With the trade deadline approaching on Tuesday, this week’s games will be pivotal as to whether teams want to be buyers or sellers. It’s also a loaded week with no teams on a bye this week.

Thursday, October 26

Bills 24, Buccaneers 20

Both of these offenses are going to need to get off to better starts than they have in recent weeks. The Bills seem to catch fire late in games but haven’t put together a complete performance in a few weeks. The Buccaneers should try to finally get their run game going against a questionable Bills run defense. If so, they could have a great chance of going into Buffalo and upsetting the Bills.

Sunday, October 29

Panthers 23, Texans 17

In a battle of the top two picks in this draft, I think Bryce Young and the Panthers finally get their first win of the year! It’ll be interesting to see how this Panthers offense looks after Frank Reich handed over play calling duties to OC Thomas Brown. With Brown’s history as a RB coach, expect Carolina to try to run the ball and take more pressure off Young. The Panthers defense is going to also need to play much better than it has this season to get their first win.

Cowboys 27, Rams 17

I want to see the Cowboys fulfill their promise on offense sometime soon, if I’m going to buy them as a team that can win the Super Bowl this year. This could be the week after coming off a bye and having time to reevaluate things. Getting more efficiency from the run game and Brandin Cooks playing better are key factors. Meanwhile, the Rams pass offense is extremely dangerous in this game with the duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua playing so well. The Dallas pass rush won’t allow the passing game to get going as Dallas gets five sacks and two turnovers to win.

Vikings 25, Packers 17

The Vikings defense has been surprisingly competent this season under the direction of Brian Flores. They did a great job slowing down the 49ers and should be able to replicate that against the Packers offense. With Aaron Jones and Christian Watson not at 100%, this could be a tough day for Green Bay. For the Vikings, the offensive line was tremendous last week which helped Kirk Cousins, TJ Hockenson, and Jordan Addison have terrific games. If the O-line continues this play, the Vikings offense should continue to play well.

Saints 27, Colts 20

The Colts let one get away last week in their narrow loss to the Browns. Gardner Minshew needs to take care of the football better if they want to be competitive moving forward. To Minshew’s credit he also made a lot of good plays last week and they probably should have won. Now the Colts face a Saints offense that is discombobulated and out of sync right now. The good news for New Orleans is they face a defense that can help them get back on track.

Dolphins 29, Patriots 20

Was the Patriots offensive outburst a mirage last week? Whether it was or not, now they face a Miami defense that has struggled this season. The Patriots defense could also get a big break if Tyreek Hill is not playing. Yet, the Patriots always struggle when they travel to Miami. I think the Dolphins get back on track and get after Mac Jones up front with Jaelan Phillips and co.

Jets 23, Giants 10

The play of the Giants defense has been very encouraging the past couple of weeks as they have had some stellar performances. The Jets also have a great defense and should be able to stifle big blue’s offense. Expect a defensive showdown in the battle of New York. For the Giants to move the ball, they should give Saquon Barkley the ball plenty of times because the Jets have struggled defending the run. Ultimately, the Jets overwhelm the Giants O-line and get some turnovers to win.

Steelers 26, Jaguars 23

The Steelers offense showed some encouraging signs last week when they scored on back to back TD drives to gain the lead. The return of Diontae Johnson helped and he should continue being a big part of the offense moving forward. For the Jaguars, they can have success moving the ball if they can block TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith off the edge. That’s a big if and it should be a good battle against OTs Cam Robinson and Anton Harrison who both played well last week.

Falcons 17, Titans 13

The Falcons are one of the hardest teams in the league to figure out. They have weapons on offense but don’t always get the most out of them. Meanwhile, Desmond Ridder threw three interceptions two weeks ago and lost three fumbles last week, but has also made a handful of really good plays. The Titans will be without Ryan Tannehill under center this week so they will turn to rookie Will Levis, who missed a chunk of training camp. The Falcons have an underrated defense and can rattle the rookie QB.

Eagles 27, Commanders 24

I want to pick the Commanders in an upset but I can’t get myself to do it after how well the Eagles looked against Miami. The Eagles have a big advantage in this game when their D-line goes against the Commanders O-line. They only racked up three sacks when these teams met in week 4, but I think Philly can do even better in this one. The Eagles secondary also did a solid job containing the big plays against the Dolphins last week and that could continue here. After all that, I still think it’s a close game but the Eagles win and sweep the series this year.

Seahawks 13, Browns 9

This is my dream game. A defensive slugfest back and forth with both offense struggling to get anything going. I’m not too worried about how poorly the Browns D played last week. I think that was a one off game and now they are playing an offense that is struggling. The performance of the Seahawks defense has gone under the radar recently. Their combination of a strong pass rush and secondary is making it very hard on opponents to move the ball and they can really rattle PJ Walker this week. For the Seahawks, I am a little worried about the turnovers Geno Smith has had the past two games. If he mitigates the bad decisions, the Seahawks will win.

Ravens 30, Cardinals 16

The Ravens staked their claim as possibly the best team in the NFL after thrashing the Lions last week. The Ravens have done an unbelievable job getting pressure from their linebackers and safeties this season, helping a pass rush that has been a bit underwhelming, as expected. Lamar Jackson is playing as well as he ever has and will continue against an overmatched Arizona defense. The Cardinals need to start fast offensively to keep up in this one.

Chiefs 27, Broncos 17

With these teams just playing a couple weeks ago, it’ll be interesting to see the adjustments made. Denver should look to stick with their run game more as they abandoned it a bit in the first matchup. Along with the run game, Russell Wilson and the WRs need to step up in this game. The Chiefs will be without Nick Bolton, so Denver needs to run the football. The Chiefs still don’t have a go to WR but they keep finding ways to win. As long as Travis Kelce is healthy, they should be able to continue having success.

49ers 23, Bengals 20

The 49ers could be without Brock Purdy who is currently in concussion protocol, which would mean it’s Sam Darnold getting the start. I think the offense will still be productive but I feel a little worried about the flow of the offense if Darnold has to play. Regardless of who starts at QB, the 49ers defense has to be much better than it was this past Monday night. The D-line needs to take advantage and get after a weak Cincy O-line with a still less than 100% Joe Burrow. I think the Bengals have an advantage with their WRs going against San Francisco’s CBs. This should be a great game down to the wire on Sunday.

Chargers 30, Bears 24

The Chargers continue to disappoint me week after week, and now have another game I worry they could lose. The Chargers have had a multitude of problems recently including a lack of a running game, Justin Herbert struggling, and a secondary that continues to give up big plays. This needs to be the week they get their rushing attack going against a poor Bears run defense. For the Bears, I was very encouraged with the performance of Tyson Bagent. Luke Getsy called a good game by getting D’Onta Foreman and the run game going and scheming up easy completions for Bagent. Their plan should be a heavy dose of Foreman and some play action shots to DJ Moore.

Lions 26, Raiders 17

I’m going to give the Lions a mulligan for last week and assume that was a one off performance we won’t see again the rest of the year. It also helps the Raiders don’t have anywhere close to the dynamic offense the Ravens have. The Lions need to ensure they don’t have as many defensive breakdown this week, regardless. No matter who starts at QB for the Raiders, it’s hard to trust their offense to be very effective. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but a big reason is the ineffectiveness of their run game with Josh Jacobs. For the Raiders defense, Maxx Crosby is going to need to wreck the game and disrupt the Lions passing game to give them a shot in this one.