This week, the NFL flexed the Week 16 Bears vs. Packers game on Dec. 20 to the Saturday night game and the Eagles vs. Commanders game to the Saturday afternoon game. That means they took a rematch of the 2024 NFC Championship game and said, it’s not as interesting as a matchup the Packers have won 26 of the last 30 games.
The thing is, they’re right. There’s magic to rivalries in the NFL, and some of the important ones this December haven’t been important for a minute.
End-of-season divisional games are hot this year
The NFL has been in a weird spot this entire season because there hasn’t been a true dominant team that has set itself apart with high-quality wins and an undeniable record. That means that a handful of teams that have been little brothers in the league have a chance to do something special.
When you get that kind of unexpected pluckiness and mix it with December games that can knock teams out of the postseason, you get a chance for some divisional rivalries to be reignited. That’s something to look forward to.
Week 14
Colts @ Jaguars
The last time the Colts were actually relevant in the AFC South was in 2020 when Frank Reich was their head coach, and Phillip Rivers was their quarterback. Since then, they’ve been just another unserious team.
The Jaguars have had a few good seasons, but haven’t been a consistently serious team since the turn of the century/millennium.
Now it’s 2025, and these are the two teams sitting at the top of the division. With their 8-4 records, they’re tied with the third-best records in the AFC. What a time to be alive…
As for this specific game, the Colts haven’t won in Jacksonville since 2014, when Andrew Luck threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns. That’s a hell of a losing streak against a historically bad franchise.
Not only does a Week 14 end that streak, but it’ll also give them a lead in the AFC South with only two divisional games remaining… one of which is a Week 17 game that’s also between these two.
Steelers @ Ravens
Any AFC North game is going to be a big one, but this year, it seems like there isn’t a team that’s really playing like they want to win the division. The two teams at the top are the 6-6 Steelers and the 6-6 Ravens.
They play each other in Week 14 and in Week 18. If they split games, they leave the division open for the Bengals to potentially make an odds-defying comeback. That means whoever wins this game is going to control their own destiny, and that Week 18 game can only be a season spoiler.
In other words: It’s just common AFC North stuff.
Bears @ Packers
The Bears are absolutely vibing right now: They’re on a five-game win streak, at the top of the NFC North, and at the top of the entire NFC… But that can all come crashing down at any minute.
Their first game against Green Bay this season is in Week 14. That team is the boogeyman for them. The last time Chicago had a consistent upper hand on Green Bay was from 2004 to 2008. Since then, the Packers have won 27 of the past 33 games. That’s a historic run…
The caveat there is that the Bears beat the Packers the last time they played each other in Week 18 last season. It was a funky game where Jordan Love and Christian Watson both went down with injuries, and Chicago won on a 51-yard field goal as the clock expired.
Three months ago, you never would’ve thought this would be one of the most important games of the season, but here we are.
Week 15
Bills @ Patriots
The Patriots really burst on the scene this season when they gutted the Bills in Week 6. It was the second win of their current 10-game win streak, and it was the Bills’ first loss of the season. Since then, New England has strapped itself in the driver’s seat in the AFC East.
At this point, they’re readjusting the mirrors, getting the lumbar support on the seat back to where it used to be, and putting the radio presets back to where they were for the 20 years they were the undisputed kings.
If the Bills want to get their lick back and be competitive for that top spot, they’re going to have to beat the Patriots in Week 15; it legitimately might be the most important AFC East game in the past six years.
Chargers @ Chiefs
Since the Chiefs established themselves as a powerhouse, they’ve gotten every team’s best shot. Now they’re not a powerhouse, and if they want to make it to the playoffs, they have to win out for the rest of the season.
That means that they have to give every other team their best shot, which is kind of a scary thing to think about; we’re getting playoff Patrick Mahomes at the beginning of December.
This is the first time in the better part of the last 20 years that the Chargers have had an opportunity to end the Chiefs’ season. When you have that kind of a rivalry game, you know it’s going to be pretty nasty.
Ravens @ Bengals
The Bengals just embarrassed the Ravens on Thanksgiving night. Now, there’s a chance for Cincinnati to make a comeback in the division… That being said, there’s also an equal chance that their defense falls right back to where it was for the first 11 games of the season and the team crumbles again.
We’ll see about that, but they’re going to have to win their last two divisional games in order to keep their season going. Again, this is just typical AFC North football.
Week 16
Buccaneers @ Panthers
Three of the Panthers' last four games and four of the Buccaneers’ last five games are divisional games. The Panthers are on a bye, then they get New Orleans, Tampa, Seattle, and Tampa. The Bucs have New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina, Miami, and Carolina. That schedule is infinitely easier for the Buccaneers.
There’s a decent chance the NFC South doesn’t come down to their Week 18 game. Sure, the Panthers just beat the best team in the NFC last week (the Rams), but they’re also very capable of losing to a garbage pail team like they did in Week 10 when they lost 17-7 to the Saints.
Society as a whole wants this division to stay a race for as long as possible, and for that to happen, the Panthers are going to need to win in Week 16 against their only competition in the NFC South.
The Panthers have only beaten the Buccaneers once in the past five seasons. It was in Week 7 of the 2022 season when the P.J. Walker Panthers beat the Tom Brady Bucs 21-3. This divisional rivalry hasn’t had any juice for a long time, and a late-season playoff push by both teams might be enough to get the whole thing kick-started… especially if both teams are set on their quarterbacks being franchise guys.
Packers @ Bears
Remember what I said before about the Packers and Bears for their Week 14 game? It’s the same thing here, but the stakes will be even higher. This is the game that the NFL flexed to the late spot, so keep your fingers crossed that it ends up being a banger.
Week 17
Broncos @ Chiefs
In the second-to-last week of the 2016 season, the Chiefs beat the Broncos 33-10. That was Denver’s seventh loss of the season, and it knocked them out of playoff contention.
Let’s say the Chiefs are still in it at the end of December. The Broncos have an opportunity to go into Arrowhead and end the Chiefs' season in front of their fans… on Christmas Day. I don’t know if the Broncos have ever had that opportunity before. With an incredibly petty coach like Sean Payton, you know that being a soul-sucking Grinch is something that they’re foaming at the mouth for.