The era of the NFL dominating air waves on only Sunday and Monday evenings is long gone. As it is now (and has been for quite some time), Thursdays in the Fall are also centered around gridiron football.

More recently, Amazon Prime has become the exclusive provider of Thursday Night Football, but there are a couple one-offs, such as Thanksgiving and the 2024 NFL regular-season opener.

We still have some time before the on-field action commences. Let's sift through this year's list of NFL games played on Thursdays (sans Thanksgiving), highlighting the specific contests you will not want to miss.

2024 Thursday Night Football Schedule

All NFL odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

The 5 Best Thursday Night Football Games of 2024

Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs, Week 1

The upcoming campaign will open with an AFC Championship rematch between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. As is tradition, the first regular-season game will be played on Thursday (Sep. 5) despite being broadcasted as NBC Sunday Night Football.

Not only will this be a grudge match, but it'll be another installment in the Patrick Mahomes-Lamar Jackson rivalry. Including playoffs, Mahomes boasts a 4-1 head-to-head record versus Jackson. When it comes to league MVPs, these superstars are tied at two apiece.

Per FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL MVP odds, Mahomes -- as the favorite -- currently shows five-to-one odds to win his third NFL MVP award while Jackson yields 14-to-1 odds. Additionally, FanDuel has already released all NFL Week 1 odds, and Kansas City is an early 2.5-point home favorite over Baltimore.

This is an absolutely fantastic game to resume gridiron action with. Simply, September 5th can't come soon enough!

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins, Week 2

Exactly one week from the league opener, Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime will make its 2024 premiere by showcasing a contentious AFC East clash. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins have produced some hard-hitting contests throughout recent seasons, and Week 2 at Hard Rock Stadium should be no different.

Miami has lost four consecutive games to Buffalo, which includes a 34-31 postseason shootout in 2022-23. With that said, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and head coach Mike McDaniel will certainly have Week 2 circled on their calendars.

Bills signal-caller Josh Allen has played Miami fairly tough in 13 career meetings. In that split, Allen has passed for 2.77 touchdowns per game. We know the Fins -- who produced 29.2 PPG in 2023 -- can also score with the best of them. But will Miami be able to stop Allen and Buffalo in crunch time?

FanDuel Sportsbook has gone live with Bills-Dolphins Week 2 odds, showing Miami as a narrow 1.5-point favorite at home. As you might imagine, the total is set north of 50 points (51.5) for this game. This has the potential to be a key AFC East clash. Buffalo (+165) and Miami (+180) are listed with the shortest odds to win the AFC East.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, Week 12

There will be a few intriguing matchups throughout the schedule's midsection, but the next Thursday affair I am most hyped for will come in Week 12 when the Pittsburgh Steelers make the short trip to visit the Cleveland Browns on the shores of Lake Erie.

With these divisional foes situated approximately 125 miles apart, Steelers-Browns is always a raucous environment. When you think about it, I guess that statement can be applied to almost any AFC North game, but these neighboring territories of Pittsburgh and Cleveland make sure to always bring the energy.

To make this Week 12 clash even sweeter, these same sides will meet again two weeks later in Steel City.

In 2023, the Browns and Steelers split the annual series -- also referred to as the Turnpike War -- wherein the home team won both games. As for the contest played in Cleveland, the Browns won a grueling defensive showdown, 13-10.

Looking through the all-time figures, Pittsburgh holds the upper hand over the Browns, 79-62-1.

Both of these teams enter 2024 well behind the Ravens (+140) and Cincinnati Bengals (+170) in terms of divisional odds. Pittsburgh is listed at +650 odds to win the AFC North while Cleveland comes in at +500 odds.

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions, Week 14

With potential to be the NFC's best divisional rivalry over the next five years, the Green Bay Packers have drawn a Thursday night date in Motown with the Detroit Lions. Both franchises landed in the playoffs last season, and both have intentions to do so again in 2024. Detroit has -205 odds to make the NFL playoffs, and Green Bay's playoff odds are -164.

This TNF event on December 5th will actually be the second meeting of 2024 between the Packers and Lions, as the Midwestern foes will play in Wisconsin a month prior.

Last year, these NFC North rivals split their season series. Ironically, the road team was victorious both times.

Detroit did well to win the division in 2023. Considering that Green Bay is used to being kings of this grouping, this head-to-head series will only increase in adversity going forward. By the time this Week 14 showdown at Ford Field arrives, there will likely be significant ramifications on the line.

Since I'm sure you're wondering, Detroit -- at +145 odds to win the NFC North -- is currently the division favorite. However, Green Bay (+185) is a close second.

When it comes to the all-time record here, the Pack holds a stiff 104-76-7 advantage over Motor City. Still, this next chapter of the rivalry should be much more competitive. I look forward to many entertaining duels between signal-callers Jordan Love and Jared Goff over the next few seasons.

Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers, Week 15

I have my eye on an NFC West romp in Santa Clara on December 12th, a game that is our third-to-last Thursday bout of the 2024 NFL season. With Levi's Stadium as the battleground, the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are scheduled for a pivotal Week 15 meeting.

Despite San Francisco's recent division title and run to the Super Bowl, the Rams actually won in their last trip to Northern California. Additionally, Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford still have some bragging rights over S.F. after defeating them in the 2022 NFC Championship. But overall, this rivalry has leaned toward San Fran of late as the 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan have bested the Rams in 9 of 11 meetings since 2018.

The NFC West odds at FanDuel Sportsbook list San Francisco as the odds-on favorite (-195). Still, the Rams are positioned second here (+330). Given the similar offensive schematics between McVay and Shanahan, we can almost always count on a high-flying, tight affair between these division rivals.

Depending how the season shakes out, this Week 15 clash could present various scenarios. Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and the Niners may be top dogs on the block right now, but this Rams team has myriad youthful players who are poised to make a difference.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.