Top 10 SNF games on the 2024 NFL schedule

NBC’s Sunday Night Football has lined up an exciting lineup of primetime games for the 2024 season. The lineup includes teams that are expected to be title contenders this year, competing against other great teams. Sunday Night Football also includes two Thursday games that are considered part of the “Sunday Night Football” lineup.

Perhaps the biggest testament to last season isn’t the Houston Texans winning a series of prime-time games after advancing to the second round of the playoffs thanks to quarterback phenom C.J. Stroud.

Here are the top 10 games worth waiting for.

10. Week 12: Eagles vs. Rams

The Eagles finished the 2023 season in disappointing fashion, but they have all the tools, including the addition of Saquon Barkley, to become a championship contender again.

Unlike the Eagles, the Rams came out on top late last season and were able to contend for the playoffs before being eliminated by the Lions.

If these two teams live up to their potential this season, it will be a match worth marking on the calendar.

9. Week 14: Chargers vs. Chiefs

There aren’t many SNF games between division rivals this season, with the exception of the Chargers, who will meet at Arrowhead Stadium in December.

The excitement surrounding this game will depend on how the Chargers do this season after going 5-12 a year ago, but Jim Harbaugh’s return to SNF is still exciting.

It’s also hard to resist watching the duel between quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes, who have had some intriguing games in recent seasons.

8. Week 2: Bears vs. Texans

Two young quarterbacks will take the field in primetime Week 2 as Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears take on CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans. Stroud enters the game as an established prospect after a phenomenal rookie season in 2023 in which he led the Texans to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.

Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, is expected to have the same impact on the Bears that Stroud had on the Texans last season. If he gets going, this could be one of the best games of the season.

7. Week 13: Dolphins vs. Packers

The game is technically on Thursday, ending what looks like an exciting day of Thanksgiving football. This game also features two coaches who trained together in Washington. Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins boast one of the most explosive and fast-paced offenses in the NFL, while Matt LaFleur’s Packers have one of the most promising young quarterbacks in Jordan Love.

Both teams will be looking to fight for division titles and a playoff spot this time of year, as well as John Madden’s famous turducken. The stakes should be high.

6. Week 4: Bills at Ravens

This game not only showcases two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, but also two of the NFL’s best offensive quarterbacks, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Few quarterbacks help their teams more with their legs than Allen and Jackson.

This matchup also features two perennial contenders in the AFC. A win in this matchup could be the difference in seeding at the end of the season.

More news: Ravens GM Praises TE Duo: ‘Best Duo in the League’

5. Week 10: Lions vs. Texans

Two of the NFL’s best stories and teams from last season will be looking for another win. When these two teams last played in 2020, they combined for nine wins on the season. Last season, they combined for more than double that, with 22 wins.

4. Week 1: Rams vs. Lions

Sunday Night Football gets off to a hot start as the Lions and Rams face off in a rematch of last year’s wild card playoff game. The Lions-Rams wild card game was a close battle that ended with the Lions winning by one point over the Rams. The game is also full of fascinating storylines as quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff face off against their former teammates again.

3. Week 16: Texans vs. Chiefs

There are few tougher tests in the NFL than beating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, one of the loudest sports arenas in the world, but C.J. Stroud and the Texans may be up to the task. The rookie Texans were the Cinderella team of 2023, winning the division thanks to Stroud’s standout rookie season.

The Texans could prove to be a real threat if they can get past Mahomes in a late-season game before the playoffs in Stroud’s second season, something Joe Burrow did in 2021 when he led the Bengals to the Super Bowl that season.

2. Week 13: 49ers vs. Bills

Thanksgiving weekend ends with a matchup of two teams that meet only once every four years. The 49ers and Bills last played in 2020, but Jimmy Garoppolo was injured and the game was a draw.

The 49ers come into this game with a significant talent advantage, but will they be able to play at their highest level even with potentially frigid December temperatures in Buffalo?

1. Week 1: Chiefs vs. Ravens

Coming off their second straight Super Bowl win, the Kansas City Chiefs will open their season at home against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, a rematch of the AFC Championship Game, a matchup of the last two NFL MVPs and the debut of quarterback Derrick Henry as a Ravens, all in prime time.

The Chiefs have outscored the Ravens in five games since Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson became starters for their teams in 2018, but four of those five games have ended in one goal.