This week they previewed Andrew's start at the Austin Championship and then got into a packed Week 9 and trade deadline week. They covered a lopsided Monday night that sent Minnesota looking for Kirk Cousins, a Bears win despite five turnovers, and a record-setting Packers night at Gillette. Then came the Jaguars' three-move deadline splash and a top 10 quarterback draft that turned into a full-blown Lamar Jackson argument. After that: updated power rankings, fantasy boom/bust recaps, Week 10 starts and sits, betting picks, and a survivor pool still down to two.
Andrew Novak's Week: Austin Championship Preview
Fresh off his win at the 2026 VidantaWorld Mexico Open, Andrew is in Austin, Texas, for the Austin Championship presented by Compliance Solutions, the event's new title sponsor. After playing the front nine in practice, he said the terrain reminds him a lot of Valero in San Antonio, just a little hillier, with "some jungle" if you miss the fairway. Rain has the course playing very long with almost no roll, but the greens are in great shape. Between the length and the Bermuda rough, he doesn't expect the low scores from the two Mexico events. His plan is to play the shot the course asks for: attack where a short-side miss isn't punished, stay away from flags with hazards right at the edge of the green, birdie the holes you can, and lock up pars on the tough ones, especially the par 3s. He's paired with 19-year-old Blades Brown, who won in a playoff last week, and Max Homa, a big Dodgers fan who both hosts believe went to Cal with Jared Goff.
NFL Week 9 Recap
Bills 23, Vikings 6 (Monday Night)
Both hosts, who livestreamed it, called this one of the more boring prime-time games in recent memory. The box score was brutal: Buffalo had 22 first downs to Minnesota's 9, ran roughly twice as many plays, and won time of possession 43 minutes to 17. James Cook averaged only about three yards a carry, but that was enough to keep the chains moving. Carson Wentz went 8-of-25 for 81 yards with two interceptions and a fumble, enough to give his fantasy managers negative points. Max Brosmer finished 6-of-7 for 58 yards in garbage time. Andrew credited Greg Rousseau but said Buffalo's defense in general hasn't been great and Minnesota simply made it look elite. The fallout: the Vikings sent a third-round pick to Las Vegas for Kirk Cousins, a sign they're done with Kyler Murray, who Andrew said was on a prove-it deal and "kinda proved he wasn't it." Evan said the Raiders played it perfectly: nine games of mentoring Fernando Mendoza, then a third-rounder. Andrew joked that a Vikings fan would pay a third just to never watch that offense again. Neither host sees a Super Bowl run. Andrew pointed out that the entire NFC North currently holds playoff spots, that 6-3 is the last wild card, and that 3-5 Carolina is in as a division leader. He expects the Rams to push someone out.
Bears 27, Buccaneers 24 (Sunday Night)
Caleb Williams threw four interceptions and Chicago turned it over five times, including a late Luther Burden fumble that led to Tampa's game-tying score, and the Bears still won. Andrew thought Chicago was clearly the better team and said the defense covering for the offense was the real story. He's still puzzled by how broken Tampa's passing game is when Bucky Irving and the run game are working fine. Evan compared the Bears to Tiger Woods in his prime: they've built a roster that can "throw up a B-minus game" and still win. Andrew wants to see the Bears defense against an elite offense like Green Bay or Detroit before he's fully sold. Both teams are on bye in Week 10.
Packers 45, Patriots 27
With Tom Brady in the booth and Rob Gronkowski going into the Patriots Hall of Fame, Green Bay scored the most points a visiting team has ever put up at Gillette Stadium. New England turned it over four times (three Drake Maye interceptions and a Rhamondre fumble). Christian Gonzalez struggled with Green Bay's speed and ended up as the team's leading tackler, which Andrew called a bad sign for a lockdown corner. Evan noted that Gonzalez was covering for a thin secondary after Carlton Davis left in the second quarter. Green Bay's "chuck it up" offense with Matthew Golden and Christian Watson is working: Jordan Love leads the NFL with 63 pass attempts of 20-plus air yards, about 20 more than the next closest, CJ Stroud and Drake Maye. Evan added that the Packers defense might be top five over the past six weeks, even without Micah Parsons. On the other side, Maye is up to 11 interceptions, nearly a one-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio over the past year. The Patriots also have Rhamondre (expected to miss multiple weeks), TreVeyon Henderson, AJ Brown and Romeo Doubs on the injury list. Next up: Patriots vs. Lions in Germany, and Packers vs. Vikings with Josh Jacobs likely out. Andrew called that one a contender for game of the week.
NFL Trade Deadline Recap: Who Won the Deadline?
Jacksonville made the biggest splash. They added defensive tackle Jordan Davis from the Eagles for a first-round pick next year and a 2029 second, defensive tackle Devon Gotshaw from the Saints for a 2028 sixth, and safety Jessie Bates from Atlanta. Evan liked the Bates and Gotshaw moves but called the Davis price overkill for a team that already has the No. 2 run defense. Andrew disagreed: the Jags lost DaVon Hamilton, who was playing the best football of his career and anchoring the run defense that defines them. Evan noted that Jacksonville now has only a third, a fourth and a seventh next year, so this roster is essentially what they'll have for the next two years.
Elsewhere, San Francisco added Keenan Allen from the Colts for a sixth-round pick. Both hosts were baffled that Indianapolis kept collecting late-round picks while holding on to Jonathan Taylor. Andrew joked that they just want to tell a GM candidate, "You get twelve picks. Go crazy." Kansas City added Josh Downs from the Colts, a move both hosts called confusing because Downs is a slot receiver, the same short-area role Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice already fill. Andrew liked the price and said it lets the Chiefs walk away from Rice. Evan also tipped his cap to Howie Roseman, who got a first and a second back for Jordan Davis, a second back for Cam Jurgens, and a first back for AJ Brown after years of use and two Super Bowl trips. Evan said it's like driving a car for 60,000 miles and selling it back to the dealership for what you paid.
Is Lamar Jackson a Top 10 QB? Our Top 10 Quarterbacks
Evan and Andrew went back and forth ranking the top 10 active NFL quarterbacks:
· Andrew: 10. Trevor Lawrence 9. Brock Purdy 8. Drake Maye 7. Jordan Love 6. Joe Burrow 5. Jared Goff 4. Matthew Stafford 3. Lamar Jackson 2. Patrick Mahomes 1. Josh Allen
· Evan: 10. Drake Maye 9. Trevor Lawrence 8. Jordan Love 7. Brock Purdy 6. Jared Goff 5. Matthew Stafford 4. Caleb Williams 3. Joe Burrow 2. Patrick Mahomes 1. Josh Allen
They agreed on nine of ten and the same top two. The split came at Andrew's No. 3. Evan left Lamar Jackson out entirely (11th), calling him one of the most overrated quarterbacks ever and saying there's "zero percent chance" he reaches a Super Bowl. Andrew, legitimately shocked, cited Lamar's numbers this year (about 250 passing yards per game, a 70% completion rate, six touchdowns to one interception, and about 40 rushing yards a game) and argued that a healthy Lamar would be top two in the MVP race. Andrew left out Caleb Williams, Evan's "fastest riser," citing inconsistent accuracy. Andrew gave Stafford the nod over Goff because he believes Stafford is playing through an elbow issue with Davante Adams and Puka Nacua both hurt. Evan called Purdy the most elite processor in the league and credited Liam Coen with unlocking Lawrence.
NFL Week 10 Power Rankings
1. Chicago Bears (7-2)
2. San Francisco 49ers (7-1)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
4. Buffalo Bills (7-1)
5. Denver Broncos (7-2)
6. Detroit Lions (6-2)
7. Seattle Seahawks
8. Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
10. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
The Patriots finally fell out of the top ten. Jacksonville jumped two spots after its deadline haul, and Denver and Seattle each slid one. Green Bay landed 11th, which Andrew couldn't justify, especially with the Packers behind Pittsburgh. He also argued the Bengals (winners of four straight) should have passed the Steelers. Evan held firm: Pittsburgh was on bye and beat Cincinnati a month ago, and the two meet again Sunday night, with the loser likely falling out of the top ten.
Fantasy Football: Week 9 Boom and Bust
Boomed: Ja'Marr Chase (10 catches, 155 yards, a touchdown), CeeDee Lamb (10 for 195 and a touchdown against the Colts with George Pickens out), Kenneth Walker (143 total yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 of them receiving), Matthew Golden (10 catches on 10 targets, 32.4 points, with Christian Watson also topping 30), Puka Nacua (35 points, 14 catches on 19 targets before heading to IR), Bucky Irving (two touchdowns in an emotional homecoming in Chicago), and the 49ers defense (19 points, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries and a touchdown).
On the bust side, the hosts' recurring "All Cheeks Team": Ashton Jeanty (5 catches for negative-5 yards, 7 points in full PPR), D'Andre Swift (31 yards against what's now the No. 1 rush defense in Tampa Bay), Josh Jacobs (5 yards and 0.5 points before leaving with a broken finger), Ladd McConkey (whose habit of starting games and quickly exiting frustrates Evan, though Andrew said nobody should have started him against Houston anyway), and Adonai Mitchell (zero points on seven targets, with Evan blaming some uncatchable Geno Smith throws).
Who Should I Start in Fantasy in Week 10?
Andrew called it "the week of the tight end": Darren Waller (vs. a Saints defense that doesn't guard tight ends), Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon (vs. a Lions defense that doesn't cover tight ends, especially if AJ Brown sits), Pat Freiermuth or Darnell Washington (vs. Cincinnati), and the Rams defense (vs. Carson Beck in his first NFL start, throwing to Simi Fehoko, Reggie Virgil and Devin Duvernay). Evan added Price (vs. Las Vegas's 30th-ranked run defense), Omar Cooper Jr. (vs. a shaky Buffalo secondary), and Ollie Gordon (vs. the Colts' 28th-ranked run defense, with Malik Willis out and McCord expected to start).
Who Should I Sit in Fantasy in Week 10?
Any Packers running back, whether Marshawn Lloyd or Caleb Johnson after the Jacobs injury (vs. a tough Vikings defense). Ashton Jeanty (vs. Seattle, a scary matchup for all of the Raiders). Denzel Boston (vs. Houston). Tyler Allgeier (vs. the Rams' No. 3 run defense). Tony Pollard (vs. Jacksonville's No. 2 run defense).
Week 10 NFL Picks Against the Spread
Evan went 0-3 last week, his first winless week of the year, and is now 11-14-2 on the season (53% all-time). Andrew went 2-1 to pass him and is 12-15 (54.7% all-time). The Bears, Broncos, Eagles and Buccaneers are on bye.
Andrew's picks: Rams -9 at Cardinals; Seahawks -6 at Raiders; Ravens -4.5 vs. Chargers (Monday night); bonus bet: Texans -4.5 at Browns.
Evan's picks: Lions -3 vs. Patriots (Germany); Panthers +2 at Saints, over Andrew's warning that "we always lose to the Saints"; Rams -9 at Cardinals.
See every pick and the full scoreboard on [Picks of the Week page link].
Picks are for entertainment. You must be of legal age to bet in your state. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
NFL Survivor Pool Update: Week 10
The pool is still down to two of the 200 entrants, with $250 to the winner. Both survived close calls in Week 9: one with the Bears, who hung on against Tampa Bay, and the other with the Rams, who rallied past the Commanders. Both advance to Week 10