Week 14 in the NFL is here, and you might be entering the weekend with your own preferences regarding which games to focus on, and which to place on the backburner. Most of you have your favorites and fantasy players to track. But in case you're completely neutral or need help breaking ties with regard to what to watch, we've ranked all 16 games from most appealing to least enticing.
1. Panthers at Saints (Sunday night, NBC): Prime-time games at the Superdome kick ass, especially when they're as crucial as this one is. The Panthers are the league's hottest team, and New Orleans is trying to maintain its grip on the NFC South. Cam Newton, Drew Brees, awesomeness.
2. Seahawks at 49ers (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): Can Seattle keep rolling like this? The Seahawks can pretty much wrap up the top seed with another victory over a San Francisco team they've had by the nads. But the Niners are locked in a playoff race, so they're desperate at home. This is good stuff.
3. Lions at Eagles (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on FOX): Two teams that won four games last year but are either in first place or tied for first place with four games to go this year. That Eagles defense has been on fire, but they haven't faced Calvin Johnson. And that Lions D has hung in, but Nick Foles is the league's hottest quarterback. This has to be your go-to game to start Sunday.
4. Cowboys at Bears (Monday night, ESPN): Dallas is trying to lock up its first division title since 2009, but the desperate Bears should come out slugging at home, regardless of who their quarterback is. Teams like these are always entertaining on national television.
5. Colts at Bengals (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Two AFC division leaders with a lot to prove. This game could decide who earns the No. 3 seed, which means they'd get to avoid the Chiefs on wild-card weekend. Two good young quarterbacks, too, so we aren't complaining.
6. Chiefs at Redskins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Prior to the season, this looked like a potential Washington blowout. Now, the opposite is the case. Still, this game could be close with the 'Skins fighting to make a statement at home. Plus, the Chiefs are trying to avoid a fourth straight loss, which would be ridiculous considering how they started.
7. Rams at Cardinals (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): I had trouble trying to rank this game because St. Louis has been up and down all year and Arizona's defense looks legit. It should be a close game, though, with some good D. And the Cards are in the race, so it gets some late-afternoon love.
8. Dolphins at Steelers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): This is a half-decent game inasmuch as it involves two teams that haven't been read their last rites. Very good chance the winner here meets the winner of Colts-Bengals in the first round of the playoffs.
9. Vikings at Ravens (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): We've lost track of who's starting at quarterback nowadays for the Vikings, which is never a good sign. However, they've been playing spoiler lately and the Ravens are in the thick of the wild-card race. This could be a nail-biter.
10. Raiders at Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): This is a poor man's Dolphins-Steelers, which is saying a lot. I guess the Jets are still clinging to life and have a chance in the parity-ridden AFC, but good football certainly won't be on display when these two mediocre teams clash. Geno Smith is historically bad right now, though, so that should be entertaining for rubberneckers.
11. Giants at Chargers (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): The Eli Manning-Philip Rivers storyline will be cool for 3-5 minutes, and then we'll have moved on to a December matchup between two mistake-prone, non-playoff teams.
12. Titans at Broncos (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): Unless there's an upset alert in the second half, stay away. Peyton Manning won't break the touchdown record Sunday and the Broncos should cruise.
13. Falcons at Packers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Another game that looked a hell of a lot better in August than it does now. The Falcons quit two months ago and the Packers are dead men walking without quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Ignore.
14. Bills at Buccaneers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Bucs have at least gained some respect of late, but neither team is going anywhere and it's December. We'd be crazy to waste our time on this.
15. Browns at Patriots (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Let's not pretend this will be close. Nobody should tune in unless the Patriots once again start out slow and have to make a big comeback.
16. Texans at Jaguars (Thursday night, NFL Network): Who will watch this? Seriously? I mean, I know like a billion people will, because that's what the numbers continually indicate regardless of who is playing who in this crazy league. But I don't think I'd even tune in if I were a Texans or Jaguars fan, unless it's close late and I want to get a feel for where my team might be drafting in May.
