Best football games to watch this week

Week of October 14 · updated every minute

The Lineup Is ranked 77 football games this week; the top pick is Ohio State at Indiana (importance 95). Football isn't on most nights, so this is the week ahead, ranked.

  1. Thursday, October 15

  2. #1 · NFLImportance 58
    8:15 PM ET·Prime Video

    Seahawks at Broncos

    Seahawks3-2
    Broncos3-2

    Broncos look to build on a fourth-quarter rally against the Chargers while the Seahawks arrive after four turnovers in a loss to San Francisco. Both sit 3-2 in a cross-conference matchup; Denver is missing two players.

    Why it scores 58 →

  3. Saturday, October 17

  4. #2 · College FootballImportance 95
    12:00 PM ET·Fox

    Ohio State at Indiana

    Ohio State#54-1
    Indiana#76-0
  5. #3 · College FootballImportance 72
    7:30 PM ET·NBC

    Wisconsin at UCLA

    Wisconsin4-1
    UCLA#125-0
  6. #4 · College FootballImportance 66
    7:30 PM ET·ABC

    Notre Dame at BYU

    Notre Dame#26-0
    BYU#85-0
  7. #5 · College FootballImportance 65
    3:30 PM ET·ABC

    Alabama at Tennessee

    Alabama#65-1
    Tennessee#145-1
  8. #6 · College FootballImportance 61
    12:00 PM ET·ABC

    Florida at Texas

    Florida4-2
    Texas#74-1
  9. #7 · College FootballImportance 60
    3:30 PM ET·SEC Network

    Missouri at Ole Miss

    Missouri#135-1
    Ole Miss#94-1

  10. Sunday, October 18

  11. #8 · NFLImportance 59
    8:20 PM ET·NBC

    Cowboys at Packers

    Cowboys2-3
    Packers3-2
  12. #9 · NFLImportance 55
    9:30 AM ET·NFL Net

    Texans at Jaguars

    Texans1-4
    Jaguars4-1
  13. #10 · NFLImportance 51
    1:00 PM ET·CBS

    Panthers at Eagles

    Panthers2-2
    Eagles2-3

How the ranking works

Every game gets an importance score, built from 11 factors — rankings, playoff stakes, rivalry, star power, elimination pressure, how close the game actually projects to be, and more. The score is explained, never a black box. Narratives are written from the real state of the season — not "tune in tonight."

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