1. Can the New York Jets make Thursday Night interesting? The New England Patriots host the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football and the two teams couldn’t be headed in more opposite directions. After struggling early, the Patriots have won two straight in convincing fashion and seem to be getting their offense on track, while the most positive thing the Jets can say lately is they hung around against the Denver Broncos. These two teams always seem to play each other tough regardless of record, and the Jets defense is not that bad, so it wouldn’t be a shock if this game is closer than expected.

2. The Dallas Cowboys offensive line: The Cowboys offensive line is perhaps the biggest reason why the team has jumped out to a 5-1 start this season, providing gaping holes for DeMarco Murray and time for Tony Romo in the pocket. This Sunday when the Cowboys host the New York Giants, the team will be without right tackle Doug Free who will be sidelined for a few weeks with a foot injury. Tyron Smith has missed practice this week with an ankle injury, but his status for Sunday isn’t yet known. If Smith also can’t go Sunday, the Cowboys could struggle to move the ball as well as they have through their first six games.

3. Tigers on the outside: The season ending injury suffered by the Giants leading wide out Victor Cruz means that the Giants first round draft pick, Odell Beckham Jr., who just saw his first game action for the Giants two weeks ago will now be thrust into the starting lineup Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. Beckham Jr. will be lined up across from Giants third-year receiver Rueben Randle who has been up and down since he was drafted by the Giants in the second round. Randle and Beckham Jr. will look to build on a chemistry the two have shared since they played together at LSU. If the Giants offense is going to be successful moving forward, they’re going to need each of their Tigers to step up in a big way.

4. Colin Kaepernick tries to hang with Peyton Manning: There’s no question who the better quarterback is when the San Francisco 49ers travel to Denver to take on the Broncos on Sunday Night Football, but Colin Kaepernick has played well lately, including throwing for 343 yards and three touchdowns this past Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. The Niners secondary isn’t what it’s been in years past, and the team may be without Patrick Willis Sunday Night. Expect Peyton Manning to have a productive night meaning that Kaepernick is going to have to continue his steady play of late to keep the 49ers in this one.

5. The Cincinnati Bengals slumping defense tries to contain Andrew Luck: Andrew Luck is playing like an MVP. The young quarterback has thrown for 1987 with 17 touchdowns over his first six games. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a defense in football that could contain Luck and the Indianapolis Colts passing game, but early in the year, some may have picked the Bengals defense as one who might. The Bengals defense started the year looking dominant, but they’re suddenly slumping as they’ve given up 80 points over the last two games to the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots, both of whom have seen their offense struggle at times. For the Bengals to be considered AFC championship material, the defense is going to have to get back on track. This Sunday will certainly be a test.

6. Will the Atlanta Falcons start utilizing Antone Smith? Dear Falcons, we get it. Steven Jackson is a hall of famer and you don’t want to hurt his feelings, but for crying out loud, stop it already. Anyone with a pair of eye balls who have watched the Falcons this season can see how explosive Antone Smith is. It’s absurd that Smith isn’t the starting back for the Falcons, and worse yet, that they’re underutilizing his game breaking talents. Despite making big plays time and again, Smith has been handed the ball seven times in the last three games. It’s pretty foolish for a losing team to use such an explosive weapon so sparingly, while still losing football games.

7. The San Diego Chargers try to bury the Chiefs in the AFC West: The 2-3 Chiefs are playing better football than their record would indicate, but sooner or later solid play has to turn into wins if they want to be in the playoff hunt. Complicating things further for the Chiefs, they’re in a division with what is probably the best two teams in the AFC, the Denver Broncos and Chargers. The Chargers host Kansas City Sunday with a chance to put the Chiefs in a hole that might be too deep to dig out of.

8. The gun show in Green Bay: This Sunday there will be a gun show at Lambeau Field when the Carolina Panthers come to town to take on the Packers. The Packers have struggled to get their running game going this season with Eddie Lacy only rushing for 306 yards during the team’s 4-2 start, and the Carolina Panthers running back’s room looks like a mash unit. This means Sunday when the Panthers and Packers get together you can expect to see Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton flinging the ball all over the field. If you’ve got a receiver from this game on your fantasy team, play them!

9. A group of angry Seahawks head to St. Louis to take on Austin Davis and the Rams: The Seahawks defense isn’t fun for any quarterback to deal with, but it’s got to be something that gives rookie quarterbacks nightmares. Davis’ start with the Rams has been good enough that some have even thrown around comparisons to Kurt Warner who began his career in similar fashion after the Rams lost Trent Green to injury. While the comparisons to Warner are very premature, Davis has been better than anyone expected when the young man took over for Shaun Hill. This Sunday he’ll have to play like Kurt Warner if he and the Rams have any hope against Seattle, even without star linebacker Bobby Wagner and cornerback Byron Maxwell.

10. Tony Sparano looks for another strong effort from Raiders: In their first game under interim Head Coach Sparano, the Raiders nearly shocked the world by upsetting the San Diego Chargers, but ultimately lost late to their division rivals. While nobody in the NFL wants to talk about moral victories, the Raiders looked better than they have all season in the loss, and Tony Sparano deserves a ton of credit. Sparano is a good coach who gets good effort from his players early on, but seems to find it hard to keep his players playing with that energy over the long haul. It will be interesting to watch how the Raiders respond after hanging in there with one of the toughest teams in football last Sunday. This Sunday Sparano and the Raiders host another talented team in the Arizona Cardinals.