With the dust settled from Tuesday's trade deadline and nine weeks complete, the NFL opens the second half of the 2026 regular season with a Week 10 slate rich in quarterback storylines. Kirk Cousins returns to Minnesota, No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza makes his first career start for the Raiders and rookie Carson Beck debuts for Arizona. Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are on bye.
Mendoza, the top selection in the 2026 draft out of Indiana, takes over in Las Vegas after the Raiders traded Cousins, who started the first nine games, to Minnesota. CBS Sports NFL writer Tyler Sullivan backs Seattle, a 5.5-point favorite, citing a defense allowing a league-low 244.2 total yards per game and 18.0 points per game, tied for fourth fewest. Sullivan called it a "baptism by fire," noting that No. 1 overall quarterbacks are 1-15-1 straight up and 3-14 against the spread in their first career starts since 2003.
Cousins returns to Minnesota on Sunday at Green Bay, where the Packers are 2.5-point favorites. His 20 passing touchdowns rank second in the NFL and his 260.0 passing yards per game rank eighth, and he reunites with Justin Jefferson, whose 98.9 receiving yards per game from Cousins are the most by any quarterback-receiver duo all-time. The CBS Sports pick is Minnesota plus 3.5 points, despite Jordan Love playing at an MVP level for Green Bay.
Senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco likes Arizona, getting 9.5 points, to keep it close in what he sees as a low-scoring 19-16 Rams win. Los Angeles, a 7.5-point road favorite, lost at home to the Cardinals a few weeks ago and must play without Puka Nacua, while Beck debuts at quarterback with Myles Garrett and company looming.
CBS Sports NFL writer Jordan Dajani has San Francisco, a 3.5-point favorite, winning 30-26 at Dallas. The 49ers lead the league with 159 games missed to injury yet started 7-1, and Brock Purdy's offense scores touchdowns on 37.2 percent of its drives, the fifth-highest rate by any team since 2000.
Sullivan is calling a Sunday night upset: Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 24, taking the Steelers plus 3.5 points. Pittsburgh, which won the Week 3 meeting, is fresh off a bye while the Bengals return from an international game in Madrid. The Steelers' defense is tied for the fifth-lowest yards-per-play average at 5.0, while Cincinnati is tied for the most yards per rush allowed at 5.0, a favorable setup for breakout back Jaylen Warren. SportsLine's R.J. White leans toward the over.
Elsewhere Sunday, Prisco has Buffalo, laying 8.5 points, beating the Jets 34-21. Sullivan takes Carolina, getting 2.5, over New Orleans 24-21 even though Bryce Young is 1-5 against the Saints, who are 0-5 against the spread at home. CBS Sports NFL writer John Breech likes Houston 24-16 at Cleveland, pitting Deshaun Watson, sacked a league-high 33 times, against a Texans defense leading the NFL with 29 sacks. Prisco has Jacksonville, a 10.5-point favorite, winning 31-17 at Tennessee, and Miami covering 3.5 points in a 23-22 Colts victory with Kyle McCord starting for the injured Malik Willis. Jared Dubin also has Kansas City, a 3.5-point favorite, winning 27-16 at Atlanta.
The week opens Sunday morning in Munich, Germany, where Breech takes Detroit, a 3-point favorite, over New England 34-27. Jared Goff ranks in the top five in passing yards per game and faces one of the NFL's worst pass defenses in recent weeks, though Detroit has allowed a league-high 260.9 passing yards per game. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has thrown 11 interceptions to nine touchdowns in six games against winning teams. Week 10 closes Monday night in Baltimore, where Dubin takes the Chargers plus 4.5 points in a 24-20 Ravens win as Jacoby Brissett makes his first Baltimore start; SportsLine's Mike Tierney enters on a 32-14-1 run over his last 47 spread picks in Ravens games.
