The first third of the NFL season is gone, and somehow, already, this is the last weekend of October football. It sure does fly, doesn't it? In some senses, it's still early.
In other senses, it's getting late. Teams off to nice starts must realize it's just that — only a start — while teams with ground to make up will be looking to do it in a hurry. Starting this week and every week thereafter, we'll look at the five most important games in the playoff races.
How do we measure the "biggest," you ask? We use SportsLine projections to determine the biggest swing in playoff odds based on a result. It's key to know that in these simulations, each game happens in a vacuum (aka it doesn't take into account the potential impact of other results around the league), but it gives us a really good sense of which contests could most shape the postseason picture.
ET on CBS, streaming on Paramount+ It's no surprise that a divisional matchup carries huge weight in an exercise like this, and Bengals at Ravens should be an absolute dandy ... if Lamar Jackson can play. He's missed the past two games, which the Ravens split, beating the Falcons but losing to the Browns. Baltimore would love to avoid a 0-2 start to divisional play.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, rolls into Charm City fresh off a bye week and looking to win its first divisional matchup of the season. Oh, and if you need more reason to tune in, we're on Trey Hendrickson revenge game watch in his first contest against his old team. ET on Fox (Stream: fubo, try for free) Another key division matchup sees the 3-2 Lions, coming off a bye, host the 4-2 Packers in a big opportunity for both.
After a rocky start to the season, Green Bay has won three straight. Detroit, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses all season. The Packers are 1-1 in division play; this is the Lions' first division game.
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