Week 10 of the NFL season features several key matchups following the league’s trade deadline.
The Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts will play in the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Berlin.
All four teams in the competitive NFC West division were victorious in the previous week.
Micah Parsons will face his former rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, for the first time as a Green Bay Packer.
It’s time to get back to the action on the field after the NFL’s trade deadline has come and gone.
NFL fans should enjoy the Week 10 primetime slate as five of the six teams appearing in primetime have at least five victories, including four clubs that are in first place in their division.
A total of 17 teams are above .500.
The NFL returns its international series in Week 10 as the Atlanta Falcons face the Indianapolis Colts in Berlin.
Week 10 concludes with possibly the game of the week when the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers on Monday night.
USA TODAY Sports examines five things to watch for Week 10:
Instant impacts from NFL trade deadline
Week 10 will be the first games in the aftermath of the trade deadline. The rebuilding New York Jets host the Cleveland Browns. Have the Jets mailed it in after trading cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams in two blockbuster deals?
The Baltimore Ravens added a much-needed pass rusher in Dre’Mont Jones. Jones has recorded a sack in four straight games.
The Ravens and Eagles, two Super Bowl contenders, were clearly buyers at the deadline. While the Jets have their eyes toward the future. It’s going to be interesting to witness the early impact of all the transactions.
There have been 22 total trades since the start of the regular season. Ten trades occurred on Tuesday.
First ever regular-season game in Berlin
The Atlanta Falcons will face the Indianapolis Colts in the first ever regular-season game in Berlin. Olympic Stadium Berlin will be the host venue.
The Colts lost their second game of the season last week. Meanwhile, the Falcons are on a three-game skid.
Indianapolis got in on the trade deadline action when they acquired two-time first-team All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.
“He an unbelievable player. To get a bonafide No.1 corner in this league, it elevates everybody around us,” Colts coach Shane Steichen told reporters this week. “He’s got all the elite traits you look for. He’s sticky in coverage, the pass breakups, the interceptions, he’s feisty, he’s aggressive. Just to add that to the fold in the backend with the guys we already got back there, like I said it’s gonna elevate everybody.”
This international game features two of the best running backs in the NFL. Jonathan Taylor enters Week 10 as an MVP candidate. Taylor’s 895 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns both lead the league. Bijan Robinson’s 1,058 yards from scrimmage is third in the NFL.
Wild, wild NFC West
It’s a battle out west this weekend as the Arizona Cardinals travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Seahawks, while and the Los Angeles Rams head north on Interstate 5 to face the San Francisco 49ers.
The NFC West is making a case for the best division in football. All four teams were victorious last week. The 49ers, Rams and Seahawks each have six wins, marking the sixth time since 2002 that a division has had three teams with at least six wins through the first nine weeks of a season, per NFL Research.
Arizona’s offense has operated more efficiently with Jacoby Brissett behind center. In three starts, Brissett averages more passing yards and has a higher passer rating compared to Kyler Murray’s five starts this year. But the Cardinals face a significant test in Seattle. The Seahawks have won three straight games and WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 948 receiving yards.
The Rams are looking for revenge after the 49ers upset them in overtime in Week 5. Rams QB Matthew Stafford leads the NFL with 21 touchdown passes and WR Davante Adams tops the NFL with eight touchdown receptions. On the other side, RB Christian McCaffrey has a league-leading 1,222 yards from scrimmage.
Chargers’ banged up offensive line faces Steelers defense
The Chargers’ offensive tackle position has been ravaged by injuries. Tackle Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon during training camp and tackle Joe Alt suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 9. Alt was the only tackle to rank in the top five in the NFL in both pass block win rate and run block win rate, per ESPN.
“It’s obviously tough to replace two of those guys,” Chargers QB Justin Herbert said of the season-ending injuries to Slater and Alt. “We have to find a way. We have to get it done for those guys. I know Rashawn and Joe would do anything to be back out there. We got to hold it down for them and make sure we’re giving our best because unfortunately they can’t.”
The absence of Alt will be magnified in Week 10 against a Steelers defense that ranks third in the NFL in pass rush win rate. Four-time first-team All-Pro T.J. Watt has a team high five sacks and 28 pressures. LB Alex Highsmith earned AFC Week 9 Defensive Player of the Week after he tallied two sacks, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a pass defensed during Pittsburgh’s victory over Indy.
Herbert ranks second in passing yards (2,390) and touchdown passes (18), but will the Chargers patchwork offensive line be able to protect him?
Micah Parsons faces Eagles for first time in Packers uniform
The Eagles and Packers made significant trades this year, but the Parsons blockbuster deal was the biggest trade of them all.
Parsons is very familiar with the Eagles from his days as a Dallas Cowboy. He has five sacks, six tackles for loss and eight QB hits in seven career regular-season games against Philadelphia. His 43 total pressures ranks fifth in the NFL.
The Eagles are coming off a bye week, but general manager Howie Roseman flexed his muscle prior to the trade deadline as the team bolstered their defense with the additions of cornerbacks Michael Carter II and Jaire Alexander and then adding edge rusher Jaelan Phillips.
“Excited about the three additions we made in the trade market,” Roseman told reporters this week. “It’s our job to make sure that were making sure that no stone is left unturned when we’re trying to acquire talent. That’s our job.”
The defending Super Bowl champs come into Week 10 with the 23rd ranked total defense, but the recent additions should help.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.