The week 10 game is on. We’re talking about the Detroit Lions vs. the Houston Texans. The Lions acquired many players to boost their locker room. Za’Darius Smith was one of them. He joined the Lions on the last day of the trade deadline, November 5. Since then, the fans have been excited to watch him on the field. Looks like they will have to wait until week 11.

However, NFL insider Ian Rapoport claimed that the DE wouldn’t be playing against the Texans. Sources claimed that he wasn’t ready yet. The two-day practice on Friday and Saturday before the week 10 matchup against Texans on November 10 wasn’t enough. The team has cleared the ongoing rumor.

Za’Darius Smith was not injured or having any major problems. He could have played if the team needed him. But that wasn’t the case. Once the Lions completed the trade-in from the Browns, the DE came to the city the next day. However, head coach Dan Campbell gave him two days to complete his work. That was a brilliant move.

The DE has come up with decent performances this year. In 9 games in the 2024 season before the trade, he had 23 tackles (15 solo) with 5 sacks. Knowing that their player was in playing form, the locker room was pumped up.

For now, the game is evenly balanced. Both teams are high on confidence. Performances have been great.

Za’Darius Smith missed the battle of the top-tier teams

With 6 wins in 9 games, the Texans are sitting at the top of the AFC South. Though a week 10 loss wouldn’t hurt them in the division, a win would certainly push them one step closer to the playoff qualification. Their QB CJ Stroud is performing well. In 9 games, he had 188 of 296 passes (63.5% completion rate) in 2,139 passing yards with 11 touchdowns.

While the addition of Za’Darius Smith would help them on the gridiron, the Lions are sitting comfortably. They are very tightly tipped against the top position in the NFC North or the entire conference. With 7 wins and only one loss, they stopped the Vikings in their week 7 loss. Jared Goff has been their leader. In 8 games, the quarterback has 158 of 211 games (74.9% completion rate) in 1,840 passing yards with 14 touchdowns.

The picture is getting clearer now. Expect teams who are in the top positions of their group to qualify for the postseason. There could be an exception here and there, but most of the teams with 5 or 6 losses are out of the playoff. With that being said, the fans are slowly getting pumped for the exciting games ahead. It would be now or never. Lions and Texans are favorites for the Super Bowl.

Speaking of excitement, watch this exclusive interview of the Griffin sisters from the NFL world.