We enter the second quarter of the NFL season, when teams begin to either stamp their marks on the season or dissolve into an afterthought. These are the things you need to know for all of Sunday's games as kickoff approaches.
Sunday's storylines
The Bears' offensive line faces its second tough matchup in a row. This week the young group will try to slow Cameron Jordan and diagnose Rob Ryan's creative blitzes.
Drew Brees can slice up anyone in the Superdome. Soldier Field, on turf potentially soaked by overnight rain against an opportunistic Bears defense, will be another beast to conquer.
It will be interesting to see how Bill Belichick plans to replace Vince Wilfork's absence in the middle of the defense. Pats cornerback Aqib Talib took over last week against Julio Jones and Roddy White, he'll get a shot to shut down A.J. Green this week.
Silver: Houston, Cincy have a problem
Of course, Andy Dalton might shut down Green himself. The quarterback has given his critics a boatload of ammunition with his underwhelming play through four weeks.
Which will be quicker, Ndamukong Suh's penetration or Aaron Rodgers' release? The quarterback usually picks apart the Lions secondary in these games.
The Lions need to continue to feed Reggie Bush, but if they get behind early will Scott Linehan stick with the ground game?
The Seahawks' shaky offensive line might be the biggest advantage the Colts have against Russell Wilson.
Even with Trent Richardson, the Colts still move on the strength of Andrew Luck's arm. It will be fun watching him sling it against the NFL's best secondary.
This game might very well be decided by who protects the quarterback better. Joe Flacco doesn't have the outside weapons Ryan Tannehill is equipped with, so we might see a heavy dose of Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce as the Ravens try to work out their offensive line.
Tannehill needs a bounce-back game after struggling on "Monday Night Football." This game could tell us where he is on his upward progression.
The last time the Eagles played a defense this porous, they wowed us in Week 1. Chip Kelly might feel like he's playing in the Pac-12 again.
The Giants' troubles are deep. The offensive line continues to get messier, which isn't aiding the running game. Tom Coughlin's complete lack of faith in David Wilson isn't helping either. There will come a point when Coughlin realizes he's got nothing to lose by letting Wilson loose.
Sam Bradford needs to show he's leaps and bounds better than Blaine Gabbert. He can't somehow get outplayed by The Gabbert Zone head-to-head at home
If any game could enter the fourth quarter 0-0 it might be this tilt. Ryan Fitzpatrick's inaccuracy and Alex Smith's 7-yard spikes go up against two of the best defenses in the NFL. The Chiefs have the edge with Jamaal Charles, but the Titans' defense, with Greg Williams' help, is the least-discussed dominant group in the NFL.
I'm going to guess that Bruce Arians already has scrapped every running play from his playbook. The Cardinals haven't run against average fronts, so why would they run against one of the stoutest?
The last time we saw Cam Newton, he was beasting in a blowout win over the Giants. Sunday he'll have to avoid the letdown that plagues so many East Coast teams traveling west.
Peyton Manning's mix-and-match offensive line has done a masterful job, we'll see if the Broncos can slow DeMarcus Ware.
Tony Romo trying to keep pace with Manning's offense is sure to make Cowboy's fans queasy. Can he pull out a 'make Jerry proud' game?
Matt Schaub needs a good game, for his own safety.
Last week we saw vintage Frank Gore. It will be tough sledding this week against J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing and the Texans' front seven.
I'm looking forward to watching Terrelle Pryor get back on the field so much I'll stay up until 3 a.m. to watch him.
Philip Rivers gets another chance to pick apart a mediocre defense. Chargers fans must have face-palmed when they learned the game was moved to national television on NFL Network on Sunday night. The Chargerslove beating themselves on national television.
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»Good news for Giants fans: Since 2004, the Giants are 30-6 under Tom Coughlin in October, their best record in any month.
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