Week 13 Preview: This Week's Must-Watch Games Around the NFL

Oh, my do these Thanksgiving games look juicy! Every one of these games should make for awesome entertainment. The only downside is that they are going to make Sunday a little more boring with almost 0 good games on schedule, but when has the NFL ever been boring?! That's one of the beauties of football- it's a week-to-week league; any team can be good in any given week and any team can be terrible in any given week. Good matchups can end up being boring (which has been happening way too often lately) and bad matchups can end up making for great football. Without further ado, let's get into the best matchups on paper...

Packers-Lions (Thursday 1 PM ET)

The Packers come in after finally finding their footing with a thumping of the Vikings last week (23–6). Up until this point, the Packers have had one of the easiest schedules in the NFL, yet still have not looked the part of a true NFC contender. Here’s where the schedule gets really difficult. After the Lions, they have the Bears, Broncos, Bears again, Ravens, and Vikings (and don't let the 6–5 Ravens record fool you, as they have pulled off five wins in a row- albeit with imperfect play).
This game is where the Packers will begin to show everyone whether they are contenders or pretenders- with the national spotlight on them against a good team. Meanwhile, the Lions continue to play inconsistent but somehow effective football as they have all season, and we will see what Dan Campbell has cooked up for this NFC North showdown, which could have tremendous playoff implications.

Chiefs-Cowboys (Thursday 4:30 PM ET)

Both of these teams got incredible comeback wins last week against great opponents, and they’re both going to be feeling really good about themselves coming into this one. If this game were in Arrowhead, I don’t know if it would merit being on my list of great matchups. In Dallas, though, it’s certainly much harder to beat the 'boys, and this could make for a great showdown (you just might have to get to dinner a little late since the game probably won't end until 8ish...)

Bengals-Ravens (Thursday 8:20 PM ET)

The Bengals effectively ended their playoff hopes last week with their loss against the Patriots, but no matter, because Joe Burrow is back! Every football fan should be excited by that—whether you like him or not—because no matter your feelings, everyone has to agree that he plays tremendous, high-quality football and makes the game better when he’s out there on the field.
The Ravens look to continue their five-game win streak against one of the worst defenses in the league, and this now-fierce rivalry should give us plenty of entertainment after we’re all stuffed with turkey and pumpkin pie.

Bears-Eagles (Friday 3 PM ET)

Here are two teams that have both looked far from perfect, yet both are in contention for the number-one overall seed in the NFC. The Eagles have looked uglier than the Bears and are less deserving of the 8–3 record they hold. The Bears always hang in there and somehow manage to pull off clutch moment after clutch moment to eke out wins week after week. Who knows which hero it could be this time? Recent history tells us this will be yet another down-to-the-wire game for the Bears and that- as always- they’ll somehow come away with the win.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense have looked especially sloppy and ineffective in recent weeks, and I would look to the Bears’ defense—which leads the league in turnovers—to possibly get a few more takeaways and play a big part in the outcome.

Texans-Colts (Sunday 1 PM ET)

The number-one ranked defense against the number-one ranked offense in the NFL? Let me have it! It’s mind-boggling that this game is on a Sunday afternoon and the Broncos–Commanders game didn’t get flexed out of SNF for this, but what do I know...
The Colts’ offense went stone cold in the fourth quarter last week against the Chiefs and allowed them to come back and win in overtime, so we’ll see how they recover from that. They had six yards in the fourth quarter last week, which is inexcusable, so on the bright side they can't get any worse than that and can only go up from there. Let’s see if the Texans’ defense can replicate their dominant showing against the Bills last week (8 sacks and 2 INT on Josh Allen) and show out against the best offense in the NFL.

Bills- Steelers (Sunday 4:25 PM ET)

The storyline for this game is the playoff implications. The Bills (7-4) currently are the 7th and final seed and the Steelers (6-5) sit at 9, with the Texans sandwiched in between them. the Texans hold the tiebreaker over the Bills after beating them last week (they don't play the Steelers this season), so if the Steelers win then the Bills are in trouble. You don't want to lose tiebreakers to the 2 teams behind you in the playoff hunt. A loss would put them behind both the Texans and the Steelers, which would make their playoff hopes all that harder. The actual substance of the game, though? I'm not too excited about it.