Ten NFL games you'd be crazy not to watch this season

It's not too early to call: The road to Super Bowl LII travels through these 10 games.

By Rana L. Cash Star Tribune

April 23, 2017 — 12:18am

A few assessments can be made about this NFL season without much dispute:

• No team is going to ease its way to U.S. Bank Stadium for Super Bowl LII.

• The odds of a champion repeating are slim (hello, Patriots).

• And history says the team that calls the host stadium home is never around at the end (looking at you, Vikings).

But let's face it, these 17 weeks are fraught with surprise and disaster. Be leery of the person who claims to know exactly how this all ends. This much, however, we can reasonably presume: These 10 games will define the 2017 NFL season.

Week 1: Giants at Cowboys

Dak Prescott (right) narrowly lost his NFL debut in Week 1 vs. the Giants a year ago. He's a better version of that quarterback now, but the Giants are more dangerous, too, having added receiver Brandon Marshall. Two Super Bowl contenders knock heads right away.

Week 2: Vikings at Steelers

The Vikings jumped out to a 5-0 start last year before it all fell apart. We'll see here whether they've rebounded, with a tough road test against tried-and-true Ben Roethlisberger.

Week 4: Raiders at Broncos

If the Raiders are the team we saw before Derek Carr's season-ending injury, they'll dominate their AFC West rival. Anything less will be a disappointment for Bay Area fans hungry for a championship before the team's departure to Las Vegas.

Week 5: Packers at Cowboys

They're two of the NFC favorites, with two of the league's best quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers and Prescott. But both teams had holes to fill in the offseason. By this point, we'll know how much headway they made.

Week 6: Eagles at Panthers

Was Carson Wentz (right) a fluke? Is Cam Newton healthy enough to put 2016 in the rear view? This Thursday night game should reveal a lot about two teams that could either get back into the playoffs or fail to budge.

Week 7: Falcons at Patriots

You know the Falcons aren't over it. That dramatic Super Bowl collapse — or was it a dramatic comeback? — will still be at the front of their minds when the rematch kicks off in New England.

Week 10: Seahawks at Cardinals

It'd be foolish to overlook either of these teams. When healthy, they have the rosters, schemes and coaches to be disruptive. They could enter this game as one-loss teams.

Week 11: Patriots at Raiders

Who would've guessed just a few years ago this game could be potentially meaningful? It's hard to picture the Patriots losing — unless you erase from your mind the Raiders of old and see the ones that were playoff contenders a year ago.

Week 13: Steelers at Bengals

As much as two teams can despise one another, they do, and they can't hide it. For hot blood alone, this is a must-see. But more than that, the AFC North (Browns aside) is arguably the nastiest and most closely contested division in football.