The most compelling games each week on the 2019 NFL schedule

There isn't a better way to kick off the 100th season of the NFL than with the league's oldest rivalry. Including the playoffs, this will be the 199th meeting between the two clubs, and if it's anything like last season's Packers-Bears Week 1 matchup, it'll be a must-watch game.

NFL fans won't have to wait long before getting the 2019 NFC championship rematch. The Saints will travel to Los Angeles in the hopes of avenging their controversial January overtime loss to the Rams.

After playing the Rams, the Saints will be faced with the difficult question of whether to return home and then fly back across country or stay on the West Coast for two consecutive weeks, as they visit the Seahawks in Week 3. Despite the success of these two teams in recent years, the Seahawks and Saints have squared off just three times since the start of the 2013 season. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if they played twice during the 2019-20 season.

The Browns enter 2019 with a ton of hype, and this will be their first real chance to show they are true contenders. Cleveland nearly knocked off the Ravens in Baltimore during Week 17 of last year. This game could go a long way in deciding who wins the AFC North.

Even when Jeff Fisher was head coach of the Rams, this rivalry produced some memorable games. It's now one of the most underrated matchups, with both franchises the best in the NFC West. At least one of these two teams has made the playoffs seven straight years, and last season they both did. The two 2018 matchups between these rivals were decided by a combined seven points.

The Steelers dominated the Chargers in the first half of their matchup last season, but Los Angeles came storming back and won on a last-second field goal, which took three attempts to make. The result helped propel the Chargers to a wild card spot, while it was a major reason why the Steelers missed the postseason. They will meet once again on "Sunday Night Football," in Week 6.

This rivalry is an annual matchup on "Sunday Night Football." Last year the Cowboys beat the Eagles in overtime twice, which was a major reason why Dallas won the NFC East and hosted a playoff game. The Week 7 Eagles-Cowboys matchup could go a long way in determining who wins the NFC East in 2019.

It's fitting that in the NFL's 100th season, the two franchise that squared off in Super Bowl I will meet on "Sunday Night Football." The Packers won that championship, 35-10. Oh, and Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes isn't bad either.

In one of the more exciting playoff games of 2019, the Eagles edged the Bears, 16-15, thanks to a Cody Parkey missed field goal in the final seconds. Parkey's kick hit both uprights and then didn't clear the crossbar. The Bears will be looking to avenge that loss in a game that could have major playoff seeding implications in just Week 9.

These two teams have met seven times in the postseason, and with the league celebrating its centennial anniversary, the NFL should turn this into a major storyline when these two meet on "Sunday Night Football" on Nov. 10. Dallas leads the overall series, 16-14, and has won the last two matchups.

Heading into the season, it looks like Week 11 has the best matchup of any week this year. During that week, the Chiefs and Chargers along with the Steelers and Browns will renew their rivalries, and the Rams will take another stab at the Bears' elite defense. But it's hard not to say the best matchup of the weekend is the meeting between the last two Super Bowl champions. The Patriots will aim to get some sweet revenge for their Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia two years ago. But it won't be Nick Foles in the lineup this time as, barring injury, Carson Wentz will square off against Tom Brady.

These two AFC South rivals will meet for the second time, on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 12, in what will also be a rematch of the 2019 AFC wild-card game. Both franchises are not only hopeful to return to the playoffs this winter, but each team also appears to have the pieces necessary to make a championship run.

For the second straight year, the Falcons and Saints will meet on Thanksgiving night — this time, Atlanta will play host to its division rival. Fans who love offense will have to make holiday time to watch this matchup, which is quickly becoming known as one of the most underrated rivalries in the league.

NFL fans will finally get the rematch of the AFC championship game in Week 14. Andy Reid is 2-3 against the Patriots as head coach of the Chiefs, but two of those three losses came in 2018, including one in overtime of the AFC championship. Kansas City hopes 2019 is its revenge tour, as the franchise is looking for its first trip to the Super Bowl since 1969.

Not much is expected from either of these two teams, but this will be the final NFL game played at the historic Oakland Coliseum. For that reason alone, it makes our list. The Black Hole may be a bit of a dump today, but the Coliseum has been the site of so many historic NFL matchups over the years, and it's going to be weird seeing the Raiders leave Oakland once again.

Could this be a late-season Super Bowl preview? As long as these two live up to expectations (and the game isn't flexed out of prime time), the Chiefs and Bears will meet on "Sunday Night Football" in a contest that could have major playoff implications for both conferences — not to mention, the game will feature arguably the best 2018 offense against last year's best defense.

As usual Week 17 is filled with division rivalries. The Steelers-Ravens matchup will give this NFC East one a run for its money, but Cowboys-Redskins is too much of a classic rivalry to not include on this list. Dallas leads the overall series, 75-45-2, but each team won one of the two matchups in 2018.