Week 10 of the NFL season kicks off on Thursday night with a showdown between the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos. The kickoff of that game will mark the beginning of the second half of the season, which means things are really starting to heat up.

This should be another excellent week of football. Maybe not quite as exciting as last week, but there are still a lot of big matchups. Let’s go over some of the top storylines for NFL Week 10.

Was Sunday’s offensive performance a one-off for Vegas?

Brock Bowers returned to the field last week, and the Raiders’ offense looked completely different from the one we saw through the first eight weeks. Geno Smith threw for 284 yards and four scores, Bowers caught 12 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns and they scored a season-high 29 points. My question is, can they do it again?

This week they have a daunting task ahead of them. They face the Broncos, who have one of the best defenses in football. They have allowed 29+ points twice this year – once against the Colts, and once against the Giants. I don’t believe the Raiders offense is anywhere near as good as those two teams, but we’ll have to see if Bowers and Co. can prove me wrong.

Has the NFL figured out the Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts were on autopilot for the first eight weeks of the season. They were cruising through everybody, scoring 33+ points per game. Nobody seemed to have an answer for them until they ran into the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

The Steelers completely shut down the Colts’ rushing attack, holding them to 2.9 yards per carry as a team. They forced Daniel Jones to throw it 50 times in that game, and he threw three picks and fumbled twice. It was easily the Colts’ worst game of the year, and now the rest of the NFL has the blueprint to stop them. The question is, can they all execute it as the Steelers did?

The Steelers’ defense isn’t as good as it usually is, but they’re definitely no slouch. This week they face an Atlanta defense that, statistically, has been better than Pittsburgh. Will they find the same success the Steelers did? Or will Jonathan Taylor continue to build his MVP resume? We’ll find out on Sunday morning in Germany.

Who’s going to tank the hardest?

The New York Jets and Cleveland Browns clash this weekend in a game that will go a long way towards determining the top of the NFL Draft order this week. As it stands today, the Jets hold the third pick and the Browns hold the sixth pick. The loser of this game will put themselves in prime position to land a top-three pick, so the question is, who’s willing to tank the hardest?

Right now, it seems it’s the Jets. At Tuesday’s trade deadline, they dealt Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams for a total of three first-round picks and a second-round pick. They seem all-in on a rebuild, and with all that draft capital, they can move up to No. 1 (if they don’t get it by themselves) to select the quarterback they want.

The Browns don’t seem as keen on going into full-on rebuild mode, but after a 2-6 start, they’re not really competing for anything other than their draft pick. Are they going to go all-out to win this game? Or would they be happy with possibly slipping up against the Jets?

Can the Bucs become relevant again with a statement win?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the talk of the town at the beginning of the year. They started off 5-1 and were at the top of most people’s power rankings, but after a bad loss to the Lions, a win over the Saints and a bye week, nobody’s really talking about them anymore.

Well, they have a great opportunity to get people talking again this week. They host the Cinderellas of the AFC, the New England Patriots, this week. If they can take down Drake Maye and Co., they’re going to shoot right back up towards the top of most people’s power rankings.

A lot up for grabs in the NFC West

Last week, we saw a ton of movement in the NFC North. The Lions and Packers lost while the Vikings and Bears won, bringing all four teams in the North within a game of each other. The NFC West isn’t quite in the same spot as the North, they only have three teams really in the fight, but all four teams play each other this week, meaning there could be a ton of movement.

The biggest showdown comes between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. Right now, the Rams are in second place at 6-2, while the 49ers are in third at 6-3, but that could change in an instant if the 49ers pull off the upset.

The other matchup is between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks currently stand atop the NFC West with a 6-2 record due to tiebreakers over the Rams. However, the Cardinals have been playing some good football lately, and if they can upset Seattle, it will have massive playoff implications.

There’s a way for the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks to lead the division by the end of the week. If the Seahawks lose, the winner of the Rams and 49ers will lead the division. If the Seahawks win, they’ll stay in first with the winner of the Rams and 49ers in second.

This is a big week for the division, and the outcome of these games will affect the playoff seeding.

Can the Ravens cement themselves as playoff threats?

Lamar Jackson is back, and the Baltimore Ravens looked like a completely different team on Thursday night. They dominated the Miami Dolphins, which I know isn’t anything special, but their offense looked much better than it has for most of the year, and their defense has really come around the last two weeks.

This week, the Ravens face the Minnesota Vikings, who are coming off a massive win over the Lions. Can the Ravens make a statement by beating the Vikings and moving to 4-5? The Steelers, who are currently in first place in the AFC North, have a tough Sunday night matchup (which we’ll talk about shortly), so if they lose to the Chargers, the Ravens would be just one game back in the North.

This is a massive, massive game for the Ravens. They absolutely need to win it. Falling to 3-6 while the Steelers could move to 6-3 would be devastating. If they can get the job done and close the gap to Pittsburgh, I think the Ravens will be the division favorites.

Which AFC team can make a statement on SNF?

Speaking of the Steelers, they face the Chargers on Sunday Night Football, and there is a lot on the line. As it stands right now, the Steelers are the four-seed and the Chargers are the six-seed in the AFC. Both are in prime position to make the playoffs if they keep winning, but one of them is going to fall behind on Sunday night.

The winner of this game will advance to 7-3. The Steelers would be guaranteed at least a two-game lead in the North, while the Chargers would be guaranteed to stay within one game of the lead in the West (and if Denver were to lose on TNF, they could take the lead).

Both of these teams are pretty evenly matched, so this should be a thrilling game. There’s a lot on the line for both teams, and the winner is going to come out feeling really good about themselves.

Should Green Bay be favored against Philly?

At the time I’m writing this, the Green Bay Packers are 2.5-point favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. I know the Packers are the home team, but I’m not sure they should be favored in this game.

The Packers have an impressive win over the Steelers, I’ll give them that, but outside of that, they’ve been far too inconsistent in recent weeks. On the other side, you have a Philly team that’s coming off back-to-back wins and has scored 28+ in each of their last two. Add on the fact that they added a very talented player, Jaelan Phillips, at their biggest position of need, and I just don’t see why the Packers should be favored here.

Vegas always seems to know more than anyone else, but I think they’re wrong here. Green Bay is talented enough to keep up with Philly, but I think the Eagles are more reliable and have the better overall roster.