Former three-time NFL All Pro Shawne Merriman breaks down his top five Sunday Night Football matchups for the 2024 season.
A Sunday night staple is almost back.
NBC is back for its 19th season as the home of Sunday Night Football, and it has a slate filled with exciting matchups. Whether it's playoff rematches, division rivalries or potential rivalries in the making, the NFL's top teams will be under the primetime spotlight throughout 2024.
To break it all down, former Pro Bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman, on behalf of LightsOutSportsTV, chose his top five SNF games for the 2024 season.
Week 1: Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
While it's not an actual Sunday night game, the 2024 NFL season will kick off with a rematch of last season's AFC Championship Game on NBC and Peacock.
Patrick Mahomes and the two-time-defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will welcome Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to open the new season on Thursday, Sept. 5.
The Chiefs defeated the Ravens 17-10 in Baltimore last January with a trip to Super Bowl LVIII on the line, and Merriman believes the two sides could very well compete for the conference title again this year.
"I don't think you could've started the season off any better than that," Merriman said.
Week 4: Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens
Week 4 will see Jackson against another premier AFC quarterback.
This time, Jackson and the Ravens will be the home team when they host Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Both sides won their divisions last year, but both are looking to go further in the playoffs after losing home postseason games to the Chiefs last January.
Week 8: Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Dallas Cowboys saw their 2021 and 2022 seasons end against the San Francisco 49ers, and they will visit the Bay Area for an intriguing midseason test in 2024.
The 49ers will be making their first SNF appearance of the season in Week 8, while the Cowboys have a Week 5 showdown in Pittsburgh, as well.
Week 14: Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are approaching a decade of AFC West supremacy, as they have won eight straight division titles dating back to 2016.
However, Merriman, who spent six seasons with the Chargers, thinks his former team could be in the mix for the AFC West crown in the first year of the Jim Harbaugh era.
"I think a lot of implications are going to be on the line with this one," Merriman said. "This could be for an AFC West title.
Week 16: Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs
To wrap things up, Merriman thinks the Week 16 SNF game could be a potential playoff preview.
C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are coming off an AFC South title, and a late December matchup against the reigning champs could be a useful test ahead of the playoffs.
Like Ravens-Chiefs, Texans-Chiefs will not be played on a Sunday. NBC will broadcast the game at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 21.
