Happy to have that dreadful TNF matchup out of the way! Plus, Week 10 game picks and fantasy advice
Welcome to Week 10 of the 2023 NFL season. And, we're sure glad we got that dreadful "Thursday Night Football" matchup out of the way!
Previously on NFL: Chicago Bears 16, Carolina Panthers 13 — A matchup that only really impacted the 2024 NFL draft, the Bears narrowly defeated the Panthers in a forgettable prime-time matchup.
Game of the week: San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars — What's up with the 49ers? Can they reverse course on a three-game losing streak following their bye week? Are the Jaguars a legit contender? What might be the talking-heads' narrative if Jacksonville wins Sunday? Newly acquired Chase Young will make his 49ers debut. Christian McCaffrey has a touchdown in 17 consecutive games (including playoffs), tying Lenny Moore's record, but can he puncture the Jaguars' stout run defense?
Sneaky-good game of the week: Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals — Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud looks like the real deal. Bengals fourth-year QB Joe Burrow is the real deal. The Texans are coming off winning what might have been the game of the season so far, a 39-37 thriller over the Buccaneers in which Stroud broke a rookie record for passing yards. The Bengals enter this one red-hot, riding a four-game win streak after defeating the Bills on "Sunday Night Football."
Survivor pool game of the week: Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers — The obvious pick this week would be the Dallas Cowboys against the New York Giants, but there will be other opportunities to pick Dallas down the line. The Packers might have won last week, ending a four-game skid, but it came against a backup Rams QB who was cut this week. The Steelers, meanwhile, are in the thick of the AFC playoff race (like the rest of their AFC North rivals). The Packers haven't won in Pittsburgh since 1970, when Bart Starr had two touchdown passes and Terry Bradshaw threw four interceptions as Green Bay won, 20-12. (Previous survivor pool picks — Week 1: Ravens; Week 2: 49ers; Week 3: Chiefs; Week 4: Eagles; Week 5: Dolphins; Week 6: Bills; Week 7: Seahawks; Week 8: Chargers; Week 9: Saints. 👍)
➤ PHOTOS: Cheerleaders, celebrities, fans and mascots at NFL games
NFL Week 10: Pigskin prognostications
- Week 10 picks: Paste BN Sports' panel of football experts has provided fans with the great public service of making prognostications for every game this weekend.
- Lorenzo's Locks: Find out why Paste BN Sports' Lorenzo Reyes is feeling great about the Colts' chances against the reeling Patriots in Frankfurt, Germany.
- NFL Week 10 betting odds: Which teams are favored this week? If you’re new to sports betting, don’t worry. We have tips for beginners on how to place bets online.
- Power rankings: See how all 32 teams stack up, according to Paste BN Sports' Nate Davis, heading into Week 10.
NFL news, notes and analysis
- Midseason grades: Paste BN Sports' Nate Davis hands out midseason report cards for every team. Two teams get an "F" grade. For shame!
- NFL MVP surprise? Tyreek Hill could pull rare feat – but don't count on him outracing QBs.
- Ranking every team from most to least entertaining: Paste BN Sports' Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz has a highly unscientific ranking of how much fun each team is to watch.
- The NFL's most cutthroat division: If the NFL season ended today, all four of the teams in the AFC North would be in the playoffs, which would mark a first for any division.
- QB changes ahead? Nate Davis counts 12 teams that could be poised to make a switch after this season.
- Kyler Murray is back: However, his return could foreshadow a messy future for the lowly Cardinals.
- Mock draft: Even if teams aren't already looking ahead to the coming year's draft, several fan bases already are. Who are the projected top picks?
- NFL makes change that has major impact in draft lead-up: Draft-eligible underclassmen will be allowed to participate in college all-star games, starting in 2024.
- 2024 NFL draft first round order: The Bears own the Panthers' first-round pick as a result of a 2023 pre-draft trade that gave Carolina the No. 1 pick, which it used to select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. That trade now has the Bears — by way of the Panthers' 1-8 record — at the top of the 2024 NFL draft after the results of "Thursday Night Football."
Fantasy football: Tips to optimize your lineup
Whether you're in your fantasy football league's playoff picture, or desperately need to get in, we're here to help.
- Fantasy rankings for Week 10: For your convenience, these position-by-position rankings were updated for this week's games and are based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring.
- Studs, duds and sleepers: If you're angling for a big-time win in Week 10, then these are some names to know. From Russ possibly cooking on "Monday Night Football," to Joshua Dobbs' encore to last week's heroics.
- Start 'em and sit 'em players for Week 10: Let’s take a look at some players at each position fantasy managers might be on the fence about having active this week.
- Buy low, sell high: Here's who to target if you're in the market to buy players off a bad week or if you're looking to sell your own players coming off a great performance.
NFL Week 10 schedule 📅
Bye week: Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles
Thursday
Sunday
- Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots (in Frankfurt, Germany), 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)
- Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
- New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
- New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Washington Commanders at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)
- New York Jets at Las Vegas Raiders, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Monday
- Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills, 8:15 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN, ESPN2)
Talkin' football 🗣
- It's a Football Podcast: Paste BN Sports NFL insiders Safid Deen and Tyler Dragon dish on the latest hot topics surrounding the league. This week's podcast features some outrageous dinner bets as they examine the playoff picture at the midway point in the season.
- NFL Facebook group: Run a post route to The Ruling Off the Field 🏈 to engage in friendly debate and conversation with football fans 🏟.
If you enjoy reading 4th & Monday 📰, encourage your football fan friends to subscribe 📱. Follow the abidingly amusing writer of this newsletter on X, formerly Twitter, @jimreineking ✖ or Threads @jimreineking.