David’s Top 10 Sunday Night Football Matchups For 2020

The 2020 national Football League schedule has been released and we can now dig into some of the big potential matchups of the year. The global pandemic has put aa halt to the sports world at the moment but that doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to discuss. Let’s just hope that the NFL season starts on time and is played to its fullest. Today, I will be taking a look at the Top 10 Sunday Night Football games for the 2020 season.

10) New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks, September 20th

This game might have been ranked higher had Tom Brady still been with the Patriots. Still, this should be a very good game. The Pats have confidence in Jarrett Stidham and while he doesn’t have a tone of weapons, other than Julian Edelman, he should have a good year. The pats will be led by their defense this year which was the best in the league last year and should be just as good this year. The Seahawks will challenge for the NFC West Title and they have Russell Wilson, who always seems to put on a good show in primetime. This should be a good close game.

9) Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams, September 13th

The Dallas Cowboys did very well in upgrading their team through the Draft. They already had RB Ezekiel Elliott, QB Dak Prescott, WR Michael Gallup and WR Amari Cooper and have now added WR Ceedee Lamb. This will be a scary offense but it will have a challenge against a very solid Los Angeles defense. The Rams also have a good offense with Jared Goff throwing the ball all over the place but Dallas does have a very good defense. This will be the first game for the Rams in their new building (SoFi Stadium) and that will just add to the drama of a game between two solid NFC teams.

8) Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, November 29th

Now you know I had to have this game on the list as it is one of the best rivalries in the history of the league. The Bears will be about a .500 team this year but they will still play a good game against their hated rivals. Chicago hopes that their offense can get going this year but they do have a good defense and the Packers did very little to upgrade their offense this year. Green bay may have lost the NFC North title in the draft as it was not a good one for them at all. The last five games between these teams have been decided by one score and I see that trend continuing here.

7) Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks, October 11th

The Minnesota Vikings had a monster draft this year and they should be a force in the NFC all season long. Minnesota has a solid offense led by Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook and it will be tested against what should be a tough Seattle defense in this one. The Seahawks will probably finish 2nd in their defense but that doesn’t mean they are not a team that can post double-digit wins, just like they did a year ago. The Seahawks have a very solid offense that is led by Russell Wilson, who threw for 240 yards and two TDs in last year’s 37-30 win over the Vikings. That game was a barnburner and this one could be as well.

6) Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers, October 4th

The Philadelphia Eagles did not have a great draft. Yes, they got a receiver, which they needed, but they could have had a better one in the draft. Philadelphia does have a nice offense and the defense should be fine as well. The 49ers have another solid team on their hands after making it to the Super Bowl a season ago. They did lose WR Emmanuel Sanders but many of their core players have returned and have added WR Brandon Aiyuk in the draft while also adding Travis Benjamin through free agency. The Niners will have a solid team but the Eagles are no slouch and that will make a solid game for the Sunday night audiences.

5) Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots, November 15th

Even though Tom Brady is no longer with the Pats, this will still be one of the bigger games of the year overall. The Pats still have Bill Belichick, the best defense in the league, and a ton of confidence in Jarrett Stidham, who is taking over the departed Brady. The Pats are also at home for this game and they always play well here. The Ravens are one of the favorites to head to the Super Bowl and they are led by a powerful offense. Seeing that offense go up against the top-rated defense of the Patriots will be worth the price of admission alone. The Ravens won by 17 points in last year’s meeting but that was in Baltimore while the Pats have won the last two here. The last three games between these teams have averaged 58.7 ppg, so we could see a high scoring game here.

4) Green Bay Packers vs New Orleans Saints, September 27th

This should be a very good game between a pair of teams that will be in the hunt for division titles and playoff spots later in the season. I am not extremely high on the Packers this year, especially since they did very little to help out the offense but Green Bay still has Aaron Rodgers and he always gives them a chance to win. The Saints have another strong team on their hands and they have no issues at all with their offense, especially after adding the speedy Emmanuel Sanders. He will pair nicely with Michael Thomas, who led the league in receiving yards last year. Both offenses should have some fun in this one, which will make this one of the better Sunday night games of the year.

3) Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, November 1st

This game is near the middle of the season but it could go a long way to determining who will win the NFC East this year. I do like the Cowboys to take the division but this game is in Philadelphia and a win by the Eagles would be huge for them. Dallas has one of the best offenses in the league that should do damage against a Philadelphia defense that has struggled against the pass the last few years. The Eagles still have a decent offense but will it be good enough to take down the Cowboys? We shall see. Three of the last four games between these divisional rivals have been decided by one score and this one should follow suit.

2) New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, November 8th

This one should be a barnburner. I feel that the saints will win the division but an upset bt the Tampa Bay Bucs could be a turning point in the race. The Saints won the division by six games last year but the gap has certainly closed a bit after the Bucs had a huge offseason that saw them land Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski while solidifying their offensive line with Tristan Wirfs. The Saints are still the class of the division and they have upgraded their offense with the addition of WR Emmanuel Sanders. This game has a shot at being a complete shootout as we have two of the best QBs in the history of the league slinging the ball all over creation. The last five games between these teams have averaged 58.2 ppg and that means we should be in for one of the most exciting Sunday night games of the year.

1) San Francisco 49ers vs Dallas Cowboys, December 20th

And the top Sunday night game of the year should be, the San Francisco 49ers travel to the Lone Star State to grapple with the Dallas Cowboys. The Niners have a strong team this year and while the may not win 13 games like last year, they still should win the NFC West. the Cowboys had a very good draft and they should walk away with the NFC East division. A big reason why this game should be so big is that it is late in the year and it could be for the number one seed in the NFC. Making it even more interesting is that the Niners will be looking for revenge from a blowout loss to Dallas back in 2017. I will look for this game to be far closer and it also could be a high-scoring game.