National Football League

Sunday storylines: Brady, Patriots visit Rodgers & Packers in possible Super Bowl preview

Published Nov. 28, 2014 10:19 a.m. ET

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Every week, our FOX Sports NFL Insiders break down three of the most important storylines you need to watch heading into Sunday. If you have any questions, be sure to hit them up on Twitter.

Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo)

Cardinals at Falcons: The Arizona Cardinals have one game against a first-place team remaining on their schedule, and it might be the easiest matchup they have left.

On Sunday, the Cards visit the Atlanta Falcons, who are atop the dreadful collection of subpar teams known as the 2014 NFC South. Atlanta is coming off a bad loss to the Cleveland Browns, though the New Orleans Saints' dropping a game at home to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night allowed the Falcons (4-7) to remain in first place in the division.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, saw their lead in the NFC West shrink with the loss to the Seattle Seahawks. They will meet Seattle again in Week 16. They'll also host the Kansas City Chiefs and have road games against the San Francisco 49ers and the pesky St. Louis Rams. All of this adds up to an extremely important game in Atlanta because, if the Cardinals lose to the Falcons, they'll be up only one game over Seattle with a tough closing stretch.

The Cards also have to prove Sunday's 3-point effort in Seattle was a speed bump against a desperate team and not a sign of things to come with Drew Stanton at quarterback and Larry Fitzgerald either inactive or at less than 100 percent.

Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez)

Patriots at Packers: A strange-but-true NFL fact: Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady have never started against each other in the 10 years their pro careers have overlapped. Rodgers was injured the last time Green Bay played New England in 2010 and only appeared in mop-up duty during a 2006 matchup. But after this season's first 12 weeks, it looks like two of the league's greatest quarterbacks could be facing each other twice in short order: First on Sunday at Lambeau Field followed by a rematch in Super Bowl 49.

New England has proven itself as the AFC's most dominant team, winning seven straight games and scoring an average of 39.6 points in the process. That includes last Sunday's 34-9 win over a Detroit Lions squad that entered with the league's top-ranked defense in scoring and total yards allowed. Along with Dallas and Philadelphia, Green Bay is one game behind Arizona (9-2) for the NFC's best record.

However, a strong argument can be made for the Packers being the conference's most complete team. Cherish this meeting Sunday, folks. It's the last time both teams are scheduled to square off during the regular season through at least the 2017 campaign.

Peter Schrager (@PSchrags)

Chargers at Ravens: The AFC is so loaded this year that even virtually every Week 13 game has serious playoff implications. When it comes to tiebreaker and conference wins, games like San Diego-Baltimore are make or breaks. Baltimore is coming off an impressive road win in New Orleans and can't afford to lose at home in a division in which all four teams are three games above. 500. The running game has benefited greatly from the addition of Justin Forsett, but also from the zone-blocking based attack employed by new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak. With Forsett, Kubiak, and rejuvenated tight end Owen Daniels, there's some Houston Texans circa 2011 in this Ravens offense, and that's a good thing.

San Diego continues to win games it should be winning, but the Chargers'r last trip east resulted in a 37-0 loss in Miami. Only six teams can make the playoffs. A solid 11 are in the mix now. A win here for either of these teams is huge. A loss could be disastrous.