The New York Giants badly want a home-field victory over Dallas today, but all they can do is hope because the Cowboys' appearance at Giants Stadium will be against the New York Jets.
Should the good-defense Jets (8-5) upset Dallas (9-4), the Giants (10-3) would retain sole possession of first place in the NFC East no matter what they do against the Saints (7-6) at New Orleans Monday night.A Jets' victory also would keep them in the battle for first place in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills and Mimai Dolphins (each 9-4), who play Sunday at Miami.
The Cowboys, who will return to Giants Stadium against the Giants Jan. 2, have the second-best overall offense in the NFC, sparked by the passing of Troy Aikman, the receiving of Michael Irvin and the running of Emmitt Smith. The Jets have allowed only four touchdowns in the last seven games, but they haven't scored any in the last three games.
Broncos at Bears
In the other Saturday matchup, the Broncos (8-5) are coming off a big win over Kansas City and will throw the AFC's third-best total offense and third-best passing attack against the defense-minded Bears (7-6), who will be trying to rebound from a loss to Tampa Bay.
Bills at Dolphins
The Dolphins won the first game between these teams who are tied for first in the AFC East. Scott Mitchell could be back at quarterback for the Dolphins, who have lost two straight games, for the first time since he was injured Nov. 14.
Oilers at Steelers
Houston (9-4) has won eight straight games, including a victory over the Steelers (8-5), but the Oilers haven't won at Pittsburgh since 1989. The Steelers are 18-6 at home against the Oilers.
Vikings at Packers
The Packers' home game will be at Milwaukee. Green Bay (8-5) needs to win in order to stay in at least a tie with Detroit in the NFC Central. The Vikings (6-7) are looking for a second straight regular-season sweep of the Packers.
49ers at Lions
San Francisco (9-4) can clinch its 11th NFC West title since 1981 by beating the Lions (8-5), who again will be without injured running back Barry Sanders. The 49ers have the best overall offense in the NFL - 338.9 yards per game.
Chargers at Chiefs
Joe Montana of the Chiefs (9-4), first in the AFC West, needs two touchdown passes to move past Sonny Jurgensen (255) and into fourth place on the league's all-time list of TD passes. The Chargers (6-7) have suffered their last four losses by a total of 18 points.
Buccaneers at Raiders
To get their first-ever victory over the Raiders in only their third game against them, the Buccaneers (4-9) will have to keep Tim Brown and Rocket Ismail of Los Angeles (8-5) from catching the ball.
Falcons at Redskins
The Falcons (6-7), winners of six of their last eight games, will be trying for only their second win in nine games against the Redskins (3-10).
Patriots at Browns
This will be the first regular-season meeting between coaches Bill Parcells of the Patriots (2-11) and Bill Belichick of the Browns (6-7). Parcells was the Giants' head coach from 1983-90 and Belichick was his defensive coordinator during those years.
Cardinals at Seahawks
Rick Mirer of the Seahawks (5-8) needs to pass for 161 yards to set an NFL yardage record for a rookie quarterback. The record of 2,571 yards was set by Seattle's Jim Zorn in 1976.
Rams at Bengals
The Rams (4-9) roll into Cincinnati for the first time since 1984 behind Jerome Bettis, the rookie who has rushed for 1,103 yards and five touchdowns on 215 carries. The longest run from scrimmage this year for the Bengals (1-12) was a 29-yard dash by quarterback David Klingler in a 7-2 loss to the Patriots last Sunday.
Eagles at Colts
The Eagles (5-8) will play for the first time ever in the Hoosier Dome in their 12th meeting with the Colts (4-9).