The feature game of the weekend will be the Sunday night game pitting the 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs at the 3-3 Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks won last year’s Super Bowl but are struggling this year, while Kansas City, which lost the Super Bowl to Philadelphia two years ago, have bounced back from last year’s 6-11 mark.
The two major reasons the Chiefs rebounded are that Patrick Mahones recovered from the ACL and LCL injuries to his left knee he suffered late last year and that free agent running back Kenneth Walker is leading the league in rushing with 665 yards.
What makes this game so intriguing is that the Seahawks decided to let Walker walk even though he was the MVP of the Super Bowl last year.
Since Walker had dealt with injuries issues earlier in his career, the Seahawks rotated him with Zach Charbonnet last year. They thought they could survive with Charbonnet sharing time with rookie Jadarian Price. And since Charbonnet suffered a major knee injury in the playoffs, they signed free agent Emmanuel Wilson from Green Bay.
But the plan blew up on them. Charbonnet has yet to play this year, Price went down after three games with an injury and is on IR, and Wilson leads the team with only 303 yards. Walker has more rushing yards (665) in five games than the entire Seattle team has in six (643), and the Seahawks rank 18th with injuries.
Surprisingly, the Seahawks are a slight favorite, but Walker could turn out to be this year’s Saquon Barkley. The Giants let Barkley go two years ago and he immediately helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl. The Chiefs hope Walker can stay healthy and do for them what Barkley did for the Eagles.
—The Monday night game isn’t much of an attraction with Dallas going to Philadelphia with both teams at 2-4 but still in contention because the Giants are leading the NFC East at 3-2-1.
This is the Eagles second game without quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is out for the season as he is being treated for blood clots in his lungs.
There is still much controversy about whether the Eagles should have given him another ultrasound before they let him fly back from London. The NFLPA has called for an investigation. Meanwhile, back Tanner McKee will make his second start. The NFL considered flexing this game but decided to keep it in prime time because they are both big market teams and the league didn’t have a great alternative.
—The Sunday action starts with 4-2 Pittsburgh playing the 2-4 Saints in Paris with a 9:30 a.m. start on the East Coast.
There is much controversy about the league not moving the game because of the unrest in Paris. The NFL insists the conditions will be safe for the game.
Win or lose, it has been a great trip for the Saints. They arrived last Sunday, spent the week in Versailles and visited such tourist sites as the Eiffel Tower and the palace at Versailles. The Steelers didn’t fly in until Thursday and spent the weekend in a downtown Paris hotel.
—FOX has the doubleheader Sunday late afternoon game, with much of the country seeing the 4-2 Packers playing at the 3-2 Lions in a division game. Both teams need a victory to stay within striking distance of the 5-0 Vikings in the NFC North. The Vikings figure to beat 2-4 Colts in a CBS early game.
The other FOX late game to be shown on the West Coast features the 2-4 Rams playing at 3-3 Las Vegas. The Rams have been one of the most disappointing teams this year and are desperate for a victory as they attempt to get back on track.
—In the FOX early games, 2-4 Houston is going for its third straight win hosting the Giants, while the 3-2 Panthers are hosting 1-5 Tampa Bay and the 5-0 49ers are going to 2-4 Atlanta. The 49ers are dealing with a lot of injuries and both Mike Evans and Nick Bosa are out, so the Falcons might have a shot at an upset.
—The best CBS early game features 3-2 Cincinnati at 4-2 Baltimore. Lamar Jackson has missed two games in a row but is questionable for this game.
Besides the Vikings Colts game, the other early games on CBS are surprising 4-2 Cleveland at 1-5 Tennessee and 0-6 Miami at the 2-4 Jets.
The only late CBS game has 4-2 Denver at 2-4 Arizona. The Broncos have been winning on defense and need quarterback Bo Nix to play better. Arizona has had a strange season, winning its only two games at Sofi Stadium against the Rams and Chargers, who have combined for one win at their home stadium.
—The weekend started Thursday night with the Bears beating the Patriots 30-24 to boost their record to 5-2. Cairo Santos kicked a career long 58-yard field goal to clinch the game for the Bears. If he had missed, the Pats would have had a shot at sending the game into overtime with a field goal. The Pats fell to 4-3. Caleb Williams passed for 300 yards for the second straight game, the first time a Bear quarterback has done that since 2018 when Mitch Trubisky did it.
—The Bills, Jaguars, Chargers and Commanders have the byes this week.
