Sunday Night Football Schedule 2013: Highlighting Most Captivating Games Left

Breaking Bad is over after Sunday night. Might as well flip it over to NBC for Sunday Night Football.

I'm as sad as the next guy to witness the end for Jesse Pinkman and Walter White. At least now you'll have the night free to watch what has become the best football game of the week.

In terms of production value, announcers and on-field product, there isn't anything better than SNF. It's a paradise for football fans, and a perfect way to close out the weekend.

Plus, you've still got these four games to look forward to.

Notes

* denotes a flex week

** is Thanksgiving Day game

Week 7: Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts

Do you really need any explanation for this one?

Peyton Manning can win 15 Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos, and he'll still remain one of the most beloved Indianapolis Colts players ever.

It will be bittersweet watching him take the field at Lucas Oil Stadium actually playing for the other team. By now, fans have become numbed to seeing Manning in a uniform other than the Colts. What we haven't seen is No. 18  playing against Indianapolis.

You might as well start preparing now for all of the inevitable articles comparing Andrew Luck to Manning and about whatever kind of relationship the two quarterbacks have.

Week 12: Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

Speaking of Manning, his mini-rivalry with Tom Brady remains one of the most fun individual storylines in the league. It's hard to forge something like this in football. With so many players on the field, you don't get too many head-to-head battles like this.

It's pretty much the same old story between these two. They're leading two of the best teams in the league. This is a great battle to determine the best team in the AFC.

While Brady doesn't have the same kind of weapons in the passing game that Manning does, he should have Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola at his disposal by that point in the season.

Week 13: Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens

OK, so this isn't technically a Sunday night game. But it falls under the SNF umbrella, so it counts all the same.

The matchup isn't really all that great for the casual observers. Both teams look to have little aesthetic value.

For the die-hard fans out there, though, it can't get much better than this. You've got two big rivals looking to grind out a victory on Thanksgiving night.

Watching games on Thanksgiving is essentially mandatory. As a fan, you just hope the league schedules a good game or two. At least this isn't as bad as some of those Detroit Lions games in the mid-2000s when they were hapless.

The only problem is that after all that tryptophan, you have to be careful you don't fall asleep during this one. Taking a nap sometime in the afternoon is advised.

Week 15: Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers

Much like the game listed above, this battle isn't going to win any style points. When these two teams met in Week 2, it was mostly Cincinnati moving the chains but failing to get in the end zone. Pittsburgh was right in the midst of its offensive funk, when it couldn't do anything right or give Ben Roethlisberger any time in the pocket.

What makes this game interesting is the impact it could have on the AFC North. Even at 0-4, you might not want to completely rule out the Steelers. The other three teams in the North are all 2-2, and none has looked all that great the entire season.

If push comes to shove, NBC can swap this game out for one that's better as it's a part of the late-season flex scheduling.