Top 5 Football Games To Watch This Weekend

We’ve made it to another Friday, which means a football-filled weekend is on the horizon. There are plenty of exciting headlines on the horizon. Kirk Cousins is making his re-debut with the Vikings; there are plenty of great college football games with playoff implications, and much more. 

Here are the top 5 football games you should make sure to watch this weekend:

Vikings at Packers

A massive NFC North battle in one of the sport's biggest rivalries. The division has every team separated by one or two games, and this iteration of Minnesota/Green Bay feels like it has a ton of seeding implications. 

A familiar face is back in the Twin Cities as the Vikings traded for Kirk Cousins just ahead of the trade deadline on Tuesday. Interestingly, the last time Cousins wore purple and gold, he tore his Achilles at Lambeau Field. Now he returns in more ways than one. 

Cousins will hopefully be the missing piece in a Minnesota team that has been elite on defense and less-than-inept offensively. The offense hasn’t scored more than 16 points in three weeks. Jordan Love has been playing at an MVP level after winning five straight games. 

The matchup to keep an eye on is the offensive line of the Packers against the defensive front of the Vikings. In Week 1, Love threw for 387 yards, but the pressure from Brian Flores’ defense caused an interception and a fumble in the fourth quarter. The Vikings average 3.6 sacks per game. 

Steelers at Bengals

Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are both 6-2 and lead the AFC North. The Bengals’ offense has been on a tear, winning four straight games and scoring 30+ points in all four. The Steelers are also coming into the game on a four-game winning streak, including five of their last six. 

Teams are 5-0 when coming off a bye, and their opponent played in an international game the week before. The Steelers defense will have to slow down Joe Burrow, who is leading the league in passing yards per game and passing touchdowns. Burrow has at least three touchdown passes in each of the past four games. 

The Bengals defense has struggled against the run and against Jaylen Warren. Warren has two 100-yard games in his past three meetings against Cincinnati. The Bengals rank 25th in the league against the run and allow an NFL-high 5.04 yards per carry.

No. 18 USC at No. 9 Indiana

The Trojans travel east to take on the Hoosiers in an important Big 10 and College Football Playoff matchup. The winner remains in contention for the Big 10 championship and the CFP race, while the loser potentially can be eliminated from both. 

Both teams are coming off of a bye week. A week earlier, USC beat Ohio State in arguably Lincoln Riley’s biggest win during his tenure in Southern California. Indiana snuck out a win against Minnesota in overtime and has looked less than impressive in their past few games. 

Both teams average 32.4 points per game. The keys to the game are strength on strength and weakness on weakness. The Trojans’ strength is their offense, while Indiana’s strength is their defense. Which side of the ball will dominate the other? On the other side, the Hoosiers’ offense hasn’t been anything to write home about, and USC’s defense is improved, but still has lapses. 

No. 6 Texas at No. 21 LSU

It’s do-or-die for LSU at home as they welcome Arch Manning and the Longhorns to Death Valley. The Tigers might be a long shot to make the 12-team playoff, but a win against No. 6 in the country would put them in the conversation. 

As for Texas, a loss puts them on the outside looking in. They have looked better since their second loss against Florida nearly a month ago, winning three straight, and Manning is starting to settle in and take control of the offense. Keeping Arch upright will be the key to the game. 

The Longhorns have given up 27 sacks this season. Manning does a good job evading pressure but still has to do it a ton. The Tigers are third in the country with 36 sacks. Princewill Umanmielen has 8.5 sacks alone. 

No. 12 Texas Tech @ No. 25 Oklahoma State

A good ol' fashioned Western shootout between the Red Raiders and Cowboys Saturday night. The total is high for a reason: both offenses are on fire heading into the game. Drew Mestemaker has a case to be the first quarterback taken in the NFL Draft next year. He leads the conference in passing yards per game (329) and passing touchdowns (29). 

Thomas Castellanos has taken over the starting job and filled in nicely. Last week, he became the first power-conference player since Miami’s D’Eriq King in 2020 to throw for 350 yards and five passing touchdowns in the same game, while rushing for 100 yards. 

Oklahoma State has won its last three home games against top 10 teams. Mestemaker has thrown for at least 300 yards in eight consecutive games. The Red Raiders need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. A loss would seemingly end their chance at a CFP berth.