5 best games to watch during Oakland Raiders’ bye

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 05: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders of the Oakland Raiders looks on during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 05: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders of the Oakland Raiders looks on during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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MIAMI GARDENS, FL – NOVEMBER 05: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders of the Oakland Raiders looks on during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – NOVEMBER 05: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders of the Oakland Raiders looks on during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

The Oakland Raiders may not be playing football in Week 10, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the NFL this week. Here are the five best games to watch.

You don’t have to not watch NFL football this weekend just because the Oakland Raiders are on bye. Oakland is one of four teams on their annual byes this week. The three other teams are the Baltimore Ravens (4-5), the Kansas City Chiefs (6-3) and the Philadelphia Eagles (8-1).

While at least three of these teams on bye pop on television, it’s not like there won’t be excellent football on the slate for your enjoyment this week. In essence with the Raiders not playing, you get to pick and choose how you spend your Sunday afternoon.

There are 12 games to choose from on Sunday. I’m here to help you figure out which ones that would be worth your time to watch. Unless you have multiple tv’s in your man cave, it will be hard to watch all five of these games this weekend. That being said, there is plenty of good football to watch and several games with playoff implications in the AFC and NFC.

Without further ado, here are the five games on Nov. 12 that will be worth watching. Some have more playoff implications than national appeal, but these games in mid-November are certainly important.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – NOVEMBER 05: Yannick Ngakoue No. 91 of the Jacksonville Jaguars celebrates a play on the field in the second half of their game against the Cincinnati Bengals at EverBank Field on November 5, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL – NOVEMBER 05: Yannick Ngakoue No. 91 of the Jacksonville Jaguars celebrates a play on the field in the second half of their game against the Cincinnati Bengals at EverBank Field on November 5, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images)

5. Los Angeles Chargers (3-5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3)

In terms of national appeal, this game certainly does not have that. That being said, the Los Angeles Chargers are a division rival of the Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars are playing their best ball since Jack Del Rio was their head coach back in 2007.

Kickoff from EverBank Field in Jacksonville will be at 10:00 a.m. PT, 1:00 p.m. ET. CBS will have the telecast with Andrew Catalon and James Lofton in the booth. This game will not be nationally televised, so you’ll need either NFL Sunday Ticket or find an available live stream to catch the Chargers at the Jaguars. Check 506sports.com to see if it is in your area.

What makes this the fifth best game to watch this weekend is that is certainly has an impact on the AFC playoff picture. Los Angeles has to win in North Florida to stay alive in the AFC playoff race. A 3-6 Chargers team has almost no shot of making the playoffs. Keep in mind this is Gus Bradley’s return to Duval County. The Chargers defensive coordinator was the Jaguars’ previous head coach.

This game features some outstanding defensive players. Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram are about as good of a duo you could hope for coming off the edge for Los Angeles. Calais Campbell and Jalen Ramsey are putting together All-Pro seasons on a dominating Jacksonville defense. We’ve also got potential picks galore in this game with the gunslinging Philip Rivers and the interception machine that is Blake Bortles.

Schedule