Every professional golf tournament has a day when competitors try to prepare for the final challenge on Sunday. Today is Saturday. It is better known as “Moving day”.

We are about to encounter a similar situation in the NFL on Sunday.

11th week program It’s full of great matchups, headlined by the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs heading to Orchard Park, New York, to take on the Buffalo Bills. How good is this game? NFL on CBS will be there, taking a page from ESPN’s College Gameday.

But there are other games that are arguably more important, including the one that kicks off Thursday night.

If commanders win: With a win in Philadelphia, Washington would move into a tie with the Eagles in the loss standings. Looking ahead, the rematch is in Week 16, and at this point the Commanders could be in a great position where a loss wouldn’t hurt too much. Washington’s next three games will be against the Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints, with the first two at home.

If the eagle wins: Philadelphia would suddenly take a 1.5 game lead, ensuring at least a split between these two teams. Over the next three weeks, Philadelphia faces a much tougher stretch, including games against the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Skinny: Although Philadelphia has a half-game lead in the NFC East, it is at home and needs this game more than Washington in the coming weeks.

If the Ravens win: Baltimore will remain in the driver’s seat at least until it hosts Pittsburgh in Week 16 on Saturday, December 21 at 3:30 PM ET. The Ravens will likely be the favorites in every game the rest of the way, but their schedule remains easy with games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, Eagles and Steelers. Still, a victory in Pittsburgh would be a crushing blow to the Steelers’ hopes for the AFC North crown.

If Steelers win: There is no bigger game on Pittsburgh’s schedule. The Steelers have one of the toughest paths to the finish line in the league, with the Ravens in Baltimore, the Chiefs coming to town for Christmas, a change of course with the Eagles and two games remaining against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Skinny: Even though the league will remain up for grabs, the game is more important for the Steelers.

If Seahawks win: Seattle has been rocked in recent weeks, including a home loss to the Niners on Thursday night. The Seahawks started the season 3-0 before losing five of their last six games. However, if they go on the road and win in Santa Clara, Mike Macdonald’s team will leapfrog San Francisco in the NFC West and wild-card standings and win a half-game against the idle Arizona Cardinals.

if 49ers win: This would be three wins in a row for San Francisco, who suddenly became much healthier at the right time. The 49ers will also have a chance to take the Cardinals to the top of the league. Already facing two losses in the NFC West, a defeat here could hurt San Francisco’s chances of winning any future tiebreakers.

Skinny: This is a huge number for both teams. With the Seahawks on the brink of falling out of the playoff picture with one loss, the Niners would face a tough road to win the division if they falter.

If Chiefs win: The AFC’s top seed is finally locked in. Kansas City would be at least three games ahead in the losing bracket over Baltimore and Buffalo in head-to-head tiebreakers. With a win, the Chiefs would move to 10-0 and it would be questionable whether they could become the second team in NFL history to remain undefeated and win the Super Bowl.

If the Bills win: The AFC East has been a long time coming, but Buffalo would have a chance to earn home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs for the first time since 1993, the last time the Bills reached the Super Bowl. A victory would leave Buffalo just one loss behind Kansas City and have a chance to get past the Chiefs.

Skinny: The Bills must win to have any hope of hosting the Chiefs in the playoffs. For Kansas City, that’s a luxury.

If Bengals win: Cincinnati returned to playoff contention after winning an important game. The Bengals have two games left against the Steelers, but other than that they have a team with upside, including the Cleveland Browns, Titans, Cowboys and others. It’s not a must-win, considering nine wins would be enough to potentially earn a wild card, but a loss would eliminate most of Cincinnati’s breathing room.

If Chargers win: Unless there is a big collapse, they are almost guaranteed to make the play-offs. But one loss and things get risky. Los Angeles will face the Ravens, Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the next four weeks. But they finish with the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders. Get your work done in these games and this weekend and Jim Harbaugh is in the playoffs.

Skinny: This is a more important game for the Bengals, but the Chargers can’t afford to take it easy on a tough month ahead.