Several important games in Week 10 will help determine whether a handful of NFL teams will be contenders or pretenders during the second half of the 2016 season.
Here are five teams facing must-win games this week.
Green Bay Packers
Three losses in four games puts the Packers at 4-4 for the first time since 2009. Green Bay hasn’t started 4-5 since 2008, when Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to a disappointing 6-10 record in his first year as the starting quarterback.
A loss in Tennessee on Sunday wouldn’t guarantee a repeat of ’08 is coming, but Rodgers and the Packers should be expected to beat the 4-5 Titans. Green Bay’s next three games—which will all be played away from Lambeau Field—could end up determining the direction of the Packers’ uncertain 2016 season.
Carolina Panthers
Every single game from here on out is important for the Panthers, who have won two straight games since starting 1-5. How many more losses can the defending NFC champions suffer and still expect to make the postseason? Not many.
Week 10 brings to Carolina the Kansas City Chiefs, a team with 18 wins over their last 20 regular season games. A loss on Sunday probably wouldn’t end Carolina’s season, but falling to 3-6 would likely put the Panthers in a position where only a seven-game winning streak would get them back into the playoffs. Now is the time to start stacking wins.
Philadelphia Eagles
Once 3-0, the Eagles have lost four of the last five games—including back-to-back road defeats against NFC East foes. Philadelphia now finds itself in last place in the division, and the upcoming schedule won’t make it easy on the Eagles to start crawling back up the standings.
The high-flying Atlanta Falcons head to Philadelphia in Week 10. The Eagles can’t afford another loss, especially with games coming up against the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals to finish November and start December. A once promising 2016 season could get away from the Eagles over the next month or so.
San Diego Chargers
The Chargers are 4-5, with three wins in the last four games. The talent is there for San Diego to make a serious run, but the team’s unlucky start has really narrowed the Chargers’ margin of error for the second half of the season.
Sunday’s visit from the Miami Dolphins provides an opportunity to get back to .500. The Dolphins are riding high after winning three straight games, but Miami still hasn’t won away from home in 2016 (0-3). If the Chargers are serious about staying in the playoff hunt, the Dolphins can’t leave San Diego with their first road win.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals’ run needs to start now. Arizona is just 3-4-1 after eight games, and the schedule gets decidedly more difficult following Sunday’s matchup with the 1-7 San Francisco 49ers. Starting Week 11, the Cardinals play the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins in consecutive games.
That three-game stretch makes Sunday even more important for Arizona. A win would even the Cardinals’ record and provide some momentum to start the second half of 2016. A loss could be the beginning of the end for the defending NFC West champions.
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