Rejoice NFL fans! You are gong to get a whole lot of football over the next five days, and a lot of the games are true bangers. That's especially true for the Thanksgiving slate, so even if your turkey comes out dry and the mashed potatoes are lumpy you will have plenty to be thankful for all day and night on Thursday.
Packers-Lions followed by Chiefs-Cowboys followed by Bengals-Ravens (with Joe Burrow back), will be captivating no matter who wins, but we need to examine these matchups and the rest of weekend's games a little more closely. Specifically, what would each outcome mean for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, because that is our main concern as we truly round into the homestretch in Week 13.
The Buccaneers are 6-5 and seeking their record fifth straight NFC South title, and they currently lead the Panthers by one-half game in the division. On one hand, they obviously control their own destiny: If they win their last six games they will take the division crown and the be the fourth seed in the NFC field at worst, starting their postseason run with a home game. On the other hand, even as good as the Bucs have been in December in recent seasons, we can't take anything for granted. If there are any more bumps along the way, we might need some help.
So let's walk our way through this weekend's extended slate of games and I'll help you decide which team to root for in each contest. This is your 2025 Week 13 Viewing Guide.
Green Bay Packers (7-3-1) at Detroit Lions (7-4), Thursday, 1:00 p.m. ET
It's hard to imagine a better start to a trio of Thanksgiving games than Packers at Lions, and this year it also happens to be extremely meaningful inside and outside of the hotly-contested NFC North. Both of these teams are chasing the 8-3 Chicago Bears and whichever one loses this game will have a much steeper hill to climb to potentially get there. The difference is that the Lions are actually not in the playoff field at the start of Week 13. They are the first team out at the moment, a half-game behind the 49ers. When we're talking about the teams on the bubble of the NFC field, we mostly are going to be rooting for them to lose. That's because if things go a little awry for the Buccaneers and they end up trying to win a Wild Card spot they need those teams currently in contention for those spots to take a couple hits in their overall record. Also, in this specific case, the Bucs have a head-to-head loss to the Lions, so if either of these teams is going to win the North we'd rather have it be Green Bay so if there are any seeding tiebreakers the Bucs don't have to go against the Lions.
Verdict: Go Pack Go!
Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) at Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1), Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET
It might be tough for the unaffiliated fan to choose a side in this one. Rooting against the Cowboys is a national obsession outside of Dallas, and dynasties like the Chiefs tend to add more and more haters every year. Yes, there's a more than decent chance that the Chiefs will still be playing deep into the postseason, but it's just a tiny bit enjoyable to see them have to scuffle a little bit to get there. (For the record, I'm not a Chiefs hater, as Kansas City is where I got my start in the NFL. As for the Cowboys, well…) From the Buc fans' standpoint though, this isn't a tough choice. We will almost always choose an AFC team to beat an NFC team, and we don't need the Cowboys making the NFC playoff race more crowded.
Verdict: Bow to the dynasty!
Cincinnati Bengals (3-8) at Baltimore Ravens (6-5), Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET
Cincinnati is 12th in the overall AFC standings and is four games out of the final Wild Card spot with six weeks to play. So, no, this is not a team with true playoff aspirations, but it is still an interesting team now that Burrow has been activated from injured reserve and is expected to start on Thursday night. In addition, Ja'Marr Chase is back from the one-game suspension that he drew for spitting on Jalen Ramsey. Could be a vintage Burrow-Jackson shootout, if we're lucky. Does it matter to the Bucs, though? Nope.
Verdict: Go get some caffeine to battle the tryptophan so you can stay awake for this fun matchup.
Chicago Bears (8-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (8-3), Friday, 3:00 p.m. ET
Now here's a tough one. These teams have the same record and are second and third in the division standings, so the Bucs would like to pick up ground on both of them. Unfortunately, that won't happen so we have to pick one team we want to get knocked down a peg, and I think that's Philadelphia. Sure, it would be nice to cool off a Bears team that has won four in a row and eight of nine, but if you look at the rest of the schedule for each of those two teams, Chicago has a much tougher road ahead. There will be plenty of opportunities for them to pick up losses against the Packers (twice), 49ers and Lions.
Verdict: Go Bears (for now)!
Los Angeles Rams (9-2) at Carolina Panthers (6-6), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
You know who should be big supporters of the Buccaneers? The Rams! Not only did the Bucs lose in Los Angeles last Sunday night but they previously beat both Seattle and San Francisco. You could argue that the Buccaneers are the difference in the NFC West standings, with the Rams up by just one on the Seahawks and 1.5 on the 49ers. So, hey, how about returning the favor, L.A.? While it's true that every Rams win is going to greatly diminish the Bucs' somewhat slim hopes of getting back into the race for the conference's number-one seed, it's more important that we get in first. Obviously, the best way to do that is to keep the Panthers at bay and win the division.
Verdict: Remember your Tampa NFL roots, Mr. McVay. Go Rams!
San Francisco 49ers (8-4) at Cleveland Browns (3-8), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
The 49ers did us a favor with their win over the Panthers on Monday night, so it feels kind of mean to be rooting against them here, but this is a pretty simple NFC-AFC thing. Remember, we need the bubble teams to start stacking some losses. And the national conversation will be a lot of fun next week if Shedeur Sanders gets another start and leads his team to a win over a quality opponent.
Verdict: Go Shedeur!
Houston Texans (6-5) at Indianapolis Colts (8-3), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4) at Tennessee Titans (1-10), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
These two games could put the suddenly very interesting AFC South into a blender. While it looked for a bit like the Colts were going to run away with the division, the results in Week 12 made things a lot tighter. Houston has won four of its last five while Jacksonville has taken three of its last four and this is the first of two games remaining against the 1-10 Titans. To us in Tampa, they are of no consequence, however.
Verdict: Go blender!
New Orleans Saints (2-9) at Miami Dolphins (4-7), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
The Bucs don't really need the Saints to lose all that badly, but there are three reasons to root for that outcome anyway. 1) We don't need New Orleans gaining any confidence before coming to Tampa in Week 14. 2) They're playing an AFC team, so that's an obvious choice. 3) They're the Saints.
Verdict: Go aquatic mammals!
Atlanta Falcons (4-7) at New York Jets (2-9), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
See above, but with a little bit more vitriol in our rooting because the Falcons aren't completely out of the NFC South race yet.
Verdict: Go Jets!
Minnesota Vikings (4-7) at Seattle Seahawks (8-3), Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
This one is a little harder than it looks at first glance. Obviously, the Seahawks are a much bigger threat to make the playoffs than the Vikings, and I'll reference what I wrote above about the bubble teams. But as we've noted in the past, we'd prefer that the Seahawks win the NFC West over the Rams, because the Bucs have a tiebreaker edge on Seattle and that could come into play in seeding tiebreakers. Since we're rooting for the Rams this week, this would mean we're rooting for Seattle to drop to two games back in their division race. All of that said, I think we have to be practical here and worry more about knocking down other contenders than how the final seeding goes. Let's side with the Vikings in this one.
Verdict: Skol!
Las Vegas Raiders (2-9) at Los Angeles Chargers (7-4), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Buffalo Bills (7-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Some more all-AFC games, and maybe the Bills-Steelers game is sort of interesting, if Aaron Rodgers returns to action and the Steelers' defense can keep it close. Chargers, best uniforms in the NFL, yada yada. Let your own heart guide you with these two.
Verdict: Go in any direction.
Denver Broncos (9-2) at Washington Commanders (3-8), Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
We're not really worried about the Commanders but this is yet another interconference matchup. If you can stomach rooting for the Bucs' old friend, Sean Payton, go with the Broncos here.
Verdict: Go Broncos!
N.Y. Giants (2-10) at New England Patriots (10-2), Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Are we ready for Patriots fans if their team goes 15-2 and enters the playoffs with a first-round bye? Shouldn't New England have had to suffer for at least a little bit longer after their two-decade dynasty finally ended? Feel free to ignore the NFC-AFC rule here and root for the Giants, who could at least be entertaining whether it's Jaxson Dart or Jameis Winston under center.
Verdict: Go Giants!
