The Sunday night Kansas City-Buffalo game won’t have the hype that last week’s return of Tom Brady to Foxboro had.
But it is a critical game for the Chiefs, who are trying to return to the Super Bowl for a third consecutive season.
A loss would drop them to 2-3 in a division with three 3-1 teams. Buffalo has a shot at a fourth consecutive win and a 4-1 record with a win. But a loss wouldn’t be as critical for the Bills since they are in a division with three 1-3 teams.
A look at the rest of the weekend:
—The Los Angeles Rams beat Seattle to go to 4-1 in the NFC West Thursday night while the Seattle loss not only dropped the Seahawks to 2-3, but cost them Russell Wilson, who suffered a sprained finger in the second half and didn’t return. Geno Smith did well replacing him, but he doesn’t have Wilson’s command of the team. It could also lead to Wilson wanting out at the end of the year. The Seahawks may be in a transition period.
—Arizona, the only unbeaten team in the league, takes on2-2 San Francisco but it won’t be a Fox doubleheader game. They are instead featuring Dallas and the Giants even though the Cowboys figure to win easily.
The Jets-Atlanta game will be played in London on Sunday morning and continues the trend that London has never had a game pitting two winning teams. Things won’t get much better next week when Jacksonville plays Miami. Since the games usually sell out, the league doesn’t feel a need to give London premier matchups.
—The Browns-Chargers matchup will pit two young quarterbacks – Baker Mayfield and Justin Herbert. Both teams are 3-1, but Herbert has been outplaying Mayfield.
—The Jacksonville Tennessee game is not a feature matchup but there is interest in the game because the winless Jaguars will be trying to overcome the distraction of the Urban Meyer video. A win would leave the Jaguars only a game behind the Titans in their division.
—The Pittsburgh Steelers are sticking with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback even though he appears to be struggling as they face the Denver Broncos, who are getting Teddy Bridgewater back.
—Justin Fields becomes the starter full time for Chicago as they face the Raiders. That mean all five rookie quarterbacks drafted with the first 15 picks will be starting along with third round pick Davis Mills in Houston.
—A veteran quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) and a young one (Joe Burrow) will duel when the Packers go to Cincinnati. The Bengals are attracting a sellout crowd but many may be Packer fans since they have a national following. Both teams are leading their division with 3-1 records but Cincinnati is in a three-way tie with Ravens and Browns.
—Baltimore attempts to break the record for most consecutive 100 yard rushing games when they –host Colts on Monday night. The Broncos were furious when the Ravens tied it last week by running a play with three seconds left instead of taking a knee. The record was set by the Steelers from 1974-77. Colts-Ravens games are always big in Baltimore since the Colts left in 1984 and still wear the horseshoes on their helmets.