Your Jet-free Sunday early games discussion thread

by Site Admin

A relaxing Sunday is in store after the Jets destroyed the Bills at home on Thursday night. So, let's enjoy today's games.

Here's some of the main things to watch out for:

In the AFC mix

Three AFC teams with 3-4 records today with a chance to stay in touch with the Jets in the wild card race or pull ahead of them in the race for a high draft pick, depending on your perspective.

Houston hosts the 2-6 Indianapolis after both teams learned that they've lost their starting quarterbacks for the rest of the year. It was confirmed that Andrew Luck won't return this year and then rookie sensation Deshaun Watson tore his ACL. The Tom Savage-Jacoby Brissett doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Luck-Watson.

Denver travels to the Eagles for the only interconference game on the early schedule. This will be a tough game for the Broncos against the surging Eagles, but how will Carson Wentz cope under what figures to be heavy pressure with the Broncos pass rush facing a line that is without Jason Peters for the rest of the season?

Cincinnati travels to the unpredictable 4-3 Jaguars, who are looking to profit from this week's news and forge ahead in the AFC South. The Bengals, winners of three of their last four, will be right back in the mix with a win today.

The other AFC match-up pits Titans, tied with the Jaguars for the AFC South lead, against the Ravens in Tennessee. The Ravens had lost four of five before they beat Miami by 40, so they have some momentum and a long week of preparation. However, the Titans are coming off their bye, so they've had even long to prepare.

All-NFC Matchups

There's three all-NFC games in the early afternoon slate as three five-win teams look to keep up their momentum.

The Jets' next opponent, Tampa Bay, is in New Orleans, trying to avoid dropping to 2-6. The Saints resurgence has been led by the evergreen Drew Brees and emerging rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

The 4-3 Falcons, look to build on their come-from-behind win against the Jets with a win over the 5-3 Panthers. They're looking to prove that their struggles against the rest of the AFC East were an aberration. Can the Panthers keep up the momentum without Kelvin Benjamin?

Finally, it's difficult to say whether the Rams being 5-2 or the Giants being 1-6 was the most unexpected but they meet today. Will things return to normalcy today or will these teams continue to defy preseason expectations?