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:
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. 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. 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. 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.