NFL Must-Watch Week 11: Lions Call Eagles Matchup 'Must-Win,' Bills Must Wake Up, A Battle For The NFC West

If we can agree the NFL has reached the stretch run of the regular season and no team has identified itself as elite, then we can also agree on something equally important.

… There are plenty of desperate NFL teams right now.

The Bills are desperate to keep pace with the blossoming Patriots in the AFC East.

Stafford And Darnold About To Battle

The Chiefs are desperate to get off the roller coaster and get on a roll instead because the former has them merely treading water with a middling record.

The Seahawks and Rams are both desperate to pull away from each other — something neither has done and something both opposing quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold, are paid to make happen.

The Eagles are desperate to play and get A.J. Brown the football so they can mute the noise that surrounds them, even amid success.

The Lions are desperate to prove they are the class of the NFC, but that means proving they're the class of the NFC North first.

All those teams are playing must-watch games in Week 11:

Buccaneers (6-3) @ Bills (6-3) 

WHY IT MATTERS: Both teams enter following disappointing losses and managing troubling injuries — the Bucs running back Bucky Irving and receiver Chris Godwin and Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid are all out. 

WHAT TO WATCH: Josh Allen hasn't been Josh Allen dominant since late September or early October, and it is time to see if he's going to lift an offense that is too often inconsistent. The Bucs are looking to play playoff-caliber football at a time when it's most needed.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

NARRATIVE: The Bills are supposed to be elite, and they looked that way until New England unmasked them a few weeks ago. They seem kind of lost ever since. They're coming off an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins and cannot afford to fall further behind the Patriots in the AFC East. The Bucs are in the middle of a tough stretch against three potential playoff teams – the Patriots last week, Bills this week and Rams next week. The schedule promises to get easier after that, but the test of their mettle is now.

(Amanda Loman/Getty Images)

Seahawks (7-2) @ Rams (7-2)

WHY IT MATTERS: The first goal for both these teams was not to win the Super Bowl or the NFC title, but to win their division. And here they are, locked in a tie for first place which will be broken by the outcome of this game. 

WHAT TO WATCH: Matthew Stafford could be the NFL's best quarterback at the moment. He obviously leads the NFL in TD passes. And that's kind of amazing considering he was shopping for a new team in the offseason until cooler minds prevailed. Sam Darnold did find a new team in the offseason and outdueling Stafford is one of the reasons he was signed. 

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

NARRATIVE: These really are pretty complete teams, and we're about to find out which NFC West team becomes a favorite, at least for now, to reach the NFC championship game.

(Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

Chiefs (5-4) at Broncos (8-2) 

WHY IT MATTERS: The AFC West still runs through Kansas City. Maybe. The Chiefs can't just say this and it will be true anymore. They have to show it and Denver's seven consecutive victories casts doubt on that. 

WHAT TO WATCH: The Chiefs might be getting a personnel boost in that left tackle Josh Simmons has practiced all week and could be ready to play after mysteriously missing multiple games while away handling an undisclosed personal matter. This is big against Denver's attacking defense that leads the NFL with 46 sacks. The CBS pregame show will be live outside Denver's Empower Field.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

NARRATIVE: Patrick Mahomes is 13-1 all-time against the Broncos. But, although Denver has struggled offensively the past couple of weeks, they have shown they are a young team that knows how to do just enough to win tight games.

Lions (6-3) @ Eagles (7-2) SNF

WHY IT MATTERS: "We really have had this circled on the calendar for a long time. We really see this as a must-win." That's Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Does that explain why it matters?

WHAT TO WATCH: The ongoing soap opera that is the Eagles challenge of getting A.J. Brown the football is under the microscope because if quarterback Jalen Hurts doesn't get his best receiver involved, we now know the best receiver will tell everyone on social media like he did last week. 

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

NARRATIVE: These two were supposed to meet in the NFC championship game last season before the Washington Commanders so rudely interrupted with a big win over the Lions in the divisional round. Now Philly and the Motor City are locked in a chase for the conference's top seed with teams in the NFC West.