Week 9 of the 2018 NFL regular season is here. 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 regarding what to watch, we’ve ranked all 13 games on the schedule from most appealing to least enticing.
1. Rams at Saints (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): It’s simple — this might be the most important game of the 2018 NFL regular season. It deserves your undivided attention.
2. Packers at Patriots (Sunday night, NBC): Definitely can’t go wrong with Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady (this is only the second time the two have faced each other as starting quarterbacks), and there are a lot of other juicy storylines here.
3. Chargers at Seahawks (Sunday. 4 p.m. ET, CBS): The loser of this game will be called a pretender, the winner will be called a contender. And it should be close. Great quarterback matchup, too.
4. Steelers at Ravens (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): This rivalry isn’t dying, and there’s always drama when the two AFC North rivals meet. This is the obvious early-game focal point in Week 9.
5. Lions at Vikings (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): But this should be your second game during the early time slot. Both teams are trying to bounce back as they compete for playoff positions, and Detroit has never lost at Minnesota’s new stadium.
6. Falcons at Redskins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): You just know this’ll be dramatic.
7. Texans at Broncos (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): The Demaryius Thomas trade element makes this a little more interesting, and it already looked like a potential barnburner. The Texans are red-hot, but the Broncos have been good at home.
8. Buccaneers at Panthers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): The Bucs have lost just one game by more than five points this season, so they should hang with their red-hot division rival. Will also be interesting to see what Ryan Fitzpatrick brings (back) to the table.
9. Titans at Cowboys (Monday night, ESPN): Meh, it should at least be close.
10. Raiders at 49ers (Thursday night, FOX/NFLN): This might be the most depressing Bay Area battle of all time, but at least it should be close because both teams blow. Plus, there might be big draft implications.
11. Jets at Dolphins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Neither team is going anywhere, so this is a backburner game in the early batch.
12. Bears at Bills (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): There’s a blowout risk here. Only really worth checking out if the Bears haven’t pulled away late.
13. Chiefs at Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Don’t bother unless the Browns somehow hang.
