Lions keep rolling in Houston? Will the Steelers or Commanders win their fourth in a row?

Why Tom chose the Vikings: I’m not exactly dismissing the Jaguars, who handily beat the Patriots in London and made the Packers and Eagles sweat in Weeks 8 and 9. Nor am I skipping new Minnesota left tackle Cam Robinson’s potentially awkward assignment against ex-teammate Josh Hines-Allen and Jacksonville’s pass rush. I just can’t evaluate a game involving the Vikings without trying to imagine how the opposing QB will handle Brian Flores’ notoriously prickly defense, as reductive as that approach may be. The gap between Trevor Lawrence (who likely won’t play thanks to a shoulder injury, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport) and backup Mac Jones might not look quite right. to drastic on paper: Over their careers, the two QBs are pretty close in TD rate (3.4 percent for Lawrence, 3.5 for Jones), INT rate (2.2 percent for Lawrence, 2.7 for Jones) and passer rating (85.4 for Lawrence, 85.7 for Jones), and they have both averaged 6.8 yards per carry. throw. Jones has actually performed a bit better against the blitz, generating a 77.2 passer rating against five-plus rushers, compared to Lawrence’s 76.2 grade, per Next Gen Stats. According to the old eye test, Lawrence is of course far superior – and I didn’t feel super confident about him even before Thursday’s injury news. I am, shall we say, less sure of a backup who hasn’t thrown for more than 250 yards or completed more than one TD pass in a game in over a year.