SUN 24
Giants at Bears (noon, Fox-32): Our crack research team has done a lot of digging and, lo and behold, it turns out neither the Giants, losers of six straight, nor the Bears, losers of five of their last six, are in last place. See that? It only seems like these are the respective dregs of the NFC’s East and North divisions.
Packers at 49ers (7:20 p.m., Ch. 5): Quick show of hands, people — who had the Niners at 9-1 and leading the NFC in both scoring offense and scoring defense heading into Week 12? No one? Didn’t think so. The 8-2 Packers are no slouches, but you won’t catch us admitting that in public.
MON 25
Ravens at Rams (7:15 p.m., ESPN): Even as Lamar Jackson was locking down the Heisman Trophy at Louisville, there were doubts — loads of ’em — about his ability to translate his skills to the next level. No one was more must-watch then, and the same is true now of the quarterback of the top-scoring team in the NFL. That would be Baltimore, for those of you scoring at home.
WED 27
Bulls at Warriors (9:30 p.m., NBCSCH): Look, we’re no Bulls apologists, but look how far they’ve come! They have a better record than the three-time champs and at last can hold their own in the talent department with them. The words “Finals preview” almost come to mind, do they not?
THU 28
Bears at Lions (11:30 a.m., Fox-32): Will the Bears see Matthew Stafford back under center for the Lions, or will it be another outing against backup QB Jeff Driskel? One is a dynamic playmaker capable of turning a game on a dime with his massive talent. The other is Stafford. But we kid our division rival.
FRI 29
Avalanche at Blackhawks (3 p.m., NBCSCH): It’s the first game of a back-to-back against one of the top teams in the Western Conference. If that sounds like an invitation to Andrew Shaw to blast Nathan MacKinnon into the boards a time or two, well, it is.
Wolves at Rockford (7 p.m., My 50): We’re back at that weird intersection where Chicago’s AHL team meets the Hawks’ AHL affiliate. Who’s a guy supposed to heckle?
SAT 30
Northwestern at Illinois (11 a.m., FS1): We could be looking at the Wildcats’ last chance to win a Big Ten game. We will be looking at the Illini’s last chance to improve upon their bowl destination. However it shakes out, roughly 100 times more people will be watching Ohio State at Michigan. And speaking of which …
Ohio State at Michigan (11 a.m., Fox-32): There are run-of-the-mill rivalries, and then there are the great ones that utterly define college football. The Iron Bowl. Bedlam. The Civil War. The Holy War. And, indeed, the annual Buckeyes-Wolverines skirmish known simply as The Game — although the nickname Another Jim Harbaugh Loss seems to be gaining traction.
