NFL Weekend Preview
This series is brought to you by T.G.I. Friday’s, where every Sunday means Food, Fun & Football! Hut, hut, hut!
Thanks to our good friends at TGI Friday’s, we are going to have a series of sponsored posts on the weekend’s best games. We’ll start with the obvious choice first.
Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) @ San Diego Chargers (6-6)
The Kansas City Chiefs will travel to San Diego this weekend to take on the Chargers in a key AFC West matchup. For the Chiefs, a victory would almost ensure their place in the AFC playoffs while a loss would all but eliminate the Chargers. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, QB Matt Cassel had an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday, putting his status for Sunday’s game in serious doubt.
Starting in place of Cassel would be backup QB Brodie Croyle, who is 0-9 as an NFL starter.
The Chargers have been battling through injuries and have ridden the arm of QB Philip Rivers to 6-6 after a 2-5 start. A loss would mean the end of San Diego’s reign atop the AFC West and they are expected to come out firing.
The national media probably won’t give this game much attention but it is perhaps the most important AFC West game in years.
More after the jump.
New England Patriots (10-2) @ Chicago Bears (9-3)
In a battle of conference heavyweights, the New England Patriots will head to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears.
Not only is this game a potential Super Bowl preview, both team are trying to fend off challengers to secure their respective division crowns. Despite having very good records, the 9-3 Bears are trying to stay out in front of the 8-4 Packers while New England attempts to keep the 9-3 New York Jets at an arms length.
Home field advantage throughout the playoffs and bragging rights will be on the line this Sunday in Chicago.
St. Louis Rams (6-6) @ New Orleans Saints (9-3)
If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that this game was going to be significant I would have asked you what you were on and how I could get some. Yet here we are. It is December, the Rams are relevant and the defending Super Bowl champion Saints are fighting for their playoff lives.
The Saints currently trail the 10-2 Falcons by one game for their division lead. While they lead the Wild Card race, they hold a mere one game lead over the New york Giants and Green Bay Packers. A loss could be a death blow to the Saints.
On the other side of the field you’ll have the Rams, who are deadlocked with the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West title. At 6-6, the Rams are likely out of the Wild Card race so they must win to keep their divisional and playoff hopes alive.
It is December and for teams hoping to be playing in January, there is no longer room for error. The playoffs don’t start for a few more weeks but in reality, they’ve already begun.
Win or go home.