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First Posted: 11/15/2014 A dozen days before Thanksgiving, the NFL is serving up quite a tasty schedule.
No fewer than five games pit teams with solid Super Bowl aspirations, including matchups of division leaders New England and Indianapolis, Detroit and Arizona.
Just as juicy are Seattle at Kansas City, Philadelphia at Green Bay, and Cincinnati at New Orleans.
Seeing the Colts and Patriots among the headliners this late in the season is not unique. But the Lions and Cardinals?
&#8220;Nobody would have picked Arizona-Detroit as the marquee matchup of the NFL in Week 11,&#8221; Detroit safety Glover Quin says.
Nope, neither the Lions nor Cardinals are accustomed to such rarefied air. The winner at University of Phoenix Stadium will have the inside track for best record in the NFC.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve been playing well, we&#8217;ve been playing tough and that kind of stuff, but this is a long season. It&#8217;s a journey and we&#8217;re still on that journey,&#8221; Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got the team with the best record in the National Football League coming up. You better get focused in on them quickly.&#8221;
The action began Thursday night when Miami rallied in the second half to knock off Buffalo 22-9. 
Off this week are Baltimore (6-4), Dallas (7-3), Jacksonville (1-9) and the New York Jets (2-8).
New England (7-2) at Indianapolis (6-3)
The Patriots are the NFL&#8217;s hottest team with five straight victories, including a romp past the Broncos before last week&#8217;s bye. A win over Indy could set them up for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.
After besting Peyton Manning, Tom Brady now faces off with Andrew Luck.
&#8220;He&#8217;s a great player,&#8221; Brady says. &#8220;He&#8217;s in his third year, and he&#8217;s had a lot of success.&#8221;
Luck has similar thoughts about Brady.
&#8220;Yeah, I think if you&#8217;re a fan of football, it&#8217;s hard not to be a fan of Tom Brady,&#8221; Luck says.
Detroit (7-2) at Arizona (8-1)
Just like the Patriots, the Cardinals would have the inside track for staying home in the NFC playoffs with a win. But they head into the game &#8212; and the remainder of the schedule&#8212; without starting quarterback Carson Palmer (knee).
That means Drew Stanton must step in, which doesn&#8217;t seem to faze coach Bruce Arians.
This one might be decided by the defenses: Detroit is ranked first overall and Arizona leads the NFC with 19 takeaways.
Philadelphia (7-2) at Green Bay (6-3)
Another outstanding matchup in what could be a shootout, if Mark Sanchez, in for injured Nick Foles, can keep up with Aaron Rodgers.
A-Rod has been unstoppable recently, throwing for six touchdowns in the first half against Chicago last Sunday. The Packers&#8217; defense is starting to come around, as well.
So is Philly&#8217;s, with linebacker Connor Barwin having 10 1/2 sacks since Week 4, the most in the NFL.
Seattle (6-3) at Kansas City (6-3)
Yep, we love this combination, too. The Chiefs have won four straight, allowing just 50 points in that span, and six of seven. Defending champion Seattle is on a three-game win streak.
The Chiefs are the only NFL team that has not allowed a TD rushing. Marshawn Lynch ran for four last week against the Giants and tops the league with 12. Seattle has run for at least 100 yards in seven straight games.
Cincinnati (5-3-1) at New Orleans (4-5)
Not quite as spicy, but still significant, with both teams in the middle of division races. Actually, the Saints lead the weak NFC South despite a losing record.
The Saints have lost four games by three or fewer points, holding leads in all four in the last two minutes. They blew one last week to San Francisco in overtime.
Cincinnati, which has made the playoffs three consecutive years, is allowing about 392 yards per game, about 86 yards per game more than last season.
Houston (4-5) at Cleveland (6-3)
The Browns are on top of the AFC North &#8212; yes, you read that correctly &#8212; a division with all four members at least two games above .500. This is the latest they&#8217;ve been atop a division in November since 1994. They&#8217;ve won five of six, are 4-1 at home, and have allowed 68 points in the second half, second fewest in the league.
Houston has switched QBs from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Ryan Mallett, who will make his first career start. 
Pittsburgh (6-4) at Tennessee (2-7)
Monday night
Coming off an awful showing against the Jets in which they were plagued by turnovers and general sloppiness, the Steelers look to get their offense back on track. Wide receiver Antonio Brown leads the NFL with 1,070 yards receiving and 79 catches. 
Tennessee rookie QB Zach Mettenberger gets his third start.
Denver (7-2) at St. Louis (3-6)
The Rams benched QB Austin Davis for veteran Shaun Hill, but it&#8217;s their revitalized pass rush &#8212; 16 sacks in the past four games &#8212; that figures to test the Broncos most. Making Peyton Manning uncomfortable is job one.
Manning leads the NFL with 29 TD passes and is first in the AFC with a 112 passer rating. He comes off his ninth five-TD game, passing Drew Brees for the career lead, and has at least two TD passes in 15 consecutive games, the longest streak in league history.
San Francisco (5-4) at N.Y. Giants (3-6)
San Francisco stole one at the Superdome last week while the Giants were getting run over by the Seahawks. The Niners will look to pound New York&#8217;s lowest-ranked defense on the ground with Frank Gore, then turn QB Colin Kaepernick lose on the outside.
The 49ers also get LB Aldon Smith back from a nine-game suspension in the same week they lost LB Patrick Willis (toe) for the season.
Oakland (0-9) at San Diego (5-4)
Should the Raiders lose, they will have dropped 16 in a row dating back to 2013 &#8212; a season&#8217;s worth of futility.
San Diego is slumping with three successive defeats, including 37-0 at Miami before their bye. Getting healthier, the Chargers expect back RB Ryan Mathews, who&#8217;s missed six games with a knee injury, and LB Manti Te&#8217;o, who&#8217;s missed six games with a foot injury.
Minnesota (4-5) at Chicago (3-6)
This is how bad things have gotten for the Bears: Chicago was outscored 106-37 in the past two games, 94-7 in the first half of the past three. The Bears joined the 1923 Rochester Jeffersons as the only teams to yield 50 points in consecutive games and no team has done it in three straight.
Atlanta (3-6) at Carolina (3-6-1)
Falcons receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White like the sight of the Panthers. Jones has eight catches for 170 yards and three TDs in his past two games at Carolina. White has caught a TD pass in four straight games vs. Carolina.
But Panthers QB Cam Newton has won his past three starts against the Falcons, and TE Greg Olsen has caught a TD pass in five straight games vs. Atlanta.
Tampa Bay (1-8) at Washington (3-6)
This one has the potential to be sloppy. Tampa Bay has a minus-7 turnover differential; Washington is at minus-9.
Tampa Bay has lost five straight, scoring 17 points or fewer in the past four.
Redskins RB Alfred Morris is eighth in the NFL with 605 yards rushing, doesn&#8217;t have a 100-yard game this season.

Tasty group of games on tap