Cleveland Browns (3-10) at Chicago Bears (9-4), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET

If Chicago were to lose to the Browns on Sunday, they would drop to 9-5. They would still be two games ahead of the Buccaneers in the Wild Card standings, with three to go. It’s a small needle to thread to see how the Bucs could pick up two games against the Bears in the standings but not win the NFC South. It would involve splitting with Carolina and beating Miami, with the Panthers also beating the Saints or Seahawks. Chicago’s final three games are tough – Green Bay, San Francisco and Detroit – and the Bucs also need to climb over Detroit to get the seventh spot. It’s honestly a long shot, but the Bears are playing an AFC team so we might as well ride the Chicago L this weekend (if you’ve taken public transportation in the Windy City, you’ll get that one).

Verdict: Go get Caleb Williams, Myles Garrett!

Arizona Cardinals (3-10) at Houston Texans (8-5), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET

Arizona has already been eliminated from playoff contention so the Bucs don’t really need them to lose another game. For me, though, this is a vibes situation. The Buccaneers’ Week Two Monday night win in Houston keeps looking better as the Texans continue taking down one quality contender after another. That and a bag of chips won’t earn the Bucs anything, but it still feels right.

Baltimore Ravens (6-7) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-9), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET

New York Jets (3-10) at Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET

Los Angeles Chargers (9-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-7), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET

Buffalo Bills (9-4) at New England Patriots (11-2), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET

These are the aforementioned AFC-on-AFC matchups that should provide us with a lot of entertainment while we wait for the Panthers and Saints to start. Cincinnati’s actually not out of the AFC hunt yet and no one is running away with the NFC North. It could be curtains, though, for whichever team loses this one. I’m on record as not being a Chiefs hater, as that organization gave me start in the NFL, but I’m sure many of you out there and I don’t blame you. If you’re in that camp, you probably want to see the Chargers put the dagger in, once and for all. And Bills-Patriots feels like it should be played on Sunday night. HUUUGE game. Personally, I’m way more annoyed at the Patriots than the Chiefs.

Verdict: Go entertainment!

Washington Commanders (3-10) at New York Giants (2-11), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET

Both teams could be securing top two or three picks in the draft in the next month, but both teams already have a young quarterback in place. So this one isn’t even very interesting from that standpoint. I can’t think of a single reason to root for or against either of these teams.

Verdict: Go find the remote and switch back to those great AFC games listed above.

Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) at Philadelphia Eagles (8-5), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET

The Eagles last four games are against the Raiders, the Bills and the Commanders, twice. There is nothing to be gained by any of those three teams losing, so we might as well root for a full-on Eagles collapse. The problem is, it’s going to be hard for Dallas to catch them in the East, so their impact on the Bucs’ potential Wild Card hopes may be nil. However, let’s look at this from the standpoint of Tampa Bay rallying to take the South back from Carolina. If that happened, now it becomes a seeding issue. Since the Eagles beat the Bucs in Week Four, Tampa Bay will have to pick up at least two games on them in the overall standings to move up to the third spot. It won’t be easy, but it’s worth rooting for.

Green Bay Packers (9-3-1) at Denver Broncos (11-2), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

It’s hard to envision the Bucs, in our win-the-South scenario, leaping over both the Eagles and the Packers in the overall standings, and even if Green Bay did collapse over the next four weeks, Chicago and Detroit are right there waiting to take over and are also ahead of the Buccaneers. Nevertheless, they are playing an AFC team, so you know what that means. Denver, incredibly, has won 10 in a row. Can they keep it going?

Verdict: Go for 11, Broncos!