When gauging the best game to watch each week of the NFL season, there are a few criteria we can look at. First off, there is just the overall matchup; two good or great teams going against each other. Then there are storylines like revenge games for traded players of free agents, division rivalries, rookie quarterbacks playing against each other, and playoff or even Super Bowl rematches from the prior season.
The 2024 NFL season has all of them. There are some slow weeks. where the drama is not as high as others, but let’s be real, there is always drama and great games to watch each week of the NFL season. below you will find one game each week worth tuning into and why.
The Best Game for Each of the 18 Weeks in the NFL Season
Week 1: Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 1 Kansas City Chiefs, Andy Reid](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2-1024x659.jpg)
Arguably the top two teams in the AFC open the regular season on a Thursday night. What a great start to a hopefully even greater season. There are multiple storylines here. Last season’s AFC Championship game was one of the best of the playoffs with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes sending home Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in the final minutes of the game.
The Ravens lost their defensive coordinator but improved their run game by signing free agent Derick Henry. The Chiefs improved their passing game (I Know, Right!?) by bringing in wide receiver Hollywood Brown in free agency and drafting Xavier Worthy. The first game of the season will help decide the AFC’s most likely Champion.
Week 2: Chicago Bears vs Houston Texans
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 2 Houston Texans, C.J. Stroud](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/USATSI_22201349_168400545_lowres-1024x697.jpg)
Last season’s star rookie quarterback CJ Stroud gets to help introduce this year’s number-one draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams in Week 5. The Bears are also attempting to replicate the turnaround the Texans had last year. This Texans defense will be a great early season test of the Bears’ new-look offense.
The Texans’ defense is led by a strong front seven but has question marks in some of the secondary spots. The Bears have added multiple offensive weapons to help support the rookie Williams in the air attack. Whichever quarterback can have the stronger game will probably decide the outcome.
Week 3: Baltimore Ravens vs Dallas Cowboys
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 3 Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, Cowboys Browns, Cowboys Browns Week 1, Cowboys Browns tickets, Browns Cowboys tickets, Dallas Cowboys news](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_1886-683x1024.jpeg)
Week three is a bit of a lull week, in my opinion. There aren’t a bunch of revenge games or top teams playing each other. The Ravens vs Cowboys game is just simply two strong teams playing each other. It will be a good test for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to show early in the season if he can replicate his 2023 campaign, where he was among the final players pushing for the MVP that Ravens quarterback Jackson won with worse stats than many of the other contenders, including Prescott. This could be a high-scoring contest with the Ravens rumbling for over 300 yards on the ground and the Cowboys airing it out.
Week 4: Seattle Seahawks vs Detroit Lions
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 4 Detroit Lions Amon-Ra St. Brown](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/USATSI_21365222_168400517_lowres-1024x682.jpg)
The Lions became one of the best offenses in the NFL off of the arm of newly minted $200M quarterback Jared Goff throwing to All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta. With Jameson Williams healthy and ready to add to the downfield attack in year three, the passing attack should continue to improve.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks will enter the first season without Pete Carrol as their head coach in a couple of decades. Signing former Raven defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. Macdonald’s defensive strategy is to never give up the big play, while the Lions offense is dependent on the big play. This should be a clash of two teams’ strengths.
Week 5: Miami Dolphins vs New England Patriots
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 5 Raheem Mostert Miami Dolphins](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/USATSI_21448736_168400517_lowres-1024x683.jpg)
Two reasons for this game. Number one, it will be an early look at if the Dolphins are ready to take over as the lead in the AFC East. Yes, the Bills have owned the division post-Tom Brady, but the Dolphins continue to improve their roster. Reason number two, Dolphins’ head coach offensive-minded Mike McDaniel vs Patriots head coach defensive-minded Jarod Mayo. Throw in a rookie QB (if he can beat out Jacoby Brissett) and OBJ into the mix and you have an elevated storyline in here. The Patriots have a strong cornerback group and Tyreek Hill and Jaylon Waddle are possibly the best WR tandem in the league. Strength vs Strength again.
Week 6: Washington Commanders vs Baltimore Ravens
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 6 Washington Commanders](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/USATSI_22598439_168400517_lowres-1-1024x731.jpg)
The Commanders drafted Jayden Daniels as the second overall pick in this past draft. Some believe he is Lamar Jackson 2.0. Daniels should have his feet under him by this point in the season and the Ravens could enter this game 6-0, or at least 5-1. I don’t see the Commanders making a run into the playoffs, but they might still be relevant at this point. Either way, it will be fun to see these two QBs side-by-side with the lofty comparisons.
Week 7: San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 7 San Francisco 49ers, Christian McCaffrey](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/USATSI_22501823_168400517_lowres-1024x774.jpg)
Super Bowl rematch? Yes, please. As the overtime winners of last season’s Super Bowl, the Chiefs have maybe done more than the second-place-finishing 49ers to improve post-Super Bowl. The 49ers’ defense has maybe taken a step back, while the Chiefs’ offensive could be even better with the aforementioned improvements. With that said, this is also the calendar date I bet Dre Greenlaw has circled as his return game, making it that much more emotional and exciting. If Greenlaw doesn’t tear his Achilles, there is a good chance the 49ers hoist the Lombardi Trophy last February instead of the Chiefs.
Week 8: Chicago Bears vs Washington Commanders
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 8 Chicago Bears, Rome Odunze](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23120748_168400517_lowres-1024x682.jpg)
Number one draft pick QB Williams for the Bears against number two draft pick QB Daniels at nearly the halfway point of the season. It’s amazing what a year and a couple of rookie QBs can do. Neither of these teams was relevant by midseason last year, but the rookie QB storyline will keep fans tuned in for the season. Ideally, these two players will be battling it out for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, Recent, and less recent History doesn’t necessarily agree with this ideal though.
Week 9: Detroit Lions vs Green Bay Packers
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 9 Detroit Lions, Jared Goff](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jared-Goff.webp)
At the midway point in the season, these two teams should be battling it out for the NFC North Title. The Lions beating the Packers for the division title two years in a row would be a bit of a turning of the page for the division. Can the Packers improve on their 2023 season or do they stay a Wild Card Caliber team? This matchup will be a big indicator of the answer to that question.
Week 10: Chicago Bears vs New England Patriots
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 10 USATSI 23245773](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23245773-1024x683.jpg)
After taking on the first QB drafted after him, Williams will get the chance to possibly play against the second QB drafted after him, third overall pick Drake Maye of the Patriots. If Maye works on his game and proves himself to head coach Mayo, he might have taken over for Jacoby Brissett by now. This game could be full of mistakes depending on how each rookie QB is progressing, or it could be an absolute shootout.
Week 11: Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 11 San Francisco 49ers](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USATSI_22030088_168400517_lowres-1024x683.jpg)
A matchup which at one point was one of the great rivalries in football has become rather one-sided recently. The addition of Macdonald as the Seahawks head coach adds a little extra interest to this game. As the DC of the Ravens last year, he shut down the 49ers offense in their regular season matchup. Although the Seahawks don’t have the talent on the defensive side of the ball that the Ravens did, Macdonald should bring extra juice to the matchup. This could also be a proving point for 49ers’ QB Brock Purdy as he attempts to win his first NFL MVP award.
Week 12: Baltimore Ravens vs LA Chargers
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 12 Los Angeles Chargers Jim Harbaugh](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/USATSI_22928444_168400517_lowres-1024x683.jpg)
The Harbaugh Bowl 2.0. Now, I don’t expect the Chargers to be in Super Bowl conversations this year; they just have too much to overcome for that fast of a turnaround, but these two hyper-competitive brothers coaching against each other should be enjoyable. Add in the Raven additions like offensive coordinator Greg Roman to the Chargers, and these two teams know each other very well. I think the Ravens win it hands down, but it should still be entertaining.
Week 13: Philadelphia Eagles vs Baltimore Ravens
Back-to-back weeks on the list for the Ravens, but you can’t deny the first match between Jackson and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts should be exciting. They could both rush for over a hundred yards and throw for three hundred plus a piece. I would expect a high-scoring game with big numbers for the Eagles receivers as well. The trump card here is Ravens’ RB Henry, if he can keep the Eagles’ offense off the field, then a more moderate scoreline is possible.
Week 14: Atlanta Falcons vs Minnesota Vikings
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 14 Atlanta Falcons, Kirk Cousins, Largest Contracts](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/a2f6f400-e1a9-11ee-bffd-f939d303dd37-1024x683.webp)
The Kirk Cousins revenge game. It is entirely possible that the future replacement for Cousins in the Vikings huddle still isn’t playing at this point, but whether he is or it’s still Sam Darnold throwing the ball to Justin Jefferson and company, this is Cousin’s chance to show the Vikings that they made a major mistake. The Falcons haven’t done enough to put an equal supporting cast around him, but with the best RB he’s played with since Dalvin Cook was bursting through lines, Cousins will bring a more balanced attack to Viking country.
Week 15: Miami Dolphins vs Houston Texans
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 15 Dare Ogunbowale Houston Texans](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/USATSI_22127215_168400517_lowres-1024x742.jpg)
Two former Kyle Shanahan coordinators going against each other. Dolphins’ head coach McDaniel runs basically the same offense as Shanahan, while Texans’ head coach Demico Ryans is one of the best defensive head coaches in the NFL. These are also two teams who are fighting to be considered relevant in the AFC leaderboard. Both teams have incredible WR rooms, solid QBs, and fast RBs.
Week 16: Houston Texans vs Kansas City Chiefs
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 16 Houston Texans, Derek Stingley Jr.](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Stingley-1-1024x683.jpg)
The up-and-coming AFC team against the team that’s won the Super Bowl the past two seasons. Last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year vs Patrick Mahomes. The Texans might have a more talented pass-catching group if you subtract Travis Kelce from the situation and a better RB duo. The difference between these two teams are coming down to how much growth CJ Stroud will have had at this point of his second season.
Week 17: Detroit Lions vs San Francisco 49ers
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 17 NFL San Francisco 49ers, Brandon Aiyuk](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/USATSI_22396362-1024x683.jpg)
A rematch of the 2023 NFC Championship game where the 49ers had to fight back to win. Both teams should be running on full cylinders and fighting for the number-one seed in the NFC playoffs. This is a game that should be chalked full of All-Pro’s going against each other. It could even be a preview of this season’s NFC Championship game.
Week 18: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts
![Best Game For Each 18 Weeks of NFL Season 18 Indianapolis Colts Michael Pittman Jr. Anthony Richardson](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/USATSI_21545985_168400517_lowres-1024x686.jpg)
Week 18 is all divisional games, and so with this selection, I tried to find two teams who were likely to be fighting for a divisional crown, or at least fighting each other for a Wild Card birth. I believe the Texans will reign supreme in the AFC South, but that the Jaguars and Colts could both be vying for a Wild Card spot. IF Colts QB Anthony Richardson can stay healthy for the whole season, he should be able to lead an under-the-radar offensive group to the playoffs, and this game might be the clincher.