Football Friday Fives: NFL Edition For Week 11 From The Sports Mac

Five Storylines To Keep An Eye On

1.  Rivalries highlight this week’s schedule as the Colts and Patriots, Giants and Eagles and Raiders and Steelers renew acquaintances.

2.  Commissioner Roger Goodell is proud of the success that Michael Vick has achieved this season and communicates frequently with the Eagles' QB.

3.  Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones may ask the league to grant him an exemption from the Rooney Rule if he wants to hire interim coach Jason Garrett permanently.

4.  The Buccaneers will bring WR Mike Williams to San Francisco and he will start after being arrested for DUI in the Tampa area.

5.  Reggie Bush of the Saints and Clinton Portis of the Redskins will return to action this week after each missing a significant amount of time.

Top 5 Games Of The Weekend

1.  Colts (6-3) at Patriots (7-2), 4:15 PM, CBS: Two teams in the mess at the top of the AFC meet in the latest showdown of Manning vs. Brady.

2.  Giants (6-3) at Eagles (6-3), 8:20 PM, NBC: The Eagles are the hot team in the league and can take over the division lead with a win over the invading Giants.

3.  Raiders (5-4) at Steelers (6-3), 1:00 PM, CBS: Two old rivals meet as Oakland is having a resurgence and Pittsburgh is a little inconsistent right now.

4.  Seahawks (5-4) at Saints (6-3), 4:00 PM, FOX: This matchup of division leaders might feature the return of Reggie Bush to the New Orleans lineup.

5.  Texans (4-5) at Jets (7-2), 1:00 PM, CBS: If Houston has any playoff hopes left, the team must to find a way to win this game in New York.

Five Worst Games Of The Weekend

1.  Bills (1-8) at Bengals (2-7), 1:00 PM, CBS: Buffalo hasn’t won on the road, Cincinnati has won just once at home. Something has to give.

2.  Lions (2-7) at Cowboys (2-7), 1:00 PM, CBS: Now we’ll see how much effect Jason Garrett has had in a winnable home game against Detroit.

3.  Broncos (3-6) at Chargers (4-5), 8:30 PM, Monday, ESPN: I think the over/under on passing yards in this game should be in the 800, 850 range.

4.  Ravens (6-3) at Panthers (1-8), 1:00 PM, CBS: There’s a bunch of unhappy Baltimore players coming to Charlotte and Carolina’s standing in the way.

5.  Cardinals (3-6) at Chiefs (5-4), 1:00 PM, FOX: Arizona is 1-4 on the road, Kansas City hasn’t lost at home. This could get ugly quickly.

Five Players To Watch This Weekend

1.  Michael Vick, Eagles' QB vs. N. Y. Giants: He’s the talk of the league and will have the national stage for a second week in a row to display his talents.

2.  Peyton Manning, Colts' QB at New England: As usual, he’s holding this team together despite all of the injuries. This will be a tough test this week, however.

3.  Jason Campbell, Raiders' QB at Pittsburgh: He’s leading his team into a hostile environment against an angry team and needs to play well for Oakland to win.

4.  Donovan McNabb, Redskins' QB at Tennessee: He needs a fast start this week after the dismal performance by his entire team last week.

5.  David Garrard, Jaguars' QB vs. Cleveland: The leader of the cardiac kids has to keep his team in the game against an improved Browns' squad.

Five Teams That Have To Have A Big Week

1.  Falcons on the road at St. Louis: They have the best record in the NFC, but they need a dominant road game to be considered the best team in the NFC.

2.  Jets at home vs. Houston: Yes, they’re 7-2, but they could easily be 5-4 and need to play well this week to help their play match their record.

3.  Redskins on the road at Tennessee: Washington needs to win or the division may be out of reach and a playoff spot may be in jeopardy.

4.  Jaguars at home vs. Cleveland: Jacksonville is only a game out in the division. They can’t stub their toe with a home game against a winnable opponent.

5.  Seahawks on the road at New Orleans: They have the lead in the NFC West and a big win against the defending champs would boost their playoff hopes.