NFL

NFL Week 13 picks: Steelers vs. Giants highlights first December games

USA TODAY Sports

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (7) and Giants QB Eli Manning will meet for the fourth time Sunday afternoon.

The NFL's December schedule opens Thursday night with the Dallas Cowboys and their league-best 10-1 record visiting Minneapolis and a Minnesota Vikings squad trying to remain relevant. If the Cowboys win and get some help this weekend, they could be the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season.

Sunday is loaded with matchups between strong teams: Chiefs-Falcons, Dolphins-Ravens, Texans-Packers, Lions-Saints and Bills-Raiders. But the marquee game of the afternoon is a meeting of 2004 first rounders when Ben Roethlisberger's Pittsburgh Steelers host Eli Manning's New York Giants. Both quarterbacks own a pair of Super Bowl rings, but Big Ben has a 2-1 head-to-head advantage.

Sunday night will pit the Carolina Panthers against the Seattle Seahawks, clubs that split playoff clashes the previous two seasons.