Fubo News presents the five biggest storylines to watch in the NFL for Week 12. Watch the NFL on Fubo live this weekend.
Thanksgiving brings the opening games of NFL Week 12, including an NFC West showdown and a battle for the NFC South lead. An unexpected big game looms in Houston as the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars visit the upstart Houston Texans.
Injured lists lengthen and roster depth faces bigger tests as the schedule heads into the homestretch.
The bottom line? A ton of important storylines await in NFL Week 12. Here are the top five among them.
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5. The pillow fight in the NFC South
Much like a season ago, someone is required to win the NFC South title even if none of the options are particularly appealing.
Sunday’s early slate includes a battle for the division lead at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the New Orleans Saints (5-5) visit the Atlanta Falcons (4-6). The first meeting between the teams this season comes with the Falcons switching back to quarterback Desmond Ridder.
Taylor Heinecke led the team to back-to-back losses and strained a hamstring. Re-enter Ridder, who started the first game of Atlanta’s current three-game skid.
The Saints ride an eighth-ranked defense that forced five turnovers two weeks ago in a narrow win over the Chicago Bears.
4. The Cleveland Browns’ defense has the weight of the season on its back
The Cleveland Browns are 7-3 and have the top-ranked defense in the NFL. If the Browns return to the playoffs in January, that defense will be the reason why.
The muddled quarterback situation in Cleveland got murkier this week. The franchise quarterback, Deshaun Watson, underwent surgery on his fractured shoulder on Tuesday. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the starter now, has yet to throw his first career touchdown pass.
His backup on Sunday against the surging Denver Broncos? Joe Flacco, the 38-year-old former Super Bowl MVP. Flacco’s last NFL pass came in January for the New York Jets. A free agent since March, Flacco didn’t have an offseason program or a training camp to worry about. Now he goes from on the couch to a heartbeat away from running the Browns offense.
Meanwhile, Denver has quietly run four straight wins together to get to 5-5. Its most lopsided win in the streak came over the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 29. The Broncos’ 32nd-ranked defense has produced 13 turnovers during the winning streak while the offense has given it away just twice.
A Bronco win suddenly elevates them into the playoff race in the crowded AFC, a fact few saw coming when Denver gave up a 70-piece to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3.
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3. The Buffalo Bills take on the NFL-best Philadelphia Eagles
The befuddling Buffalo Bills responded to the firing of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey with 393 yards and just one turnover in a 32-6 pounding of the New York Jets on Sunday. Buffalo steps up in weight class this week when it visits the 9-1 Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia won the much-hyped Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs on Monday night but seven of its nine wins have been by one possession. The Eagles’ lone loss came to the same Jets team that the Bills obliterated. Any given Sunday and all that jazz.
Buffalo is a half-game behind the Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers for the final two wild-card spots and still has road games at Kansas City and Miami and a home game against the Dallas Cowboys to contend with. The defense climbed into the top 10 after allowing just 155 yards to Gang Green but the offense has the third-worst turnover percentage in the NFL, with 16.4% of its possessions ending in a giveaway.
The Eagles need the win on Sunday but the Bills need the win on Sunday. Will that be enough to get them over the hump at the Linc?
2. The Packers and Lions on Thanksgiving, a tradition like no other
The Detroit Lions play on Thanksgiving Day for the 84th time when they host the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay makes its 22nd trip to Motown for Turkey Day festivities, with Detroit holding a 12-8-1 advantage.
But the Lions haven’t won on Thanksgiving since 2016, dropping six straight. Detroit comes in with an 8-2 record, second-best in the NFL, and a two-and-a-half-game lead in the NFC North. The 4-6 Packers are 1-4 on the road with four consecutive losses.
The Lions have a chance to beat up one of their oldest rivals in front of a national audience and get a step closer to their first division title since 1993. Green Bay is a game and a half out of the last wild-card spot and has no more margin for error.
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1. The San Francisco 49ers confront their destiny in the NFC West
The up-and-down San Francisco 49ers (7-3) head up the coast on Thanksgiving night to face the Seattle Seahawks (6-4). The 49ers entered their bye on a three-game losing streak but came out of it with consecutive wins to reclaim the NFC West lead.
The Seahawks have lost two of their last three, including an ugly 17-16 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Seattle faces a four-game stretch as difficult as any. After hosting the 49ers, the Seahawks go to Dallas next Thursday night, then make the return trip to San Francisco before hosting the Eagles.
Geno Smith is expected to start at quarterback on Thursday night despite a bruised triceps, but running back Kenneth Walker III is likely out. Walker leads the Seahawks with 613 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Second-round pick Zach Charbonnet starts if Walker can’t go.
The stakes are high, particularly given Seattle’s next four weeks. The Seahawks will either reclaim the division lead with a win or fall two games off the pace of the 49ers.
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