NFL Nation reporters look ahead to what Thursday has in store for each team.
AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills: The Buffalo Bills listed running back LeSean McCoy as probable on their Wednesday injury report, meaning he is a virtual certainty to play Thursday night against the Jets. Rex Ryan wasn't sure Tuesday about how much McCoy would play, but teammate Karlos Williams believes McCoy will be "100 percent." McCoy isn't a completely safe play for fantasy but consider this: shortly after leaving Sunday's game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, he quickly returned and ran for a 48-yard touchdown. -- Mike Rodak
Miami Dolphins: Dolphins head coach Dan Campbell said the Eagles' tempo on offense is a major focus in practice this week. Miami's defense has allowed 428.5 yards per game the past two week and has had trouble getting off the field. Winning on third down defensively will be key against Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly's scheme. -- James Walker
New England Patriots: Bill Belichick lightened the load on players by having a walkthrough on Wednesday, which was a break from the norm. This gives the team an extra day to recover physically, specifically along the offensive line, where there has been a run of injuries. The pace should pick up Thursday, as QB Tom Brady and Belichick stressed the importance of limiting turnovers, because the Giants have forced a league-high 21. -- Mike Reiss
New York Jets: RB Chris Ivory, mired in a three-game slump, could face another struggle Thursday against the Bills, who rank sixth overall in rushing yards allowed per game (93.6). A change in the offensive line (Brian Winters replacing Willie Colon at right guard) could also complicate matters for the Jets. The best fantasy plays are WRs Brandon Marshall and WR Eric Decker. They're both good in the red zone, an area where the Bill have struggled. -- Rich Cimini
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens: Tight end Dennis Pitta was placed on season-ending injured reserve because doctors said it wasn't safe for him to play with his surgically repaired right hip. "At the end of the day, we can't ignore what sound medical science has to say," Pitta said. The Ravens have long braced for the loss of Pitta, drafting three tight ends the last two years. Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams and Nick Boyle have combined for 43 catches for 443 yards and three touchdowns this season. -- Jamison Hensley
Cincinnati Bengals: Preparations for Monday night's game against the Texans begin in earnest on Thursday when the Bengals hold a fully-padded practice. If offensive guard Kevin Zeitler suits up, it will be a promising sign that he plays this week. The lineman sustained a lower leg injury in last week's win over Cleveland. Although he's been receiving treatment since then, he hasn't practiced. Against Houston last season, Zeitler played a key role in keeping J.J. Watt out of Cincinnati's backfield. -- Coley Harvey
Cleveland Browns: Josh McCown threw Wednesday and said he is more optimistic about starting Sunday against Pittsburgh than he was a week ago because he has a few more days for his injured ribs to recover. The Browns are in wait-and-see mode on McCown, who will start Sunday if he is healthy enough to play. -- Pat McManamon
Pittsburgh Steelers: Wide receiver Martavis Bryant could have a solid fantasy performance after two average weeks. All three of Landry Jones' touchdown passes have gone to Bryant. Jones will make the occasional mistake but he throws well to the deep-end-zone area where Bryant can do damage as a big, high-leaping target. Meanwhile, running back DeAngelo Williams was sidelined for Wednesday's practice with foot inflammation, but the Steelers are hopeful the rest will help him practice later in the week. -- Jeremy Fowler
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans: The Texans were in full pads for Wednesday's practice, which was a help to their practice of the running game. It's something the Texans have been seeking to fix, and were seeking to fix even when Arian Foster was playing. Alfred Blue is now that Texans starter with Foster out for the season. He thought the fully padded practice should help the Texans run better on Monday night against the Bengals. "You get the mindset, the O-line gets the bang a little bit, and that's how you really get the run game," Blue said. "You don't get it with shells on. When you've got the pads on that's when you get after the run a little bit." -- Tania Ganguli
Indianapolis Colts: The Colts are leaving the door open to add another quarterback with experience to the roster. Regardless of what they do, 40-year-old Matt Hasselbeck will be the starter while Andrew Luck misses 2-6 weeks with a lacerated kidney and partial abdominal muscle tear. "We're looking at all possibilities right now and who's available," coach Chuck Pagano said. "We'll look at the wire and we'll look at the list and see who's out there and then make that decision." The Colts signed quarterback Alex Tanney to the practice squad Tuesday. -- Mike Wells
Jacksonville Jaguars: Andrew Luck's injury leaves the door open for the Jaguars in the AFC South. They have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL, with their opponents having a combined record of 25-43. The biggest problem is that the Jaguars continue to make mistakes late in games that are costing them a chance at a victory. Blake Bortles and Nick Marshall committed key fumbles against the Jets last week. -- Mike DiRocco
Tennessee Titans: Not long after he took over as interim coach, Mike Mularkey decided to make a change to the team captains Ken Whisenhunt appointed after five games. Citing experience, Mularkey took a captaincy away from second-year left tackle Taylor Lewan and gave it to veteran running back Dexter McCluster. McCluster does things the right way, while Lewan hasn't reached the same standard, yet. -- Paul Kuharsky
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos: Linebacker DeMarcus Ware did not practice Wednesday because of a back injury and is not expected to practice this week or play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has said the injury is similar to the one Ware suffered earlier this season when he missed two weeks of practice and one game. The Broncos got a little help in their plan to compensate for Ware's absence with the return of rookie Shane Ray to the practice field Wednesday. Ray has missed the last two games with a sprained right MCL, and before Wednesday, he had not practiced since Oct. 16. If he makes it through practice this week without any hiccups, Ray is expected to play Sunday. -- Jeff Legwold
Kansas City Chiefs: Sunday's game against the Broncos starts a stretch of four of five games against other AFC West opponents. But coach Andy Reid won't look at what the Chiefs can gain by winning those games. "We don't go there,'' Reid said. "We're about right now. There's no time for anything else.'' -- Adam Teicher
Oakland Raiders: Oakland's strange trend continued Sunday at Pittsburgh, as the team committed an uncharacteristically low number of penalties (three) but still lost. In the Raiders' four wins, they have committed 48 penalties, compared to 19 in their four losses. -- Bill Williamson
San Diego Chargers: The Chargers have blown three fourth-quarter leads during their five-game losing streak. Tight end Antonio Gates said the solution to winning in the final quarter is a simple one: "There's nothing magical," Gates said. "You've got to make more plays than the other team." Gates also said that with seven games left, he and the rest of his teammates still have things to play for, noting the Chargers have not been mathematically eliminated from the postseason. "We have seven more games to play and we've got an opportunity to be .500," Gates said. "And to me, that's important." -- Eric D. Williams
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have just three interceptions this season and none from a cornerback stretching back to Week 14 in 2014. Facing a rookie quarterback, like Tampa Bay's Jameis Winston, can often be a good slump-buster for a secondary. He has had seven passes intercepted this season but he has gone four straight games without throwing a pass to the other team. Another fact that should help Winston this week: the Cowboys will not be able to trick him with scheme. The Buccaneers run a similar defense to the Cowboys, and he was able to work against that all spring and summer. -- Todd Archer
New York Giants: With Jason Pierre-Paul back, the Giants feel as good about their pass rush as they have at any point this season. They have a league-low nine sacks and haven't been able to sustain any kind of quarterback pressure. But with Pierre-Paul back for his second game of the season and Tom Brady on the schedule, the Giants could feature a pass-rush package that includes Robert Ayers and Cullen Jenkins on the inside and Pierre-Paul and Damontre Moore on the edges. -- Dan Graziano
Philadelphia Eagles: The next two days of practice will determine whether left tackle Jason Peters is able to play Sunday against the Dolphins. Peters missed last week's game in Dallas, causing a shuffle along the line. Lane Johnson (at left tackle) and Dennis Kelly (at right) played well, but the line would be strongest with Peters in his customary spot guarding Sam Bradford's blind side. Peters said it was "50/50" whether he can play. -- Phil Sheridan
Washington Redskins: The Redskins possibly will have three new starters in the lineup Sunday, starting at center with newly-signed Brian de la Puente. He might take over for backup center Josh LeRibeus, who has struggled with shotgun snaps and run blocking in his three starts. Also, Will Compton might take over for inside linebacker Perry Riley Jr., and Jeron Johnson and rookie Kyshoen Jarrett are being considered at safety in place of the ineffective Trenton Robinson. -- John Keim
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears: Veteran Matt Forte (knee) is slowly making progress toward an eventual return, but Chicago is confident that rookie tailback Jeremy Langford can be effective against St. Louis' fifth ranked defense. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said he did plenty of homework on Langford in the pre-draft process, and he's not surprised that Langford flourished in relief of Forte. It may be a stretch to think Forte can play Sunday in the Edward Jones Dome. On defense, the Bears are bracing for Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley, whom defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likened to a young Adrian Peterson. The Bears have the 24th rated rushing defense, a major concern with Gurley on the horizon. -- Jeff Dickerson
Detroit Lions: On Thursday, Lions interim GM Sheldon White is expected to talk with the media for the first time since taking over the role. How he plans to navigate the rest of the season and his potential job prospects for the future are two of the most important topics for him to address. -- Michael Rothstein
Green Bay Packers: Even Eddie Lacy couldn't argue with Mike McCarthy's decision to bench him in favor of James Starks as the No. 1 running back, a move the Packers coach announced on Wednesday. Although Lacy will still have a role, he admitted that Starks "has been the better player between us two so far." -- Rob Demovsky
Minnesota Vikings: Teddy Bridgewater was limited in practice on Wednesday as he continues to go through the NFL concussion protocol. Provided he doesn't have a setback, Bridgewater should be able to return to full practice before the end of the week. The Vikings haven't beaten an AFC team on the road since 2012, and they'll likely need Bridgewater on the field if they want to take full advantage of a Raiders team that's ranked last in the league against the pass. -- Ben Goessling
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons: When the Atlanta Falcons return from this week's bye, they need to figure out how to better utilize their opportunities in the red zone. In the first four games of the season, they converted 80 percent of their opportunities inside the 20. But that's dipped to 44 percent over the last five games. Maybe facing a Colts team that allows opponents to convert 62.1 percent in the red zone will help the Falcons' cause in Week 11. -- Vaughn McClure
Carolina Panthers: Panthers coach Ron Rivera says theres's no concern about the ankle injury that kept middle linebacker Luke Kuechly out of Wednesday's practice, but he'll feel better if the two-time Pro Bowler is back on the field Thursday. Rivera and his staff have spent most of the week tightening techniques and schemes that have allowed their last two opponents to make comebacks in the fourth quarter. Having Kuechly at full strength would help prevent that. -- David Newton
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees didn't try to downplay the Saints' plight when asked if they are at a "critical juncture" at 4-5, with only seven games remaining and a trip to Washington coming up. Brees said it's especially important they win this week since they have a bye coming afterward. "We need to go on the road this week and play our best football, without a doubt. Because we need this win. But also I think it gives us an opportunity to feel a little bit better going into the bye week, to get healthy, and then to be ready to really make that run." -- Mike Triplett
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Improving in the red zone will be a big focus for the Bucs this week. They went 1-of-4 inside the 20 against the Giants in Week 9. On Wednesday, quarterback Jameis Winston said that he must make his read near the end zone and stick with it. Tampa Bay has scored a touchdown on just 42.86 percent of trips into the red zone this season. Only Cleveland, Minnesota, San Francisco and Seattle are worse. -- Andrew Astleford
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals: Don't call the Sunday night game in Seattle a rivalry regardless of how good the Cardinals have become under coach Bruce Arians. Arizona is 3-7 against Seattle since 2010 and 1-3 against the Seahawks under Arians. "It's not a rivalry unless you win," Arians said. "We haven't won enough to make it a rivalry. We've got to beat them two or three times to make it a rivalry." -- Josh Weinfuss
St. Louis Rams: After playing without four starters last week against Minnesota, the Rams are hopeful that they'll get some key players back this week. Jeff Fisher said that end Robert Quinn (knee) and tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) should be back to practice Friday. That still leaves questions about safety T.J. McDonald, but the Rams will take whatever they can get after Thursday's day off. -- Nick Wagoner
San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers are knee-deep in their bye week and as the CBA states, players must get four days off, starting today. Truly, the only Niners players around the Santa Clara compound this weekend will be those needing treatment. -- Paul Gutierrez
Seattle Seahawks: Beating the blitz has been a huge problem for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks' offense this year. According to ESPN Stats & Information, when opponents send pressure, he's completing 56.7 percent of his passes. On non-blitz attempts, Wilson's completion percentage is 74.1, tops in the league. The Cardinals blitz at the second-highest rate in the NFL. They'll bring the heat on Wilson Sunday night. -- Sheil Kapadia