The list includes Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers, C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans and Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts — all top draft picks designated as their teams’ future stars.
Then there are others, such as DeVito, who have been pressed into duty by injury: the Tennessee Titans’ Will Levis (a second-round pick out of Kentucky), the Las Vegas Raiders’ Aidan O’Connell (a fourth-round pick out of Purdue), the Cleveland Browns’ Dorian Thompson-Robinson (a fifth-round pick out of UCLA), the Chicago Bears’ Tyson Bagent (undrafted out of Division II Shepherd), the Arizona Cardinals’ Clayton Tune (a fifth-round pick out of Houston), the Minnesota Vikings’ Jaren Hall (a fifth-rounder out of BYU) and now DeVito (who was undrafted out of Syracuse and Illinois).
Ten rookie starters will surpass 2019’s nine — the previous highest mark in a season since 1950 (excluding the 1987 strike season, when replacement players were used).
Byes: Chiefs (7-2), Dolphins (6-3), Eagles (8-1), Rams (3-6)
Here’s a look at some interesting facts entering Week 10.
Panthers (1-7) at Bears (2-7), 8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime: Need a reason to check out this matchup? Maybe the possibility of an Al Michaels drinking game breaking out? Or a spirited debate about the 2024 draft, which is five months away? Chicago at the moment is in the running for two of the top three picks, with one of those coming via a trade with … Carolina, which as of now has no first-round pick.
Colts (4-5) at Patriots (2-7) in Germany, 9:30 a.m., NFL Network: Sorry, Frankfurt, these can’t all be Dolphins-Chiefs games. For some inexplicable reason, Mac Jones threw the ball 44 times in New England’s loss to Washington. He is ninth in the NFL in pass attempts with 304 and 29th in yards per attempt with 6.1.
Browns (5-3) at Ravens (7-2), 1 p.m., Fox: The Ravens are one of only two teams (along with the Chiefs) whose defense has held opponents to fewer than 25 points in every game. That’s a good thing because they’re in a tight division in which all four AFC North teams would qualify were the playoffs to begin today. And now the Ravens must face a tough Jim Schwartz defense. Quarterback Deshaun Watson is 0-3 in division games on the road since his Browns career began in December.
Texans (4-4) at Bengals (5-3), 1 p.m., CBS: Joe Burrow vs. C.J. Stroud is one of the more intriguing quarterback matchups of the day. While Burrow and the Bengals are returning to Super Bowl form, Stroud put up a 147.8 passer rating last week that was the highest in NFL history by a rookie with a minimum of 30 attempts, and his 470 passing yards were the most by a rookie in NFL history. He’s on pace to pass for 4,823 yards. Strictly for comparison purposes, Peyton Manning passed for 3,739 over 16 starts as a rookie.
49ers (5-3) at Jaguars (6-2), 1 p.m., Fox: San Francisco has lost three in a row. Jacksonville has won five in a row.
Saints (5-4) at Vikings (5-4), 1 p.m., Fox: As a kid, Josh Dobbs wanted to be an astronaut or a quarterback. He found a mixture of both Sunday with an otherworldly performance when he was pressed into duty by an injury to Jaren Hall days after being traded to Minnesota. Playing for his fifth team in 11 months, he completed 20 of 30 passes for 158 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions — and led a 75-yard drive in the final two minutes in Atlanta (his hometown) for a win Minnesota sorely needed.
Congratulations @josh_dobbs1 on yesterday’s big win! Looks like you rock(et) on and off the field. We heard you’ve even got a new nickname, the “Passtronaut.” If the suit fits, wear it.🚀 pic.twitter.com/Pah3MuQsWs
— NASA’s Glenn Research Center (@NASAglenn) November 6, 2023
Packers (3-5) at Steelers (5-3), 1 p.m., CBS: Pittsburgh is the only team in the Super Bowl era to have a winning record through eight games despite being outgained — by 790 total yards — in every game. And lest anyone think Pittsburgh can’t make a nice little run, here are its next five opponents: Browns, Bengals, Cardinals, Patriots, Colts.
Titans (3-5) at Buccaneers (3-5), 1 p.m., CBS: Tampa Bay has lost four in a row, erasing the optimism of its 3-1 start, but wide receiver Mike Evans is 11th in the league in yards per catch (16.1) and 15th in receiving yards (594). Tennessee rookie quarterback Will Levis passed for 500 yards and four touchdowns (with one interception) in a victory over the Falcons and a loss to the Steelers over the past two weeks.
Falcons (4-5) at Cardinals (1-8), 4:05 p.m., CBS: Arizona mustered just 58 yards against the Browns in a shutout loss. Now, though, the Cardinals are about to see whether Kyler Murray can salvage some semblance of success (and/or ruin any chance at the No. 1 draft pick — the Cardinals have six picks over the first three rounds).
Lions (6-2) at Chargers (4-4), 4:05 p.m., CBS: With losses only to Seattle and Baltimore, Detroit is second in the league in yards per game (390.6) and fifth in yards allowed per game (296.9).
Giants (2-7) at Cowboys (5-3), 4:25 p.m., Fox: Dallas lost to Philadelphia in typically excruciating fashion, but it should be noted that it outgained the Eagles 406-292. That may say more about Philadelphia than Dallas, but there will be gains to be had against New York; only three teams have given up more yards.
Commanders (4-5) at Seahawks (5-3), 4:25 p.m., Fox: Washington has yet to beat a team with a winning record; its four wins are against teams with a combined 10-25 mark. Sam Howell has passed for 722 yards the past two weeks and has been sacked just four times — still bringing his total to a whopping 44.
Jets (4-4) at Raiders (4-5), 8:20 p.m., NBC: No wonder Las Vegas fired Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler. Under their guidance, the team was 30th in the NFL in scoring, 31st in yards and last in rushing despite having Josh Jacobs, the league’s leading rusher in 2022. The Jets have managed just eight touchdowns on offense all season and had fewer (seven) only in 1976 under Lou Holtz and in 2020 under Adam Gase. That puts pressure on Zach Wilson to keep the Jets winning until Aaron Rodgers can try to return “in a few fortnights,” as he enigmatically put it.
Broncos (3-5) at Bills (5-4), 8:15 p.m., ABC, ESPN: Buffalo, a popular preseason pick to advance to the Super Bowl, is in dire need of a win with four losses to AFC teams and the possibility of a winning streak looking unlikely with upcoming games against the Jets, Eagles, Chiefs and Cowboys. Denver’s defense has improved, and the Bills have lost to the Jaguars, Patriots and Bills recently while narrowly beating the Giants and Buccaneers.
