Matthew Stafford has played some of the best football of his 15-year career over the past month, and now he's about to lead Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and the Los Angeles Rams against the worst pass defense in the NFL.

Yet the Rams (6-7) and their offense-minded head coach are not excessively confident about their chances against the Washington Commanders (4-9), whose four-game skid and brutal defensive efforts appear to pave Los Angeles' path to a prolific game Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

In what has become the season of the backup quarterback in the NFL, the Los Angeles Chargers head to Las Vegas with the QB2 facing a Raiders team that will either continue to start a rookie or return to the starter-turned-backup.

Easton Stick, the Chargers' fifth-round draft pick in 2019, starts in place of Justin Herbert in the Thursday night game. Herbert suffered a season-ending finger injury Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

The Raiders could stay with Aidan O'Connell, the team's fourth-round pick this year who began the season on the bench before becoming the starter five games ago. Or Las Vegas could turn back to Jimmy Garoppolo, the starter-turned-backup.

Stick showed some promise Sunday against the Broncos by completing 13 of 24 passes for 179 yards.

When quarterback Joe Burrow was lost for the season because of a wrist injury amid a three-game skid, the Bengals playoff hopes seemed to be fading fast.

But Jake Browning had something to say about that.

The backup quarterback, in just his second NFL start, had a game to remember Monday night. Browning, who'd spent most of his pro career on practice squads, was 32 for 37 for 354 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score in the 34-31 win over Jacksonville.

Not only did it even the Bengals' record at 6-6, it gave them a huge shot of confidence. Browning showed he could win in the NFL. And with AFC North rivals Pittsburgh and Cleveland losing last week, the playoff window stayed open for Cincinnati with five games left.

The Bengals will find out if Browning can perform consistently when they host Indianapolis (7-5) on Sunday. The Colts have won four straight and are one game behind the first-place Jaguars in the AFC South. They're also winning with a backup quarterback, Gardner Minshew, who stepped in and played well after Anthony Richardson was lost to a season-ending shoulder injury in October.

The Colts are also coming off an overtime win, 31-28 over Tennessee last week.

Heading into Sunday’s meeting with the surging Denver Broncos, Houston coach DeMeco Ryans was asked what he thinks has allowed them to bounce back after starting 1-5.

“The biggest thing that I’ve seen from the Broncos and how they’ve turned things around is how their defense is attacking the football,” Ryans said.

“When you take the ball away as many times as they have … you set the offense up, you set the team up for success. And that’s where it starts with these guys.”

Denver (6-5) enters the game with a five-game winning streak, its longest since the 2015 season. The Broncos didn’t force a turnover in the first win in this stretch, but have piled up 15 combined in their past four games.

This week they’ll face rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has done a great job of protecting the ball. He ranks second in the NFL with 3,266 yards passing and has thrown 19 touchdown passes with just five interceptions.

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys have one more game before a highly anticipated NFC East rematch.

This time, it's an opponent with a winning record as the Seattle Seahawks visit Thursday night before the Cowboys (8-3) get a little break in anticipation of the Philadelphia Eagles coming to town Dec. 10.

Dallas, which has a 13-game home winning streak, has beaten three consecutive double-digit underdogs by an average of 30 points. The Seahawks (6-5) are close, with Dallas favored by nine, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

But the Cowboys say they won't be peeking around the corner at the Eagles, who won 28-23 in Philadelphia to start November in a game Dallas easily could have won.

I just think 9.5-points is too many. 

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys have one more game before a highly anticipated NFC East rematch.

This time, it's an opponent with a winning record as the Seattle Seahawks visit Thursday night before the Cowboys (8-3) get a little break in anticipation of the Philadelphia Eagles coming to town Dec. 10.

Dallas, which has a 13-game home winning streak, has beaten three consecutive double-digit underdogs by an average of 30 points. The Seahawks (6-5) are close, with Dallas favored by nine, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

But the Cowboys say they won't be peeking around the corner at the Eagles, who won 28-23 in Philadelphia to start November in a game Dallas easily could have won.

Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen play similar games, but their styles are different.

Serious and stoic, Philadelphia quarterback Hurts maintains an even-keeled demeanor. Bills QB Allen, on the other hand, says playing with emotion is a key to his success.

Regardless of how they do it, Hurts and Allen are two of the NFL’s most dynamic signal-callers, and they will meet Sunday in Philadelphia in a game pitting the defending NFC champion Eagles (9-1) against the three-time defending AFC East-winning Bills (6-5).

A dogged workhorse determined to perfect his craft, Hurts has led the Eagles to 26 victories in his last 28 regular-season starts. A dual passing and running threat like Allen, Hurts has thrown for 2,497 yards and rushed for 345 while combining for 24 touchdowns.

In Monday night’s 21-17 victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl, Hurts wasn’t spectacular statistically but came up clutch in key moments, as seemingly has been the case throughout his time with the Eagles.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins are having a whirlwind of a week.

After a close victory over the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday, the Dolphins' itinerary included some rest, meetings, watching game video, getting in a little practice time, hopping on a 1,000-mile flight and spending Thanksgiving preparing to face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Friday.

“We’ll probably have one day of field practice to run around and make sure everything is on point and on time. But outside of that, what makes these short weeks tough is that a lot of these things are more mental than physical.”

Jets coach Robert Saleh tried to take an optimistic approach to the short week.

Sure, the Jets and Dolphins are getting one more day to get ready than the six teams with Thanksgiving games. But the spotlight will be on the AFC East rivals during the first game in NFL history to be played on Black Friday.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins are having a whirlwind of a week.

After a close victory over the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday, the Dolphins' itinerary included some rest, meetings, watching game video, getting in a little practice time, hopping on a 1,000-mile flight and spending Thanksgiving preparing to face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Friday.

“We’ll probably have one day of field practice to run around and make sure everything is on point and on time. But outside of that, what makes these short weeks tough is that a lot of these things are more mental than physical.”

Jets coach Robert Saleh tried to take an optimistic approach to the short week.

Sure, the Jets and Dolphins are getting one more day to get ready than the six teams with Thanksgiving games. But the spotlight will be on the AFC East rivals during the first game in NFL history to be played on Black Friday.

Dak Prescott is sizzling, and the Dallas Cowboys are winning the games they should win while eyeing a playoff run.

The Carolina Panthers are heading toward a sixth straight losing season.

The NFC foes are heading in opposite directions and will clash on Sunday in what is expected to feel like a home game for the Cowboys (6-3), even though it will be played at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.

Since Week 8, Prescott leads the NFL with 1,082 passing yards and 11 touchdown passes and ranks second with a 129.4 rating. He has recorded at least 300 yards passing and three touchdown passes in each of Dallas’ last three games, one shy of matching a record shared by Peyton Manning, Steve Young and Patrick Mahomes.

Prescott is coming off a 404-yard, four-TD performance against the Giants.

With that being said, I've seen too many times where the Cowboys have played up to the level of their competition. 

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are in a familiar spot - leading the AFC North through Week 10.

The past two seasons, they've been passed down the stretch by Cincinnati. A win this week would make that prospect a good deal less likely in 2023.

The Ravens host the Bengals on Thursday night with a chance to sweep the season series against Cincinnati and take a 2 1/2-game lead over the last-place Bengals. Every team in the AFC North has a winning record, and Baltimore's 33-31 loss to Cleveland last weekend tightened the race considerably.

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are in a familiar spot - leading the AFC North through Week 10.

The past two seasons, they've been passed down the stretch by Cincinnati. A win this week would make that prospect a good deal less likely in 2023.

The Ravens host the Bengals on Thursday night with a chance to sweep the season series against Cincinnati and take a 2 1/2-game lead over the last-place Bengals. Every team in the AFC North has a winning record, and Baltimore's 33-31 loss to Cleveland last weekend tightened the race considerably.

If there was any doubt as to how much Kyler Murray means to the Arizona Cardinals, the past 14 games have eliminated it.

The two-time Pro Bowl selection is expected to return to game action for the first time in roughly 11 months when the Cardinals host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Murray tore the ACL in his right knee on Dec. 12 last season against the New England Patriots.

Counting the game in which Murray was hurt, the Cardinals went 1-13 in his absence.

Conner, the team's leading rusher, was activated from injured reserve earlier this week.

Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson spent several hours over three days this week watching cutups from a team not even on Jacksonville’s schedule.

Robinson and his fellow linemen broke down clips of the Washington Commanders and former defensive end Chase Young while trying to project how he’d fit with the San Francisco 49ers.

So the surging Jaguars (6-2) will be taking an educated guess into Sunday’s game against the reeling 49ers (5-3), a matchup that features Young’s debut with his new team.

As we're at the starting line of another College Football weekend, Dana Lane is the only capper you need. Here are the numbers.

#1 Overall NFL Handicapper

#1 Overall NFL Handicapper Last 90 Days

#2 Overall NFL Handicapper Last 60 Days 

#2 Overall Handicapper Last 90 Days

Overall NFL Picks Streak: 36-22 (62.07%) +1175 units

TOP NFL Picks Streak: 29-17 (63.04%) +1025 units

TOP NFL Totals Streak: 31-17 (65%) +1176 units

That's all that needs to be said. 

 It took all of four quarters for Will Levis to offer a glimpse of why the Tennessee Titans were so high on him in the draft.

Throwing for four touchdowns in your debut - three of which came on the kind of downfield heaves that left scouts in awe - will do that.

Levis and the Titans (3-4) don't have much time to prep for an encore. Tennessee visits Pittsburgh (4-3) on Thursday night with a chance to prove their electric win over Atlanta wasn't a fluke but a sign of things to come.

It's a game Levis circled when the schedule came out even though he was buried on the depth chart at the time. Not anymore. Ryan Tannehill is expected to miss a second straight game with a sprained right ankle, meaning Levis will run onto the Acrisure Stadium turf as the starter for now ... and quite possibly for good. (FLM)

While the Falcons had only tape of Levis from Tennessee's preseason opener in the Titans' offense, Pittsburgh has a full game to break down and study the rookie for anything to exploit. 

The Lions are finding success because they make their opponent one-dimensional on most days, allowing just 76 rushing yards per game. Ony the Eagles have been better. The Raiders can't put up enough to push this game over if they can't run the ball.

Lamar Jackson's excellence was at its apex in last week's dominant win over the Lions. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score.

Now the reeling Arizona Cardinals have to try to find a way to stop him.

The Ravens (5-2) have won two straight games heading into Sunday's road matchup with the Cardinals (1-6), who have dropped four in a row.

The 26-year-old Jackson is arguably having his best season since his MVP year in 2019. He has completed a career-high 71% of his passes for 1,610 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He's also run for 363 yards and five scores.

With Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts expected to play through a left knee injury, his teammates on the defensive side of the ball should be expected to ratchet up the pressure on Howell when the NFC East rivals meet Sunday at Washington. Philadelphia (6-1) has the second-most sacks in the NFL, and Howell is the most-sacked QB in the league. That combination could make it a long afternoon for the Commanders (3-4).

In this situation last year at FedEx Field, the Eagles sacked Carson Wentz nine times, forced two fumbles, and recovered one of them. Washington's offensive line is arguably worse, Howell is not as experienced at picking up blitzes, and Philadelphia comes in with the league's top defense against the run.

I don't think the knee will hinder Hurts. The game flies over. 

Facing a short week, and questions about Buffalo’s sluggish offense and injury-depleted defense, Bills coach Sean McDermott entrusted his players with believing they’ve been together long enough to know how to tackle adversity.

The three-time defending AFC East champion Bills (4-3) are suddenly in turmoil following a rash of injuries sidelining three key defensive starters and not getting help from a slow-starting offense that’s combined for 10 points in the first half in losing two of its past three.

The message was notably similar in Tampa Bay (3-3), where coach Todd Bowles dismissed questions about the Bills struggles by placing the emphasis on his Buccaneers to respond after dropping two straight and three of four.

Facing a short week, and questions about Buffalo’s sluggish offense and injury-depleted defense, Bills coach Sean McDermott entrusted his players in believing they’ve been together long enough to know how to tackle adversity.

“Listen, we’ve shown that we know how to win, and we know how to figure things out, and we know how to develop players and find the answers and solutions,” McDermott said, in preparing to host Tampa Bay on Thursday night. “We’re used to this. This is what we do.”

The three-time defending AFC East champion Bills (4-3) are suddenly in turmoil following a rash of injuries sidelining three key defensive starters and not getting help from a slow-starting offense that’s combined for 10 points in the first half in losing two of its past three.

The message was notably similar in Tampa Bay (3-3), where coach Todd Bowles dismissed questions about the Bills struggles by placing the emphasis on his Buccaneers to respond after dropping two straight and three of four.

Brock Purdy's fast rise with the San Francisco 49ers has had the quality of a feel-good movie, the rare quarterback drafted in the seventh round to run the offense for a Super Bowl contender by the end of his rookie year and pick up in his second season where he left off.

Even following the worst start of his young career, a 19-17 loss at Cleveland that included his first interception of 2023 and stripped the 49ers (5-1) of their undefeated status, Purdy is sitting pretty. He just probably won't be able to stand still in his attempt to get back on track.

San Francisco plays at Minnesota on Monday night, and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is sure to empty the playbook with as many different pressures as he can find.

“You can never just relax and just call a play or run a play, because there’s always a thousand things that can go wrong just because of the threat of what they do in any situation,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “They’re on you a lot with that. They get you to make mistakes in that way.”

The Vikings have sent five or more rushers on 60.5% percent of passing plays they've faced this season, the most by any NFL team since Sportradar began tracking blitzes in 2007. The next most frequent blitzing team was Arizona (51.1%) in 2013. The league average for 2023, according to Sportradar, is 29%.

The ultra-aggressive strategy, in an era when extra rushers are being used less often in favor of thicker and safer zone coverage, has yielded mixed results for the Vikings (2-4).