Key game-time decisions
All players questionable unless noted
Giovani Bernard, RB (ribs) Cincinnati Bengals
Bernard plans to play, despite being limitied in practice all week, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Roddy White, WR (hamstring, ankle) Atlanta Falcons
White missed three games, but he's said he will be on the field to face the Seattle Seahawks. Rapoport reported on NFL Network's "NFL GameDay First" that White will play.
Trent Richardson, RB (ankle) Indianapolis Colts
Richardson was full-go Friday after missing two days with an ankle injury. The Colts expect Richardson to play, Rapoport reported.
T.J. Lang, OG (concussion); Nick Perry, LB (foot) Green Bay Packers
Lang returned to practice Friday on a limited basis. Perry was limited all week. His return, coupled with Clay Matthews' recovery, would be a big boost for the Packers' D.
Jimmy Graham, TE (elbow, foot); Marques Colston, WR (knee) New Orleans Saints
Graham was limited Thursday and Friday, but he should play, similar to last week. It's mostly pain tolerance at this point. Colston was limited all week after missing last week's tussle.
Jason Hatcher, DT (neck) Dallas Cowboys
Hatcher returned to practice Friday in a limited capacity.
Eddie Royal, WR (toe) San Diego Chargers
Royal sat out practice all week. He's done the same the past two weeks and still suited up Sunday.
Three players to watch
Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears
Coming off a groin injury, Cutler needs to start hot. After the stellar performance by Josh McCownlast week, Bears fans will turn on Cutler quickly if he struggles. It's a difficult Detroit Lions defensive front for Cutler to face if he's not able to move well. He insists he's ready. He'll have to prove it to keep the boo birds at bay.
I'd argue that Aaron Rodgers was the most irreplaceable player on any NFL team. Wallace is in the unenviable position of replacing Rodgers in an offense that relies on the quarterback to make plays. With a full week of practice under his belt, we should expect Wallace to play better than he did in relief in Week 9. Still, Wallace has a career 6-15 record as an NFL starter. He'll need to lean heavily on Eddie Lacy and the Packers' newfound running game.
Weather Tracking
*It's November. It will be cold in cold-weather states. However, there is nothing noteworthy on the horizon and no precipitation in the forecasts. *
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» Since 2000, 32 teams have reached the halfway point of the season with a winning percentage of .500 or below and rallied to make the playoffs. At least one has done it in each of the past 12 seasons. The only team to rally and actually win the Super Bowl: The 2001 New England Patriots, who were 4-4 at the midway point.
»Tony Romo leads all starting quarterbacks in November winning percentage (minimum 20 starts) in the Super Bowl era, with a 22-4 record. Two other active quarterbacks (Tom Brady, 4th; Joe Flacco, 5th) are in the top five.
Sunday's storylines
Steven Jackson is performing a mighty good impersonation of Michael Turner from last season. In a matchup of strength on strength, Matt Ryan needs to put up big numbers against the NFL's best secondary for the Falcons to win.
Odds and ends: Andy Dalton has guided the Bengals' offense to a touchdown on nine drives that have begun inside their own 20-yard line, the most such drives for any team in the NFL. The Ravens are the only team this season not to allow a touchdown on a drive that started inside their opponent's own 20-yard line.
Reggie Bush is the key for the Lions' offense. The Bears, led by cornerback Charles Tillman (whose knee is healthier this week), have done a good job slowing Calvin Johnson. Bush will need to duplicate his 139-yard performance the first time these two teams met.
The reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, Shea McClellin (hamstring), is doubtful for the Bears' defense, which necessitates Julius Peppers to have another strong performance and put pressure on Matthew Stafford. The Bears should move Peppers around the line with Lions rookie right tackle LaAdrian Waddle likely to make just his second start.
Nick Foles will get the pregame hype -- justifiably so -- but if the Eagles want to win another road game (against a winning team this time) LeSean McCoy is the key. The Eagles are 3-0 this season when McCoy has 26 or more touches (rushes/receptions), and 1-5 when McCoy has fewer than 26 touches.
Rookie running back Eddie Lacy will have a chance to strengthen his case for Offensive Rookie of the Year. The powerful running back has bowled over opponents, and he should have plenty of opportunities to extend his streak of five straight games with 80-plus yards rushing.
Andrew Luck has been spectacular while receiving little help from his offensive line. The quarterback could be under siege again against the pass-rushing duo of Robert Quinn and Chris Long.
With Darren McFadden (hamstring) out for the Raiders, Terrelle Pryor will have to carry the offense against a defense rounding into form.
If he gets time, Eli Manning could take advantage of a Raiders secondary that continues to struggle with communication breakdowns.
EJ Manuel's return to the lineup will add some juice to the Bills' offense. His offensive line has performed well as of late and should give the rookie quarterback time against a Steelers pass rush that has failed to produce consistent pressure. Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is 17-2 in regular season games against starting rookie quarterbacks. It will be fun to see the game plan the guru dials up for Manuel.
The Steelers' offensive line is likely to struggle against a Bills defensive front that has terrorized offenses. Defensive tackles Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus along with defensive end Mario Williams should set up shop in the Steelers' backfield.
Chris Johnson finally showed up for 2013 in last week's win. He should have another good performance against the NFL's worst rushing defense, which is allowing 161.8 yards per game.
Jaguars offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch said this week he'd like to get Maurice Jones-Drew 20 carries and newly named No. 2 running back Denard Robinson 14. That combined number is laughable, but Chad Henne throwing against a stud Titans secondary doesn't sound more promising.
The Panthers have nine rushing touchdowns in their five wins and zero rushing touchdowns in their three losses. They will need to pound the rock Sunday to set up Cam Newton's play action and zone reads.
The 49ers have been hot the last five weeks on the strength of Frank Gore and the rushing attack. He might find the sledding a bit tougher against the Panthers' stout front seven.
Isn't Case Keenum a joy to watch? He has the highest completion percentage on passes of 20-plus yards in the air this season (minimum of 10 attempts) at 63.6 percent (next on the list is Philip Rivers at 48.4 percent). More importantly, he's feeding Andre Johnson, who'll have a tougher go of it against Patrick Peterson this week.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians announced Rashard Mendenhall -- who missed the Cardinals' last game -- will start. How much Arians uses the more dynamic Andre Ellington is something to keep an eye on.
How the Broncos respond without John Fox is one subplot, but I'm not expecting it to affect Peyton Manning in the least. Manning will carve up the 29th ranked Chargers defense. The Broncos' offense has equaled the NFL record with eight straight games of 30-plus points to begin a season. They should make it nine Sunday.
Keenan Allen has been a stud this season. He will have to take advantage of the Broncos' secondary (which is playing better as of late) to help keep the Chargers on pace with the high-octane Manning-led squad.
Tony Romodoesn't care what anyone says about him switching out of running plays at the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys' signal-caller needs to try and get that running game going Sunday night to help his defense. The longer Drew Brees is standing on the sideline, the better for the Cowboys.
The Saints' defense has come back to the pack a bit. It has allowed as many points in the last three games (73) as it did in the first five games of the season. Cameron Jordan's bum ankle undoubtedly has something to do with that.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" previews every Week 10 game, including the heavyweight battle between the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
