Week 5 of the 2017 NFL regular season is here, beginning with Thursday night’s Patriots-Buccaneers tilt, 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 favorite teams 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 14 games from most appealing to least enticing.
1. Chiefs at Texans (Sunday night, NBC): Kansas City is the league’s only 4-0 team and the Texans are coming off arguably the most impressive win of the 2017 season. At home and with Deshaun Watson on national display, this could be a hell of a spectacle.
2. Patriots at Buccaneers (Thursday night, CBS): The fact the Patriots have to beat a highly-talented team on the road on short rest in order to avoid a 2-3 start is enough to make this verrrry interesting. It should be close, and the young Bucs are fun.
There goes Gurley! ??? pic.twitter.com/D4RftEyzPr
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 1, 2017
3. Seahawks at Rams (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): Seattle and the Rams usually played close games even when the Rams sucked. Now, Los Angeles has the league’s highest-scoring offense. At home, they could potentially destroy a Seahawks team that isn’t quite right. Still, this should be close and there’s a lot on the line for the first week of October.
4. Panthers at Lions (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Cam Newton vs. Matthew Stafford in a battle of two high-powered, exciting, NFC teams? Yes, please!
5. Ravens at Raiders (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): Oh man, both teams think they’re contenders and both started 2-0 before losing in ugly fashion in back-to-back weeks. Whoever loses this will be in complete code-red mode, which makes it awesome.
A little Dak magic! ? #LARvsDAL pic.twitter.com/FuZzWn5kIt
— ✭Cowboys News✭ (@DemBoyz_News) October 1, 2017
6. Packers at Cowboys (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): Dallas is also trying to avoid a 2-3 start in a matchup between two Super Bowl contenders. Doubt this isn’t tight late.
7. Bills at Bengals (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Might be nice to give these surprisingly strong Bills an extended look, especially on the road against a desperate Bengals team that just might be turning its season around.
8. Jaguars at Steelers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Jags are intriguing right now and the Steelers are almost always entertaining. Just depends if this stays close.
9. Vikings at Bears (Monday night, ESPN): This would be depressing if not for Mitchell Trubisky making his NFL debut at quarterback for Chicago.
10. Chargers at Giants (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): This game is novel because it’s a matchup between two blue-chip quarterbacks from the first-round of the 2004 draft, both of whom are leading 0-4 squads into battle. That could make for some interesting fourth-quarter moments, but there isn’t a lot else to see here.
11. Cardinals at Eagles (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Arizona isn’t very good and Philly is feeling something right now. At home, this could be a blowout for them.
Jay Cutler didn't move or give a single f*** during this wildcat formation. pic.twitter.com/zkOZlCgEvQ
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 1, 2017
12. Titans at Dolphins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): This would have been a lot cooler if it were Marcus Mariota vs. Ryan Tannehill, and if the Dolphins weren’t such a bloody mess. At least it should be close.
13. Jets at Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Maybe flip over to check out some Myles Garrett action, but this game has no implications regardless of what Jets fans might want to believe.
14. 49ers at Colts (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago when these teams were excellent. Now? Neither is going anywhere. This is a throwaway 1 p.m. start.