In Week 15, There's Only One Meaningless Game

In Week 14, all five broadcast windows featured high-stakes games — with three of them happening simultaneously at 1:00 p.m. ET.

In Week 15, that's not the case.

Still, even with nine teams (nearly a third of the entire league) eliminated from playoff contention, only one game will be truly meaningless: Commanders at Giants. The other 15, starting with Thursday night's Falcons-Bucs game, have at least one team that has postseason aspirations.

The fact that the Falcons, who are out, upended the Bucs, who are desperately trying to get in, underscores the reality that the teams playing for nothing won't necessarily be checking one of the few remaining boxes before it's time to get a much-deserved break from football.

The biggest games mean something for both teams. In Bills-Patriots (1:00 p.m. ET), it's Buffalo's last-ditch effort to stay in the division race. And a loss will impact their ability to secure one of the three AFC wild-card berths. The Patriots, in turn, hope to clinch their first AFC East title since 2019 while also continuing to push for the lone AFC first-round bye.

For the 9-4 Chargers and the 6-7 Chiefs, L.A.'s opportunity for its first sweep of the Chiefs since 2013 also includes a chance to ensure that the AFC playoff tree will omit the team that has climbed to the top of it five times in six seasons. A loss by the Chargers will make it harder for them to get a seat at the playoff table.

Packers-Broncos at 4:25 p.m. ET could be a Super Bowl preview. Both teams have been consistently winning of late, and both are trying to hold leads in their respective divisions. The winner will have a much better chance at getting the top seed in their respective conferences.

Lions-Rams (4:25 p.m. ET) has the obvious storyline featuring the quarterbacks who were traded for each other (with the Lions also getting two first-round picks and a third-round pick) nearly five years ago. But the 8-5 Lions are currently on the outside looking in, and the 10-3 Rams have very realistic No. 1 seed aspirations.

In the Sunday night window, it's a literal elimination game for the 5-8 Vikings — and a de facto go-home proposition for the 6-6-1 Cowboys.

All of the other games have some degree of drama. The 6-7 Ravens, who have lost three in a row, can't afford to slip two games behind the Steelers with three to play. And the 4-9 Bengals' thin playoff hopes will evaporate with a loss.

The 8-5 Texans, winners of five in a row, can't afford a letdown against the 3-10 Cardinals.

The 9-4 Jaguars, who quietly have surged to the top of the AFC South, need to stay focused against the Jets and (checks roster) undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook.

The 8-5 Eagles need to prove to the world that they aren't slipping and sliding out of the NFC East lead against a 3-10 Raiders team with nothing to lose (except their eighth game in a row).

The 8-5 Colts have literally dusted off 44-year-old Philip Rivers in a desperate effort to avoid becoming the sixth team since the merger to start 7-1 or better and miss the playoffs. Good luck with that against the 10-3 Seahawks, who have become dominant in recent weeks.

The 7-6 Panthers, who were upset at home by the 3-10 Saints, have a chance to seize a one-game lead in the NFC South.

The 9-4 49ers, who are emerging from a bye, can't let themselves get caught flat-footed against the 2-11 Titans, who stunned the Browns with a 31-point outburst in Week 14.

And on Monday night, the 7-6 Steelers won't have T.J. Watt due to a freak dry-needling incident (words I never would have excepted to type in that order), will be facing a red-hot Dolphins team that has won five in a row — and that has a chance to win another game in the kind of temperatures during which they typically, and literally, freeze.

So, yes, every Week 15 game will be worth watching. Except one. Enjoy it, because that definitely won't be the case in Weeks 16, 17, and 18.