, followed almost immediately by throws that made me wonder what anybody’s supposed to do to defend him. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 296 receiving yards. And somehow, a 1–7 Titans team still scored 36 points. I’d feel a lot better about the Bengals if they could win a game like this without needing six touchdowns from Burrow.

Michael Penix Jr. threw four picks in the Tampa rain after throwing just one all season before that. A week earlier, he helped hand San Francisco their first loss. Both versions are still fresh enough to remember. At 3–5, I’d like to see Atlanta get Bijan Robinson involved early and often, just to find out whether Cincinnati can actually stop him. Cam Ward and Tony Pollard just made that defense spend an entire afternoon looking for answers.

The Giants Can Put Some Distance Between Themselves And The NFC East

Giants at Eagles · Sunday, 1 p.m. ET · FOX

The Giants are 4–2–1 and haven’t won in Philadelphia since 2013. The Eagles have lost six straight and just gave up 27 unanswered points to Washington after jumping out to a 10–0 lead. Jalen Hurts won't be walking out of that tunnel to save them, and Tanner McKee took five sacks Sunday. I’m curious to see how often Philly can get Saquon Barkley the ball with some room to work. Thirteen carries for 30 yards isn’t exactly a great way to take pressure off your backup quarterback.

This is the game that could shake up the division race the most. J.J. McCarthy threw for 252 yards in his first start for the Giants, an overtime win in Houston. Now New York gets Philadelphia and Washington in the span of five days. Win both, and the rest of the East is going to need some help. Lose in Philly while Dallas wins at Indianapolis, and that two-game lead over the Cowboys is suddenly looking thin.

Three Games At 4:25, And I’m Starting In Foxborough

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET · Regional FOX coverage

Packers at Patriots. Green Bay got three touchdown passes from Jordan Love and six sacks against Carolina. They also ran 26 times for 66 yards against a defense that came in last against the run. That’s not exactly how you want to finish a game if Drake Maye has New England within one score. Maye pulled the Patriots out of a sluggish first half in Miami without A.J. Brown. Now he gets a pass rush that can make him earn that extra second he’s so good at buying. Of the three late games, this is the one I’m most interested in seeing get tight in the fourth quarter.

Raiders at 49ers. I like that the Raiders can get a 95-yard kick return from Dylan Laube, two touchdowns from Brock Bowers, and a game-saving pick from Jeremy Chinn all in the same afternoon. I like it a little less when they need every bit of that to beat the Jets. San Francisco's 6–1 and rested, with Christian McCaffrey coming off a hamstring strain. Can Vegas get a few stops and give Bowers a chance to make this uncomfortable late?

Cardinals at Seahawks. Gardner Minshew came off the bench, threw three touchdowns in Dallas, and got the starting job Monday. Now he gets a Seattle team that’s lost three of four. The Seahawks won the first meeting 31–7 and can finish the sweep at home. If Arizona wins, both teams are 4–5. That’s a pretty big swing for a game Seattle made look easy the first time.

Tampa Bay Has A Better Test For Chicago Than Their Record Suggests

Buccaneers at Bears · Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET · NBC

Tampa Bay ran for 325 yards and won without completing a pass last week. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that second part. The Bucs are 3–5, but they’re only half a game behind Carolina and have forced four turnovers in back-to-back games. I’m curious to see what Bucky Irving can do against a Chicago front that just added Jeffery Simmons, who already looked right at home wrecking Seattle’s backfield.

If the Bears can get Tampa into obvious passing situations and give Caleb Williams a few extra possessions, they’ve got a real chance to put some pressure on Minnesota before the Vikings even take the field.

Can Minnesota Make Josh Allen Play Their Kind Of Game?

Bills at Vikings · Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET · ESPN

Both teams are 6–1, and they got there in very different ways. Buffalo's putting up 33.3 points a game. Minnesota's giving up just 13.3. That’s the kind of matchup I’d stay up for.

The Vikings sacked Jared Goff four times before halftime last week, and Detroit eventually got themselves out of trouble by leaning on the run. Buffalo can try the same thing with James Cook. They can also ask Josh Allen to make one of those little flick-of-the-wrist throws that somehow travels half the field. I love watching him pull those off. I’m guessing Brian Flores would love to talk him into trying a couple he probably shouldn’t — which he's known to do.

The bigger question for Minnesota is what happens when their defense gives the offense the ball back. Justin Jefferson made a ridiculous bobbling touchdown catch in Detroit, then saw one target come his way after halftime. Kyler Murray was still dealing with hamstring soreness Monday, so whoever’s throwing the ball, I want to see the Vikings make Buffalo defend Jefferson for all four quarters.

Minnesota can make Allen miserable for a half and still lose this game if he gets to walk back onto the field every three plays.

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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