Week 13 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. Seahawks at 49ers (Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC): One of the best rivalries in football, and they’re both desperate at 7-4. That makes for a hell of a matchup, and you know it’ll remain close in San Francisco.
2. Patriots at Packers Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): Arguably the two hottest teams in the league and two MVP-caliber, Hall of Fame-worthy quarterbacks. In Green Bay, the Packers have a clear edge. But with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, anything can happen. I know it’s not a conference rivalry, but both of these teams need it and this is certainly a potential Super Bowl matchup.
3. Eagles at Cowboys (Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX): Tony Romo is playing at an MVP level, while Mark Sanchez is…Mark Sanchez. That oughta be good for entertainment purposes. Plus, two big-time markets and two of the league’s most despised teams. And they’re fighting it out for the NFC East lead at 8-3. Viewership gold.
4. Broncos at Chiefs (Sunday night, NBC): Denver has slipped up of late, but the Chiefs are coming off a loss to the winless Raiders. Kansas City can make a statement coming off extra rest at home, so this should be a goodie.
5. Bears at Lions (Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET, CBS): Two teams loaded with stars to kick off the week on Thanksgiving. Chicago has been a hot mess, but this should remain close and we should get plenty of points. Not bad in comparison to what we used to get out of Detroit vs. X Team each Thanksgiving.
6. Saints at Steelers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): They’re basically in similar spots in their respective conferences despite having opposite records. New Orleans is desperate and the Steelers are inconsistent, so this could be fun. However, blowout potential does exist, especially with Pittsburgh at home and coming off the bye.
7. Chargers at Ravens (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Big-time playoff implications here, and two solid offensive teams with good veteran quarterbacks. But my fear is Baltimore could pull away at home against a shaky opponent traveling three time zones.
8. Browns at Bills (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): It’s been a long time since a matchup between these two frequent jokes has been considered compelling enough to be ranked in a spot like this. But if Buffalo can come through at home, both teams will be more than alive for playoff spots. I get the sense this’ll be a Ralph Wilson thriller.
9. Redskins at Colts (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): A battle between the top two picks from the 2012 NFL draft! Oh, wait. Never mind. Well, it’ll be interesting to see how Colt McCoy fares after the Redskins made the controversial decision to bench Robert Griffin III.
10. Cardinals at Falcons (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): Arizona is coming back to earth and was never fun to watch anyway, while Atlanta is still in contention despite sucking. Ignore and focus on New England-Green Bay.
11. Panthers at Vikings (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): I mean, Cam Newton and the Panthers are still alive, but this still doesn’t deserve your Sunday afternoon attention unless it’s close late. We’re talking about a pair of mediocre football teams.
12. Dolphins at Jets (Monday night, ESPN): Forget the Jets. They’ve hit rock bottom but won’t do anything rash until after the season. Miami is a contender but is still flying under the radar. Watch for the Dolphins, but don’t expect this to be as memorable as some of the legendary battles we saw between these guys in years past.
13. Giants at Jaguars (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Only so far you can take that whole “Tom Coughlin returns to Jacksonville” storyline, especially considering these teams have lost a combined 10 straight games.
14. Bengals at Buccaneers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): You’re going to notice that there’s a lot of alliteration going on in the worst games this week. I have nothing to add.
15. Raiders at Rams (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Two teams that have been playing spoiler, but now they’re playing each other. So, um, who cares?
16. Titans at Texans (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Houston is still technically alive, but this shouldn’t be a close game anyway. Not a lot of draw here.
