Lamar Jackson against the Steelers on Nov. 17, 2024. Lamar Jackson against the Steelers on Nov. 17, 2024. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images.)

Here’s a look at the announcing assignments for Week 12 of the NFL season, with some discussion of a featured game in each slot based on broadcasters, matchups, or both. All times are Eastern.

Thursday, Nov. 21

Featured/only game: Pittsburgh at Cleveland
Prime Video 8:15 p.m.
Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung
Spanish: Miguel Gurwitz, Rolando Cantú
Westwood One Radio: Ian Eagle, Mike Golic

Jameis Winston against the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 17, 2024.
Jameis Winston against the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 17, 2024. (Matthew Hinton/Imagn Images.)

The Steelers’ 8-2 record thus far has been one of the stories of the season, and has even sparked calls for Mike Tomlin to be considered for Coach of the Year. They’ve put this mark up despite using two quarterbacks cast off from their last teams in Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, and despite somewhat of a quarterback controversy about switching from Fields to Wilson when the latter came back from injury. And they’ve won their last five games, often in close fashion (including 18-16 against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday, a game where they didn’t score a single touchdown).

Things are a lot different for the 2-8 Browns. Last season, all four AFC North teams finished above .500, including Cleveland at 11-6 (second in the division to Pittsburgh). But this year, the Browns have fallen way down, and they’re the most dismal of these teams (which will all be featured on a division-wide Hard Knocks: In Season). But they’re only 3.5-point underdogs here, and they have interesting storylines of their own, especially around the quarterback position following Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury following disappointing play. Veteran Jameis Winston gets the start for them Thursday, and we’ll see what he can do against the tough Steelers’ defense (which has allowed just 16.2 points per game, second in the league).

Sunday, Nov. 24, early window

Featured game 1: Minnesota at Chicago
Fox 1 p.m.
Kevin Kugler, Daryl Johnston, Laura Okmin
Sports USA Radio: TBA

Sam Darnold against the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 17, 2024.
Sam Darnold against the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 17, 2024. (Steve Roberts/Imagn Images.)

This NFC North clash has two teams in different positions, with the Vikings entering at 8-2 and the Bears just 4-6. But Minnesota is only a 3.5-point road favorite here, and while the Vikings have won three straight, none of those victories have been overwhelming. Meanwhile, one of the better Chicago performances in a while was a one-point loss against the Green Bay Packers last week, so they’re maybe trending up a bit.

Don’t expect a ton of scoring in this one, as both teams are in the top 10 in points allowed. Minnesota has given up 17.0 points per game, fourth-best in the league, while Chicago has allowed 18.7, seventh-best. But a big difference with these squads’ success to date has been the offense; Vikings’ QB Sam Darnold has thrown for 2,387 yards and 19 touchdowns (with 10 interceptions, albeit five across the past two weeks, and a 67.9 percent completion mark), while Bears’ rookie pivot Caleb Williams has thrown for just 2,016 yards and nine touchdowns (with five interceptions and a 61.8 percent completion mark).

It helps that Minnesota has Justin Jefferson, whose 912 receiving yards are almost double the 479 from Chicago leading receiver Rome Odunze, but their passing offense has been more successful overall. We’ll see how that QB battle plays out Sunday.

Featured game 2: Kansas City at Carolina
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn

Patrick Mahomes against the Bills on Nov. 17, 2024.
Patrick Mahomes against the Bills on Nov. 17, 2024. (Gregory Fisher/Imagn Images.)

The 9-1 Chiefs enter this coming off their first loss of the season, 30-21 against the Buffalo Bills last week. So it will be interesting to see how they bounce back, perhaps especially quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes’ season-long numbers have been a bit down, but Kansas City was still able to find ways to win before last week; the showing he put up last week (23 completions on 33 attempts for 196 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions) certainly was disappointing, though.

Meanwhile, while the Panthers are just 3-7 on the season, they’ve won their last two games. Granted, those wins came against two struggling teams, the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, but this still represented a step up for them. A big question is still sophomore QB Bryce Young, though, who’s set to start for his fourth-straight game (after initially losing his job early in the year), but has thrown for just 224, 174, and 126 yards in those last three games, and has Carolina still making their starting QB decision week-by-week.

The Panthers are 10.5-point underdogs here, so this may not wind up being much of a contest. But this CBS singleheader is going to much of the country, so if Carolina does come up with some magic, many will be able to watch.

Tennessee at Houston
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Tom McCarthy, Jay Feely, Ross Tucker, Amanda Balionis

Detroit at Indianapolis
Fox 1 p.m.
Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Megan Olivi
ESPN Radio: Marc Kestecher, Mike Tannenbaum

New England at Miami
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, Aditi Kinkhabwala

Tampa Bay at NY Giants
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Jason McCourty, AJ Ross

Dallas at Washington
Fox 1 p.m.
Joe Davis, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver

Sunday, Nov. 24, afternoon window

Denver at Las Vegas
CBS/Paramount+ 4:05 p.m.
Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins
ESPN Radio: Steve Levy, Max Starks

Featured game: San Francisco at Green Bay
Fox 4:25 p.m.
Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi
Compass Media Radio: Ted Emrich, Brian Baldinger

Josh Jacobs against Detroit on Nov. 3, 2024.
Josh Jacobs against Detroit on Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff Hanisch/Imagn Images.)

These teams went head-to-head in the divisional round last season, with San Francisco winning that one 24-21 en route to a Super Bowl LVIII appearance. The 49ers have been struggling more this year, though, and they come into this at 5-5 versus the Packers’ 7-3. But, interestingly enough, they have the second-best offense in the league from a yardage perspective, producing 398.9 yards per game, and have also scored well (25.0 points per game, tied for eighth in the league with the Packers). They’ve been good on defense as well from a yardage perspective, allowing 302.2 yards per game (sixth in the NFL), but have conceded 22.2 points per game (tied for 16th).

For Green Bay, a key figure is RB Josh Jacobs, who has 838 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 176 carries (4.8 yards per carry). QB Jordan Love has also been pretty good this year, throwing for 2,081 yards and 16 touchdowns with 11 picks (and a 62.3 percent completion mark), and is coming off a good game against the Bears (where he threw for 261 yards with a touchdown and an interception, with a 66.0 percent completion mark).

For San Francisco, QB Brock Purdy has thrown for 2,613 yards (sixth in the league) and 13 touchdowns (and has done so in 10 games, one less than four of the five players ahead of him), but has also tossed eight picks. We’ll see how the rival pivots do this week, and how Brady breaks them down in the Fox booth (and how he does so without the benefit of the pre-game meetings that his radio counterpart Baldinger has talked up).

Arizona at Seattle
Fox 4:25 p.m.
Adam Amin, Mark Sanchez, Kristina Pink
Sports USA Radio: Josh Appel, Brandon Noble

Sunday, Nov. 24, Sunday Night Football

Featured/only game: Philadelphia at LA Rams
NBC/Universo/Peacock 8:20 p.m.
Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark
Universo: Miguel Gurwitz, Rolando Cantú, Ariana Figuera
Westwood One Radio: Ryan Radtke, Kurt Warner

Matthew Stafford against the Raiders on Oct. 20, 2024.
Matthew Stafford against the Raiders on Oct. 20, 2024. (Alex Gallardo/Imagn Images.)

While the Eagles are entering this at 8-2 and atop the NFC East, it hasn’t been an entirely smooth season for them. They’ve won their last six games, but those include five- and four-point wins over the likes of the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns. And they’re just 2.5-point favorites here against the 5-5 Rams.

A big discussion around Philadelphia has been the play of QB Jalen Hurts. He’s thrown for 2,197 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season with five interceptions and a 69.2 percent completion mark, and has rushed for 417 yards and 11 touchdowns. But his last five games have seen him all throw for fewer than 250 yards. Meanwhile, Los Angeles QB Matthew Stafford is coming off a 295-yard, four-touchdown performance against the New England Patriots, and has thrown for 2,557 yards and 13 touchdowns (with seven interceptions and a 66.5 percent completion mark) to date this season.

Monday, Nov. 25, Monday Night Football

Featured/only game: Baltimore at LA Chargers
ABC & ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN Deportes 8:15 p.m.
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters
ESPN2: Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Bill Belichick, Guests TBA
ESPN Deportes: Rebeca Landa, Sebastián Martinez-Christensen, MJ Acosta-Ruiz
Westwood One Radio: Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner

Tuli Tuipulotu (45) hits Joe Burrow on Nov. 17, 2024.
Tuli Tuipulotu (45) hits Joe Burrow on Nov. 17, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images.)

The 7-3 Chargers are having a great season that’s maybe not attracting as much attention as it should. They’ve won four straight, and they’re second in the AFC West to the 9-1 Chiefs. And a crucial part of that is the defense, which leads the NFL in points allowed per game (14.5). A key force there is the pass-rushing ability of the linebacking corps, with Tuli Tuipulotu, Bud Dupree, and Khalil Mack having the three highest sack totals on the team (seven, five, and four and a half respectively).

For the 7-4 Ravens (who enter this as three-point road favorites), they’ve long been known for their defense, but they’re actually in the bottom 10 of the league in both points allowed and yards allowed per game to date. Their key has been their passing offense, with QB Lamar Jackson second in the league with 2,876 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, with a 67.0 percent completion mark and just three interceptions. Jackson also has 584 rushing yards (6.1 per carry) and two touchdowns there, and is a strong contender to repeat as NFL MVP.

H/T Sammy for the listings!

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.