Thursday Night Football Games to Watch

Thursday Night Football Games to Watch

“Robert Lewis Knuckles

I was never a big fan of Thursday Night Football games due to the fact that players need longer time to recover from a game but I will watch a football game when it comes on. For the third time I’ll be doing a list of which Thursday Night games you should look forward to. (This page will be updated as the season goes on.)

1. New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers October 5th

This Thursday Night Football game will be a huge test for Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers. This Tampa Bay team is on the rise and the offense looks on paper but Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a defensive minded coach and he knows how to take away your best players. Tampa’s defense is also on the rise but can they beat one of the greatest quarterbacks in Tom Brady?

2. Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers October 12th

Philadelphia’s quarterback Carson Wentz will face a tough test going against Carolina’s defense as they get back the league's best middle linebacker Luke Kuechly and their front seven. The Panthers are preparing to bounce back after a rough 2016 season. Panthers drafted running back Christian Mccaffrey who can also line up in the slot but the Eagles drafted defensive end Derek Barnett who's looking to be a destructive force. This game can go either way.

3. Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders October 19th

Another AFC West battle between the two teams that made the playoffs last season. The Chiefs and Raiders might be considered the two favorites to win the AFC West. The Chiefs defense got the better of Derek Carr twice last year. The Raiders did get busy during the off season by getting running back Marshawn Lynch out of retirement and drafting cornerback Gareon Conley to help with the defense. The Chiefs didn’t really do any big time moves during the off season but they still have veteran Andy Reid and he really knows his football so don’t count out the Chiefs.

4. Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals November 9th

Classic NFC West battle between the two birds battling to win the NFC West. Seahawks and the Cardinals know each other very well.. They always seem to split with each other as well but the Super Bowl window seems to be closing for both teams. The Cardinals need to bounce back from a rough 2016 season. The Seahawks need to work on their offensive line to protect Russell Wilson and also hope that their secondary can stay healthy because we’ve seen what happened last year losing Earl Thomas.

5. Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers November 16th

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota will face a difficult test playing in Pittsburgh. The Titans do have a good offense and drafting receiver Corey Davis will help Mariota a lot. The Titans also drafted cornerback Adoree Jackson but drafting a cornerback is difficult and it's going to be tough facing a high powered offense with Ben Roethlisberger. I believe this game is going to be very close and Mariota will put on a great performance.

6. Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys November 30th

Long time rival between the Cowboys and Redskins. Kirk Cousins did lose his big time targets but he can play and put up numbers but Washington's defense will need to stop the running game by the Cowboys. If the Redskins can stop the run they’ll have a good chance of winning this game.

7. New Orlean Saints at Atlanta Falcons December 7th

Two high powered offensive teams. Majority of the time we always get a high scoring game with the two teams but I believe Atlanta’s defense will be better under third year head coach Dan Quinn. I believe in Drew Brees but I don’t believe in that Saint’s defense. The Saints did draft Marshon Lattimore but he’s going to be targeted a lot by Matt Ryan. So the Saints defense will need to step up big time.

8. Denver Broncos at Indianapolis December 14th

These two teams always seem to face other every year. This will actually be the fifth straight time  these two teams will be facing each other. It also seems like these two teams are never even. What makes this matchup interesting is that defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins said Colts have the best defense in the AFC and you know Denver’s defense will have something to say about that.

9. Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs December 16th

Last time the Chargers played in Kansas City they blew a big time lead but this will be a different Chargers team. Mike Williams will be Philip Rivers new favorite target, defensive Joey Bosa will get better and they have a good cornerback pair in Casey Hayward and Jason Verrett. The Chiefs didn’t do any major changes this offseason but they’ll look forward to the challenge and they are still a very talented team.