CNN
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As the weather turns colder and the leaves fall from the trees, it can only mean one thing: NFL football means just a little bit more.
Each result holds a little more significance as the end of the season approaches with teams scrapping for playoff spots or to keep their seasons alive, while others vie for the best positions at the top of next year’s draft.
Week 12 began with the Cleveland Browns beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in snowy conditions on Thursday Night Football.
It’s a bumper week of teams on bye in Week 12 with six – the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets – all having some time to recalibrate.
Here’s a look at three of Sunday’s standout matchups.
The Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers have a long history against one another, as well as a more recent rivalry.
The two storied franchises met in the divisional round of the playoffs last season, with the 49ers prevailing in what was a record-breaking 10th postseason meeting between them with San Francisco going onto reach Super Bowl LVIII where they’d lose to the Kansas City Chiefs.
But this season, San Francisco and Green Bay have undergone contrasting 2024 campaigns so far.
For the Niners, their 2024 has been blighted by injuries to key players – star running back Christian McCaffrey played his first game of the season in Week 10 after calf ailments, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL in Week 7 and dynamic edge rusher Nick Bosa suffered a hip/oblique injury in their Week 11 loss to the Seattle Seahawks which seriously hamstrung the team’s defense.
The team is 5-5 in 2024 despite having the third-ranked offense and fourth-ranked defense, with the key moments seemingly going against head coach Kyle Shanahan’s side more often than not.
Conversely, the Packers are enjoying a season full of promise and hope as they flourish with a young core of players led by the creative coaching of head coach Matt LaFleur.
Quarterback Jordan Love is going through the struggles of a sophomore season as a starter, filled with the highs of exquisite passes and the lows of head-scratching turnovers.
Love has been aided by a blossoming group of wide receivers, all in the early stages of their career, with Romeo Doubs, Bo Melton, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks all having their moments in the spotlight.
Shanahan and the 49ers beaten LaFleur and the Packers three times in the playoffs since 2019, so Green Bay will be hoping to enact some element of revenge and further dent San Francisco’s playoff hopes. According to NFL.com, the Niners would have a 16% of reaching the playoffs should they lose on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, LaFleur acknowledged the importance of facing San Francisco.
“Regardless of the record, I think the majority of the teams recognize these guys as one of the premiere teams in this league,” he said. “I mean they’ve been to the Super Bowl how many number of years now, so you can’t discount that.
“They ended our season last year obviously. So I know both sides are going to be fired up for this game. It’s a big game, two winning organizations, so it should be a lot of fun.”
One of the hottest teams in the NFL travels to face its division rival coming off a momentous victory in what could be a pivotal NFC West clash on Sunday.
The Arizona Cardinals, riding a four-game winning streak, will make the journey up to Washington and Lumen Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks, who had an impressive road victory over the 49ers in Week 11 to potentially get their faltering season back on track.
Quarterback Kyler Murray is playing error-free football in the Cardinals’ winning run, with just two turnovers over that span and contributing seven touchdowns – four through the air and three on the ground.
The 27-year-old has built a seemingly-symbiotic relationship with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, with the balance between Murray’s throwing and rushing ability complimenting the rest of the offense’s skillset.
Veteran running back James Conner is a dynamic threat from the backfield, third-year tight end Trey McBride has come on lately, second-year receiver Michael Wilson consistently makes big plays and rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. has had his moments.
Before Sunday’s game, Murray spoke about his time with Petzing and why it’s been so successful so far this season.
“(Petzing’s) first year here, obviously, I was rehabbing and stuff like that, but I could tell right away (with) just the system that he was bringing in and understanding the offense that I was going to love it,” Murray told reporters. “Just because there’s really no gray area.
“He’s very attention to detail oriented, he coaches it well, he communicates with everybody well and he can relate to everyone. I think that’s why you see why we’re playing the way we’re playing. Playing fast, playing confident and not really out there thinking.”
As for the Seahawks, they will be hoping their victory over the 49ers will get head coach Mike Macdonald’s first year at the helm moving in the right direction.
Seattle began perfectly, winning its three opening games before going 1-5 heading into its Week 10 bye.
And whatever Macdonald and his coaching staff worked on during that time off seemed to have the desired effect as they returned by beating last year’s Super Bowl losers, a victory capped off by a brilliant two-minute-28-second, 12-play, 80-yard drive which culminated in a rushing score from quarterback Geno Smith.
While it was a morale-boosting victory, there are still plenty of areas to work on for Seahawks, but it should give them plenty of confidence heading into the stretch run of the season.
It’s been a strange build-up for Sunday’s game though for the Seahawks, who went without power for the most part at their practice facility for multiple days after storms in the local area.
Although Seattle’s players and coaches stressed it’s not been an issue in their preparations, some did focus on the positives of the situation.
“I think it’s been a weird week dealing with everything that’s going on, but I think the darkness brings us closer together,” defensive lineman Jarran Reed said. “There’s no hot water, no lights, we all see each other clearly now.”
The two teams are separated by just one game with the Cardinals leading the division at 6-4 and the Seahawks at 5-5 meaning a victory for either team could have a big impact on potential postseason seeding.
Two in-form teams face off at SoFi Stadium on Sunday as the Philadelphia Eagles travel across the country to take on the Los Angeles Rams.
The Eagles are riding a six-game winning streak since their Week 5 bye while the Rams are 4-1 in their last five games to get their season moving in the right direction.
During their winning run, it has been Philadelphia’s rushing attack which has led the way, with Saquon Barkley excelling in his debut season with the team.
Barkley leads the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 1,347 and with 153 more, he would become the fourth player ever with at least 1,500 scrimmage yards in his first 11 games with a team alongside Pro Football Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James as well as Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
The Eagles as a whole would become the second team in NFL history with at least 150 rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns in six consecutive games if they are to do so again on Sunday Night Football.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts also has a chance to enter the history books if he scores a rushing touchdown for the sixth game in a row as he would become just the second quarterback to do so after Justin Fields did it in 2022. A rushing score on Sunday would also be his 53rd in the NFL, tying Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen for the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in his first six seasons in NFL history.
Before the game against the Rams, head coach Nick Sirianni spoke about the “hunger” he’s seen from his team and highlighted it as a reason for why they are 8-3.
“That’s all I can point out from this year’s team. Forget last year’s team. We’ve learned from those mistakes that we made last year. Myself, the team, everybody,” he told reporters.
“I really notice in this year’s team that we’re getting closer as a football team and have that hunger to get better each day.”
For the Rams, their season is looking more positive after the return of some key offensive weapons – Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua – from injury has led to wins.
Although they sit at 5-5 and are on the outside looking into the playoffs heading into Week 12, they sit just a game behind the NFC West-leading Cardinals.
Away @ home
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Carolina Panthers – 1 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears – 1 p.m. ET
Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans – 1 p.m. ET
Detroit Lions vs. Indianapolis Colts – 1 p.m. ET
New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins – 1 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New York Giants – 1 p.m. ET
Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders – 1 p.m. ET
Denver Broncos vs. Las Vegas Raiders – 4:05 p.m. ET
San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers – 4:25 p.m. ET
Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks – 4:25 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Los Angeles Rams – 8:20 p.m. ET
