Can Patricia start 3-0 vs. Packers?

The Packers are 25-3 against the Lions in Wisconsin since 1992. But Lions coach Matt Patricia is 2-0 against them and won 31-0 at Lambeau in last year's season finale. Of course, Aaron Rodgers was knocked out early in that game. In nine home starts against the Lions, Rodgers is 7-2 with 17 TDs, three INTs and a 109.4 passer rating. The Lions and Packers are two of just five NFC teams with fewer than two losses.

Ted-dy! Ted-dy! Looking to go 4-0

So much for the Saints (4-1) just trying to tread water until Drew Brees returns. Teddy Bridgewater, 3-0 with wins at Seattle and home against the Cowboys and Bucs, heads to Jacksonville, which is 2-3 but favored by two points. The Jags are back home, where they beat Tennessee before losing on the road in Denver and Carolina.

NFC South rematch for Bucs, Panthers

The Bucs and Panthers meet for the second time in five weeks. On Thursday night of Week 2, Tampa Bay went into Carolina and took advantage of a beat-up Cam Newton to escape with the 20-14 upset. Since then, with Newton sidelined in favor of greenhorn Kyle Allen, the Panthers have gone 3-0. The Bucs, meanwhile, are riding the league's wildest roller coaster. In order, they've lost at home to the 49ers, won at Carolina, lost at home to the Giants, won at the Rams and lost at the Saints.

100 NFL SEASONs A LOOK BACK at 1943

Oct. 22, 1943: Long before the NFL honored the country's military, hundreds of its players, coaches and executives joined the armed forces during World War II. Twenty-one of them died, including 19 players, an ex-coach and a team executive, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Following the lead of the mightier Major League Baseball, the NFL kept playing during the war in hopes that it would boost the nation's morale. By the time training camps opened in 1943, rosters were dwindling.

The Cleveland Rams had only 18 players report. They suspended play for one year.

Meanwhile, the Eagles and Steelers were facing similar shortages of manpower. But instead of suspending play, they joined forces for the 1943 season, playing home games in Shibe Park in Philly and Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

They won their first two games, including a 17-0 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers at Shibe Park on Oct. 2, 1943, before finishing 5-4-1.

The NFL officially refers to that one-year union as the Phil-Pitt Combine. But that 1943 team will always be remembered as the "Steagles."

UPSET OF THE WEEK

In 22 games, Patrick Mahomes has experienced one losing streak (two games) and has never lost two straight at home. But no one is immune from the occasional multigame hiccup that sends the country's talking heads into a tailspin of overreaction. Chiefs are too beat up. The visiting Texans, a four-point underdog, are too hungry. Pick: Texans 31, Chiefs 24. Last week: Raiders 24, Bears 14. Result: Raiders 24, Bears 21. Record: 2-3.

MARK CRAIG