The 5 NFL games you can’t afford to miss in Week 12

With an absolutely loaded slate, there is plenty of must-watch football for NFL fans in Week 12.

Week 11 was not a particularly great one in the NFL, but that’s okay: the football gods will more than make up for it this weekend. The NFL has an absolutely stacked slate of games for Week 12, and its so huge we’re bumping our must-watch list of games up to five for this weekend’s action.

Let’s kick things off with an underrated showdown in the NFC South.

Carolina Panthers (5-5) at New Orleans Saints (8-2)

The Panthers and fantasy football kingmaker Christian McCaffrey are in need of a big win after dropping their last two games, making this showdown with the first place Saints an underrated gem in the loaded Week 12 slate.

Seattle Seahawks (8-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-5)

This is a pretty strong game that actually got flexed out of Sunday Night Football, but we’ll get to why in a bit. The Seahawks were on bye in Week 11 after knocking the 49ers from the ranks of the unbeaten, and their reward is a cross-country flight to take on a desperate Eagles team that played the Patriots tough on Sunday in a 17-10 defeat.

Dallas Cowboys (6-4) at New England Patriots (9-1)

Fox is already calling this America’s Game of the Week, and it may well draw the most eyeballs of any contest in Week 12. The Cowboys are back on top of the NFC East after their victory over Detroit on Sunday, and they have the talent to head up to Foxboro and take down the mighty Patriots. Things haven’t gone smoothly for New England the past few weeks, with the Pats getting beat up in Baltimore and scraping by the Eagles (sandwiched around their bye), so they will look to make a statement with a big win over the Cowboys.

Green Bay Packers (8-2) at San Francisco 49ers (9-1) – SNF

Remember when we said Seahawks-Eagles was flexed out of Sunday Night Football? This game is why. Aaron Rodgers, a California native who grew up rooting for the 49ers, will take his Packers into Levi’s Stadium to take on the newest elite San Francisco squad, headlined by Jimmy Garoppolo and a tenacious defense spearheaded by 2019’s second-overall pick, Nick Bosa.

Baltimore Ravens (8-2) at Los Angeles Rams (6-4)- MNF

You know a week is stacked when a Monday Night Football showdown with two playoff contenders feels like an afterthought, but this game is also huge for postseason implications. Lamar Jackson put on another show in Week 11, helping the Ravens blow out the Texans at home, and he takes Baltimore on the road for a massive game with the Rams. This contest is of vital importance for Los Angeles, which salvaged its playoff hopes with a Sunday night win over the Bears but needs more victories to keep pace in the loaded NFC Wild Card race.