Top 17 games of the 2017 NFL season: Must-see matchups Published: Apr 17, 2017 at 03:56 AM Elliot Harrison Ahh, the rematch. We don't get those too often. At least, we rarely see them . And this one just happens to be a replay of arguably the greatest -- or at least most stunning -- Super Sunday of all time. at will mark just the third time in two decades -- and the seventh time ever -- that the two combatants meet in the very next regular season. And that's just one game from the intriguing slate the league will feature in 2017. After carefully studying , I came up with the top 17 matchups of 2017. Some of the old, familiar retreads got no love this time around. There's room for a few unusual contests pitting new coach against old team, as well as a showdown between quarterbacks drafted in succe sion. So take a look, tell me what I mi sed: is the place. 17) San Francisco 49ers at Washington Redskins I can't help myself, putting this seemingly innocuous NFC matchup on the list. Seemingly innocuous, that is, until you think about a certain signal caller ... Will be in a uniform? Perhaps not, as the po sibility he gets traded seems to get more remote by the day. That said, if the don't deal him, they might get a third-round compensatory pick next offseason when Cousins bolts for the Niners (... in theory, of course). How will Cousins handle those questions leading up to the game? We should mention: Pierre Garon will be going up against his former team. Get excited. 16) Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins Vance Joseph goes against the team whose defense he led last season. Can Joseph direct the ' defensive unit the way Wade Phillips did over the last two seasons? This game should be evenly matched, although the have a better opportunity to make the postseason via winning the AFC West. (The , of course, play in the AFC New England -- I mean, AFC East.) Is ready to take that proverbial step forward in Year 2 of Adam Gase's L'Jarius Sneed Jersey offense? This matchup will be quite telling on that front. By the way, Joseph said at the NFL's Annual League Meeting, "My belief system is Wade's." Sounds cool. Will his defensive results mirror Wade's? And how much will Joseph's former defense take it to ? 15) Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers Another seemingly random matchup, but intriguing on the coaching front. Sean McDermott was given much credit for the ' ascension from NFC South champ to team in the 2015 season. Although the disappointed in 2016, McDermott still had enough juice to land his first head-coaching gig. This is the kind of interconference slugfest the need to win to be a playoff team. (Think of .) vs. is interesting, as well. Taylor stays in the pocket more, but is he really far behind Newton as a complete player? Newton has been more ballyhooed for his athleticism and such, while no one seemed too excited about . Seems out of balance to me. 14) New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers There are three certifiable quarterbacks in the NFL right now: , and (with a likely candidate). With the and not in the same division, and Brees 38 years old, there won' Nick Allegretti Jersey t be too many more meetings between Rodgers and him. , they combined for a mere 765 yards pa sing and touchdowns. The year before, they locked horns in a heckuva contest to kick off the season that . The ' offense should present quite the challenge for a New Orleans defense Sean Payton has focused on improving. 13) Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Perhaps no signing made people put the thinking emoji -- or the upside-down emoji (my personal favorite) -- in their tweets more than for what felt like 50 billion dollars. OK, so it was $15 million per year on what ultimately was deemed a team-friendly deal. While Glennon's (good) fortune revealed what the quarterback market commands in 2017, it also provides him an opportunity to prove he is a commodity, not simply a viable starter. Glennon was decent in Tampa, but not many young quarterbacks can fend off a team using the No. 1 pick on a worthy quarterback. 's talent demanded the Bucs take him. Has general QB demand truly overinflated the price tag on a guy like Glennon? He will show all of us, including his former team. 12) First Los Angeles Chargers home game (vs. Miami Dolphins) While the ' move to Los Angeles was met with a collective yawn, what you heard is that many of us are wondering what it will be like to watch an NFL team in what could be deemed an intimate setting -- . This harkens back to the early days of the AFL, or even farther back to 1940s NFL, when some teams were playing in front of those crowds at smaller venues. 11) New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers Who knows where to place this contest? These two teams have faced off three times over the past two seasons, with none of the three bouts being particularly awesome. Thus, what has looked rad on paper has turned out kinda blah on TV. The closest contest was , which was devoid of . Ditto the majority of last season's AFC Championship Game, as Bell's gimpy groin sidelined him in the first quarter. At some point, these two AFC goliaths will play at full bore with full health, and it should be awesome. I still think, had Bell not been hurt in , that Pittsburgh -- not New England -- would've played Seattle in . 10) Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Rams What? You're not feeling at ? Alright, I get it -- Philly probably will finish third in the NFC East, while the might hang around the cellar of their division. Yet, this game is intriguing because it will be the first time we see and go up against one another. In fact, we rarely see two quarterbacks drafted first and second overall play each other early in their respective careers. and went at it right off the bat. Seriously -- it was their first pro game. While league observers are excited about Wentz and having many meetings to come in the NFC East, everyone seems to have blown off Goff. Let's see what the guy can do in his first full season as a starter. 9) Houston Texans at Seattle Seahawks With a premier quarterback, the not only would be a contender, but it would make this Houston-Seattle matchup one of the very best games. Even under center for Houston, though, this showdown offers plenty of intrigue. These two defenses should provide a fantastic game, especially with and healthy. Those are two of the best in the game at their respective positions. Moreover, how about versus the only unit in the modern era to lead the league in point allowed for four straight years (only Shane Buechele Jersey snapping that streak this past season)? That's precisely why at is listed, because this should be one of the most physical matchups of the year. Now, imagine if Romo stepped out of the booth ... Nah. 8) Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons The NFC Championship Game we get. Unfortunately. With no offense to the , at would have been a much tighter contest, with the second-seeded Dirty Birds on the road. While Atlanta's offense will be all the Dallas defense can handle -- especially with all the ' lo ses in the secondary -- the never had to worry about the game being dictated to them when playing Green Bay this past January. That is precisely what happens when the ' running game gets going with . Still, this matchup is likely to be a track meet, and perhaps a preview of the 2017 NFC Championship Game. Cool that , and Elliott were all in the MVP race last year, only adding to this game's intrigue. (Now watch rush for 185 yards.) 7) New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Now we're Christian Okoye Jersey diving into the really fun matchups. at might not be a game that jumps off the schedule at first glance, but it should. That Tampa defense should get off to a quick start. This unit was playing great last season until the last two games, which should change with the addition of and the continued development of young stud . Alexander and were the toughest omi sions from . Winston earned that prestigious honor, and should be more effective in Year 3. How serious a contender will Tampa be? This game against New England provides a useful gauge, but the Bucs could win 10-plus games. The Pats have struggled in Florida lately. No, seriously. 6) Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons Replaying a conference title game is never a bad thing, especially when the highly anticipated matchup turned out to be . Will this rematch be a new dud in Atlanta's new digs? Doubtful -- especially with the yuck taste in Rodgers and Company's mouth after the way they played against these guys in January. Much depends on how Green Bay's pa s defense holds up against , , and those RBs coming out of the backfield. Of course, Kyle Shanahan's departure to San Francisco could mean that offense will be slightly le s track meet-ish. Then again, that man experienced an avalanche of blame from the Twitter millions following the , so ... we'll see? 5) Dallas Cowboys at Oakland Raiders Any time these two teams get together -- once every four years -- it feels like cla sic football. Two storied franchises with eight Lombardi Trophies between them and Good-vs.-Evil history makes for fun times. Yep, nothing like the against the Oaklllll ... eh ... uh ... Las Vegas(?) . Ugh. OK, scratch those previous sentences. At least both teams are solid, with quality quarterbacks, stud receivers and defenses that pretty much ensure the game won't be 17-13. Both organizations feel like they are on the 's doorstep. That's awesome. And yes, it'll be even better opposite Zeke running for the . 4) Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs Easily the most intriguing of the AFC postseason rematches. While at sexy, the reality is that stunk, as did -- partially because the have been partial. (Availability is the most important ability, football fans.) Meanwhile, Pittsburgh and Kansas City locked up in an old-school, '70s-style matchup that (and of ). fans thought they were robbed. The advanced. These two teams present a fascinating contrast in approach -- from coaching styles to offenses to the strengths of their defenses. Great uni matchup, too, while we're at it. 3) New England Patriots at Oakland Raiders (Mexico City) While the 2016 were cruising the last few weeks of their 14-2 campaign, everyone was wondering aloud who would challenge them in the AFC. The were fumbling around. No one trusted the ' pa sing game to take down New England. Oakland? Now was a title threat with juice. Sure, the defense was middling, at best. But could keep up with . Not to mention, head coach Jack Del Rio was gutsy enough to make for a fascinating coaching matchup. Annnnnd we ended up getting because Carr fell late in season. Subsequently, one half of football told us what we all needed to know (but didn't want to hear): Oakland was going nowhere in January without Carr. These two could see each other in the playoffs -- again. Remember their controversial postseason affairs from 1976, 1985 and 2001? 2) Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers There's been a lot of talk about becoming a permanent addition in the Green Bay backfield. Well, will take it to Tershawn Wharton Jersey his former team from his new perch in the ' backfield. That makes at -- which hasn't produced wonderful games the last two years -- much more fun. How about more fun? Never mind. Don't forget that, besides going against (they hold the top two career pa ser ratings in NFL history), and will go at it, too. 1) Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots Many thought this would be the Kickoff Game. Nope, that's at Pats. We'll have to wait until midseason for this rematch of an unbelievable . For all those who rooted hard for the in February, well, their football hopes might be dashed again, given that this deal is not on a neutral field, the Atlanta offense will be different and could fly past the ' secondary like nobody's busine s. So here's a piece of advice for new OC Steve Sarkisian: Run the football. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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