It’s now the second half of the NFL season. This is when things get serious.
In the NFC, the north and San Francisco 49ers are setting the standard.
Comfortably atop the NFC West, the 49ers travel to Dallas for one of the NFL’s most iconic rivalries.
It’s been a tough season for the Cowboys, but they still have a shot at winning a weak NFC East.
Meanwhile the Green Bay Packers will host the Minnesota Vikings with massive divisional implications for the NFC North.
The Bears took the lead in the division last week, but are on a bye this week. The Lions have a chance to catch up in Germany where they face the New England Patriots.
Things are also heating up in the AFC, most notably in the AFC North.
This week the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals will face off with the division lead on the line.
Here, Sports News Blitz’s Josiah Burdsall makes his predictions for four big games this week.
Week 10 games broadcast in UK, November 13-17
Friday
Washington Commanders vs New York Giants - Thursday night football - 12:15 am on Sky Sports NFL
Sunday
New England Patriots vs Detroit Lions - NFL Munich game - 2:30 pm on Sky Sports
Kansas City Chiefs vs Atlanta Falcons - 6:00 pm on Channel 5 Action
Houston Texans vs Cleveland Browns - 6:00 pm on Sky Sports +
Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers - 6:00 pm on Sky Sports NFL
Los Angeles Rams vs Arizona Cardinals- 9:05 pm on Sky Sports +
Seattle Seahawks vs Las Vegas Raiders - 9:05 pm on Sky Sports NFL
San Francisco 49ers vs Dallas Cowboys - 9:25 pm on Sky Sports NFL and Channel 5
Monday
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cincinnati Bengals - Sunday Night football - 1:20 am on Sky Sports NFL
Tuesday
Los Angeles Chargers vs Baltimore Ravens - Monday Night Football - 1:15 am on Sky Sports NFL
All games can be viewed on NFL Season Pass on DAZN.
New England Patriots (5-4) vs Detroit Lions (6-2)
Willkommen in München.
The Lions and Patriots will contest the last NFL game in Europe this season.
The NFL has treated Munich to a glamorous matchup with serious playoff implications.
The Patriots need to bounce back from a terrible game last week. In a 45-27 loss to the Packers, New England conceded 45 points for the first time in 33 years.
Behind a banged up offensive line, Drake Maye threw three interceptions last week.
He’s taken 20 sacks this season, nine of those in the last three games.
Bad news for the Patriots, the Lions defensive line has 27 sacks this season, the third most in the league.
The Lions offense has looked really promising, but slowed down recently. They’ve now gone three straight games without more than 20 points.
Against the Minnesota Vikings, that’s understandable, but against the Miami Dolphins… not so much.
The Patriots might be a good rebound game for Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions offense.
Against NFC North opposition, the Patriots have given up 30 points to the Chicago Bears and 45 to the Packers.
Amon-Ra St Brown, who has dual American and German citizenship, will have plenty of fans behind him in Munich.
Prediction: Detroit Lions win
Minnesota Vikings (6-2) vs Green Bay Packers (6-3)
Jordan Love, with the NFL’s most passing yards, faces the league’s best defense.
It’s a star-studded game that could decide the outcome of the NFL’s best division.
So you’d think this one’s on a primetime slot right?
Wrong.
It’s a 6:00 pm kickoff, not too bad for UK fans.
Minnesota will hope Kirk Cousins can reinvigorate a struggling offense.
It’s not like he’s gonna make them any worse.
Last week Carson Wentz completed eight of 25 passes for 81 yards and two interceptions.
Those numbers would be abysmal against any defense, but against the Buffalo Bills’ secondary, it’s incomprehensible.
If Cousins can get the offense humming anything like they were in 2022, when he was nominated for the pro bowl and Justin Jefferson had 1,809 yards, Minnesota could be scary.
The defense can beat anyone. They have 29 sacks, and are allowing just 14.5 points per game.
Even with Jordan Love’s 2,618 passing yards, Minnesota are allowing the second fewest passing yards in the league.
If the Vikings defense does have a weakness, it’s the run game, where they’ve actually been average.
Fortunately for them, that’s also the Packers biggest weakness, with just 614 rushing yards this entire season.
Green Bay will feel confident after putting up 45 points on the Patriots.
If Kirk Cousins can get the offense to even be average, the Vikings would be favored, their defense can handle the rest.
But if the Vikings offense is as poor as they have been, Green Bay has a great shot at victory.
Prediction: Minnesota Vikings win
San Francisco 49ers (7-1) vs Dallas Cowboys (4-5)
At 4-5, the Cowboys are somehow within a game of the NFC East division lead.
Even at home though, they are gonna need a lot to go right to beat the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers just keep going.
No Mike Evans or Deebo Samuel Jr? No problem.
Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey are still there.
Purdy has thrown for 17 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. He’s also taken eight sacks, the fewest in the league.
San Francisco has the NFL’s third highest scoring offense.
Against a Cowboys defense allowing 26.2 points per game, it’s hard to bet against another win for San Francisco.
The Cowboys aren’t struggling to score though. They’ve got 95 points in their last three games.
But the 49ers defense is much tougher than the Cardinals and Colts.
Prediction: San Francisco 49ers win
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) vs Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
There’s long been a feeling around the Cincinnati Bengals that if they could just have an average defense, they could win a lot of games.
That’s what they’ve got this season. They’re giving up an average of 21.9 points per game.
It’s not worldbeating, but it’s enough to let Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase do their thing without worrying about scoring 40+ points just to win.
Cincinnati has averaged the most passing yards in the NFL with 285.5. They are also averaging 30 points per game, behind only the Bills.
There is one area where the Steelers have a clear advantage, however, and that’s the run game.
Jaylen Warren is looking more impressive every week. He got 8.4 yards per carry against the Cleveland Browns last week, and is averaging 5.9 on the season.
Meanwhile the Bengals are allowing 126.6 rushing yards per game.
The Steelers are allowing just 18 points per game, but gave up 27 last time out against the Bengals.
That was the most all season though.
If the Steelers can rely on the run to take pressure off Aaron Rodgers, they should have a clear path to victory.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers win
NFL Week 10 accumulator
Detroit Lions beat New England Patriots
Minnesota Vikings beat Green Bay Packers
San Francisco 49ers beat Dallas Cowboys
Pittsburgh Steelers beat Cincinnati Bengals
READ MORE FROM JOSIAH BURDSALL: NFL analysis: A detailed look at the playoffs race in the NFC North
