NFL TV Schedule 2016: Week 13 Channel Guide, Coverage Map and Live Stream

NFL Week 13 is upon us, and the playoff race is heating up in the AFC and NFC.

Many of the teams that are facing off this weekend could see each other again in their respective conference championship games or in the Super Bowl. 

Given the rising stakes, this week's slate features plenty of watchable games. The coverage maps, TV schedule and game previews below will tell you everything you need to know to watch the best matchups. 

Here are the TV coverage maps for this weekend's games, courtesy of 506 Sports: 

Below is all the information you need to know about the TV schedule for Week 13 as well as some picks and previews for the must-watch matchups.  

Date	Time (ET)	Away	Home	TV	Pick
Thursday	8:25 p.m.	DAL	MIN	NBC/NFLN	28-20, Cowboys
Sunday	1:00 p.m.	KC	ATL	CBS	30-21, Falcons
Sunday	1:00 p.m.	DET	NO	Fox	35-21, Saints
Sunday	1:00 p.m.	LA	NE	Fox	27-13, Patriots
Sunday	1:00 p.m.	DEN	JAC	CBS	24-14, Broncos
Sunday	1:00 p.m.	HOU	GB	CBS	24-17, Packers
Sunday	1:00 p.m.	PHI	CIN	Fox	21-17, Eagles
Sunday	1:00 p.m.	MIA	BAL	CBS	21-20, Ravens
Sunday	1:00 p.m.	SF	CHI	Fox	17-14, Bears
Sunday	4:05 p.m.	BUF	OAK	CBS	27-24, Raiders
Sunday	4:25 p.m.	NYG	PIT	Fox	24-21, Steelers
Sunday	4:25 p.m.	WAS	ARI	Fox	27-24, Cardinals
Sunday	4:25 p.m.	TB	SD	Fox	27-21, Chargers
Sunday	8:30 p.m.	CAR	SEA	NBC	23-21, Panthers
Monday	8:30 p.m.	IND	NYJ	ESPN	24-20, Colts

Must-Watch Matchups 

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings

This matchup between the NFC's top team, the Dallas Cowboys, and its once-top team, the Minnesota Vikings, comes in just fourth on ESPN's Matchup Quality rankings for Week 13.

However, it should prove to be one of the best matchups of the weekend thanks to the stakes at hand and the fact that it could be an NFC postseason preview.  

This is a classic faceoff between offense and defense. Per ESPN's Football Power Index, Dallas has the league's most efficient offense, while Minnesota features the most efficient defense in the NFL.

Note that "most efficient" is not the same as "most productive." Right now, New Orleans, not Dallas, is averaging the most yardage and points per game, and on the other side of the ball, Arizona, not Minnesota, is holding opponents to the lowest yardage. However, per ESPN.com, FPI "is composed of a predicted offensive, defensive and special teams efficiency, as measured by expected points added per play."

There's a lot on the line for the Vikings in this game. With a win, they come closer to unseating the Detroit Lions in the NFC North and return to the conversation of the NFC's top teams. To do that, however, they'll have to stop a Dallas offense that is averaging 407.6 yards and 28.7 points per game. 

Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks

Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty Images

Prior to the start of the NFL season, many would have listed this tilt between the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks as their NFC Championship Game prediction.

After all, both teams have been to the Super Bowl once in the last two years and have made the playoffs for three or more consecutive seasons. 

But it's safe to say no one would have guessed that the 7-3-1 Seahawks would be hosting a Panthers team that is 4-7 and now bringing up the rear in the NFC South. 

However, there may yet be hope for Carolina. Seattle is coming off an embarrassing 14-5 loss to another NFC South team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That loss was one of the worst games of Russell Wilson's career; he completed just 51.5 percent of his passes and threw for only 151 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. 

If the Panthers front seven can pressure Wilson and force him into another lousy day, Carolina will have a chance.

New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

According to FPI, a New York Giants win over the Pittsburgh Steelers would give New York a 95 percent chance of making the playoffs. 

In fact, the 8-3 Giants have won six consecutive games and have quietly secured their place as the team with the second-best record in the NFC, behind the 10-1 Dallas Cowboys.

Because the Giants have little hope of catching the Cowboys to claim the NFC East, their triumphs have been less heralded. But the Giants already seem to have put in a claim for one of the NFC's two wild-card berths.

They'll clamp down on that hold with a victory over the Steelers, who are also in second place in their own division. But the Steelers have perhaps even more to play for than the Giants; with a win and a Baltimore Ravens loss, Pittsburgh can claim control of the AFC North.

The second-place teams in the AFC East (7-4 Dolphins) and AFC West (8-3 Chiefs) have better records than the Steelers, and if they cannot leapfrog the Ravens for first place in the AFC North, there's a chance the Steelers won't clinch a wild-card berth.

With so much on the line for both teams, this should be one of the best afternoon games to watch Sunday.  

Coverage maps for all Week 13 games can be viewed at 506 Sports. Team stats and rankings courtesy of ESPN.com, unless otherwise noted.

All out-of-market NFL games can be live-streamed via DirectTV's NFL Sunday Ticket.