NFL TV schedule, Week 15: Broncos vs. Chargers, Bengals vs. Browns headline Sunday games

Sunday features a full slate of games for Week 15 with 28 teams in action. There are no more bye weeks, so 14 games will be played throughout the day and there's plenty on the line as the playoff race really heats up. The week was kicked off with the Thursday Night Football game between the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams, which wasn't a particularly exciting game but did come with significant playoff implications.

Those very same playoff implications are all over the Sunday morning games. You have teams like the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers holding on to leads in the AFC East, AFC South and NFC North, respectively, with all three looking at playoff seeding at this point. New England has a tough game against the rival Miami Dolphins, who have slim playoff hopes at 7-6.

The Colts have a stranglehold on the AFC South and can reinforce that by beating the 7-6 Houston Texans in another early game, while the Packers are just a game up on the Detroit Lions, but should be favored to down the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Then there's the NFC South, the worst division in football where the 4-8-1 Carolina Panthers actually have major playoff hopes and need to beat the 2-11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Finally, the Cincinnati Bengals will try to maintain a narrow lead in the AFC North as they take on the Cleveland Browns in rookie Johnny Manziel's first NFL start. The Bengals lead the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens thanks to a tie (they sit at 8-4-1, with the other two at 8-5). Cleveland has an outside chance, but beating the Bengals would be a great first step.

In the afternoon games, the Lions will try to keep things close with the Packers when they take on the Minnesota Vikings. Detroit is 9-4, a game back of the Packers, and will play said Packers in Week 17. Then there's the game between the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers. If the Broncos win that game, they lock up the AFC West and a playoff spot. Finally, there's the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle is battling for a wild card spot at this point, and the 49ers are just barely still in the conversation.

For Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles will face off again for the NFC East. Philadelphia dominated the Cowboys in Week 13 but went on to lose their Week 14 game, so the NFC East could be up for grabs in this game.