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ESPN.com staff 8y

Sunday NFL preview: Who to start, sit in Week 10

NFL, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers

NFL Nation reporters look ahead to what Sunday has in store for each team.

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills: Coach Rex Ryan gave his players four days off following their 22-17 win over the Jets on Thursday night. Players will return to the facility Tuesday for practice. They will then practice again Thursday, Friday and Saturday in preparation for their Monday Night Football game against the Patriots. It will be the Bills' first MNF game since 2009. -- Mike Rodak

Miami Dolphins: Dolphins tight end Jordan Cameron, who has 20 receptions, 263 yards and one touchdown this season, says he would like to be more involved in the second half of the season. Interim coach Dan Campbell also agrees. Don't expect Cameron to explode anytime soon, however. Cameron is playing through a hamstring injury that has slowed him, and receiver Jarvis Landry is getting most of the opportunities over the middle for Miami. Cameron remains a tricky play for fantasy owners. -- James Walker

New England Patriots: With running back Dion Lewis out for the season with a torn left ACL, James White is expected to take the bulk of snaps in his place (just as he did Oct. 25 when Lewis didn't play against the Jets). But the Patriots also plan to use other players to help fill the void. So while White is a safe bet for those fantasy owners looking for a running back, expecting the same level of production likely isn't realistic. -- Mike Reiss

New York Jets: After a loss to the Bills on Thursday night, the Jets are 5-4. NFL Nation reporter Rich Cimini says they have a lot to work on, starting with coach Todd Bowles. New York plays at Houston in Week 11. -- ESPN.com staff

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens: Joe Flacco is an interesting option for fantasy owners looking to replace an injured quarterback or a QB on a bye. He is facing a Jaguars defense that ranks 25th against the pass. On the road, Jacksonville has the third-worst opponent quarterback rating (106.0) allowed in 2015. In four road games, the Jaguars have surrendered six touchdown passes and haven't intercepted a pass. Going against Jacksonville's strong run defense, the Ravens are going to put the ball in the hands of Flacco a lot. -- Jamison Hensley

Cincinnati Bengals: With such a large gap between last Thursday's game and their showdown Monday night against the Texans, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Bengals came out lethargic after so much time off. Monday will be the first time they've played in 11 days, giving them the virtual equivalent of a second bye week. To avoid starting flat against the Texans, it'll be important for Andy Dalton to get Cincinnati's offense playing at a high tempo early. -- Coley Harvey

Cleveland Browns: Johnny Manziel is expected to start Sunday against Pittsburgh, which makes all Browns skill players risky options. Manziel has not shown he has a firm enough grasp of the offense to make any fantasy-receiving candidate a worthwhile choice.  -- Pat McManamon

Pittsburgh Steelers: If you're worried about Antonio Brown struggling without Ben Roethlisberger this week, don't be. Brown always saves something special for the Browns, who have given up 27 catches for 413 yards and two touchdowns to Brown in their four matchups against him, and that's with a healthy Joe Haden, who's out this week. And just like Roethlisberger, Landry Jones throws to Brown early and often. Of Jones' 456 passing yards in spot duty, 224 have gone to Brown. Ten of Jones' 28 completions have gone to Brown. And the two haven't connected on a score yet, so that could finally happen this week. Worst case, Brown puts up a healthy dose of yards and receptions. -- Jeremy Fowler

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans: Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton's quick release will be a challenge for the Texans on Monday night. Houston has already struggled against a QB with a quick release -- the Chiefs in Week 1. Kansas City QB Alex Smith completed two-thirds of his passes, threw three touchdowns and had no interceptions. "It's hard, especially if they seven-man protect it, it's hard to get home because the ball is coming out so quick," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "You've got to do a lot of different things." -- Tania Ganguli

Indianapolis Colts: The AFC South-leading Colts have a bye this week. They travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons in Week 11. -- ESPN.com staff

Jacksonville Jaguars: Quarterback Blake Bortles would be a good fantasy play Sunday even if wide receiver Allen Hurns doesn't play, though it's expected he will. The Ravens are giving up nearly 280 passing yards per game, and Bortles is coming off a career-high 381 yards last week. -- Mike DiRocco

Tennessee Titans: The Titans used 10 percent more multiple-tight end sets in Mike Mularkey's first game as interim coach. That was a sign of the team's commitment to run more and better. Mularkey hopes the offense can hand off the ball 25 to 30 times a game. If they can get in that range against the Panthers, it will mean plenty of opportunities for Antonio Andrews and likely the first look at David Cobb. -- Paul Kuharsky

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos: Emmanuel Sanders did not practice this past week because of an ankle injury -- coach Gary Kubiak said Sanders was "really sore'' to close out the week -- so the Broncos will lean on Demaryius Thomas plenty in the passing game, per usual. But also keep an eye on the tight ends as well. Kubiak has promised Vernon Davis will play "a lot more'' against the Chiefs on Sunday than the nine snaps he played last weekend in Indianapolis, and the Broncos have made a concerted effort to get the tight ends involved in the past two games. The tight ends combined for 105 yards receiving in the win over the Packers, and Owen Daniels had 102 yards receiving last weekend in the loss to the Coilts. -- Jeff Legwold

Kansas City Chiefs: Alex Smith had a career-high 78 rushing yards and a touchdown in the most recent game against the Lions, but don't expect a similar output Sunday against the Broncos. Smith said he expected a big rushing game against the Lions because of the way they play defense. Indeed, on many of his five runs against the Lions, the Chiefs didn't have a lot of players to block. Defenders in many cases had their backs turned. -- Adam Teicher

Oakland Raiders: Derek Carr's improvement is evident in his second year. Two of the areas of his improvements are on third down and on deep balls. Last year, Carr completed 54 percent of his passes and had a Total QBR of 38 on third down. This year, he has completed 63 percent of his passes on third down with a Total QBR of 70. Last year, on passes of 15 yards or longer, Carr completed 31 percent of his passes. This year, it's up to 54 percent. -- Bill Williamson

San Diego Chargers: The Chargers, losers of five games in a row, have a bye in Week 10. They take on the Chiefs at home next Sunday. -- ESPN.com staff

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys: Jason Witten hasn't scored a touchdown since he had two in the Cowboys' season-opening win against the Giants. No other Cowboys' tight end has a touchdown either. In two of their past three games, the Buccaneers have given up three touchdowns to tight ends. The Cowboys were perfect in the red zone last week, but in three road games this year, they have three touchdowns in eight trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Matt Cassel's grasp of the offense has increased, but he will need to cash in on chances deep Sunday, and Witten is always a good target. -- Todd Archer

New York Giants: The Giants' plan for Rob Gronkowski is to double-team him with a linebacker and a safety. They could change up during the game, obviously, but the plan as of now is to keep Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on the outside and use their bigger guys on Gronk to try to be physical with him at the line and hope they can stay with him long enough as a double to force Brady to look elsewhere. -- Dan Graziano

Philadelphia Eagles: So far this season, Sam Bradford has not been able to connect very well with his outside receivers. Riley Cooper, Josh Huff and Nelson Agholor have caught a total of 34 passes in eight games. With Agholor likely to return from his high ankle sprain Sunday, it will be interesting to see if Chip Kelly calls his number a few times. -- Phil Sheridan

Washington Redskins: Tight end Jordan Reed remains Washington's most consistent and best offensive weapon. The question is, how will the Saints defend him? They've allowed 13.43 yards per receptions to tight ends this season, second-worst in the NFL -- and their 76.1 percent completion rate to this position is the worst. But the Redskins anticipate physical corner Brandon Browner will cover Reed. If that happens, it'll be an interesting matchup. -- John Keim

NFC NORTH

Chicago Bears: Despite Alshon Jeffery's mild groin injury, he is Chicago's best fantasy option Sunday. Jeffery is fresh off his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game and has 33 catches for 492 yards and two touchdowns in only four weeks of action. Tailback Matt Forte (MCL sprain) is officially questionable, but rookie Jeremy Langford should again carry the load in the backfield. Expect the Rams to zero in on Langford after his impressive performance on Monday Night Football. That leaves Jeffery as the Bears' top fantasy threat, especially with Eddie Royal out due to a knee injury. Jeffery is averaging almost 15 yards per catch. The Bears' No. 2 option in the passing attack, tight end Martellus Bennett, averages only 8.5 yards per reception. -- Jeff Dickerson

Detroit Lions: The man to pay attention to Sunday for the Lions is wide receiver Calvin Johnson. He's officially questionable against Green Bay, but he has been hampered with an ankle injury. He said Wednesday he was planning to play, but watch out for the inactives just in case. If he doesn't play, Eric Ebron and Golden Tate could have bigger days. -- Michael Rothstein

Green Bay Packers: Not only has the Packers' offense struggled this season, but this might not be the week to expect an explosive performance from quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Sure, the Lions rank 26th in total yards allowed, but Rodgers has not had a 300-yard passing game against Detroit since Week 12 of the 2011 season. -- Rob Demovsky

Minnesota Vikings: With quarterback Teddy Bridgewater expected to play Sunday against the Raiders, the Vikings could have opportunities to boost their struggling passing game. Both coach Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Norv Turner said this week that Bridgewater needs to do a better job of hitting big plays when they are available to him, and Bridgewater will face a Raiders defense that has given up the league's second-most passes of 20 yards or more. -- Ben Goessling

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons: Coming off losses in three of their past four games, the Falcons have a bye in Week 10. They play the Colts at home next Sunday. -- ESPN.com staff

Carolina Panthers: The Titans haven't faced a quarterback who can run like Cam Newton. He has five games this season with one rushing touchdown and at least one passing touchdown. He had three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown last week. Look for the Panthers to attack the pass-stingy Titans with Newton on the read-option to get them off balance, then go up top for at least one deep touchdown. -- David Newton

New Orleans Saints: Wide receiver Willie Snead missed some practice time with knee soreness again this week, but he insisted he'll be good to go just like last week. And that worked out pretty well when he led the Saints with 10 targets, six catches and 95 yards. Snead is now back to the team lead with 626 receiving yards, putting him on pace for 1,113. He's not necessarily a game-breaker since he has only one 100-yard game and three total TDs. But if you haven't already bought into Snead's consistency, you should have ample evidence by now. -- Mike Triplett

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: With Vincent Jackson out again, look for wide receiver Mike Evans to receive another big workload. He had 150 yards on eight catches in Week 9, and he was targeted a career-high 19 times. However, his numbers would have been much bigger without costly drops. Quarterback Jameis Winston will continue to look Evans' way, and if Evans corrects his drops problem, he should put up huge numbers. -- Andrew Astleford

NFC WEST

Arizona Cardinals: If there's a week to start the Cardinals defense, it's this one. Arizona has 11 sacks in its past two games in Seattle, and the Cardinals are heading to the Pacific Northwest ranked third in defensive efficiency. The players responsible for eight of those 11 sacks will be on the field Sunday night. -- Josh Weinfuss

St. Louis Rams: With Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery banged up, this has all the makings of a big day for the Rams defense. The Bears offense is to be commended for how it has possessed the ball, but it's a group that struggled against the top-end defenses in the NFC West this season. Against Seattle and Arizona, Chicago averaged 240.5 yards, scored just two touchdowns and gave up a defensive touchdown. And if you get credit for special teams, the Cardinals and Seahawks each hit the Bears for a return touchdown. The Rams defense and special teams have been nearly as good as both Seattle and Arizona, while playing a similar physical style. -- Nick Wagoner

San Francisco 49ers: After picking up a surprise win over Atlanta last weekend, led by quarterback Blaine Gabbert, the 49ers have a bye in Week 10. They travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks next Sunday. -- ESPN.com staff

Seattle Seahawks: Quarterback Russell Wilson said this week that the Seahawks' red zone problems start with him. Wilson is completing 47.8 percent of his attempts in the red zone, which ranks 24th among quarterbacks. The Seahawks currently rank last in red zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns 29.4 percent of the time. They can't settle for field goals if they want to take down the Arizona Cardinals tonight. -- Sheil Kapadia

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