This goes for anyone on the 49ers offense: start these guys immediately. Overall, San Francisco has been disappointing, sitting at a measly 4-4 record. This has not been the fault of the offense however, as they sit at sixth in scoring for the year. Coming off a bye, expect this offense to be even better. Head coach Kyle Shannahan’s team has been hampered by injuries to key players in season, making it hard to gameplan with the rotating door of players. With a week off to regroup, he should have a gameplan to get his stars involved. This goes for George Kittle, Jordan Mason, and Brock Purdy, but I chose Samuel because of his versatility. Coming off the rest week, expect creative uses of the receiver that haven’t been truly explored yet this season, and going against the 29th ranked passing defense in Tampa Bay, this should be a huge week.

The reason I’m starting James Conner is because of Arizona’s hot rushing attack that has led them to three straight wins and atop the NFC West. With a strong performance yet again on Sunday versus Chicago, he is proving why he is a very underrated running back in the NFL. He put up 107 yards in Sunday’s win, found the endzone in Miami, and rushed for 101 yards versus the Chargers. Conner is averaging 4.5 yards a carry and is ninth in rushing yards with 664. I expect Arizona to continue using Conner at a high volume with a tough pass defense in the Jets next on their schedule. Conner should put up numbers once again as the Cardinals look to extend their win streak to four games.

With the Eagles getting back on track and proving why they’re a top team in the NFC East, they have one of the, if not the most, consistent running backs in the league in Saquon Barkley. He has shown that he can pick up yards, catch the ball when he needs to, and project his freak athleticism. 

Daniels has been phenomenal as a rookie this season, easily running away with the rookie of the year. However, this week could be a struggle for the young QB. The Steelers have the second ranked scoring defense in the league, and they have two weeks to game plan against the dual-threat quarterback. That’s a bad combination for any player, but this is especially the case for a rookie. This game could be a blemish in what’s been a stellar resume so far in Daniels’s young career.

The reason I’m sitting Rachaad White is because of split carries with Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker. Bucky Irving has had heavy workloads as of late, so I could see more carries spread out between all of them, but production wise, White has been on the decline. This week doesn’t look any more promising for Tampa’s rushing attack as the run into the 49ers run defense. Also remember just on Monday in Kansas City they rushed for just 95 yards.

The Saints hot start seems like a lifetime ago, back to back beatdowns of the Panthers and Cowboys to begin the season had them poised as early playoff contenders. The wheels of that hype-train fell off quickly after that and a seven game losing streak followed. This tumble resulted in the firing of head coach Dennis Allen, who was known by fans as possibly the worst coach in the league. However, his firing could put a temporary halt on the Saints’ skid. Since the year 2000, 37 teams have fired their coaches mid-season. Of those 37, 16 (43%) won the week of the firing. Now that’s less than half, but that’s a good amount considering in order to have a coach fired, the team has to be really bad. That’s not necessarily the case here. The Saints have good, albeit old, players on both sides of the ball. Plus, most of this losing streak has been without their quarterback Derek Carr, who came back in last week’s loss to the Panthers. At this point for this team, anyone is better than the aforementioned Allen, and the many veterans on the Saints can rally around a new coach. At least for one week. And against a division rival at home, they should be able to pull out a win – Will (1-2)

The reason why I have the Steelers over the Commanders is because they are 13-4 under Mike Tomlin coming off a bye and have won the last 7 games in a row coming off a bye. The prediction goes without understating rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels’s success. I think the Steelers have the defensive disruption with TJ Watt to get pressure on Daniels. I think for Pittsburgh on offense they should score points as Washington is liable on defense. This is why the Steelers have a great chance for an upset over the Commanders. – Wesley (2-0)

Entering the middle of the NFL season, teams are starting to present their team dynamics and what they have to offer. Going into week 10, I’m choosing the Houston Texans over the Detroit Lions. Texans receiver Tank Dell had a solid reception game against the Jets on Halloween, racking up 126 yards on six receptions. Not only that, but although Huston is missing Steffon Diggs, they could possibly be getting back a main puzzle piece to their receiver core, with Nico Collins potentially making a comeback this week, depending on the status of his injury. From a defensive perspective, if the Texans can utilize their pass defense, centered around a solid Cornerback in Derek Stingley Jr. He could potentially match up against a top wide receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown, which could hold off Detroit’s chain-moving offense and contribute on the offensive side of the ball. – Isaiah (2-1)