Daniel Jones is done for the season with a torn ACL; Cam Akers has suffered another torn Archilles, this time on his left foot; and Desmond Ridder will again back up Taylor Heinicke this week. Here are some other stories we’re following heading into Week 10 of the NFL season…

Waiting For Josh Fields

In his second start since replacing injured Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields, Tyson Bagent looked pretty good, but he’s regressed tremendously in the two games since. We’ll give Bagent this: he’s put up some solid yardage numbers in the last two weeks (finally improving his horrid YPA), and has done a good job scrambling to avoid sacks, but has hardly been mistake proof. Getting picked five times in two games is proof positive of this, and has to have Bears’ fans itching for Fields (thumb) to return soon (or maybe not… see video below).

Fields is practicing again, but remains limited, so is still considered day-to-day. He’s currently listed as questionable for Thursday’s game against Carolina.

Speaking of this “prime time” matchup… wow, does the NFL ever look silly for setting up a Thursday night game with the 2-7 Bears facing off against the 1-7 Panthers. Honestly, we’re curious if there’s ever been a prime time matchup featuring two teams with a worse combined record.

In fairness, no one expected either of these teams to be this bad, but still, we can’t wait to see how ugly the ratings are for this one. Hell, we can’t even make it about a battle for draft position given that Chicago already owns Carolina’s first round pick in 2024!

Jacksonville Faces Big Test in Week 10

Coming out of their bye week, the Jacksonville Jaguars are really sitting pretty. Having won five straight to erase a shaky 1-2 start, they are in control of the AFC South, a full two games ahead of second place Houston.

The Jags’ favourable situation has been reflected in their odds at FanDuel, which now has them at -410 to win the division and +950 to claim the Super Bowl.

We’ll learn a lot more about Jacksonville in Week 10 when they face the 49ers. Sure, San Francisco has uncharacteristically lost three straight games, but is also coming off its bye week, so a reset is likely. This game will tell us a lot about both of these squads.

The other fun aspect of this game is that it pits Trevor Lawrence — the top pick of the 2021 draft — against Brock Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 draft. Lawrence endured his struggles as a rookie, but took a massive step forward last year.

This year has been a mixed bag for him (more completions, but slightly less yardage and significantly fewer touchdown passes), and that lack of clear progress has been a bit of a disappointment. Still, Lawrence is trending in the right direction and has looked much better during this winning streak.

Speaking of winning, that’s all Purdy does. Mr. Irrelevant has won 15 straight starts in the regular season.

Consider Lawrence a mid-range QB1 this week, while Purdy is a superb QB2 option.

Dallas Suffers Heartbreaking Loss

Any hopes the Dallas Cowboys had of winning the NFC East likely disappeared in their fateful final drive during Sunday’s tough loss to division rival Philadelphia.

The Cowboys drove to the Eagle six-yard line and were seeking the game-winning touchdown only to be charged with a false start, followed immediately by a sack that pushed them back another 11 yards. Dak Prescott then had an incomplete pass before finding CeeDee Lamb, who couldn’t quite take it to the house on the final play of the drive.

Dallas (5-3) doesn’t get another crack at Philadelphia (8-1) until mid-December. Fortunately, next up for the ‘Boys is a likely win against the New York Giants on Sunday.

Speaking of Lamb, the team’s 2020 first rounder just keeps improving each season. We certainly can’t fault him for the loss to the Eagles as he enjoyed his best game of the year (11 receptions off a season-high 16 targets for a season-best 191 yards). Yes, Lamb’s lost fumble on Sunday hurt, but we love his overall body of work so far in 2023 — especially the fact he’s become more of a deep threat with a career-best 14.5 YPR.

Consider him a mid-range WR1 for Week Nine.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

Led by vocalist Jay Kay, Jamiroquai formed in 1992, getting their start in the London funk and acid jazz movement of that era. But over time, they morphed into so much more and continue to produce superb music to this day. In 2010, the band released its seventh album, Rock Dust Light Star, and the lead single was “White Knuckle Ride,” proving to be their last UK Top 40 hit.

After managing just three wins last season, the Texans played .500 football over the first six games of the season to match that total. And while the playoffs are still quite possible for Houston, two losses in the last three — including coming off its bye and losing to Carolina last week to fall under .500 — hurt badly. Still, with the remaining schedule including games against Cincinnati, Jacksonville, the Jets, Cleveland and the Titans (twice), the Texans very much remain in control of their own fate. more

In his sophomore season in 2021, he showed some huge improvements, although interceptions were an issue. Last year, the Fins set Tagovailoa more free, allowing him to throw the ball 400 times for the first time and he rewarded their faith with a huge uptick in touchdown passes. And so far in 2023, he continues to improve, getting sacked less frequently while showing his greatest accuracy yet and continued improvements in his yards per attempt as part of the nearly unstoppable offensive machine that Miami has built. more

He’s gotten better each season, but will need to stop making so many mistakes if that trend will continue. Jones has already been picked four times through three games this season after tossing just five interceptions in 16 games in 2022. more

What really sucks here for the Giants is that they are coming off a huge win last week in which they matched their biggest comeback ever. more