With the NFL season past its midpoint, there is a high degree of clarity on who the contenders and pretenders are, division races are getting easy to handicap and …
No, none of that is true.
That’s the beauty of the NFL any year, but especially this year.
The Kansas City Chiefs are still the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl, per BetMGM, but they’re 5-4 and in third place in their own division.
The Baltimore Ravens are 3-5 and have the ninth-best Super Bowl odds.
The Minnesota Vikings may or may not be good with second-year QB J.J. McCarthy back in action — it’s impossible to know.
The 8-2 Denver Broncos have the most wins in the NFL after a victory over the Raiders on Thursday, but almost every game they play — even against the likes of the Jets, Giants and aforementioned Raiders — is a high-wire act that requires fourth quarter dramatics.
And on and on.
Week 10 of the NFL season may provide a little more clarity — or may not — but it will absolutely at least be entertaining.
Here are the five games you don’t want to miss.
(All game times ET; point spreads via ESPN Bet)
1. Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) at Green Bay Packers (5-2-1)
8:15 p.m. Monday on ABC/ESPN
Two of the presumed top Super Bowl contenders square off Monday night at Lambeau Field.
The Eagles look like they figured out their inexplicable offensive woes from earlier in the season, putting up 66 points their last two games (against the Vikings and Giants). RB Saquon Barkley (groin) and wide receiver (A.J. Brown) both look good to go after working through injuries over the bye week.
Green Bay, meanwhile, is coming off a stunning 16-13 loss at home to the Carolina Panthers.
For all the hype and expectations, the Packers haven’t actually been especially impressive this season, with losses to the Browns and Panthers, a tie with the Cowboys and a scare against the Cardinals as well.
Matching up against the Eagles should reveal plenty about this Green Bay team.
Green Bay is a 1.5-point favorite.
New England Patriots (7-2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2)
1 p.m. Sunday on CBS
New England has won six straight, Mike Vrabel is a leading candidate for NFL Coach of the Year and second-year quarterback Drake Maye is firmly in the MVP discussion.
That said, the Patriots’ last four wins came against the Saints, Titans, Browns and Falcons.
That’s not a criticism — the schedule is the schedule — but it’s hard to know yet just how much to truly buy in on New England as a team capable of making a real postseason run.
There’s no trepidation about buying in on Maye, though. He’s passed for 2,285 yards, 17 TDs and 4 INTs and has been as impressive as any QB in the league.
Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield, meanwhile, has also been as valuable as any QB in the NFL, keeping the Buccaneers mostly on track despite an unending slew of significant injuries.
The Bucs should get right tackle Luke Goedeke back this week after an extended injury absence, but running back Bucky Irving and wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans (long-term) remain out.
Tampa Bay is a 2.5-point favorite.
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) at Los Angeles Chargers (6-3)
8:20 p.m. Sunday on NBC/Peacock
The Chargers rank fifth in the NFL in total offense and sixth in total defense, and they may be about to take off after two straight wins and three in their last four games.
Justin Herbert has thrown for 10 touchdowns over the last four games while making up for a depleted rushing attack, while tight end Oronde Gadsden II has been a revelation with at least 5 catches and 68 yards in four straight games (including 164 yards and a TD against the Colts).
Pittsburgh is coming off its best win of the season, forcing six turnovers in a 27-20 win over Indianapolis that stoked optimism that the Steelers’ defense may have unlocked something.
Los Angeles is a 2.5-point favorite.
Baltimore Ravens (3-5) at Minnesota Vikings (4-4)
1 p.m. Sunday on Fox
The aforementioned Ravens are back — or it sure looked that way as they rolled to a 28-6 win at Miami in Lamar Jackson’s long-awaited return while the star QB completed 18-of-23 passes for 204 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Baltimore weathered Jackson’s prolonged hamstring injury just well enough to stay in the playoff hunt, and the Ravens are just two games back of AFC North-leading Pittsburgh with two head-to-head meetings still to come.
With a healthy Jackson and Derrick Henry — averaging 104 rushing yards over the last three games — and an improving defense Baltimore is as capable as any team in the NFL despite its record.
Minnesota, meanwhile, kept McCarthy rehabbing his ankle injury as long as possible until backup QB Carson Wentz hit the injured reserve and headed for shoulder surgery. McCarthy, who was a liability in a Week 2 loss before taking a seat, looked … better last week in a 27-24 upset win over the Lions. He completed 14-of-25 passes for 143 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, so it wasn’t exactly a box score to frame on the fridge, and the jury remains out on his ability to lead this team to its full potential week in and week out.
Baltimore is a 4.5-point favorite.
Los Angeles Rams (6-2) at San Francisco 49ers (6-3)
4:25 p.m. Sunday on Fox
This has become one of the best rivalries out West in recent years.
For a while, Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers were in full control of the series, winning nine out of the 10 meetings from 2019-2023, but that has shifted. The Rams had won three straight before the 49ers prevailed in overtime, 26-23, last month in Los Angeles.
San Francisco is still battling major injury issues with starting QB Brock Purdy and receivers Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk all still out (with Aiyuk maybe in jeopardy of missing the whole season) and two of the team’s best defensive players (Nick Bosa and Fred Warner) done for the year.
But Shanahan is doing one of his best coaching jobs yet while keeping the 49ers — led by well-traveled backup Mac Jones — in the thick of the NFC West race (one loss back of the Rams and Seahawks entering the weekend).
Meanwhile, this may be Sean McVay’s best Rams team since the Super Bowl title. QB Matthew Stafford is turning back the clock with 2,147 passing yards, 21 TDs and 2 INTs and the tandem of star WRs Puka Nacua and Davante Adams as potent as any pair in the league.
This should be another classic clash of these division rivals.
Los Angeles is a 6.5-point favorite.