The NFL regular season returns in under two weeks, and boy am I excited. NFL RedZone will be up on one screen. My fantasy teams and group chats will overtake my phone. But what about the second screen? Which game gets my undivided attention on the laptop?
To solve this problem, I’ve developed a watchability ranking for all 32 NFL teams. It’s my second year doing so, and the first year went flawlessly. (I put the Commanders in the top spot; they went 5-12, and all of their most fun players got hurt.)
Of course, a 5-12 team can still be watchable. Watchable football isn’t necessarily winning football. Winning football teams sit on leads. They punt on fourth-and-mediums to play the field position game. Winning football teams execute. Watchable football teams might do all of those things … but they also go for that fourth down in the first quarter. They might fail to execute, and in doing so, invite hilarious out-of-script plays that end in either majesty or disaster.
There are four key things I look for in highly watchable teams. They are as follows:
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Big plays. I don’t just want points — I want ’em fast. Teams that can score from anywhere on the field are eminently more watchable than teams that matriculate the football. The whole point of the RedZone channel is to broadcast those predictable scores to everyone at home. If a team is to demand a full screen, it means their touchdowns can come when RedZone isn’t watching … and it means their defense can surrender those plays, too.
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Competitive games. Some teams inherently play closer games than others. They lack the offensive star power to blow out inferior opponents but also have the gritty competitiveness to hang with superior ones. This is what we might call “The Chiefs Rule.” Yes, the Chiefs have become boring to watch on offense (because they fail to create explosive plays). However, they have played so many close games over the past few seasons as a function of their careful style, and those games are always fun nail-biters.
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Star players. It’s rare to tune in to a bad team for one good player, but it’s possible. You cared about Myles Garrett’s sack race last season, no matter the Browns’ record down the stretch. The Cardinals might be a total mess this season, but if Jeremiyah Love looks like an Offensive Rookie of the Year when he totes the rock, we will be seated. That is not a team you’d watch over the Rams or the Lions, but over the other bad teams? For sure.
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Nothing offensive. Teams with bad offenses or bad defenses can be watchable — heck, a below-average defense that creates more shootouts can dramatically improve a team’s watchability (hello, Chicago Bears). But teams with dreadful offenses or horrible defenses are unendurable. I quite literally avert my gaze at the sight of them. Bad football is bad football even if it results in explosive gains or competitive games. I’ll watch it if I have to in a primetime island game — but otherwise, I’ll pass.
With the legwork out of the way, here are my 2026 NFL watchability rankings.
Jump to a team:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
There’s no way you need me to explain this to you.
If you watched every Bears game last season, you saw an NFL-leading six comeback wins by quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears’ ludicrously explosive offense. Such games included a 58-yard Colston Loveland catch-and-run touchdown in a 47-42 barnburner against the Bengals, a 56-yard kickoff return with less than 50 seconds left to set up a last-second field goal winner against the Vikings and the fourth-and-goal fadeaway touchdown to Jahdae Walker to set up the 50-yard DJ Moore lightning bolt against the Packers. You also saw this throw and this throw and this throw. You were well rewarded for your attention.
This season’s Bears might not produce as many wild swings, but they still figure to be the most explosive offense in football. Last season’s takeaway-happy defense looks poised to give up plenty of yards and points, as well, which should lead to big scoreboards and more opportunities for fun offense. This one is not a hard sell.
Everyone loves watching a “one last job” movie, and everyone will love watching the Rams in 2026. Every season could be the final one for 38-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford. Given just how sensational the sunset of his career has been — an MVP trophy, the no-look throws, the never-say-die fourth-quarter comebacks — how could you possibly endure missing what might be one of his last 17 games?
And even if you could endure it … Myles Garrett? On the Rams? Next to Aaron Donald?! No, Donald hasn’t signed yet. And Garrett has now missed 12 training camp practices because of knee swelling. But this is not a ranking for cold water to be thrown on hype. The Rams in their final realized form — Stafford, Garrett, Donald, receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, cornerback Trent McDuffie and coach Sean McVay — might be one of the most watchable teams in history. They fail to take the top spot only because Donald is not yet on the roster. We wait with bated breath.
It’s the Jahmyr Gibbs show!
It’s a little tricky to say “tune in for the Lions’ offense!” when that has been true for every season since 2022. But you should still tune in. Even in a down season, the Lions were a top-10 unit in offensive DVOA, yards per play, points per drive and EPA per play in 2025 — all the big metrics. Now that Gibbs (current betting favorite for Offensive Player of the Year) no longer splits time with David Montgomery, there are more chances for electrifying runs from anywhere on the field.
The Lions’ appearance on the watchability podium is thanks to their defense, which surrendered a ton of explosive passes in 2025 (13.9% of opponent dropbacks, 25th among league defenses) and is only thinner and slower in the secondary this season with cornerback Terrion Arnold off the team and safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph still injured. It’s going to be big-play central on both sides of the ball during Lions games.
If you aren’t chomping at the bit to see Justin Herbert in the Mike McDaniel offense, then you and I don’t like the same football. Few quarterbacks produce more spectacular throws than Herbert, though his career has been plagued by poor offensive design, shaky O-line play and ill-timed drops. Few offensive designers have elevated quarterback play more than McDaniel, who created an explosive downfield passing attack in Miami with Tua Tagovailoa’s below-average arm strength. Now, with a golden-armed shotmaker under center, he isn’t even trying to hide his excitement.
justin herbert has a cannon for an arm pic.twitter.com/VJJoTqnPTK
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 12, 2026
The Chargers could easily have the coolest offense, with Herbert, McDaniel, speedy running back Keaton Mitchell, second-year running back Omarion Hampton and a healthy No. 1 receiver in Ladd McConkey. Even if the defense takes a step back without Jesse Minter (now the head coach of the Ravens) calling the shots, the Chargers should be better equipped to score fast, score big and win shootouts.
Everyone knows the Patriots’ strength of schedule in 2025 hugely impacted their record, but it also impacted their watchability. It wasn’t particularly fun to tune in to Patriots games. They emerged as a true AFC contender across a stretch in which they beat the Saints, Titans, Browns, Falcons, Buccaneers, Jets, Bengals and Giants. Save for the doubleheader against the Bills and a fun fourth-quarter win against the Ravens, quarterback Drake Maye’s breakout year wasn’t particularly interesting to watch.
The schedule is tougher in 2026, which makes the Patriots more watchable. Their first-place schedule sets them against the Jaguars, Steelers and Seahawks in a season-opening Super Bowl rematch (fire me up!). They’ll play the AFC West (Chiefs, Chargers and Broncos) and NFC North (Lions, Packers, Vikings and Bears) — all great opponents. With the marquee addition of A.J. Brown, they’ve added a top-tier receiver to meet the tougher schedule. And given all the narratives around their inflated 2025 record and potential fraudulence, the 2026 games against top opponents should come with some extra stakes.
The Cowboys were not a pleasant watch last season — the defense was so poor that an at-home viewer endured second-hand embarrassment through the television screen. Dallas was dead last in EPA per drive (minus-0.86), points allowed per drive (2.88) and explosive play rate allowed (13.4%). Have some pride!
The 2026 Cowboys should be much more watchable. The defense will be good enough to not shame The Star but still poor enough that opposing offenses can put up points and force shootouts. Meanwhile, one of the league’s most dangerous passing attacks (featuring George Pickens, one of the league’s most watchable receivers) returns in full force. Quarterback Dak Prescott was sixth in EPA per dropback last season, and when targeting either Pickens or CeeDee Lamb, he had a QBR of 90.9 and an explosive pass rate of 14.5%. Those are MVP numbers.
You know what’s fun to watch? High stakes. And stakes are higher nowhere else than in Cincinnati this season. Doesn’t every single game feel like a referendum on something or somebody in Cincinnati? Will every loss come with questions about the internal relationships of coach Zac Taylor, quarterback Joe Burrow and Bengals ownership? Won’t every win come with a sigh of relief and validation that the Bengals are finally healthy, balanced and ready to win it all?
The defense does need to be better, though. Bad defense can improve watchability rankings (read: create shootouts), but terrible defense is so repugnant that I end up clicking away in disgust. The Bengals started to round that critical corner last season, and in the early weeks of the season, I’ll be glued to the tube to see whether Dexter Lawrence II looks as healthy and impactful as they need him to be.
The defending Super Bowl champs are watchable by default. They will get the best out of every opponent they play. Every loss will be a crisis, and every win will be another step toward the rare repeat. Such watchability is increased by the presence of a reigning Offensive Player of the Year, as few receivers in football are more interesting to watch than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who lines up everywhere and runs every route under the sun.
Most teams that rank highly here have elite offenses and good enough defenses (or pretty bad defenses, to facilitate blowouts). The Seahawks, who have a fine offense and an elite defense, obviously don’t fit that mold. But their defense is so dominant and so entertaining (Devon Witherspoon is one of the most entertaining defensive players in the entire league, the way he flies around and causes damage), the Seahawks remind us that even in this era of offense-only football, we can all enjoy a little defense, too.
Quarterback Kyler Murray is so cool to watch when he’s good. I feel like many of us have forgotten this! This clip popped up in my timeline the other day — just watch this run.
Bye bye Ky 👋 @AZCardinals take an early lead!
📺: #AZvsSF on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/EUHKDDLEoO— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
This wasn’t in 2019, when Murray was a spry rookie — that was on Oct. 6, 2024. On that 50-yard scamper (in which Murray starts pointing to the end zone at the 40-yard line, which is super sick), Murray hits 21.27 mph as his top speed. That’s the fastest speed for a quarterback as a ball carrier since 2016.
The Vikings are sneakily very fun beyond Murray, too. Star receiver Justin Jefferson is out with a lot to prove after a disappointing 2025 season. Brian Flores’ defense is always watchable — blitz-happy and creative in coverage. And coach Kevin O’Connell gets to design a running game around his first dual-threat quarterback. There is plenty of cool stuff afoot!
By the competitiveness metric, Denver was probably the most watchable team last season. The Broncos played in 13 one-score games — more than any other team in the NFL — and went 11-2 in such games, which was the best record for any team in one-score games. Bo Nix had six comeback wins, second to only Caleb Williams. There was the historic comeback against the Giants, in which the Broncos trailed 26-8 in the fourth quarter and still won. There was a 13-11 win over the Jets on a rainy London day. And there was everything in between.
The Broncos have added receiver Jaylen Waddle to an offense that was highly efficient but needed a bit more explosiveness, which should also boost their rating. They’ll remain a blitz-happy and pressure-heavy defense under coordinator Vance Joseph with minimal defensive departures (John Franklin-Myers). Coach Sean Payton isn’t even calling plays anymore, so there’s some schematic intrigue worth checking on early. Denver also has a wicked early schedule: Chiefs, Jaguars, Rams, 49ers, Chargers and Seahawks. You’ll be tuned in whether you want to or not — half of those games are prime time.
If the Chargers are atop my list for “offense that could be first in everything” this season, then the Ravens are a close second. Lamar Jackson — a two-time MVP and still the league’s preeminent dual-threat quarterback — has never had an offensive coordinator like Declan Doyle in his NFL career. Neither Greg Roman nor Todd Monken did a bad job with Jackson, but both ran dry on ideas for modern passing attacks. Doyle, a Sean Payton disciple with a year under Ben Johnson, seems primed to push the envelope.
I’m a little dubious of the Ravens’ pass catchers after Zay Flowers, and I’d like to see Jackson move around fully healthy after last season’s decline in rushing effectiveness. I’d also like to see the Ravens choke away fewer games under Minter, as John Harbaugh’s Ravens built a bad habit of surrendering fourth-quarter leads in agonizing fashion. Over the past five seasons, the Ravens have lost eight games in which they had a win probability of at least 90% at some point; the next-closest team has six. Late-game collapses can be watchable when they’re not so tiresome, and the Ravens crossed that line a while ago.
1:22
Breaking down Lamar’s preseason so far with the Ravens
One of the lamentable realities of these rankings is offense is more watchable than defense. I wish it weren’t true. I wish I loved the football of my forefathers — 3 yards, a cloud of dust and a quality punt. But in the modern NFL, offense is king and points are views. Few defenses are good enough to break the watchability barrier … but the Texans have one of the few.
If the offense can take a step forward in offensive coordinator Nick Caley’s second season, the Texans will likely play fewer close games (12 one-score contests last season, tied for second most). But we’ll take a watchability hit in photo finishes to get a watchability boost in better offense. Houston was 31st in rushing success rate and EPA per rush last season — only Las Vegas was worse! Adding David Montgomery in the backfield, and players such as Keylan Rutledge and Wyatt Teller to the offensive line, should lift that number considerably. Terrible offensive performances are never worth tuning in to see, and functional play will not just make the Texans a Super Bowl contender … it’ll improve my viewing experience.
The Commanders were my most watchable team entering 2025 off Jayden Daniels’ uproarious Offensive Rookie of the Year season, penchant for close games (they won on multiple Hail Mary plays, remember) and a high pace of play that made for a lot more football. Of course, I didn’t calculate absolutely everyone getting hurt — but that’s on me.
Daniels was must-see television in 2024 and, in a new offense, should get back to that form in 2026. No quarterback scrambles more often than Daniels (16.0% last season). The new defensive approach under coordinator Daronte Jones, hired from the Brian Flores tree, should be aggressive and creative. So, we should see more big plays for the defense and the offense. With head coach Dan Quinn starting the season on the hot seat, the stakes should be high in early-season games.
It’s a “nobody believes in me” year for quarterback Baker Mayfield, which means you have to tune in. Mayfield is at his best when he’s proving the doubters wrong, and because he and the Buccaneers failed to get an extension done before this season, that means the whole front office is now among his doubters. Mayfield has perhaps never been more doubted.
In all seriousness, a healthy Mayfield behind a healthy offensive line should produce a pretty exciting passing attack. The Bucs were fifth in explosive pass rate through five weeks last season before the offense deteriorated. Still, they played 12 one-score games as they gritted it out. After the additions of Rueben Bain Jr. and Josiah Trotter, the defense should be faster and more capable of producing splash plays.
When have the Nick Sirianni-led Eagles not been dramatic? When they’re good, running back Saquon Barkley has score-from-anywhere potential. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has a beautiful deep ball along the sideline, and receiver DeVonta Smith is a more-than-capable beneficiary of A.J. Brown’s departure. The defense is also studded with star playmakers — Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean and Zack Baun.
When they’re bad? Still watchable. Incessant three-and-outs can be boring, but sideline drama never is. Brown’s departure might limit some of the eye-in-the-sky sideline shots we get during broadcasts, but we should still get a few terse sideline conversations between Sirianni and Hurts while Big Dom looms in the background ominously. I’m guessing the new offense under coordinator Sean Mannion gives us a few of these moments, which will be good for internet reactions and Monday morning talk shows at the very least.
It’s hard to have the Bills this far down in the watchability rankings on account of their quarterback. Josh Allen is not just elite, he is perhaps the most watchable among the elite quarterbacks. Allen’s best plays are physical marvels, and his worst plays are jaw-dropping head-scratchers. The issue is that the reason to watch the Bills — Allen is sick — is the same reason we’ve had for the past five seasons. DJ Moore is not enough of a star receiver to move that needle.
Perhaps coach Joe Brady will open up the offense, as the Bills were third in the league in called run rate last season (54.7%) and Allen was 25th in air yards per attempt (7.0). Jim Leonhard might do the same to the defense, which was notoriously uncreative in Sean McDermott’s tenure — but I’m not sure the personnel is in hand for a good unit in Year 1 of the transition.
One of the most watchable players (non-quarterback edition) in all of football is Travis Hunter, solely for the novelty of his role as a dual receiver and cornerback. At some point (hopefully this season), Hunter will be the first player since Brian Dawkins in 2002 to have an interception and a receiving touchdown in the same game. Dawkins’ receiving touchdown came on a fake punt, so Roy Green (1981) was the last player to do it properly on offense. Hunter will have a larger role as a cornerback this season, but every time he does line up at wideout, it’ll come with a jolt of excitement.
The Jaguars were also a plain fun offense down the stretch last season. From Week 9 on, quarterback Trevor Lawrence was fourth in dropback success rate and EPA per dropback. The solution on offense for coach Liam Coen was the most watchable solution of them all: The Jaguars needed to push the ball. Lawrence was third in air yards per attempt as the late-season breakout of Parker Washington (is there anything more watchable than a breakout?) and trade deadline acquisition of Jakobi Meyers opened up the passing game. I have my suspicions about the Jaguars’ running game and balanced offense, but if Lawrence continues striking deep at league-leading rates, the Jaguars will be fun TV.
1:29
Why Travis Hunter should play cornerback full time for Jags
I struggle with the Packers’ watchability. The good: Jordan Love hitting a trick shot off his backfoot 45 yards down the field to Christian Watson. The bad: the fourth-highest called run rate in the league. It’s not that running the football is unwatchable. The Ravens, Dolphins, Bears, Rams, Eagles, Bills and Falcons all had cool running games last season. It’s that the Packers’ particular brand of incremental 4-yard runs wears on the eyes quickly.
The defense without Micah Parsons (recovering from a torn left ACL) might also be a painful watch for the first half of the season as it struggles for a pass rush. It’s rare that special teams gets included in the list here, but the Packers do lose some watchability now that they’ve moved on from kicker Brandon McManus (who was a total coin flip on any kick longer than 40 yards). Now they have a rookie kicker in Trey Smack who might actually be fine. That’s way more boring.
The Colts were 19th in my preseason watchability rankings last season, as I penalized them for starting Daniel Jones — whom I called a “cautious, unexplosive thrower” — over Anthony Richardson Sr. Wrong!
Jones and the Colts were as watchable as it gets in the first 10 weeks of the 2025 season. They were historically productive as an offense (3.17 points per drive would have put them in the same neighborhood as the 2007 Patriots) with a slew of cool players (running back Jonathan Taylor, wide receiver Alec Pierce and tight end Tyler Warren) delivering highlight-reel performances. If anything, the 2026 Colts demand your time simply to see whether they can do it again.
They almost certainly can’t — even if everyone were back and healthy, regression is a cruel inevitability. But with Jones still working back from a right Achilles tear, and Pierce and fellow receiver Josh Downs still not practicing, it might take a few weeks for the Colts to pick up steam.
The 49ers under coach Kyle Shanahan — so long as the offense is decently healthy — have always been pleasantly view-worthy. Even a quarterback injury can’t slow Shanahan down — those early-season Mac Jones games in 2025 were hilariously fun. Even as running back Christian McCaffrey, now 30, diminishes in athleticism and tight end George Kittle returns from a right Achilles tear, I’ll believe in a bad 49ers offense only when I see it, and not a moment before.
San Francisco played in only six one-score games last season — fewer than any other team — thanks in large part to a porous defense that was among the bottom 10 in most metrics. Fortunately for the Niners, bad defense and good offense can make for surprisingly watchable games. Take their Week 16 primetime game against the Colts in December. It was the only watchable Philip Rivers game after he came out of retirement to be Indianapolis’ quarterback at 44 years old … and it was because the 49ers’ defense was shaky enough to make it so.
The 49ers should be healthier on both sides of the ball this season, so they might just be a boring version of pleasantly good. But 25% of their games are against NFC West rivals, the Rams and Seahawks, and those contests always deliver.
Upset kings! Two of the three biggest upsets last season by pregame spread belong to the Panthers, who beat the Packers as 13.5-point underdogs and the Rams as 9.5-point underdogs just four weeks later. In fact, the Panthers were the second team since 1970 to hold a winning record through the first nine games of the season despite being a Vegas underdog in every single game!
For this reason alone, the Panthers are pretty engaging. They might win! Of course, part of the model for those wins is a grinding offensive philosophy prioritizing field position and time of possession, which might be better consumed via a fourth-quarter check-in or NFL RedZone highlight plays. Still, it is cool to see huge underdogs win outright. It’s also cool to see second-year receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
The can’t-miss-television Chiefs of yesteryear haven’t been around for seasons now. They don’t create explosive plays (9.3% of the time, 26th in the league in 2025) and they don’t give up explosive plays (8.9% of the time, fourth in the league). Sure, they play close games — they were 12-0 in one-score contests in 2024 and 1-9 last season — and close games are entertaining for most teams. But for the Chiefs, they feel more disappointing — a referendum on team building, more than a testament to their competitive spirit.
The return of quarterback Patrick Mahomes from his first major injury (torn left ACL) does create some early-season intrigue, and the potential looming retirement of Travis Kelce does set this Chiefs season up as the last chance to see the Mahomes-Kelce connection live. It’ll go down as a piece of history, and it’s worth enjoying it while it lasts.
In my earnest film breakdown of sophomore quarterbacks, I called Jaxson Dart a tough watch because of his inconsistency. On this scale of Sunday entertainment, Dart is a delightful watch. His dropbacks are infrequently routine completions. More likely, you’ll get a scramble (9.5% of the time in 2025, fourth highest), a sack (8.5%, sixth highest) or a deep launch (12.4% of the time, eighth highest). Such football can produce frustrating results, but it’s fun to watch as a neutral observer.
The pass rush is also fun to watch, and the Giants have a great one with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the field. But the run defense might be so bad (51.7% in success rate allowed last season, 31st among league defenses) that the sack artists rarely get to shine. Remember, that was with the traded Dexter Lawrence II on the squad. Burns had a career-best 16.5 sacks last season — and that didn’t make the Giants any more viewable, because defense is only viewable when it gets stops.
1:28
What is the forecast for Giants with Calvin Austin III out for the season?
You know which defense led the league in success rate in the back half of last season? The Saints! How cool is that? Totally meaningless for watchability, of course — the Saints faced largely bad opponents, and Brandon Staley’s preferred style of light-box defense leads to quiet games overall.
But for this year’s watchability, the Saints might have something cooking. If they can retain last season’s defensive improvement and get an offensive jump in Tyler Shough’s first year as the unquestioned starter with big additions such as guard David Edwards, running back Travis Etienne Jr. and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (currently laid up with a hamstring injury, unfortunately) … they have all the makings of an ascendant team!
Of course, you could just wait until the Saints are clearly good to start watching them. But you can also get in on the ground floor and make the hipster claim that you knew them before they were popular.
Color me grotesquely intrigued at the watchability of the Jets. I’m not sure that QB Geno Smith has it anymore. I’m not sure that offensive coordinator Frank Reich has it anymore. I’m not sure that Aaron Glenn, who had to endure hot seat rumors after just one season as head coach, has enough of a runway to get this plane off the ground in Year 2. But in my heart of hearts, I kind of think the Jets are going to be solid this season.
For starters, they’re going to have better turnover luck — they were dead last in turnover EPA and turnover margin last season. The front office flooded the defensive roster with veteran talent — including safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, edge rushers Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare, linebacker Demario Davis and defensive tackle David Onyemata. And perhaps most importantly, the Jets have an objectively strong offensive front. As long as Smith is serviceable and running back Breece Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson are healthy, they should be a fine, competitive team.
Does any of this mean you are going to be excited to watch the Jets this season? No. The first step toward elite watchability is escaping the cellar of unwatchably bad football, and I think the Jets took that step this offseason. If anything, tune in for the special teams unit — it had three return touchdowns last season.
In a different time, an Aaron Rodgers swan song season would move the needle considerably. Though we’re a few years into Rodgers’ “last season” at this point, and my nostalgia for his prime has been well used. His checkdown-heavy style of play is not particularly enjoyable to watch, though the Steelers’ supersized running game featuring Darnell Washington and that excellent offensive line is a pleasing view.
The Steelers are a curiosity watch. I have faint memories of watching a Steelers team not coached by Mike Tomlin — Bill Cowher’s bristly mustache and thick turtleneck last prowled the sideline when I was 9 years old. But I’ve seen a lot of Mike McCarthy-coached teams, and I know what I’m in for in regards to clock management and playcalling style. A bunch of dropbacks is usually fun — McCarthy’s Dallas and Green Bay offenses passed the ball more than the average team of their era — but in the case of a 42-year-old Rodgers, not so much.
That defensive line, though? I’ll tune in to watch it feast on bad opponents.
Teams like the Raiders are always challenging to handle in the watchability rankings. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is likely to start the season, and when he does, the Raiders will not be very watchable. Most likely they’ll be a middling offense. Even if they are good, it’ll be annoying that they’re good, because it will mean first overall pick Fernando Mendoza won’t play anytime soon.
Then, when Mendoza goes in, they’ll spike. The new rookie star! And again, the most likely outcome is … they’ll be a middling offense under Mendoza, and the novelty will wear off. Tight end Brock Bowers is extremely watchable, and it’ll be fun to see running back Ashton Jeanty in a functional offense once he gets back from his right ankle sprain. These are all ancillary issues, however — the only factor impacting Raiders watchability is when Mendoza plays, and how he looks once he does.
0:54
When will the Raiders start Mendoza?
There is nothing more insurmountable in the watchability rankings than bad quarterback play. And it’s looking like we might get that in Atlanta. Tua Tagovailoa has been unable to earn the starting job in camp, which sets up third-year pro Michael Penix Jr. — fresh off an ACL recovery — to see the field the moment he’s healthy. If he can’t go, it’s Tagovailoa, Cooper Rush or undrafted free agent Jack Strand? (Strand actually seems kind of watchable given his preseason performances — he’s enormous and fast.)
The Falcons do have enough playmaking juice (Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts Sr.) to become quickly watchable in the event their quarterback play is satisfactory. But I made the mistake of ranking them highly last year (sixth, horrendous!) on the back of expected splashes from Penix, and that was a huge embarrassment for the fidelity of the exercise. I’m correcting the error here.
The Cardinals are more enjoyable to watch than most bad teams because they have cool offensive players (tight end Trey McBride, wide receiver Michael Wilson and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love) and a couple of splashy defensive stars (linebacker Josh Sweat, safety Budda Baker and hopefully defensive tackle Walter Nolan III). But cool players are always trumped by poor quarterback play, which seems likely in Arizona given the three-headed quarterback room of Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew II and third-round rookie Carson Beck. Beck’s first start should be worth a second screen, whenever the time comes, but QB battles are better for training camp content than in-season watchability.
If anything, the Cardinals are watchable in anticipation of their players potentially getting traded to your favorite team over the next 10 weeks. Get an early scouting report on Sweat, receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. or running back Tyler Allgeier so you’re well prepared for trade deadline buzz come October.
No team has lost more watchability stock over the preseason than the Titans. I was excited to see sophomore Cam Ward play his first season under former Giants coach and new Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, but Ward has looked overwhelmed in the new offense through two games of exhibition ball. Of course, the full offense is never really on display in the preseason, so I still harbor plenty of hope. But the bloom is off the rose, at least temporarily.
Robert Saleh’s defenses will always be engaging (I’m a big believer in Jeffery Simmons’ sleeper candidacy for Defensive Player of the Year) in that they are fast and physical. With a slew of offseason additions, it might be a better group than folks anticipate. I watched Saleh’s first head coach tenure with the Jets — a great defense failed by a struggling offense — and have no interest in watching the poor man suffer the same fate a second time, if that’s how the cards fall in Tennessee.
The Dolphins are the sort of bad team that can be watchable, in that they have a fun playmaking quarterback in Malik Willis. Over the past two seasons, no quarterback (minimum 100 dropbacks) has a higher explosive pass rate (17.4%) or scramble rate (13.0%) than Willis. Those rates will undoubtedly fall in Miami, where he doesn’t benefit from Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s playcalling or a cadre of great pass catchers. But he is still a big play walking.
Seeing young players emerge around Willis and high-octane back De’Von Achane could be a good time. But the Dolphins’ roster might be so poor that it outweighs the excitement of Willis-ball. There isn’t a single proven pass catcher at receiver or tight end. The secondary might be the worst we’ve seen in the league over the past five seasons. Maybe 10? I think we’ll see enough flash to warrant the low cost of admission into Dolphins games, but the potential for disastrously bad (and boring) games is near-Browns level.
The Browns were 32nd on my watchability rankings last year. Here was the blurb I wrote.
“No, thank you.
Well, actually, I’ll watch the first Shedeur Sanders start in Week 12 just to enjoy the pageantry of it all. But other than that, no thanks.”
Sanders indeed started his first game in Week 12 — a 24-10 win over the Raiders. And the Browns were watchable in the end as we all enjoyed Myles Garrett’s hunt for the single-season sack record. But Garrett is gone, Sanders’ moment has passed, and there’s not much reason to watch the Browns again. Back into the basement they go.
(Rookie receiver Denzel Boston, though — he’s going to be fun.)
