Week 10 of the NFL season brings the Houston Texans to Los Angeles to face a Chargers team still searching for its first win of the year, in a game that looks lopsided on paper and could still surprise on the field. The Texans are favoured by 4.5 points on the road, with a 3 and 1 road record behind them, while the Chargers have not won a game all year, much less on their home field. It is the kind of matchup where the favourite is expected to win comfortably, and where the underdog has nothing left to lose.
Why it matters
The game of the week, on most previews, is in Florida. The Detroit Lions, favoured by 7 points, visit the Miami Dolphins having won three straight and starting to look like the team that fell just short of the Super Bowl a couple of seasons ago. Miami has been scrappy, but the Dolphins struggle to get to the quarterback, and that does not bode well against a Detroit offence full of weapons. The Lions have found their rhythm at the right time, and a fourth straight win would confirm them as genuine contenders.
The weekend also carries a deadline that matters more than any single game. The NFL trade deadline falls on Tuesday, November 10, and several big names are rumoured to be on the market, which could change the balance of the league before the second half of the season. Teams that believe they are one player away from a run will be buyers, and teams that have fallen out of the race will be sellers. The phone calls this weekend will matter as much as the scores.
What happens next
For fans, the timing is part of the appeal. Week 10 arrives with the college game also at its peak, with seven ranked matchups on Saturday, and the professional game picks up where the colleges leave off. The season is now past its midpoint, and the picture is starting to clear: the contenders are separating from the pretenders, and the teams at the bottom are already playing for draft position rather than for January.
What happens next will be decided on Sunday, and then again on Tuesday at the trade deadline. A Chargers upset would be the shock of the week and would raise questions about Houston rather than about Los Angeles. A Lions win would extend their run to four and keep them in the conversation at the top of the conference. Either way, the second half of the season starts now, and the teams that find their form in November are usually the ones still playing in January.
