Mike Celizic

Circle Sunday, Nov. 2, on your football calendar. The World Series will just have ended, and the NFL season will be in Week 9 — the midway point of the season. And on the schedule are Cowboys-Giants and Patriots-Colts.

When the NFL schedule comes out each year at this time, I try to put together my list of Top 10 games I want to see. I start by looking for that one premier matchup between whichever two teams are the best around. The game changes with the power structure of the league, because the NFL schedules annual out-of-division matches only when teams are at the top of the power pyramid. Twenty years ago, it was the annual clash of Bill Parcells’ Giants and Bill Walsh’s 49ers, then the two best teams in the NFC. Now, it’s the Patriots and the Colts.

Then I look for the big conference rivalries. Those, too, change with the times. At one time, the Raiders and Chiefs were obligatory viewing. At another, it was Buffalo and Miami. Ages ago, it was Packers-Bears.

Now, it’s Cowboys-Giants, the team that thought it was going to go to the Super Bowl against the team that won the Super Bowl. In one day, the NFL is giving me what in my view are the two best games of the entire season.

So that’s two must-see games one just one day consumed watching them. Now let’s see about the rest of my list of 10 games I don’t want to miss.

But first, an explanatory note — every top 10 list is idiosyncratic. If you live in Cleveland, the Browns’ two games with the Steelers are at the top of the list. If you’re in Chicago, there’s nothing like a trip to Green Bay. To a Denver fan, the Chiefs-Broncos are mandatory viewing. I’m not a fan of any particular team, but I’ve been writing about the Giants and Jets for 25 years. So if this list is a bit heavy on the NFC East, that’s my excuse. I’m putting the two best games on top. After that, I’m going in chronological order.

1. Patriots at Colts
I can’t imagine any list of must-see games that doesn’t include this one. It’s a Sunday nighter on NBC, so there’s nothing else to get in the way of your attention. The game needs no introduction. It’s Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Randy Moss. What more do you need to say?

2. Cowboys at Giants
The Cowboys still can’t believe they lost in the playoffs to the Giants, a team they absolutely whipped at the beginning of the 2007 season. This year, their first meeting doesn’t take place until Nov. 2, and it’s in New York, where Giants fans are sure to give the hated Cowboys a warm greeting. Can Tony Romo reassert himself against Eli Manning? Will Eli be as good as he was at the end of last year? The winner of this one could emerge as the NFC favorite to go to the Super Bowl

3. Panthers at Chargers
This has to be the best game of Week 1. It’s on Sept. 7 and it brings one of the NFC’s stingiest run defenses against LaDainian Tomlinson, the game’s best running back. It also features two teams with serious Super Bowl aspirations.

4. Eagles at Cowboys
Here’s my NFC East-centrism at work. But the East sent three teams to the playoffs last year, and this year it could do the same. This one is the pick of Week 2 and one of only two Monday Night Football games on my must-see list. I’ll watch all the others, because what else is on TV on a Monday night? But this Sept. 15 matchup will give the nation a good idea of how good Donovan McNabb and the Eagles will be and how well the Cowboys have recovered from last year.

5. Chargers at Saints in London
If this game were being played stateside, I’d watch it just for the Philip Rivers-Drew Brees angle, with a helping of Tomlinson-Reggie Bush on the side. But it what puts it in my Top 10 is the fact that it’s being played in London. Something about watching a mob of Englishmen watching a mob of colonials playing football that I find irresistible.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Police: Former Chargers safety Terrence Kiel dies NFLPA reportedly ready to oust director Upshaw Expert: Rookie riches not Goodell's top problem Randy Moss buys a NASCAR truck team Curran: NFL coaches on the hot seat in 2008 Favre says reports of comeback 'all rumor' Curran's blog: Favre story won't fade away Opinion: It's time for Cardinals to stick with Leinart NFL Rumors: Cooley opens his own eBay store   Fantasy Fix video: Still 'Super' Chargers? NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: