The NFL Roundup Week 6 - The Most Fascinating Games to Watch on Sunday

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Thursday Night Football taught both the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers quite an important lesson. It taught Denver to never take any game for granted, and it taught San Diego to play fearlessly and execute and good things will come your way.

That's an important lesson to learn this time of year as some teams see their season slipping away, and really, that's going to be the focus of today's highlighted games...teams that have something to prove, teams that have everything to lose, because this week features games that are less about dominance, and more about digging deep for pride and respect and without further ado, here are the games that we are going to be keeping an eye on come tomorrow. 

---

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT WASHINGTON REDSKINS
1:00 p.m. EST - FOX

Both of these teams are doing quite well right now when it comes to their records, but both of them have something to prove and this matchup tomorrow has plenty on the line. When three teams in your division all have three wins or above, a game like this becomes an early battle for the playoffs as they both hope to either put themselves in position to make a run at winning the division or at least put themselves in a comfortable spot for a wild card slot, but this game goes even further beyond playoff seeding, this is a game that features two quarterbacks desperate to prove they are elite. After all, Carson Wentz is a rookie and needs to show the league he is the real deal and the franchise quarterback Philadelphia expects him to be. While Kirk Cousins is the twenty million dollar man who needs to demonstrate that he is worth that incredible contract which means this could turn out to be a fierce game as both teams do their best to knock out an opponent in their division.

CAROLINA PANTHERS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
1:00 p.m. EST - FOX

This particular game features two teams now sitting at a crossroads. New Orleans is a team filled with offensive talent but the defense is another story altogether and the Carolina Panthers have gone from NFC Champions to NFC Chumps with their awful play on the field and inability to get anything going on either side of the ball. With both of their seasons quickly slipping away, this is a game that is going to be about pride for both teams. New Orleans wants to demonstrate that they can will a win to happen with Drew Brees tossing touchdown bombs and the Panthers are desperate to let everyone know that they are still a quality football team. This one will certainly come down to who wants it more and it should be interesting to see which team decides to leave everything on the field. 

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT OAKLAND RAIDERS
4:05 p.m. EST - CBS

This is another game that just so happens to be in an ultra competitive division by way of the AFC West, except instead of two titans facing off on the field, one team is looking to continue their dominance while the other is trying to rack up a few wins to stay in the hunt for a potential playoff spot. Normally, a description such as that would mean the Raiders were the desperate team and KC was kicking butt and taking names, but this year the roles are flip flopped with Oakland atop the AFC West and KC struggling to get by. But, anything can happen when it comes to Divisional games, so while the Raiders should walk away with a win here in comfortable fashion...don't be surprised to see Kansas City upset the mighty Raiders and keep things interesting in this division. 

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AT HOUSTON TEXANS
Sunday Night Football - 8:30 p.m. EST - NBC

Oddly enough, while the teams in this matchup aren't doing outright terrible, this game is more or less a statement game for both squads. The Indianapolis Colts signed Andrew Luck to a mega contract in the offseason, hoping it would truly cement his status as a franchise quarterback and de facto leader of the team and well...they're 2-3 and while Luck has played well, there have been no inspiring, John Elway/Peyton Manning/Tom Brady-esque moments of leadership from him. On the other side of the ball, there's the Houston Texans, who spent mega money on Brock Osweiler in free agency as well, and while they are atop the AFC South...the results from their expensive QB have been lackluster at best. Which means both of these quarterbacks are looking to show the nation during prime time why they are worth every penny...but only one of them will walk away from this game with their fans feeling secure about ownership's decision to use a significant chunk of the salary cap on them.