In Week 15, there is only one meaningless game

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

In week 15, this is not the case.

Yet even with nine teams (nearly a third of the entire league) eliminated from the playoffs, only one game will really mean nothing: Commanders at Giants. The other 15, starting with Thursday night’s Falcons-Bucs game, have at least one team with playoff aspirations.

The fact that the eliminated Falcons toppled the Bucs, who are desperately trying to get in, underscores the reality that teams playing for nothing won’t necessarily check one of the few remaining boxes before it’s time to take a much-needed break from football.

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

For the 9-4 Chargers and 6-7 Chiefs, Los Angeles’ opportunity for its first sweep of the Chiefs since 2013 also includes a chance to ensure the AFC playoff bracket omits the team that has climbed to the top five times in six seasons. A Chargers loss will make it harder for them to secure a spot at the playoff table.

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

Lions-Rams (4:25 p.m. ET) presents an 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 aspirations for the No. 1 seed.

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

Every other game involves some degree of drama. The 6-7 Ravens, who have lost three straight, can’t afford to slip two games behind the Steelers with three to play. And the Bengals’ slim 4-9 playoff hopes will evaporate with a loss.

The 8-5 Texans, winners of five straight games, can’t afford a disappointment against the 3-10 Cardinals.

The 9-4 Jaguars, who have quietly climbed 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’re not slipping and slipping away from the NFC East lead against a 3-10 Raiders team that has nothing to lose (except their eighth straight game).

The 8-5 Colts 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 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 take a one-game lead in the NFC South.

The 9-4 49ers, coming off a bye, can’t be caught off guard 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 will be without TJ Watt due to a freak dry needling incident (words I would never have avoided typing in that order), will face a red-hot Dolphins team that has won five in a row — and has a chance to win another game in the kind of temperatures in which they usually, literally, freeze.

So yes, every game in Week 15 will be worth watching. Except one. Take advantage of it, because this certainly won’t be the case in weeks 16, 17 and 18.