Week 2 NFL Game Watchability Rankings

Week 2 in the NFL is here, and you might be entering the weekend with your own preferences regarding which games to focus on, and which to place on the backburner.

Most of you have your favorites and fantasy players to track. But in case you’re completely neutral or need help breaking ties with regard to what to watch, we’ve ranked all 16 games from most appealing to least enticing.

1. Falcons at Bengals (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Two 1-0 teams featuring high-powered offenses, solid young quarterbacks, and spectacular receivers. Not a marquee matchup based on the markets, but you can envision this one being a thriller.

2. Bears at 49ers (Sunday night, NBC): Chicago needs this bad, and San Francisco isn’t as good right now as it looked last week against the terrible Cowboys. Playing an NFL-caliber opponent, the depleted 49ers should come back to earth. This will be a highly-entertaining Sunday nighter.

3. Eagles at Colts (Monday night, ESPN): Always fun getting a national glimpse of Chip Kelly’s offense, and Andrew Luck and the Colts have become one of the most exciting teams in the league. Both teams are missing key Pro Bowlers named Mathis, but this is a great quarterback matchup. Expect a lot of points.

4. Lions at Panthers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Two teams that have the ability to go on a tear in the NFC, and both are 1-0. Plus, you have to dig that quarterback matchup, assuming Cam Newton is good to go.

5. Dolphins at Bills (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): The winner of this game will be 2-0 and an official challenger to New England in the AFC East. The Dolphins are exciting on both sides of the ball and Buffalo has one of the strongest defensive fronts in the league. At home, the Bills should keep it interesting.

6. Steelers at Ravens (Thursday night, CBS/NFL Network): If this were strictly an NFLN production, it’d be interesting to see how they’d handle the Ray Rice debacle. CBS will likely have to spend quite a bit of time covering that angle, since it’s the biggest storyline in sports. But even without that garbage, this is always a good divisional matchup.

7. Chiefs at Broncos (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): I mean, Kansas City is still good, right? I don’t know anymore. That roster has taken such a beating and the Broncos are so strong at home that I wonder if this will be a blowout.

8. Seahawks at Chargers (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): Seattle’s pretty good, eh? San Diego? Depends on the day. At least they’ll be at home and hungry coming off a tough Week 1 loss.

9. Jets at Packers (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): Let’s be real, New York hasn’t been a fun team to watch in years. And the Packers are angry on extended rest, ready to crush the Jets in their home opener.

10. Texans at Raiders (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): Matt Schaub’s revenge! Nope, never mind. With that half-interesting storyline gone and Jadeveon Clowney out, there isn’t much to this except J.J. Watt vs. Derek Carr. Might remain close, but these aren’t playoff teams anyway.

11. Saints at Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): I have a feeling an angry Saints team will trounce the Browns, despite that solid second-half Cleveland put together in Pittsburgh. But if the Browns are hanging in at home, this is a must-watch fourth Q.

12. Patriots at Vikings (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): We all know this will be a correction game. The Pats aren’t an 0-2 team and the Vikes definitely aren’t worthy of 2-0. At home, Minnesota might at least stick around a while, but don’t bother here unless it’s tight in the fourth quarter.

13. Cardinals at Giants (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Carson Palmer vs. Eli Manning is one hell of a matchup, said 2006. Arizona is sort of boring, and the Cardinals should crush an even less entertaining mess of a Giants team.

14. Cowboys at Titans (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Yeah, Tennessee won in rather impressive fashion Week 1, but we all know neither of these teams is going anywhere. Usually the Cowboys are entertaining regardless, but right now they’re just depressing.

15. Jaguars at Redskins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Boy, the NFC East has really hit rock bottom. Monitoring RGII’s progress (or lack thereof) is sort of interesting, but that’s about all that stands out in this game.

16. Rams at Buccaneers (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): Neither team hails from the NFC East, but this game still sucks. Tampa Bay isn’t that bad, but the Bucs aren’t a playoff team. St. Louis is well on its way to the No. 1 overall pick.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com (covering Super Bowls XLIV, XLV and XLVI), a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Bloguin, but his day gig has him covering all things NFC East for Bleacher Report.

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