N.F.L. Week 10 Scores and Highlights - N.F.L. Football (2024)

Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins took advantage of a matchup against the Saints’ struggling defense, throwing a career-high four touchdown passes — each one longer than any he had completed all season — as Washington routed New Orleans. Cousins was 20 for 25 passing for 324 yards, with no interceptions and a perfect passer rating of 158.3. His scoring throws came on passes of 78 yards, to running back Matt Jones; 16 and 8 yards, to tight end Jordan Reed; and 11 yards, to receiver Jamison Crowder. Cousins did not have a scoring toss of more than 7 yards this season.

Tight end Zach Miller caught two touchdown passes, one an 87-yarder that was Chicago’s longest play since 2010, as the Bears crushed the Rams. The Chicago rookie running back Jeremy Langford also had two touchdowns, going untouched for an 83-yard score on a screen and also recording a 6-yard scoring run. He finished with seven catches for 109 yards and added 73 yards on 20 carries.

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 139 yards and two scores as Pittsburgh remained unbeaten at home against Cleveland, a streak dating to 2003.

Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer was not scared to throw right at the Seattle secondary, and his confidence was rewarded with a 39-32 victory over the division-rival Seahawks.

Palmer attacked Richard Sherman and the famed Legion of Boom defense repeatedly throughout the game, but his boldest throw came in the fourth quarter, with his team trailing 29-25. On first-and-10 from Seattle’s 14-yard line, Palmer threw the ball directly over the outstretched hands of Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas and into the hands of Jermaine Gresham for what would prove to be the go-ahead touchdown.

That the opportunistic and hard-hitting Seattle defenders were rendered helpless at home seemed almost poetic in a game that confirmed the Cardinals as the dominant team in the N.F.C. West.

Palmer ended up completing 29 of 48 passes for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald finished the game with 10 catches for 130 yards and Michael Floyd had 7 catches for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns, each of which came with Sherman covering him.

The Cardinals ran up a 19-0 lead in the first half before the Seahawks fought their way back, eventually taking a lead when K.J. Wright stripped Palmer of the ball and Bobby Wagner ran it in for a go-ahead score. But the Cardinals followed up Palmer’s touchdown pass to Gresham by forcing a Seattle punt and then having Andre Ellington pad the lead with a 48-yard touchdown run.

The Cardinals ended up dominating time-of-possession, holding the ball for 38 minutes and 52 seconds, and piling up 84 plays to Seattle’s 52. The 39 points were the most allowed by the Seahawks' defense since a 41-20 loss to San Francisco in December of 2010.

The 7-2 Cardinals now have a significant division lead over the 4-5 Seahawks. With one game remaining between the teams this season, the Cardinals can control their own destiny, and they appear to have a clear path to the team’s first division title since 2009.

The best news of the day for Arizona, however, was that a CT scan and an M.R.I. of Mike Iupati’s neck came back normal after the offensive lineman was taken off the field in the back of an ambulance after a scary collision with Chancellor in the first half. Iupati was reported to have feeling in all of his extremities and was released from the hospital.

It was a Sunday night game just two weeks ago that Ricardo Lockette of the Seahawks sustained a major neck injury that required surgery to repair ligament damage. Lockette participated in pre-game festivities, waving a towel over his head while wearing a large neck brace.

— Benjamin Hoffman

In the Giants’ locker room minutes after Sunday’s 27-26 loss to the New England Patriots, the players and the coach could not stop replaying all the ways the game could have ended differently.

What if rookie Landon Collins had held onto the interception he appeared to have grabbed, at least initially, on the first play of the Patriots’ game-winning drive?

What if the late reception in the end zone by Odell Beckham Jr. — ruled a touchdown on the field — had remained a score that put the Giants up by 5 points with roughly two minutes left to play?

What if the Giants had run the football near the goal line in the closing minutes, taking more time off the game clock and limiting the Patriots’ flexibility during their final drive?

What if the Giants had scored a touchdown in the second half instead of kicking three field goals?

“I mean, just get the game over with,” a red-faced and exasperated Coach Tom Coughlin said of all the ways his Giants had squandered opportunities to put the game away. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

But this year’s Giants (5-5) have turned fourth-quarter collapses into an art form. Sunday was just another new way to lose.

This time, it was the undefeated Patriots, and the quarterback leading the final drive, in a fitting bit of payback, was Tom Brady. So in the end, the Giants knew exactly what had happened and precisely why they had lost.

Indeed, nothing about the beginning of New England’s final drive, which set up Stephen Gostkowski’s game-winning, 54-yard field goal with one second remaining, went well for the Patriots.

The Giants had just taken a 26-24 lead on Josh Brown’s 29-yard field goal. There were 107 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Brady took the first-down snap at the New England 20-yard line. Brady took a deep drop, but his pass over the middle floated and fluttered, and as it came down, there was Collins — and only Collins — positioned to catch it.

Collins reached high for the ball, pulled it toward him and cradled it in one hand. But when he hit the turf with his head and shoulders first, the ball sprang free. Incomplete pass.

“I had it, but when I hit my head, I got dazed, and that’s all I remember,” Collins said later.

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— Bill Pennington

As Stephen Gostkowski’s kick sailed through the uprights, New England Patriots players, including Patrick Chung, LeGarrette Blount and Rob Gronkowski, poured onto the field, helmets held aloft. Jonathan Freeny danced.

Giants Coach Tom Coughlin threw his gum.

The referee Ed Hochuli had to yell into his microphone, twice, “The game is not over!” Sure, there was one second remaining and a lateral-filled kick return still to be stifled. But that did not stop the Patriots from an enthusiastic celebration over what proved to be a come-from-behind 27-26 victory over the Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

New England maintained its perfect season, at 9-0, against a team with a history of bursting its bubble.

“That definitely built some character, that game,” Gronkowski said. “Being down, being up, being down with two minutes left. We just showed some resiliency out there.”

The victory was the Patriots’ closest this season, and for a team that had hammered its previous opponents by an average of 16.6 points, it felt like a necessary test.

After trailing by 10 points late in the third quarter, going ahead early in the fourth and then falling behind again with 1 minute 47 seconds left, the Patriots had to resist that familiar feeling — that the Giants were again stealing a win from their grasp — and take advantage of their opportunities.

“This was all about finish,” cornerback Malcolm Butler said. “It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.”

— Zach Schonbrun

Peyton Manning set a new career record for passing yards, but there was little reason to celebrate. Manning had four interceptions and just five completions midway through the third quarter, when the Denver Broncos benched him. The team ended up losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 29-13, and Manning finished the day with a passer rating of 0.0.

Manning came into the game needing just two yards to pass Brett Favre’s career mark of 71,838 passing yards, and he accomplished the feat with his first completion of the game. But his turnovers, and a complete lack of a running game, led to Denver managing just 40 yards of total offense in the first half.

Even when not throwing interceptions, Manning was unable to do any damage, completing just 5 of his 20 passes for 35 yards while being sacked twice. He had reportedly been working through a foot injury coming into the game, but no injury was reported at the time of his benching.

Brock Osweiler, a 24-year-old out of Arizona State who had not thrown a pass this season, replaced Manning. The team instantly improved as the 6-foot-8 Osweiler completed 14 of 24 passes for 146 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Before Osweiler’s touchdown pass, Ronnie Hillman had extended the team’s streak of games with a touchdown to 57 games according to Pro Football Reference, but the game was well out of reach at the time.

The last quarterback before Manning to throw 20 or more passes with 5 or fewer completions and 4 or more interceptions was Warren Moon who accomplished the dubious feat in a loss to Cleveland in 1986. Manning is the seventh quarterback since 1960 to produce such a stat line, but two of the previous six are in the Hall of Fame.

Manning now has a league-leading 17 interceptions, a total he reached in just four of his previous 16 seasons. He has four interceptions in a game for the sixth time in his career and was two short of his career-high of six that he had in a loss to the San Diego Chargers in November of 2007.

The fall from grace for Manning and the Broncos was predicted by many during the team’s 7-0 start, but it has been remarkably swift with Denver falling to the Indianapolis Colts last week before looking completely inept against Kansas City. Even with the loss, the 7-2 Broncos have a huge lead in the A.F.C. West over the Oakland Raiders and the Chiefs, both of whom are 4-5.

Manning will likely be back at quarterback next week for a road game against the Chicago Bears, but on the day he became the N.F.L.’s most prolific passer, his backup quarterback outplayed him by a wide margin.

— Benjamin Hoffman

When Landry Jones rolled his ankle in the first quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ matchup with the Cleveland Browns, injured franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was forced to come off the bench to replace him. He ended up having an incredible game, leading Pittsburgh to a 30-9 victory.

It was just a week ago that Roethlisberger was removed late in a win over Oakland Raiders with a sprained left foot. But with Michael Vick inactive, Pittsburgh has few options for backing up Jones, so Roethlisberger was listed as active but not starting.

When Jones had his teammate, Marcus Gilbert, fall back onto his foot, Roethlisberger was forced take over and he looked rusty on his first two throws, which were both well out of Antonio Brown's reach. But from that point on he was spectacular, and ended up completing 22 of 33 passes for 379 yards and 3 touchdowns in the first game he had entered as a backup since Sept. 19, 2004, which was his N.F.L. debut.

"You have to be ready when your number's called," Roethlisberger told reporters at his post-game news conference, crediting his quick healing to drinking a lot of milk.

The exclamation point of the game came in the fourth quarter when Roethlisberger hit Brown on a short pass that the wide receiver ran in for a 56-yard touchdown, celebrating the score with a front-flip into the end zone that he stuck the landing on.

No one was happier to see Roethlisberger take the field than the Pittsburgh wide receivers. Brown finished the day with 10 catches for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns a week after setting franchise records of 17 catches and 284 yards. Martavis Brown also dominated the Cleveland secondary with 6 catches for 178 yards and 1 touchdown.

Brown, who struggled mightily when Roethlisberger missed four games with a knee injury, was quick to praise Roethlisberger.

"The guy was literally in a boot and on crutches Monday," Brown said at his post-game news conference. "I can’t speak highly enough about him. He is a tremendous warrior. You never know what he is capable of doing."

Pittsburgh was lucky that Roethlisberger was able to stay on the field, as the only other options the team had at quarterback were the injured Jones, who had come back to the sideline with a heavily-taped ankle after being evaluated in the locker room, or Heath Miller, a tight end, who serves as the team’s emergency quarterback.

"I know how hard it is now," Roethlisberger said when asked about coming into a game he did not expect to play in. "I’ve had a lot of great backups in my career and I know now it’s not easy for those guys to do what they do."

Pittsburgh's beleaguered group of quarterbacks will now get some rest as the team has a bye in Week 11.

Roethlisberger’s performance, and Cleveland’s whopping 188 yards in penalties, served to overshadow a fantastic performance by Johnny Manziel, who started the game for the Browns when Josh McCown was ruled out with a rib injury. Manziel, who survived a brutal facemask that spun him around entirely, completed 33 of 45 passes for 372 yards and 1 touchdown, but was sacked 6 times by Pittsburgh’s defense and was robbed of at least one touchdown when Travis Benjamin dropped a pass that hit him in the chest while he was wide open in the end zone.

— Benjamin Hoffman

With three seconds left in regulation, it looked as if the Detroit Lions' Lambeau Field curse would once again send them home with a loss. But Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby missed a 52-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Lions the 18-16 victory, their first in Wisconsin since 1991.

It was a frantic finish to an otherwise uneventful, sloppy game for the N.F.C. North rivals.

After the Lions scored in the fourth quarter to take an 18-10 lead, kicker Matt Prater missed his second extra point of the game, giving the Packers life. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers marched the Packers down the field and connected with tight end Justin Perillo for an 11-yard touchdown to cut the Lions' lead to two points. The Packers failed on the two-point conversion, but pulled off an onside kick to once again have a chance for the victory. Crosby, the Packers' all-time leading scorer, shanked the kick and the Lions said goodbye to their Lambeau Field woes.

Matthew Stafford threw for two touchdowns for the Lions, who recently fired their team president and general manager.

The Packers (6-3) lost their third straight game and have plenty of problems to solve on both sides of the ball. Rodgers struggled for most of the game, and the Packers' running game stalled, with James Starks gaining just 42 yards against the league's 26th-ranked defense.

— Sam Manchester

A heavy dose of Adrian Peterson, a big special teams play and Minnesota's usual stout defense moved the Vikings into sole possession of first place in the N.F.C. North.

Peterson ran for 203 yards and an 80-yard touchdown in his record-tying sixth career 200-yard game, Cordarrelle Patterson returned a kick 97 yards for a score and the Vikings beat the Oakland Raiders 30-14 on Sunday for their fifth straight win.

Teddy Bridgewater threw a touchdown pass, and the Vikings (7-2) held the Raiders' potent offense in check. Minnesota moved a game ahead of Green Bay in the division heading into next week's showdown at home with the Packers.

Derek Carr threw two touchdown passes for Oakland, but also was intercepted twice. The Raiders (4-5) lost their second straight game to fall further behind in the A.F.C. playoff race.

After scoring at least 30 points in three straight games, the Raiders struggled for most of the day against a Vikings defense that hasn't allowed more than 23 in a game all season.

With nose tackle Linval Joseph dominating the middle against backup center Tony Bergstrom, the Raiders struggled to get a consistent running game going and Carr was often under pressure and sacked twice.

Minnesota sealed the win when Terence Newman intercepted Carr in the end zone with 2:03 left for his second pick of the game. Peterson scored on an 80-yard run on the next play for the exclamation point.

— Associated Press

Cam Newton may have had enough of the criticism of his completion percentage. In a matchup against the Tennessee Titans, the Panthers’ quarterback completed his first 11 passes—a career high—and went 21 of 26 overall for 217 yards and a touchdown while leading his team to a 27-10 victory.

Newton came into the game having completed 53.7 percent of his passes, which has been one of the few things to nitpick in the team’s 9-0 start. But with the performance he raised the mark to 56.3 percent.

Marcus Mariota, the Titans’ rookie quarterback, was not been far behind Newton for much of the game, completing 16 of 24 passes for 185 yards against Carolina’s stingy defense, but the Titans produced just 242 yards of total offense and that was not enough to balance the team’s 2 turnovers.

The Panthers came into the week as one of three teams with unblemished records and were the first to make it to 9-0.

— Benjamin Hoffman

The most electrifying player in football still wears a Giants jersey.

That is the major takeaway from MetLife Stadium after an entertaining first half between the Giants and New England Patriots. A late score gave the Giants a 17-10 lead at the intermission.

The Patriots opened the game by demonstrating their ruthless offensive efficiency, with Tom Brady charging down the field, connecting on his first four passes, spraying the ball left and right, his usual shtick. The run ended after 14 plays, 80 yards, and a one-yard touchdown catch by Scott Chandler.

But what might be the best way to answer a methodical, mentally draining drive like that one? Fire back quickly. And the Giants did that.

On 2nd and 6 from their own nine, Eli Manning lofted a pass down the sideline toward Odell Beckham Jr., who had beaten his defender, the Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler, by a step. The ball landed in his outstretched arms, and Beckham then skipped past safety Devin McCourty to break out into the open.

With his speed, no defender came within 10 yards of him from there. He carried the ball in one hand like a loaf of bread for the final 40 yards.

The 87-yard score was the longest of Beckham’s young career, and it revitalized the Giants, who have defended the Patriots admirably since then. New England lost receiver Julian Edelman to a foot injury at the end of the first quarter, he is questionable to return, and that could be a key loss.

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One defender slipped, two others whiffed and Zach Miller had clear sailing into the end zone, unusual for a tight end. Jeremy Langford found some wide-open spaces, too, for a Chicago Bears offense that hit a high note against one of the NFL's better defenses.

Miller caught two touchdown passes, including an 87-yard score that was Chicago's longest play since 2010, and Langford also had two TDs, leading the Bears to a 37-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

The Bears (4-5) improved to 3-1 on the road. They brought thousands of fans to the Edward Jones Dome, which had a season-best 58,663 tickets distributed, about 8,000 shy of capacity.

Langford was untouched on an 83-yard TD on a screen and also had a 6-yard scoring run. The running back, filling in for the injured Matt Forte, had seven catches for 109 yards and 73 yards on 20 carries.

Todd Gurley had a 6-yard scoring run on the opening drive for the Rams (4-5), who have lost two straight since entering November with a winning record for the first time since 2006. Their defense entered ranked fifth overall.

Nick Foles, acquired from the Eagles for Sam Bradford in the winter, has just one TD pass the last four games. He was 17 for 36 for 200 yards with an interception.

Jay Cutler added a 26-yard scramble, the quarterback's longest since 2009, for Chicago. He could have had had more had he not made a safety-first slide in the third quarter.

Gurley was bottled up, rushing for 45 yards on 12 carries with a long of 9 yards, and led St. Louis with three catches for 44 yards.

— Associated Press

Chris McCain knocked Sam Bradford out and Reshad Jones spoiled Mark Sanchez's comeback bid.

Ryan Tannehill threw a go-ahead 4-yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry and the defense held on to give the Miami Dolphins a 20-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Bradford injured his left shoulder and sustained a concussion on a hard hit by McCain in the third quarter and didn't return, though X-rays on his shoulder were negative.

Sanchez drove the Eagles to the Dolphins 8 late in the fourth quarter, but Jones intercepted his pass in the end zone. Miami's defense held again in the final minute.

The Dolphins (4-5) snapped a two-game losing streak with the upset over the Eagles (4-5).

After Bradford was injured, the Dolphins went ahead 20-16 early in the fourth quarter.

Tannehill connected with Rishard Matthews for 43 yards to the Eagles 8. He then tossed a TD pass to Landry on a ball that was deflected and sailed high in the air.

Caleb Sturgis made a 37-yard field goal to get Philadelphia within 20-19, but he didn't get a chance to try another. Sturgis missed from 32 yards in the first half.

— Associated Press

The Dallas Cowboys had a lead since early in the second quarter, and appeared on their way to the team’s first win since Tony Romo was injured in Week 2, but Jameis Winston took the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard run with less than a minute remaining, giving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a shocking 10-6 victory.

The Cowboys have now lost seven consecutive games for the first time since 1989, and have moved one step closer to being eliminated from playoff contention as the team desperately awaits Romo’s expected return next week.

The Cowboys got the ball back and were trying to drive to a game-winning score when Bradley McDougald, who appeared to shove Dez Bryant on the play, intercepted Matt Cassel, sealing the Cowboys’ fate.

Cassel finished the day having completed 19 of his 30 passes for 186 yards and the Cowboys offense mustered just 216 yards and 6 points against a Tampa Bay defense that came into the game having allowed 28.9 points a game.

Winston, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, got his fourth win of the season despite throwing two interceptions. He completed 22 of 39 passes for 264 yards, with much of the production coming from Mike Evans, who had 8 catches for 126 yards.

— Benjamin Hoffman

The Giants and Patriots so far have done pretty much what they planned to do offensively, especially the Giants and Eli Manning.

Tom Brady is throwing to Rob Gronkowski on most key third-down plays. And he had been shredding the Giants secondary with throws over the middle to slot receiver Julian Edelman. But Edelman left the game with a foot injury and that seemed to change the pace of the game for New England. Brady immediately appeared a little out of his rhythm without the elusive Edelman. Edelman has been ruled out for the game.

The Patriots, though, have still moved the football. Two keys for the Giants defensively:

Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has been getting close to Brady, if he can amplify that pressure in the second half, it could seriously inhibit Brady’s confidence in the pocket.

The Giants reserve safety Craig Dahl has been playing in most passing situations, not rookie Landon Collins. Dahl has often had to cover Gronkowski. The strategy has not always worked but Dahl did break up along pass attempt along the sideline late in the second quarter.

Offensively, the Giants have been moving down the field confidently and quickly in the no-huddle offense. If not for left tackle Ereck Flowers’s pass blocking difficulties, which caused a fumble by Manning deep in New England territory, the Giants could be ahead by 14 points.

The Giants are going to have to continue to protect Manning adequately and hope wide receiver Dwayne Harris, who has four receptions including a touchdown, can keep up the production. After Odell Beckham Jr. caught an 87-yard touchdown on the game’s second play, the Patriots have blanketed Beckham with double coverages and extra attention from a middle-of-the-field safety. Harris and Rueben Randle may have to carry the Giants if that keeps up.

— Bill Pennington

Just a few days after losing his starting position to James Starks, Eddie Lacy was declared out for today’s game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions with a groin injury.

At the time of the demotion, Coach Mike McCarthy implied not much would change despite the change in status.

“I’m not a big believer in just riding one running back the whole season,” McCarthy told reporters. “We’ll stay with the one-two punch.”

But Lacy, who was listed as questionable, was able to practice all week on a limited basis before being scratched, which will fuel speculation that there is more to the situation than the team is letting on.

The demotion came as a result of Starks outplaying Lacy, the Green Bay starter of the last three seasons. On the season, Starks has rushed for 334 yards on 78 carries, compared to Lacy’s 308 yards on 83 carries. He has also outpaced Lacy in receiving yards 167 to 92 while fumbling two fewer times.

For his part, Lacy seemed to take the demotion well at the time of the announcement.

“As a team, we’re pretty much doing what’s needed, going with what’s necessary at this time,” Lacy told reporters. “This season he’s definitely been the better player between the both of us. That’s just the move.”

Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is likely to play against the Packers today despite missing practice Friday with a sprained ankle. Johnson has a history of playing through injuries, and stated publicly this week that he would face the Packers.

Here are some other active/inactive scenarios around the league:

Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery (groin) is listed as questionable, but all signs point to him playing against the Rams.

Packers running back Eddie Lacy, who lost his starting job earlier this week, is inactive.

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch will be a game-time decision against the Cardinals in the Sunday night game. If Lynch can't go, Thomas Rawls should fill in again.

Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall is expected to play against the Saints. Washington will need him against the league's leading offense (421 yards per game).

Cardinals receiver John Brown should play against the Seahawks, giving leading receiver Larry Fitzgerald some much-needed help against Richard Sherman and Seattle's "Legion of Boom" defense.

Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders will likely be a game-time decision against the Chiefs.

Cardinals (6-2) at Seahawks (4-4)

8:30 p.m. Line: Seahawks by 3

When these teams met in Seattle last season, Arizona was 9-1 and held a three-game lead in the N.F.C. West on the second-place Seahawks. Seattle won that game, 19-3, and did not lose again until falling to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Cardinals, though, lost three of their last five games and finished second in the division to Seattle. You can bet that the fact that this game represented a turning point for both teams last season is on the minds of their coaches heading into this one.

It should be noted that the Cardinals lost quarterback Carson Palmer before that 2014 game, and his absence led to some unstable play at quarterback that contributed greatly to their late-season slide. Arizona is 19-4 in the last 23 games started by Palmer dating to 2013. The Seahawks’ Pete Carroll, who coached the 35-year-old Palmer at Southern California, has certainly taken notice.

“Carson is playing phenomenal football,” Carroll said during the week. “He looks as good as he’s ever looked. The best I’ve ever seen him in all of the years he’s been out there playing.”

In addition to Palmer, two other players in their 30s are experiencing career rejuvenations in Arizona: Chris Johnson, 30, and Larry Fitzgerald, 32. Written off by many as being on the downside of their careers, the two are playing some of their best football. Johnson is third in the N.F.L. in rushing yards, while Fitzgerald ranks eighth in receptions and ninth in receiving yards.

If the Seahawks have any chance of making a late run to snatch the N.F.C. West title away from the Cardinals, they probably need to win this game. Working in their advantage: Coming off a bye week, they will be near full strength for one of the few times this season.

PICK: SEAHAWKS

Patriots (8-0) at Giants (5-4)

4:25 p.m. Line: Patriots by 7

The Patriots have been a dominant team in the Bill Belichick era, but the Giants have been a thorn in their side. When the Patriots and the Giants last faced off in a regular-season game in New Jersey, in 2007, New England was on its way to a perfect regular season. The Patriots won that game, but the Giants upset them in the Super Bowl a few weeks later and again in the February 2012 Super Bowl. Giants Coach Tom Coughlin is 5-1 against Belichick.

But the Giants enter the game last in the N.F.L. in total defense, and one has to wonder if they can contain an explosive Patriots offense led by quarterback Tom Brady, who has rarely looked better than he has through the first eight games of this season. Brady is no doubt licking his chops after watching film of Drew Brees shredding the Giants’ secondary for 505 yards and 52 points without being sacked in Week 8. Still, the recently returned Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is confident his presence will lead to some changes.

“They’re undefeated, but they have to come through here,” Pierre-Paul told reporters after practice on Wednesday. “We’ll get to the quarterback. I’m sure of it. I know I will.”

Unfortunately for the Giants, Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck will not also be returning to suit up on Sunday.

PICK: PATRIOTS

Vikings (6-2) at Raiders (4-4)

4:25 p.m. Line: Raiders by 3

With only three picks separating them in the 2014 draft, it is probably inevitable that Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (the 32nd pick) and Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (36th) will draw comparisons over the course of their careers, and to this point they are the shining stars of that quarterback class. (The two selected ahead of them, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles, have not been as successful.) Bridgewater has the Vikings, who have won four straight for the first time since 2012, in a position to win the N.F.C. North, while Carr is having a Pro Bowl season statistically, and a wild-card playoff berth is not an impossibility for Oakland.

PICK: RAIDERS

Lions (1-7) at Packers (6-2)

1 p.m. Line: Packers by 12

The Packers return to Lambeau Field after dropping two straight on the road to Denver and Carolina, and they will do so with a new starting running back. The team announced Wednesday that James Starks would replace Eddie Lacy in that role.

The good news for the Packers is that the team they are playing this week is the Lions, maybe the N.F.L.’s worst team and an organization that appears to be in disarray after a rash of recent firings.

PICK: PACKERS

Cowboys (2-6) at Buccaneers (3-5)

1 p.m. Line: Buccaneers by 1

Will the Cowboys ever win without quarterback Tony Romo? They keep trying, bless their hearts, but have fallen short each time since Romo went down in Week 2, the most recent loss being a 33-27 overtime heartbreaker to the Eagles. Perhaps the football gods are punishing Jerry Jones for signing Greg Hardy. Dallas’s last chance to win without Romo may be this one, since he is expected to return for its Nov. 22 game against the Dolphins.

But this one will not come easy. The Buccaneers, led by quarterback Jameis Winston, have proved to be a feisty bunch, a team capable of beating anyone when it is playing well and the ball bounces its way a time or two.

PICK: BUCCANEERS

For some fans, the N.F.L. game on Thursday night did not become unwatchable when the Jets committed two turnovers in a two-minute span or bungled a late comeback attempt. Or even when the Buffalo Bills punter muffed a snap.

The televised action started harassing E. J. Arnold’s eyes far earlier. As in, at the opening kickoff.

“It was just a shock to my system,” he said.

Arnold is among that subset of the population with red-green colorblindness, and the all-green uniforms worn by the Jets and the all-red ones of the Bills turned the viewing experience into headache-inducing misery.

The Jets’ green looked green to Arnold. But so did the Bills’ red. To him, everyone looked like a Jet, even though they were never penalized for having too many men on the field.

On punts, he did not know who was blocking whom. When a pass was caught, he did not know if it was a reception or an interception.

“I’d watch for three, four minutes and then I’d just say, ‘I can’t figure it out’ and change the channel,” said Arnold, the special teams coordinator at Division II Northwood University in Midland, Mich. “If the graphics from the NFL Network weren’t on the bottom of the screen, I couldn’t tell if the Jets or the Bills had the ball.”

It was not what he had expected when he turned on the television after putting his three children to bed. He said he asked his wife, Mandy, to watch “to make sure I wasn’t going crazy.”

Watching football is a Thursday night ritual for Arnold, but he had not heard about the league’s new Thursday night ritual: a Color Rush promotion with Nike that had its debut with the Jets and the Bills, who normally wear blue or white jerseys. The four-game campaign is the latest instance of professional sports leagues trying to emulate the fashion world: to never be seen in the same outfit twice.

But red-green colorblind viewers saw virtually the same outfit on everyone.

Adam Roylance, who works in digital marketing in Chicago, wrote in a Twitter message: “Generally when teams wear red/green uniforms, there’s some way to distinguish a difference, such as white shorts, etc., but last night it was impossible for me to tell the difference! Completely ruined the game.”

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