Welcome to our weekly rankings of the best games coming to you this week in the NFL. Games are tiered based on three factors: narrative, implications, and general intrigue. You will be seeing The Lead’s NFL game watchability rankings every Wednesday to get you ready for football action.
Week 12 of the NFL season brings plenty of “weird” factors into the fold. That reflects pretty strongly in your weekly rankings for this week’s games.
For context, in order of kick-off time, the first nine games of Week 12 all feature at least one opponent below .500. That said, the final four games (which are on Sunday afternoon and night plus Monday night) all rank as our only Tier 1 and Tier 2 games on the calendar.
The case here is that most of the teams with winning records, the broad theme is looking to take care of business as favorites or heavy favorites. Those four critical games are all about playoff seeding in both the AFC and NFC.
That all leads to one of the more wacky, yet still entertaining weeks of the season. As always, The Lead is here to get you ready for this week in the NFL. Here are your usual rankings for Week 12:
Tier 1: Absolutely can’t miss
Baltimore Ravens (7-4) versus Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) – Sunday @ 8:15 pm EST
- Similar playing field for both sides: two teams several games above-.500 who are taking off after starting on a flat note. Neither team will likely win their division, but could easily be on the inside track of the Wild Card picture. Purely based on the record, this is also the most even matchup between teams out of any other game on the board.
San Francisco 49ers (5-5) versus Green Bay Packers (7-3) – Sunday @ 4:25 pm EST
- All four NFC West teams found their way into Tier 1 and for good reason— that is currently the tightest division considering everyone is within a game of each other in the standings. San Francisco plays a tough Packers team also looking to maintain its footing in the NFC Wild Card race.
Arizona Cardinals (6-4) versus Seattle Seahawks (5-5) – Sunday @ 4:25 pm EST
- One of our few high-quality inter-division battles this week, yet quietly the most important game given the circumstances. Arizona has a chance to make a little distance here, while Seattle winning would only add more chaos to an already chaotic division.
Philadelphia Eagles (8-2) versus Los Angeles Rams (5-5) – Sunday @ 8:20 pm EST
- Philly’s winning streak meets a tough road test against the Rams, who have been playing better as of late yet recently faltered to Miami.
Tier 2: This could be fun
N/A
A first in our weekly rankings. That’s how polarizing this week is. Given the stakes, it’s hard to make a case none of the games above shouldn’t be in Tier 1.)
Tier 3: Decent floor, high upside
Minnesota Vikings (8-2) versus Chicago Bears (4-6) – Sunday @ 1 pm EST
- It’s a game that could easily go Minnesota’s way, but here’s to hoping Chicago can avenge last week’s close loss to Green Bay by playing well against its second division opponent in a row.
Detroit Lions (9-1) versus Indianapolis Colts (5-6) – Sunday @ 1 pm EST
- Detroit’s record is strong but the wins have come in blowout fashion or tight games. Indianapolis is an average team at best but at least has a chance to put up a fight.
Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) versus Carolina Panthers (3-7) – Sunday @ 1 pm EST
- Kansas City will be looking to avenge its recent nighttime loss to Buffalo. Carolina remains at the bottom of the league standings but has been at least serviceable lately.
Tennessee Titans (2-8) versus Houston Texans (7-4) – Sunday @ 1 pm EST
- Houston should be the clear favorite and emerge with a comfortable win, but this does get a bump considering it’s a division game with some stakes.
Tier 4: It could always be worse
New England Patriots (3-8) versus Miami Dolphins (4-6) – Sunday @ 1 pm EST
- It’s Miami’s turn to make some noise and bolster a second-half-of-the-season comeback. New England will at least keep things interesting, and New England versus Miami usually leads to some memorable endings. Example: the other time both teams played against each other.
Dallas Cowboys (3-7) versus Washington Commanders (7-4) – Sunday @ 1 pm EST
- Dallas has stumbled over the past month, especially without their starting quarterback. Yet, Washington is facing a recent skid at a crucial time during the year. That’s enough stakes to prop this up to Tier 4.
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) versus Cleveland Browns (2-8) – Thursday @ 8:15 pm EST
- Must-win for Pittsburgh in the grand scheme of things (aka: the Steelers winning the AFC North), and a road game in Cleveland is always a tough one even if the Browns have just two wins on the year.
Tier 5: Snooze Fest
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) versus New York Giants (2-8) – Sunday @ 1 pm EST
- New York will have a new quarterback under center as its season has officially gone off the rails. Tampa Bay desperately needs a win to stay in the playoff hunt.
Denver Broncos (6-5) versus Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) – Sunday @ 4:05 pm EST
- Denver is still “in position to be in position” but that means the Broncos need to take advantage of a Las Vegas team that lost steam weeks ago.
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