Chiefs, Lions, Seahawks in Key Weekend Games

NFL Week 11 features a pre-Thanksgiving feast.

Three games that match Super Bowl contenders highlight the weekend card as the league navigates into the early stretch drive.

The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle, both 7-2, will play for first place in the NFC West at SoFi Stadium. The game features Rams’ top MVP candidate Matthew Stafford and Seahawks’ dark horse candidate Sam Darnold, although there is plenty of season left for others to polish a resume.

Denver and Kansas City will meet in the Mile High City, with the Broncos in position to take a three-game lead over the defending AFC champion Chiefs in the AFC West.

Defending Super Bowl winner Philadelphia will host Detroit in a meeting that was supposed to happen in the NFC championship game a year ago, when the Lions entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed but were upset by Washington in the division series.

If nothing else, the high degree of skill these games promise guarantees a worthwhile weekend. Let’s attack them in order of start time.

Seattle Seahawks (7-2) at Los Angeles Rams (7-2)

Sunday, FOX, 4:05 pm ET

The Eagles and Lions can argue, but numbers suggest that the Rams and Seahawks are the best teams in the NFC, which at this points means best in the league. Linesmakers rate them even; the spread is a nod to home field.

The Rams are fifth in the league in total offense behind a rejuvenated Stafford, who leads the league with 25 touchdowns passes, but their real strength is a defense that has a plus-seven turnover margin, a perk in often playing from ahead. They are second in points allowed and fifth in yards allowed

Seattle is in the same atmosphere — third in scoring and fifth in defense. Darnold and Stafford are 2-3 in quarterback rating, and both have been kept clean. Darnold has been sacked only 10 times, Stafford 14.

Trends collide. The Rams are 8-2 against the number in the last 10 meetings, but the Seahawks have covered the last two in L.A. Seattle is 4-0 straight up and and against the number on the road this season and is 11-1 on the road under coach Mike Macdonald.

The spread: Rams -3

The money line: Rams -172, Seahawks +144

The total: 48 1/2

The play: Seahawks

Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) at Denver Broncos (8-2)

Sunday, CBS, 4:25 pm ET

Denver has won two of the last three and was a blocked field goal from making it a hat trick after the Chiefs had completely dominated the series, winning the previous 16.

The Broncos’ 38-0 win last season comes with an asterisk, because the Chiefs rested Patrick Mahomes and the regulars in Week 18 with their postseason seed locked.

Mahomes is back on top. He is fifth in the league in passing yards and is second to Darnold in ESPN’s adjusted quarterback ranking, a metric that also considers game situations and opposing defenses.

Bo Nix has more TD passes than Mahomes, 18-15, but his expected breakout season has had ups and downs. Nix is 18th in the adjusted quarterback ranking and 27th in the NFL’s more transitional rating system.

These teams play defense They are both in the top five in points allowed and the top six in yards allowed. The Broncos have 46 sacks, by far the most in the league, and the game may hinge on how well they contain Mahomes’ off-script plays.

The spread: Chiefs -3 1/2

The money line: Chiefs -210, Broncos -176

The total: 44 1/2

The play: Chiefs

Detroit Lions (6-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (7-2)

Sunday, NBC/Peacock, 8:20 pm ET

So much for the soft sell.

“We’ve had this one our calendar,” Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson told reporters this week. “We really see this as a must win. Every year the standard is to battle for that No. 1 seed, and they’re one of those teams that we’re going battle with.”

Must-win? Much too early. The Lions should roll into the playoffs regardless. But a barometer? Certainly.

Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs is this season’s Saquon Barkley. Gibbs has 920 yards from scrimmage — 693 rushing — and 10 combined touchdowns as the Lions again feature one of the league’s most varied, prolific attacks.

Philly does not make mistakes. They have committed only four turnovers this season, and quarterback Jalen Hurts has thrown 16 touchdowns and one pick. (That lack of a more robust attack has frustrated A.J. Brown, among others.)

Coach Dan Campbell likes this spot. The Lions are 13-3 in prime time in his five seasons, 12-4 against the number.

The spread: Eagles -2 1/2

The money line: Eagles -144, Lions +122

The total: 46 1/2

The play: Lions

Last week: 2-1

Season: 15-17

_{Odds from FanDuel}