What To Know : Week 15

football, week, week 15, games, pinecones

Oh gosh, guys. I really dropped the ball this week. Christmas shopping and freelance working and plain old holiday unproductivity got the best of me. But here’s a quick look at the weekend ahead – it’s a jam-packed one!

GAME OF THE WEEK: SO MANY to choose from. Seriously. Giants at Falcons? Amazing. Big litmus test for both teams. Niners at Patriots? Defense vs. Offense. New old dynasty vs. Old new dynasty. Love it. Packers at Bears for the NFC North? Classic. Colts at Texans? HUGE. But the game I’m most excited for (Packers game notwithstanding)? Broncos at Ravens. We’ll talk more about this in the Storyline to Know. Another one to watch? Steelers at Cowboys. Both are desperate for wins right now, and both have shown the potential to be thumbs-up good or thumbs-down terrible this season.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Dez Bryant, Cowboys oft-troubled wide receiver, will play with a broken index finger and risk permanent injury by opting to delay the surgery needed to fix it. The Cowboys probably need 100% Dez Bryant to have a legit shot at winning this game; I’m not sure that Broken Finger Dez Bryant will be the answer they need.

STORYLINE TO KNOW: Back to Broncos at Ravens. Peyton Manning has a career record of 8-2 against the Ravens. The Broncos are 0-5 against them. It’ll be interesting to see what a difference Peyton makes in the Broncos efforts, and interesting to see how the Ravens offense functions after the firing of Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron.

RECIPES TO MAKE:

buffalo chicken biscuits

dreamy peppermint sugar cookie bars

hot kale and artichoke dip

santa hat cheesecake bites

skinny funfetti dip