MONday night football
Saints (5-9) at Packers (10-4)
When: 8:15 p.m. EST Monday
TV: ABC, ESPN
BetMGM NFL odds: Packers by 13½
Series record: Packers lead 18-10
Last meeting: Packers won 18-17 at Green Bay on Sept. 24, 2023.
Last week: Saints lost 20-19 at home to the Washington Commanders. Packers won 30-13 at Seattle.
Saints player to watch: DE Chase Young is coming off a two-sack performance against the Commanders, who selected him out of Ohio State with the second overall pick in the 2020 draft. Green Bay’s offensive line has done a nice job of pass protection this season, but Young is talented enough to cause Packers QB Jordan Love plenty of headaches.
Packers player to watch: LB Edgerrin Cooper was the NFC defensive player of the week for the second time this season after getting eight tackles, picking off a pass and forcing a fumble with a sack against Seattle. The rookie second-round pick from Texas A&M is the first Packer to be the NFC defensive player of the week twice in the same season since Clay Matthews in Green Bay’s 2010 Super Bowl championship season.
Key matchup: Saints offensive line vs. Packers pass rush: Green Bay’s pass rush has been inconsistent, but the Packers are coming off a seven-sack performance against Seattle. Kingsley Enagbare led the way with two sacks. QB Spencer Rattler could start for New Orleans in place of an injured Derek Carr and the Saints won’t have much of a chance if he doesn’t have time to throw. The Saints are allowing just two sacks per game, putting them in a tie for eighth in the league.
Series notes: The Packers rallied from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Saints last season in Love’s first home start. Green Bay made its comeback after Carr left with a shoulder injury. New Orleans’ Blake Grupe missed a 46-yard field goal that would have put the Saints ahead with 1:05 remaining. Green Bay’s Rashan Gary had three sacks in that game.
— Associated Press
eagles (12-2) at commanders (9-5)
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
TV: Fox
BetMGM NFL odds: Eagles by 3 1/2
Series record: Washington leads 89-85-5.
Last meeting: Eagles beat Commanders 26-18 on Nov. 14.
Last week: Eagles beat Steelers 27-13; Commanders beat Saints 20-19.
Key matchup: Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. vs. Eagles rushing defense. Philadelphia limited Pittsburgh’s Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren to a total of 26 yards on 10 carries, and Robinson is coming off averaging just 3.1 yards a carry at New Orleans. Robinson getting going opens up the offense for Daniels to mix and match, and the Eagles can force opponents to be one-dimensional by shutting down the run almost entirely.
Series notes: Philadelphia is already playoff-bound and can clinch the NFC East title and one of the conference’s top two seeds with a victory. The Eagles are on a franchise-record 10-game winning streak and last lost Sept. 29 at Tampa Bay. ... Washington can clinch a playoff spot with a win, an Atlanta loss or tie and either a loss or tie by Seattle or the Los Angeles Rams. The Commanders can also get in with a tie and several other results around the NFL going their way.
Stats & stuff: Hurts with 14 rushing touchdowns are one away from tying the record for the most by a QB in a season. He and Buffalo’s Josh Allen each had 15 last season.
cardinals (7-7) at Panthers (3-11)
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
TV: Fox
BetMGM odds: Cardinals by 4 1/2
Series record: Panthers lead 12-5.
Last meeting: Cardinals beat Panthers 26-16 on Oct. 22, 2022, in Carolina.
Last week: Cardinals beat Patriots 30-17; Panthers lost to Cowboys 30-14.
Key matchup: Cardinals RB James Conner vs. Panthers run defense. Connor is coming off his best game of the season, rushing for 110 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns against New England. Now he gets the Panthers, a team that has struggled against the run. Rico Dowdle had a career game last week, running for 149 yards on 25 carries as the Cowboys racked up 211 yards on the ground. Carolina’s defense has allowed at least 190 yards rushing in five of its past six games.
Series notes: Including playoff games, the Panthers have defeated the Cardinals in six of the past seven meetings. The Panthers trounced the Cardinals 49-15 in the NFC championship game in the 2015 season to reach Super Bowl 50.
Stats & stuff: The Cardinals are 7-7 this season and looking for their first winning season since 2021. They’re third in the NFC West, one game behind the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. ... Arizona’s defense has allowed an average of just 17.9 points over the past eight games. That ranks second in the league over that span.
vikings (12-2) at seahawks (8-6)
When: 4:05 p.m. Sunday
TV: Fox
BetMGM NFL odds: Vikings by 3
Series record: Seahawks lead 13-6.
Last meeting: The Vikings beat the Seahawks 30-17 on Sept. 26, 2021, at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Last week: Vikings beat Bears 30-12. Seahawks lost to Packers 30-13.
Key matchup: The Seahawks have shown a bit of improvement in the run game the past two weeks as Zach Charbonnet ran for 134 yards two weeks ago against the Cardinals and scored a 24-yard rushing touchdown against the Packers in place of injured starter Kenneth Walker III (calf). Walker might be back this week, but whichever player gets the majority of the snaps will have to face off against a tough Minnesota run defense that is allowing 89.1 yards per game, the second fewest in the NFL.
Series notes: The first matchup between the Seahawks and Vikings came on Nov. 14, 1976, in Minnesota. The Vikings won 27-21. … Prior to Minnesota’s win in its most recent game against Seattle in 2021, the Seahawks had won seven in a row over the Vikings going back to 2012. … The Seahawks won the only playoff game between the two teams on Jan. 10, 2016, as kicker Blair Walsh missed a field goal in the closing seconds of a NFC wild-card game to give Seattle a 10-9 win.
Stats & stuff: Vikings QB Sam Darnold has surged past his previous marks and set career highs in wins (12), games started (14), passing yards (3,530) and touchdown passes (29) and is on pace to do the same in these categories: completion rate (67.6 percent), average yards per attempt (8.3) and passer rating (104.9).
Patriots (3-11) at Bills (11-3)
When: 4:25 p.m. Sunday
TV: CBS
BetMGM NFL odds: Bills by 14
Series record: Patriots lead 78-50-1.
Last meeting: Bills beat Patriots 27-21 on Dec. 31 at Orchard Park, New York.
Last week: Patriots lost to Cardinals 30-17; Bills beat Lions 48-42.
Key matchup: Bills pass rush vs. Patriots O-line. Relying mostly on a four-man pass rush, Buffalo ranks 25th in the NFL in sacks per passing play, and faces an opponent that ranks 28th by allowing a sack for nearly every seven drop-backs. New England has allowed a combined 13 sacks in losing its past four outings.
Series notes: The Bills are 7-2 in their past nine meetings, including playoffs, in a stretch that coincides with Tom Brady leaving New England for Tampa Bay following the 2019 season. The Patriots, under Brady, had essentially owned Buffalo in going 34-4 during his 19-year tenure as starter. ... Buffalo is 4-1 at home against New England since 2020, including a 49-17 win in a 2021 wild-card playoff meeting.
Stats & stuff: This marks Buffalo’s first meeting against New England since coach Jerod Mayo replaced Bill Belichick as Patriots coach this offseason. The teams meet again in two weeks to close the season at New England. ... The Patriots haven’t closed a season with three or fewer wins since a 2-14 finish in 1992. ... The Bills are 11-3 or better through 14 games for just the seventh time in team history, and third time since 2020. ... Buffalo has scored 30 or more points in eight straight outings, matching the NFL single-season record achieved four previous time.
Jaguars (3-11 at raiders (2-12)
Wjem: 4:25 p.m. Sunday,
TV: CBS
BetMGM NFL odds: Raiders by 1
Series record: Jaguars lead 6-4.
Last meeting: Jaguars beat Raiders 27-20 in Jacksonville on Nov. 6, 2022.
Last week: Jaguars lost to Jets 32-25; Raiders lost to Falcons 15-9.
Key matchup: The Raiders’ shaky offensive line versus Jaguars DEs Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. The pass-rushing duo has combined for 15 1/2 sacks this season and has 53 1/2 over the past three seasons. Hines-Allen and Walker were far from effective last week against the Jets and now face an O-line that has allowed 47 sacks, tied for third most in the league.
Series notes: This is the first meeting in Las Vegas. ... Jacksonville won the two previous matchups by a combined seven points. ... Each team won three times in the Raiders’ prior home stadium in Oakland, California.
Stats & stuff: The Jaguars have lost six of seven and are 2-8 in one-score games. ... Jacksonville is one of five NFL teams, along with Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Kansas City, with at least 20 sacks from two defenders over the past three seasons. ... QB Mac Jones had a season high in completions (31), passing yards (294) and rushing yards (29) last week. ... Brock Bowers is one of 10 rookies in NFL history to reach 90 receptions and the first tight end to do it. Only three rookies have reached 100 catches — Arizona’s Anquon Boldin (101 in 2003), Miami’s Jaylen Waddle (104 in 2021) and the Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nauca (105 in 2023). ... Bowers also is 32 yards from becoming the third rookie tight end with 1,000 yards.
49ers (6-8) at dolphins (6-8)
When: 4:25 p.m. Sunday
TV: CBS
BetMGM NFL odds: Dolphins by 2 1/2
Series record: Dolphins lead 8-6.
Last meeting: 49ers beat Dolphins 33-17 in Santa Clara, Calif., on Dec. 4, 2022.
Last week: 49ers lost to the Rams 12-6; Dolphins lost to Houston 20-12.
Key matchup: Dolphins offensive line vs. 49ers defensive line. Miami played without its top three tackles last week and struggled in both run blocking and pass protection against Houston’s pass rush. If tackles Terron Armstead (knee) and Kendall Lamm (knee) can’t play again this week, the Dolphins could be in trouble against a San Francisco defensive line led by Nick Bosa, who has 40 tackles and seven sacks this season.
Series notes: This is the 15th meeting between the two teams, and the home team has won four of the past five. ... It will be the second time Mike McDaniel has faced his former team as the Dolphins head coach. Before he was hired by Miami ahead of the 2022 season, McDaniel was the 49ers run game specialist (2017-18), run game coordinator (2019-20) and offensive coordinator (2021). ... San Francisco has not visited Miami since 2016.
Stats & stuff: The 49ers have lost four of five games and will have their first losing season since 2020 with one more loss. … Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill needs two touchdowns in the remaining three games to reach seven this season and become the first receiver and fifth player in NFL history to have at least seven scrimmage touchdowns in each of their first nine seasons.