Every Thursday, we rank the NFL games from least watchable to most watchable. Then, the following Tuesday, we re-rank the games based on what actually went down. The goal is to find the league's most watchable team, least watchable team and everyone in between.
With six weeks in the books, we thought it was a good time to find out what we've learned so far. To do this, we added every team's pre- and post-rankings, then divided that number by how many weeks they've played times two. (Example: The Ravens' total through six weeks is 72, but because they had a bye in Week 2, we divided by 10 instead of 12 to get to their 7.2 average).
The results were intriguing and I've noted a few below, along with the entire table. We'll do this again in Week 12 and again at then end of the season. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
(If you're looking for Week 7's Game Rankings, scroll down.)
Most Watchable Team
Dallas Cowboys. Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't turn away from the circus that is America's Team. Boosted by three straight No. 1 pre-rankings in Weeks 1-3 and three top 3 post-rankings in the first six weeks, Dallas games not only look good on the schedule and but also live up to them on Sunday. The recent slew of injuries may slow their mojo some, but the acquisition of Roy Williams, the curiousity factor of Brad Johnson and the fact they play in the ultra-competitive NFC East probably means the Cowboys will continue to be the NFL's most watchable team.
Least Watchable Team
St. Louis Rams. How bad have things been in St. Louis? The Rams' upset of the Redskins ranked as Week 6's fourth most watchable game and that still wasn't good enough for them to eke out of the cellar past the Chiefs. Blowout losses put the Rams either dead-last or second-to-last in the post-rankings for Weeks 1-4. With a literally unwatchable product on the field, the Rams wised up and canned their coach. But if last Sunday's stunning win over Washington is any indication, the Rams, under their new regime, won't be holding the title of the NFL's least watchable team for very long.
Least Watchable Team With Winning Record
New York Giants. The Super Bowl champs rank a stunning 26th on the list. Examining the numbers, however, and it's easy to see why. The Giants' only game thus far against an NFC East foe, Week 1's unwatchable affair against the Redskins, looked more like a preseason game. Every other opponent (Seattle, Cincy, St. Louis, Cleveland) is among the bottom 10 on this list. Look for the Giants to make a big jump up the list with games against Pittsburgh, Philly and Dallas in the next four weeks.
Most Watchable Team With Non-Winning Record
Minnesota Vikings. We did the math on this like 10 times because we simply couldn't accept the fact a team quarterbacked by Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte could be the second most watchable team in the league. But upon a closer look, it made some sense. Four of their six games have been decided by less than a touchdown. Adrian Peterson might be the most exciting player in the league. And big things were expected by their defense, foreshadowing close games. But still, Gus Frerotte? Really? Let's see how this shakes out the rest of the season.
Week 7 Game Rankings
ONLY IF YOUR OTHER OPTION IS YARDWORK
14. Detroit at Houston, 4:05 p.m., FOX
13. Tennessee at Kansas City, 1:00 p.m., CBS
12. N.Y. Jets at Oakland, 4:15 p.m., CBS
IT AIN'T GONNA BE EPIC, BUT HEY, IT'S FOOTBALL
11. Seattle at Tampa Bay, 8:15 p.m., NBC
10. San Francisco at N.Y. Giants, 1:00 p.m., FOX
9. Baltimore at Miami, 1:00 p.m., CBS
8. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 1:00 p.m., CBS
7. Dallas at St. Louis, 1:00 p.m., FOX
6. New Orleans at Carolina, 1:00 p.m., FOX
5. Minnesota at Chicago, 1:00 p.m., FOX
4. Denver at New England, 8:30 p.m. (Monday), ESPN
SUPERGLUE YOURSELF TO THE COUCH
3. Cleveland at Washington, 4:15 p.m., CBS
2. Indianapolis at Green Bay, 4:15 p.m., CBS
1. San Diego at Buffalo, 1:00 p.m., CBS
Jarah Mariano
Anne V
Mavs Dancers
College Football, Top 25 Review
Comments (26) Add A Comment
I have more interest in 6 and 5 than 2 or 3.
Hank Kingsley
Port Alberni, BC
Total Comments (1799)
Number 6 should be moved into the "Superglue" tier.
the wolf
Lakewood , OH
Total Comments (42)
Last season's Vikings at Bears game produced an epic where Peterson ran crazy and the Vikings won with a 54 yard FG at the death...34-31 I believe with 6 TD of more than 50 yards....I'm not sure how anything could top that this week.
Moses87
San Antonio, TX
Total Comments (14)
detroit- shouldnt be last im a skins fan so it no like i like one of the teams but theres one very bad team and a team that almost has a ok team it can be that bad it could be close
chasermanx77
Potomac, MD
Total Comments (14)
oh denver NE looks prettygood also
chasermanx77
Potomac, MD
Total Comments (14)
chasermanx, ummm... what?
navysquid37
Arlington , VA
Total Comments (1)
Agreed. I mean, Cleveland and Washington? Neither are exactly exciting this year.
Redwing19: MARCH…
Ottawa, ON
Total Comments (3168)
Hey, what about Ball'mer at Miami? Anyone realize who the OC for the Ravens is? Clue: Dolphins ex-head coach Cam Cameron.......From what I hear, he made some comments that pissed off the majority of the 'Fish and it looks like alot of bad blood is brewing. Besides, anyone else but me interested in seeing how the Ravens defense plays the Wildcat? Or if Joey Porter will rip the head off Joe Flacco? This could be a really entertaining game. Too bad it will only play in FL.
I'm a diehard Steelers fan, so no real interest in either team directly (although Porter has to be considered one of great Blitzburgh backers when he was in his prime ).
IRONMAN
Total Comments (54)
Cleveland/Washington is comparable to KC/Tennessee
luthercollegesucks
Los Angeles , CA
Total Comments (45)
Not sure how AZ's high flying offense and aggressive defense rank among the bottom third, but hey, Ill admit it, Im biased.
dshane_2007
San Pedro , CA
Total Comments (6)
Indy at GB will be entertaining. both D's are banged up and both teams can throw, without Addai i think GB should win
lsuboi
Cordova , TN
Total Comments (32)
Cleveland at Washington?!?!? You'd pick that over a divisional game with New Orleans at Carolina with both teams desperately needing to win? Nice job SI.
Phanatic14
Total Comments (1)
Thank You, most profound thing said yet. Other than SD and Buffalo being #1 because I agree.
vinnydeez
Orchard Park, NY
Total Comments (2)
I think the Dallas / St. louis game could be real interesting, especially if Steven Jackson can have a big day.
richpak1
Vancleave, MS
Total Comments (2)
Yep, here's the conspiracy theorist (aka Buffalo native) in me coming out again: the one time the Bills are at #1 in your list, the article itself focuses on the Dallas Cowboys. The story of our collective lives...
Was Buf., Now Was.
Washington , DC
Total Comments (68)
I have to point out that it seems rather silly to me to average both the pre- and post-game writings. The pre-game writings were Dom's wild-**** guess as to which games would be watchable. Shouldn't he have averaged only the post-game rankings to find out what teams were *actually* watchable? As it is, this list is a weird hybrid between Watchability and DOOW. (Dom's Opinion Of Watchability)
jaysweet
Rochester , NY
Total Comments (451)
1. New Orleans at Carolina
2. Minnesota at Chicago
3. Indianapolis at Green Bay
4. San Diego at Buffalo
5. Baltimore at Miami
6. Cleveland at Washington
7. Denver at New England
1relentless1
Jackson, NJ
Total Comments (2)
I predict a KC over TEN upset!
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Running back Larry Johnson will sit out Kansas City's game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday for violating team rules, a potentially crippling blow for a struggling young offense facing the NFL's last unbeaten team.
Uh...well, its not like they know how to use him anyway. Lets follow up a 198 yard game against Denver with a 7 carry, 2 yard game!
MountainDewFTW
Gainesville , FL
Total Comments (209)
I'm glad that Buffalo is finally #1, but don't we even get a breakdown of the game? I tell ya, we get no respect.
And yeah, 5 & 6 should change places with 2 & 3. Those division games are going to be NUTS.
Egon196
Rochester, NY
Total Comments (24)
There are a ton of good 1p.m. games this week. It's annoying because I can't watch them all. I guess that it is a plus that I have the sunday ticket and the redzone channel.
jdramirez
Carlisle , PA
Total Comments (430)
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