Suppose you were told the New Orleans Saints could run the ball and play defense, and Drew Brees was still their quarterback.
And you were informed that the Los Angeles Rams had a dynamic offense to go with a physical defense.
What you would have is a terrific matchup of division leaders. It happens Sunday at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
New Orleans (8-2) is showing more balance than at any time since Brees arrived in 2006 and began setting passing records.
Los Angeles Rams has made a swift and impressive turnaround under first-year coach Sean McVay, who has quarterback Jared Goff playing like a first overall draft selection should.
The Saints started with two losses and haven't been on the short end of the score since.
Carolina (7-3)
at New York Jets (4-6)
Tampa Bay (4-6) at Atlanta (6-4)
This is the epitome of the trap game for the Panthers, who next face division leaders New Orleans and Minnesota. But they also come off a bye, when coach Ron Rivera surely was reminding his players not to get careless.
Carolina is showing lots of balance now as Cam Newton has overcome an inconsistent early portion of the season. The defense has been lights-out.
Tennessee (6-4)
at Indianapolis (3-7)
The AFC South's leader and runner-up hit the road against teams they should handle.
Jacksonville handles everyone roughly with that sack-happy defense ranked No. 1 overall. Teams can run a bit on the Jaguars, so Adrian Peterson might be busy for Arizona.
Green Bay (5-5)
at Pittsburgh (8-2)
Brett Hundley and the Packers took a Lambeau Leap backward in being blanked by Baltimore. Any playoff aspirations are fading fast on the tundra, and the Pack hasn't won in Pittsburgh since 1970. That was even before the Steel Curtain emerged.
Houston (4-6)
at Baltimore (5-5) Monday night
Even though this seems to have little attraction, the fact both of these squads are alive in playoff scenarios brings some interest.
Baltimore already has three shutout wins, including last weekend in Green Bay. The previous time the Ravens had such gaudy defensive stats, they were winning Super Bowls with Ray Lewis at inside linebacker. The Ravens are 11-1 in prime time under coach John Harbaugh. Their nine-game winning streak in prime time is the longest active run in
the NFL.
Miami (4-6)
at New England (8-2)
That freight train running through the AFC is what everyone feared when the season began: New England on
a roll.
The Patriots have won six in a row, and they are blowing out opponents. Now, they get an undermanned Dolphins squad that last won in Foxborough in 2008, when Tom Brady was sidelined by a knee injury.
Buffalo (5-5)
at Kansas City (6-4)
While the Chiefs' Alex Smith is struggling, at least he doesn't have to worry about a QB carousel. Smith had 18 TD throws without a pick to start the season. He's thrown three interceptions without a touchdown since as KC has lost four of
five.
Chicago (3-7)
at Philadelphia (9-1)
Mismatch City? It would look that way, particularly because the one thing the Bears do pretty well is run the ball with Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. Philly, however, has the NFL's top rushing defense.
The Eagles are at 9-1 for the fifth time in franchise history. They won the NFL championship the first two times (1946, 1960), lost the Super Bowl in the other two (1980, 2004). They also have scored 20 points in 14 straight games, the league's longest current streak.
Seattle (6-4)
at San Francisco (1-9)
Once a bitter rivalry that extended into playoff games, this one has hit the rocks because the 49ers have, well, hit the rocks. The Seahawks have won eight straight in the series beginning with the NFC title game in January 2014.
Denver (3-7)
at Oakland (4-6)
Whatever happened to the AFC West being the NFL's best division?
The collapses of these two teams, that's what.
Denver has lost six straight, the longest single-season skid since 1990. The previous time the Broncos lost seven in a row was during a nine-game streak in 1967 that concluded with a 51-0 loss at Oakland in the AFL days.