5 Must-Watch NFL Week 17 Games

It’s NFL Week 17. We are at the finish line. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Week-after-week of watching gigantic men smash each other’s brains into powder and we are finally on the cusp of the playoffs.

Here are 5 must-watch NFL week 17 games:

1. Minnesota Vikings 12-3 @ Green Bay Packers 7-8

Aaron Rodgers’s 91.3 passer rating this season is his lowest since gaining the starting job in 2008. Cool. Perhaps he’s having an off-season by his own standards but people have been talking about this guy as if he suddenly turned into Nathan Peterman when in actuality, his lowest passer rating since 2008 is still better than Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Tom Brady. At 7-8, the Packers can still make the playoffs. All they have to do is beat a team they beat regularly.

The Minnesota Vikings are lowkey a historically great team that I have absolutely zero respect for mainly because they’re 12-3 by chance. They have a +5 point differential which means they’ve won all these games by kickers losing to the wind and balls bouncing in their favor. This is the least dominant 12-3 team in NFL history.

Either Green Bay gets eliminated or Minnesota gets exposed as frauds. Must-see TV.

2. Denver Broncos 4-11 @ Kansas City Chiefs 12-3

Denver just fired their head coach which means we get two full games of Russell Wilson stinking it up without being able to hide behind people trying to discern whether the coaching is the problem or blah blah. Russell Wilson is about to have a legendary ending to a season. All eyes on THIS guy:

There is not one offensive lineman that even tries to rush to the aid of Russell Wilson. pic.twitter.com/kpJBQMJj7y

— Jarrett Bailey (@JBaileyNFL) December 26, 2022

Meanwhile, if Kansas City wins and Buffalo loses to the Bengals, the Chiefs take the no. 1 seed and the no. 1 seed is the only team that gets a bye week in the playoffs so they are going to have their foot on Denver’s neck. I mean, literally every team has had their feet on Denver’s neck so at this point, it feels like kink-shaming to mock the Broncos. Whatever gets you off is none of my business.

3. Los Angeles Rams 5-10 @ Los Angeles Chargers 9-6

Last week, the Rams put up 51 points on the Denver Broncos. Baker Mayfield looked like an NFL quarterback for the first time all season. With 2 passing touchdowns and a 124.1 passer rating, Baker is nailing his audition in LA unlike so many struggling actors trying to get their big break. As much as I genuinely enjoy the downfall of Baker, NFL Sundays are far more fun when there is more great QB play. Nobody likes punts.

The Chargers have won 4 of their last 5 games and they’re getting healthy at the exact right time as receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen are back on the field for this crucial homestretch. They also have their top offensive tackle, Rashawn Slater coming back and Joey Bosa is coming off the IR this week.

So take everything I just said about Baker Mayfield and throw Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa at him. Must-see TV.

4. Indianapolis Colts 4-10-1 @ New York Giants 8-6-1

Had to sneak this game in. The Giants have needed a win for weeks and, uh, haven’t gotten one but when your team needs a dub, there is no better team to go up against than the Jeff Saturday-led Indianapolis Colts. Here’s what their new QB1, Nick Foles, did last week against the Chargers:

17-for-29
143 yards
0 touchdowns
3 interceptions
sacked 7 times
31.9 passer rating

What is Nick Foles doing 😂 pic.twitter.com/fUktI1wmvL

— Zach Masters (@M0untainMan28) December 27, 2022

Somehow, someway, this man beat Tom Brady in a Super Bowl. Yuck.

5. Buffalo Bills 12-3 @ Cincinnati Bengals 11-4

NFL Week 17 is all about Josh Allen vs. Joe Burrow so just go ahead and ignore everything I’ve written so far in this article. The real must-see game—especially if you’re a Bills fan because Buffalo is 1000% walking away with a W.

Cincinnati just lost their star offensive tackle, La’el Collins, to a torn ACL so Joe Burrow is going to be under attack all game long. The Bills have the 4th most interceptions this season and with Burrow running around for his life you should expect to see Joey lobbing some ducks directly into the waiting arms of Bills defenders.

The Bills have an NFL-leading +157-point differential this season. Never mind about what I just said. This game isn’t must-see. Unless you enjoy bloodbaths in which case, enjoy.