The Oakland Raiders travel to Kansas City to play the Chiefs for first place in the AFC West to kick off the week.

Here's a look at the players to watch in all the games:

Oakland Raiders

The Chiefs and Raiders will be limping into Thursday night's meeting coming off big comeback wins. The winner will have the inside track in the AFC West. Read more

Kansas City Chiefs

It's been a long time since the Chiefs have played a December game with as much at stake as Thursday night’s game against the Raiders. Kansas City would be in the driver's seat in its quest to win its first AFC West championship since 2010 with a win over Oakland. Read more

Pittsburgh Steelers

Buffalo's rushing attack will be a central focus in Pittsburgh's meeting rooms this week. The Bills lead the league with 23 rushing touchdowns, and coach Mike Tomlin said LeSean McCoy's 5.5-yard average per carry is "ridiculous." But the Buffalo passing game isn't exactly a threat. Read more

Buffalo Bills

The latest challenge for Rex Ryan's Bills? The Steelers' eighth-ranked passing offense headlined by Antonio Brown, the NFL's fourth-leading receiver this season. Read more

Denver Broncos

Coach Gary Kubiak always has prided himself on having the kind of physical team that can run the ball, but it will be a long day in Nashville on Sunday if the Broncos can't match, in some way, the power offense the Titans will bring to the proceedings. Read more

Tennessee Titans

An upset of Denver assures the Titans a share of first place in the AFC South through Week 14, but they'll have to beat a defense as good or better than any they've seen. Read more

Washington Redskins

This might be just what the Redskins need: a team with seven losses in nine games and a rookie quarterback still adjusting to the NFL. If the Redskins want to remain in strong contention for a playoff spot, they must take advantage of the Eagles' current state. Read more

Philadelphia Eagles

Would it be the right decision for the Eagles to bring DeSean Jackson back into the fold at this stage of his career? That's a question for the weeks ahead. For Sunday, a suddenly leaky Eagles defense needs to figure out how to limit the Washington receiver. Read more

Arizona Cardinals

One of the best matchups will be the Cards' run defense trying to slow one of the most productive running backs in the game, Jay Ajayi. Read more

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins will look to bounce back Sunday against the Cardinals after getting their six-game winning streak snapped last week. The stakes and intensity are raised with teams vying for playoff positioning, and the Dolphins know they must respond to make a postseason push. Read more

San Diego Chargers

San Diego faces an even more athletic version of Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston when they hit the road to face the Panthers this weekend and reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton. Read more

Carolina Panthers

Philip Rivers must be licking his chops for Sunday’s game against the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. This will be the first time he has played in the state of North Carolina since his senior season at NC State in 2003. Read more

Cincinnati Bengals

The Browns have been a revolving door of quarterbacks this season, but it looks like the Bengals finally will see quarterback Robert Griffin III, who has not played since he was injured in the season opener. Read more

Cleveland Browns

The Bengals are looking on Sunday's visit to Cleveland as a chance to get back into the fringes of the AFC playoff hunt. Their chances are not great with a 4-7-1 record, but if they lose to the Browns, they will practically, if not actually, eliminate themselves. Read more

Chicago Bears

The Bears are feeling good after their victory over San Francisco, but the level of competition is about to rise when they visit Ford Field. The Lions have won seven of eight and sit atop the NFC North standings, and Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford, well, he’s cruising. Read more

Detroit Lions

The Lions are clear playoff contenders, and if the franchise would like to hold on to that this season, games like Sunday against the Bears are ones Detroit should easily handle. The Bears are a beat-up bunch, down to their third quarterback, without their top two wide receivers, and owning an injured defense. Read more

Houston Texans

Heading into a crucial divisional matchup, the Texans are catching Colts quarterback Andrew Luck at his best. In his return after missing a game with a concussion, Luck finished 22-of-28 for 278 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions on Monday night against the Jets. Read more

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are catching the Texans at the right time. They've won three of their past four games and the Texans are on a three-game losing streak. The loser of Sunday's game will fall into at least second place in the AFC South since they're currently in a three-way tie for first place with Tennessee. Read more

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings have lost six of their past seven games, and they might need to win their final four to reach the playoffs for a second straight season. The first game up on the slate might not be a bad way to start. Read more

Jacksonville Jaguars

It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a lot of points at EverBank Field on Sunday when the Vikings visit the Jaguars. Both teams’ offenses are among the league’s worst. Read more

New York Jets

The Jets will travel to the West Coast this weekend to take a look at two potential quarterbacks of their future -- Bryce Petty and Colin Kaepernick. Read more

San Francisco 49ers

The Jets come to town on a short week after playing on Monday night against Indianapolis and must travel across the country for this one. The Niners, meanwhile, are looking for any possible way to break their franchise-record 11-game losing streak. Read more

New Orleans Saints

Both of these teams got off to a lousy 1-3 start. But the Buccaneers have thundered back and are on a four-game win streak. The Saints haven’t won four straight games in more than three years. Read more

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs will try to make it five in a row and keep their playoff hopes alive when they face the Saints this weekend in Tampa Bay. Stopping Drew Brees will be, by far, the toughest challenge. Read more

Atlanta Falcons

Once again, Matt Ryan and the Falcons face a tough defensive front as they travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams on Sunday. Plus, Ryan's offense might not be at full strength, with star receiver Julio Jones battling turf toe, left tackle Jake Matthews recovering from a knee sprain and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu dealing with a groin strain. Read more

Los Angeles Rams

Jones, quite possibly one of the game's greatest receiver, has turf toe, and there's a belief that the wise, pragmatic thing would be for Atlanta to let him rest for at least a week or two. The Rams' likely response: "Yes, please." Read more

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks hold a three-game lead in the NFC West with four to play, meaning that barring a monumental collapse, they will be division champions. But there's still plenty to play for. Read more

Green Bay Packers

The Packers and Seahawks meet Sunday for the fourth time in a little more than two calendar years, if you count the 2014 NFC Championship Game (which most Packers’ fans would surely rather forget). This will be another critical game for the Packers and their playoff hopes, while the Seahawks are firmly in control of the NFC West. Read more

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys can exact some revenge on the Giants with a win Sunday at MetLife Stadium since their only loss this season has been to their NFC East rivals. More important than any revenge, however, is that a win would clinch their second division title in three years and possibly earn them a bye or home-field advantage. Read more

New York Giants

The Giants and Cowboys have seen each other once before. But not in their current forms. It has been almost three months since they met in the season opener in Texas. A lot has changed since then. Read more

Baltimore Ravens

It'll be the best against the best when Baltimore plays at New England on Monday Night Football. The Ravens are the NFL's No. 1 defense and the Patriots counter with Tom Brady. Read more

New England Patriots

With the Patriots set to host the Ravens on Monday night, this is a good week to highlight how two of the NFL’s oldest players continue to excel. Brady, at 39, is the oldest non-kicker playing in the NFL. Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., at 37, is the sixth-oldest non-kicker playing. Read more