NFL schedule 2018: Each team’s biggest game

Here is the biggest game on the regular season schedule for each NFL team in 2018.

No month goes by without something on the NFL calendar. Now, prior to the draft, the release of the regular season schedule has become an event to be broken down meticulously on television.

The 2018 opponents for each NFL team are known, so all that’s left is for the weekly slate to be organized and announced. Week 17 will feature nothing but matchups within each division, which narrows down that group of games down quite a bit.

Fans of course eat up the NFL schedule release, after which it becomes easy to run down wins and losses for their favorite team and arrive at what’s sure to be an overly optimistic record. Knowing who will be playing prime time games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights is of note too.

Here is the biggest game on the 2018 schedule for each NFL team.

Arizona Cardinals: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Either game against the defending NFC West champions would qualify here, but I’ll lean toward a home game being bigger for the Cardinals.

The Rams outscored the Cardinals 65-16 in the two games last year, with a 33-0 shutout in Los Angeles and a 32-16 victory in the desert, while averaging 364 yards of offense per game to Arizona’s 250.5. Any chance to make this year’s games against the Rams more competitive, let alone win one or both, will rest on the statistical gap narrowing significantly.

Atlanta Falcons: at Philadelphia Eagles

The NFC South had three playoff teams last year, including the third-place Falcons at 10-6. Doing better than a split with the New Orleans Saints and/or the Carolina Panthers will important, and bring four big games again next season against those teams. But I’m going with a playoff rematch as Atlanta’s biggest 2018 regular season game.

After a hard-fought Wild Card win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Falcons lost 19-15 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round. They had a chance to win late too, with an ill-advised play call that put the generally immobile Matt Ryan on the move for a fourth-and-goal play.

The Super Bowl is in the Falcons’ building in February 2019, which will raise internal expectations for the franchise as owner Arthur Blank would love to play host to the league and have his team in the game. In the NFC battle for playoff positions and seeding, a road playoff rematch with the Eagles will be pivotal for Atlanta.

Baltimore Ravens: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Ravens were a crazy blown coverage in Week 17 away from making the playoffs last year, and they’ve now missed the playoffs in three straight years and four of the last five. Head coach John Harbaugh is a sneaky hot seat candidate this year, as a Super Bowl win after the 2012 season gets further away.

Going back many years now, there are no bigger games on Baltimore’s regular season schedule than the two divisional matchups against the rival Steelers. The Ravens swept the season series against Pittsburgh in 2014 and 2015, but they split the games in 2016 and lost both to the Steelers last year by an average of 10.5 points per contest. Quite literally, even one win over Pittsburgh in 2017 would have put the Ravens into the playoffs if everything else stayed the same.

A road win over the Steelers would be nice, but the Ravens have to at least hold serve against their biggest rival at home. If they don’t, their playoff fate may be left to fluke occurrence, a random defensive breakdown or tie-breakers again. With the head coach’s job possibly on the line, being swept by the Steelers is not an option in 2018.

Buffalo Bills: vs. New England Patriots

Until further notice, or more specifically until Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are gone, the Bills’ most important games each season will be against the Patriots as they attempt to usurp the NFL’s modern dynasty in the AFC East. They managed to end a lengthy playoff drought last year, but Buffalo will have a new starting quarterback in place with A.J. McCarron signed and Tyrod Taylor traded to the Cleveland Browns. Rumors about a trade up in the first round of the draft, to get one of the top quarterback prospects, have been persistent too.

The Bills were outscored by the Patriots 60-19 in the two games between the teams last year, including a 23-3 loss at home. Going as far back as you want to, those kind of one-sided results have been common for Buffalo against New England. But such is life when you hadn’t made the playoffs over almost exactly the same time frame as the Patriots’ parity-defying run.

I’ll be leaning toward home games to tip the scales for teams throughout this list. Going into Foxboro and beating the Patriots would be huge for the Bills, but the home game is a more realistic mark in the win column and a slightly bigger game on the whole.

Chicago Bears: vs. Green Bay Packers

If there was a year to beat the Packers at least one time over the last few seasons, it would have been last year with Aaron Rodgers out and the mostly overmatched Brett Hundley starting the second game. But the Bears couldn’t quite pull it off, with a 23-16 loss in Week 10.

Former Bears head coach Lovie Smith pointed to the importance of the rivalry with the Packers when he was introduced. Similar public declarations have not followed from subsequent head coaches, probably rightfully so, but beating the Packers is still a high priority for the franchise with the two annual games as proverbial tent poles on the schedule.

The Bears have made some significant moves this offseason to turn around their recent fortunes, including a new head coach in Matt Nagy, and they have the eighth overall pick in the upcoming draft. The home game this year against the Packers will be their Super Bowl, barring a shocking run to the actual game, and Soldier Field will be ready to go in support of the local squad.

Carolina Panthers: vs. New Orleans Saints

The Panthers rebounded nicely last year, from 6-10 in 2016 to 11-5 and a playoff spot. But they also lost twice to the Saints in the regular season, by double-digits both times to break up what otherwise would have been long winning streaks. Then for good measure, they lost to the Saints again in the Wild Card Round.

The NFC South is always competitive/interchangeable year-to-year, and if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can rebound in 2018 all four teams have a chance to win the division. The games among each other will tip the scales, as always, and the Saints proved to be a big, ultimately insurmountable hurdle for the Panthers last year.

Head coach Ron Rivera has a contract extension in-hand. But with new ownership eventually coming in 2018 will be an important season, after it was not a reach to put him on the hot seat heading into last year. Maintaining last year’s success will be vital, with 2016’s post-Super Bowl and 15-1 regular season drop-off still fresh in memories. Beating the Saints at least once will be a huge step toward winning double-digit regular season games again.

Cincinnati Bengals: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Every game between the Bengals and Steelers comes with some vitriol from players on both sides, as well as rule-straddling physicality and big hits most of the time. Right in line with their fall from the playoffs over the last two seasons, the Bengals have lost the last four regular season games to the Steelers. Cincinnati has six-game losing streak in the series overall, dating back to the 2015 season and counting the tense playoff game in the Wild Card Round after that season.

The Bengals have maintained the status quo at head coach, with Marvin Lewis surviving for at least one more year. A third consecutive season without the playoffs may finally bring his firing, but at least one mark in the win column against Pittsburgh would go a long way toward changing both potential outcomes.

Among their divisional opponents and on the 16-game slate overall, the Steelers have to be highlighted and circled twice each year by the Bengals. For 2018, those two games look especially critical for coaches and players. The home game against Pittsburgh will be the most important game on Cincinnati’s schedule, to set or reflect the tone for the season.

Cleveland Browns: vs. New York Jets

Coming off an 0-16 season, and with just one win in the last two seasons, a winnable game qualifies as the biggest game on the Browns’ schedule in this or any other year until further notice. So with tough cross-division slates against the AFC West and NFC South coming, I’ve arrived at a home game against the similarly dismal New York Jets.

The Browns have lost to the Jets in each of the last two seasons, by a combined total of six points. Those games qualify as moral victories for the team representing and epitomizing the Factory of Sadness. The third time may well be the charm in 2018 though, with better talent added to the roster this offseason by general manager John Dorsey and two of the first four picks in the upcoming draft.

Cleveland needs to win more than one game this season, or head coach Hue Jackson will be fired. The broad, on-paper view shows very few games on the 2018 slate that look like single-digit losses, let alone wins. So to for sure avoid the embarrassment of back-to-back winless seasons, beating the Jets will be a must for the Browns.

Dallas Cowboys: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Cowboys ended their 9-7 2017 campaign with a 6-0 win over the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles, who played none of their key players for most of the game after locking up the top seed in the NFC playoffs. Still, four wins in their last five games is a high note for Dallas to carry into the 2018 season with head coach Jason Garrett’s job quite possibly (finally?) on the line.

In Week 11 last season, with Carson Wentz still healthy and under center as well as on the Sunday Night Football stage, the Eagles came into AT&T Stadium and dismantled the Cowboys 37-9. It was the middle game of a season-derailing three-game losing streak, at the start of running back Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension, where they were outscored 92-22.

The NFC East is always competitive and it’s thick with contentious rivalries, so any of the annual six division games could qualify here for Dallas. But the Eagles stand out almost solely because they’re the defending champions, and the game at home against them will be once again be a season-definer for the Cowboys.

Denver Broncos: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Broncos went into their bye week last year with a 3-1 record, including a surprising blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys and two division victories, But they lost eight straight games right after that, on their way to a 2-10 mark over their final 12 games. That of course included setbacks to all three of their AFC West rivals (two to the Chiefs, including Week 17 with Patrick Mahomes making his first NFL start) as quarterback play remained an issue.

Denver has been swept by Kansas City in each of the last two seasons, and they haven’t beaten the Chiefs at home since 2014. The starting quarterback for the Broncos that day? Peyton Manning. Safe to say, the two games against the Chiefs are already highlighted on the upcoming season slate by the Broncos.

The Broncos have some notable games outside of their division opponents this year, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans coming to town. But the most urgent and immediate hurdle is Kansas City, and trying to end a home losing streak to their chief rival will be Denver’s most important game in 2018.

Detroit Lions: vs. Green Bay Packers

The Lions swept the season series from the Packers last season for the first time since 1991, which is also the last year they won a playoff game.That streak with nothing better than a regular season split spanned the entire Brett Favre era and all of Aaron Rodgers’ tenure as Green Bay’s starter, though Rodgers did miss both games last year with a broken collarbone. But winning never requires an apology or sympathy when an opponent’s best player is missing, so Detroit can absolutely hang their hat on sweeping the Packers heading into a new season.

Detroit was swept by Green Bay in 2016, but prior to that the last time they were swept in the season series was 201. So recently, at least, the rivalry has been more competitive than you might think given the general trajectory of the Lions and Packers’ franchises.

Head coach Jim Caldwell’s flimsy “contract extension” is reportedly only fully guaranteed through the 2018 season. So he’s heading into another season of hot seat talk, with playoffs or bust the likely mandate internally. A second straight season sweep of the Packers, however improbably as long as Rodgers is healthy, might earn Caldwell a lifetime contract. A win at home against a generally insurmountable rival would go a long way toward assuring a trip back to the playoffs, and Caldwell’s job security would naturally increase.

Green Bay Packers: at Minnesota Vikings

The scene of the (perceived) crime: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota-Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017.

About halfway through the first quarter, as some people were still returning home from church, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was flushed from the pocket and rolled to his right. He spotted tight end Martellus Bennett wide open (and I mean, wide open), and threw a pass that Bennett promptly dropped.

But it was what happened to Rodgers after he threw the ball that made news. Vikings’ linebacker Anthony Barr finished his pursuit by hitting a vulnerable, fully extended in follow-through, Rodgers. He may or may not have driven the Packers’ signal caller into the ground with a little extra at the end of the hit or simply “finished the play”, depending on which side of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border you reside on or where your rooting interest lies. But the end result, Rodgers suffering a broke right collarbone, derailed the Packers’ season and turned a 4-1 record entering the game into a 7-9 finish.

Rodgers’ initial reaction to Barr’s hit, even with the idea he was injured badly, was overkill and head coach Mike McCarthy followed suit by pouting about the hit post-game. If the Packers-Vikings rivalry needed another layer, Rodgers’ healthy return to U.S. Bank Stadium and the potential sideshow involving Barr will provide it this coming season.

Houston Texans: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Injuries to multiple key players led to the Texans finishing 4-12 last year, including a decisive season sweep at the hands of the resurgent Jaguars. Jacksonville outscored Houston 74-14 in the two games, including Week 1 with Tom Savage starting under center and Week 15 with T.J. Yates getting the nod.

It’s easy to foresee a dramatic turnaround this year for the Texans, with Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt in particular back healthy and a lot of talent elsewhere on the roster. This team won a division in 2016, albeit with nine wins, with Brock Osweiler starting 14 games.

Houston swept the season series from Jacksonville for three straight years prior to last year, with two AFC South titles (2015 and 2016, as mentioned) along the way. The division looks sure to be pretty competitive in 2018, with the Tennessee Titans coming of a playoff berth and Wild Card Round win, so the team or teams that wins the majority of their games within the division will have an edge.

Houston is a dark horse to go to the Super Bowl out of the AFC. Any chance to set up that possibility, even casually, will rest on at least earning a split with the defending division champs and taking back some reign over the AFC South.

Indianapolis Colts: vs. Houston Texans

Andrew Luck’s season-long absence was the headline for the Colts in 2017, and his status is still a lingering question now heading into the 2018 campaign. But one positive, and perhaps the only real positive, was a season sweep of the Texans among their four wins last year. Facing the loose definition of quarterbacking Tom Savage and T.J. Yates offer helped, rather than Deshaun Watson, but a rebuilding franchise like Indianapolis has to take literal and figurative wins wherever it can.

With or without Luck back on the field this season, and regardless of his ability to perform close to his pre-shoulder injury/surgery form, it will be an uphill climb for the Colts in the AFC South they once ruled practically by default.

The Colts have a return to Foxboro, for the first time since the AFC Championship Game that launched “DeflateGate” in January for 2015, to take on the Patriots on their schedule this year. But the two teams are in way different places now, and any lingering local fan ire has surely diminished. The Colts are 14-2 all-time at home against the Texans, and in 2018 against what should be a far better team that home game will be their Super Bowl.

Jacksonville Jaguars: vs. New England Patriots

The 2017 season was a resounding, long-awaited success for the Jacksonville Jaguars. A 10-6 regular season record, an AFC South title and two playoff wins would go down as a good season anywhere, even leaving aside the team’s recent history of ineptitude.

But the Jaguars could also see a disappointing end as a driving force going forward. They had the Patriots on the ropes in the AFC Championship Game, after taking a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter, before Tom Brady went into Tom Brady mode by leading two touchdown drives after that. Blake Bortles even went toe-to-toe with Brady, relatively speaking, completing 23 of 36 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers.

A Jaguars-Patriots AFC title game rematch is a great candidate for a prime time game. The NFL schedule makers should be able to see that as clearly as I do, as long as CBS doesn’t prioritize it as a game they want to keep.

The Patriots may be as vulnerable as they’ve ever been this year, if indications of crumbling from the inside bear out on the field. Even in the regular season, the Jaguars can take a step toward ushering in a new era at the top of the AFC with a win .

Kansas City Chiefs: at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Chiefs have lost to the Steelers in back-to-back-seasons, with a three-game losing streak against them counting a playoff loss after the 2016 campaign. In the 2016 regular season matchup, in their most recent trip to Pittsburgh, the Chiefs lost 43-14 to the Steelers on Sunday Night Football in Week 4.

Kansas City has a lot of other tough games on their 2018 schedule outside their division, both home (Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers) and road (New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks). But the Steelers have proven to be a slightly larger hurdle than even then Patriots for Andy Reid’s team, so the game against them moves to the top of the heap.

The Chiefs will be christening a new starting quarterback (Patrick Mahomes) this year, under the relative fire of a first-place schedule with tough games outside of that and always competitive AFC West games. If the 2017 first-round pick can do what Alex Smith couldn’t get done over the last couple years against Pittsburgh, the decision to make the quarterback switch will look good and go over well with the Chiefs’ fanbase.

Los Angeles Chargers: at Los Angeles Rams

The Chargers nearly rallied from an 0-4 start to make the playoffs last year, with six wins in their last seven games. A better mark within the AFC West (3-3 last year) would be helpful this year, but I’m highlighting a game with some wider implications for the Chargers on their 2018 slate.

In the initial (and sure to be ongoing) battle for the Los Angeles NFL market, the Chargers are already falling behind. They’ll continue to play their home games in a soccer stadium for the next year or two, before sharing a state-of-the-art new stadium with the Rams when it opens. The Rams are also coming off a resurgent division title-winning season, and have been incredibly active this offseason in an effort to climb  the ladder in the NFC.

The Chargers could make their own big win-now move, with subsequent headlines, by trading for Odell Beckham Jr. or signing Dez Bryant.

Shy of a preseason game or a Super Bowl, the Chargers won’t play their proverbial “landlord” rival again for a while after this season. So this will be the year to take on the Rams in a road game (in name only, really), pull a mild upset and put some sort of stake in the ground to win over Los Angeles NFL fans.

Los Angeles Rams: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Apparently, all the Rams needed was a fresh perspective from the head coach to unlock their potential. They went from 4-12 in Jeff Fisher’s abbreviated final season to 11-5 and a division title last year under Sean McVay, and with some big moves this offseason expectations will be elevated even higher in 2018.

One of the best games of the 2017 regular season came last December when the Eagles visited the Rams in Week 14. But a 43-35 win for the eventual Super Bowl champs, with 762 combined yards of offense, was best-remembered for Carson Wentz’s torn ACL and the door being opened for Nick Foles to become Super Bowl MVP.

The Eagles are now the target for every NFC team this year, and the Rams clearly have aspirations to build big on their 2017 campaign. When the NFC playoff picture ultimately takes shape, Philadelphia’s return to Los Angeles (with or without Wentz back in the lineup) will have a significant say.

Miami Dolphins: vs. New England Patriots

Miami’s clear highlight from the 2017 season was a 27-20 win over the Patriots on Monday Night Football in Week 14, as South Beach continues to be a hurdle for Tom Brady more often than not (7-9 career record, four losses in the last five road games in Miami).

Of course the Dolphins promptly lost their final three games last season, to the Buffalo Bills twice and the Kansas City Chiefs in between, as their faint playoff hopes fully evaporated into a 6-10 cloud and a top-11 pick in next week’s draft.

The Dolphins won 10 games and made the playoffs in head coach Adam Gase’s first season, before falling off big last year. His calling card is offense, so the league’s 28th-ranked scoring offense last year (17.6 points per game) needs to improve or hot seat talk will start in earnest.

The home game against the Patriots is essentially the Dolphins’ Super Bowl each year at this point, and 2018 will be no different. The bigger question will be if they can win enough other games to be a real factor in the AFC playoff picture.

Minnesota Vikings: at Philadelphia Eagles, Week 1

With Teddy Bridgewater’s ongoing recovery from a major knee injury and Sam Bradford going down with a knee issue of his own after Week 1, the Vikings were down to Case Keenum at quarter in short order last year. Things went better than could have been expected though, with Keenum going 11-3 as a starter during the regular season (with a 12th win easy to credit to him when Bradford started and left early) as the Vikings reached the NFC Championship Game.

Of course it was during that conference title game where things went totally of the rails. An early pick-six by the Eagles started an avalanche the Vikings never recovered from on their way to a 38-7 drubbing.

A Vikings-Eagles 2018 Thursday night season opener seems ideal, and that’s apparently exactly what’s going to happen. Minnesota will have a new quarterback, with Keenum gone to the Denver Broncos in free agency and Kirk Cousins signed to replace him. Cousins is obviously a very familiar face to the Eagles, having been the Washington Redskins’ starter for the last three full seasons, so that’s an added layer to the immediate rematch of the NFC finalists.

For the Vikings to reach what will now be Super Bowl expectations from fans, beating the Eagles is the first hurdle. The immediate stakes won’t be as high in a Week 1 game, but a measure of revenge can be had if Minnesota can leave Philadelphia with a season-opening win.

New England Patriots: at Jacksonville Jaguars

A game against the Patriots is routinely the biggest on the schedule for a lot of teams, even outside of the AFC East they’ve thoroughly dominated, but it can be harder to narrow down to a qualifying big game for them. This year though, it’s actually quite easy.

The Jaguars rose up last year, made the playoffs, won two postseason games and earned a road trip to take on New England in the AFC title game. Jacksonville had a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, and looked like the top-to-bottom better team with or without Rob Gronkowski on the field for the Patriots. But ultimately, a fourth quarter comeback from Tom Brady did the Jaguars in.

The Jaguars know they can compete with the Patriots, and more importantly they surely feel like they can beat them. That’s half the battle for most teams, and now Brady and company will be coming to Florida, where he has not played well against the division rival Dolphins.

New York Giants: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Giants are coming off a 3-13 season, but there’s plenty of talent in place to bring a quick rebound back to playoff contention. The No. 2 overall pick in the draft will be added to the mix, as well as an early second-round pick who could be an immediate difference maker.

Albeit with Carson Wentz starting one game and Nick Foles starting the other, the Giants lost to the defending Super Bowl champions by a combined total of eight points last year. They also averaged nearly 465 yards of offense per game against a good Philadelphia defense, with an injury-depleted wide receiver group for Eli  Manning to throw to during the second game.

As long as Manning remains under center, the Giants will be in some form of win-now mode . Division games will tell the tale of their season, as always, and the home game against the Eagles stands as the most important of those six for the 2018 campaign.

New York Jets: vs. Minnesota Vikings

It’s easy to highlight division games on this list, and that’s what I have and will mostly do. But for the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets, I’m going with the potential for intrigue on their 2018 schedule.

The Jets brought back Josh McCown, and they are firmly in line to draft a quarterback with the No. 3 pick in next week’s draft as of this writing. But they’ve also signed former Vikings’ quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to essentially a risk-free contract, as he continues to come back from a career-altering left knee injury during the 2016 preseason. The Vikings will be coming to town to play the Jets this season, coincidentally or not as Bridgewater’s free agent options seemed to dwindle very quickly.

If things break a certain way, with a going to be 39-year old McCown succumbing to an injury, an incoming rookie not being deemed ready to play and how the Vikings come up on the schedule (to be determined right now, but updated above?), Bridgewater could start against his former team. That also assumes he makes the Jets’ roster, but for now Jets-Vikings has a potential layer of interest it would not ordinarily ever have.

New Orleans Saints: at Minnesota Vikings

The Saints made two trips to U.S. Bank Stadium last season, at the beginning and at the end of their season as it were. Both games were losses, 29-19 in Week 1 and 29-24 in the Divisional Round as the Case Keenum-Stefon Diggs “Minneapolis Miracle” did the Saints in after a second half comeback.

New Orleans will make a return to that scene during the 2018 regular season, with both teams as potential Super Bowl representatives out of the NFC. A Drew Brees-Kirk Cousins duel will also be interesting, as the two quarterbacks each topped 300 yards and completed at least 68 percent of their passes when Cousins played for the Redskins in 2017 (a 34-31 Saints’ win).

A fluky play is all that kept the Saints from the NFC title game last year, and quite possibly the Super Bowl if they could have gone to Philadelphia and beaten the Eagles with a superior quarterback. That would have brought a third trip to Minneapolis in the same season, but a third trip within two seasons/postseasons with a chance for some at some direct revenge against the Vikings will have to suffice.

Oakland Raiders: vs. Los Angeles Rams

With Jon Gruden back in the fold as head coach, and the buzz that brings, some sort of case could probably be made for any of 16 games to be deemed the biggest on the Raiders’ 2018 schedule. But I’m going to lean toward a game against a head coach who started his coaching career under Gruden back in the day.

Sean McVay spent the 2008 season as assistant wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, under Gruden. That started him on a trajectory which would culminate in becoming the youngest head coach in modern NFL history (31 years old), and winning PFWA Coach of the Year last year in his first season with the Rams. Gruden was also a young first-time head coach, at 34 years old when Al Davis hired him for his first stint with the Raiders.

Gruden may see his mirror image in McVay, and outside comparisons have been drawn. But his competitiveness will also drive him to beat a former protegé, who happens to have a team that has won this offseason on paper. Raider Nation still extends to Los Angeles too, so the Rams would surely like to go north and win a game in a tough environment against a team with an upset on its mind.

Philadelphia Eagles: at New Orleans Saints

There are some good options for what should be the biggest game on the reigning Super Bowl champions’ 2018 schedule, with a couple home playoff rematches from last year, a few difficult-looking road games and a trip to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on the slate. I’m going with one of those traditional road games, against the Saints.

If not for the aforementioned “Minneapolis Miracle” in the Divisional Round against the Vikings, the Saints would have been headed to Lincoln Financial Field for the NFC Championship Game against Philadelphia. It’s easy to suggest New Orleans’ more-balanced offensive formula and an improved defense, along with a far superior signal caller in Drew Brees, would have been enough to beat the Eagles and effectively end the “Nick Foles-Super Bowl MVP” Cinderella story before it even started.

Particularly if Carson Wentz is available for Philadelphia coming off his torn ACL, there will plenty of offense on display for Eagles-Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It will surely be a “game of the year” candidate in that case, and a reference point for NFC playoff positioning when it’s all said and done regardless of Wentz’s playing status.

Pittsburgh Steelers: at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Steelers lost a total of four games last season, including two to the Jaguars. The regular season loss, 30-9 in Week 5, was a big surprise as Ben Roethlisberger threw five interceptions and the Jaguars hadn’t quite shown themselves yet. But the rematch in the AFC Divisional Round rematch was less of a shock by the time it came around, as the Jaguars won a shootout 45-42 and advanced to the AFC title game.

The Steelers inexplicably seemed to look past Jacksonville heading into the playoff game last year, with running back Le’Veon Bell guaranteeing a win via Twitter. Head coach Mike Tomlin even suggested the regular season game against the Patriots in December would determine where the playoff rematch would take place. But they were promptly humbled again by the Jaguars, and fittingly so.

Perhaps hitting the road this year will allow a fresh approach for the Steelers against the Jaguars. In any case, there should be no egotistical public declarations or social media boasting coming out of the building in the week leading up to the game in Jacksonville.

San Francisco 49ers: at Seattle Seahawks

It was a clear tale of two seasons for the 49ers in 2017, with a 1-10 record in games Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard started and a 5-0 mark in Jimmy Garoppolo’s starts after he was acquired from the Patriots.

In that first dismal stretch of games last year, the 49ers were swept in the season series by the Seahawks. The once supreme, contentious rivalry in the NFC West, when Jim Harbaugh was the 49ers’ coach, has fallen off over the last few years in line with the 49ers’ drop-off. But it’s now sure to be reignited, with cornerback Richard Sherman being cut by Seattle and landing with San Francisco with revenge on his mind. And as an important side note, the 49ers have promise for the first time since Harbaugh was allowed to leave.

There’s a changing of the guard starting to take place in the NFC West, with the Seahawks and the Cardinals falling off and the Rams and 49ers on the rise. An important step for San Francisco’s rise back to prominence will be beating Seattle, and going up there to do it this year would be even better.

Seattle Seahawks: vs. Los Angeles Rams

It has been an offseason of great change for the Seahawks, as could have been expected after missing the playoffs last year. Multiple prominent players are gone (Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Jimmy Graham), and the coaching staff under Pete Carroll has been completely turned over.

In the midst of losing three of their final four games last season, and cementing a fall from playoff contention, the Seahawks were blown out 42-7 out at home by the Rams in Week 15. That was a  sure signal things have changed in the division going forward, even though Jeff Fisher’s Rams always (inexplicably) matched up well against the Seahawks when they were at their peak.

The Seahawks did beat the Rams in Los Angeles fairly early last year, so that’s a mark in their corner heading into a new season. But beating the reigning NFC West champs at home, and thus taking a big step toward re-establishing CenturyLink Field as the toughest place to play in the NFL (4-4 record there last year), will be by far the most important game for Seattle on their 2018 schedule.

Tennessee Titans: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Titans went 9-7 and made the playoffs last year, and they won a Wild Card Round game in comeback fashion over the Kansas City Chiefs. But they were clearly overmatched in the Divisional Round against the Patriots, and head coach Mike Mularkey was fired in favor of Mike Vrabel.

The Titans beat the AFC South champion Jaguars 37-16 in Week 2 last year, then they finished the season sweep with a 15-10 win in Week 17. Tennessee also had the best record within the division last season, at 5-1, but a 3-5 road record and a 1-3 mark outside the AFC (against the NFC West) knocked them down a few pegs in the bigger picture.

Even coming off a season sweep, it’s hard to say the Titans really have the Jaguars’ number. But they will go into both games this year with confidence, and with a repeatable formula as running back  Leonard Fournette averaged just 3.3 yards per carry in the two games against them in 2017.

The two games against Jacksonville will be the games on which the Titans’ 2018 season turns. A split would not be the end of the world, but holding court at home would provide a nice psychological edge.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: vs. New Orleans Saints

The Buccaneers were an easy 2017 preseason darling, with being featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” driving the buzz bus. So naturally they fell flat, finishing 5-11 with two separate five-game losing skids. A particular black mark was a 1-5 record in the NFC South, with only a Week 17 home win over the Saints keeping them from a winless mark in the division.

The Buccaneers have beaten the Saints in two straight years at home, with last year’s regular season finale victory costing New Orleans the division title and a home playoff game in the Wild Card Round. The Saints will surely be looking to avenge that loss, with some level of Super Bowl aspirations this year.

A slightly easier schedule should help Tampa Bay win some more games this year. Head coach Dirk Koetter is firmly on the hot seat, after last year’s underachievement and some Buccaneers’ flirtation with Jon Gruden before he decided to go back to the Raiders instead. So a rebound back to at least playoff contention in 2018 is vital to Koetter’s ongoing employment. A win at home over the Saints will be an important mark in that pursuit.

Washington Redskins: vs. Dallas Cowboys

The Redskins went just 1-5 in the NFC East last year, including a fairly inexplicable 18-10 loss to the New York Giants in Week 17 to take away the chance to salvage a .500 record. That also wound up being the final game for Kirk Cousins in a Redskins’ uniform, mercifully for both sides, and Alex Smith was acquired from the Chiefs to replace him.

Cousins had solid numbers in seven starts against the Cowboys, averaging just over 274 passing yards per game and completing close to 68.5 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 97.7 passer rating. But he went just 1-6 against the Redskins’ most important rival, while Smith is 1-2 as a starter against the Cowboys in his career in an obviously smaller sample.

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Washington has to win more division games if they want to get back toward the playoffs, plain and simple, cut and dry. The Cowboys beat them by a combined score of 71-33 in 2017, so getting a win over them would be a good idea for the Redskins in 2018. Jay Gruden’s job may ultimately depend on it.