It’s Sunday in September. Clearly, you’ll have NFL RedZone on one screen, why not? But you have a second screen, and your favorite team doesn’t play until “Monday Night”. What game should you watch? I have the perfect guide for you. I ranked the 32 teams based on their “viewing appeal,” which is different from overall quality. Overall quality is about managing the game state, sustaining offensive drives, controlling the ball, creating big plays while minimizing defensive ones, avoiding turnovers while creating defensively, playing for field position, and setting up scoring plays. Viewing appeal is about throwing the ball over the mountains. It’s about touchdowns, interceptions, fourth-down attempts, sacks, and points, more points, and even more points if you have them. The appeal of visualization is also about intrigue. Teams get a boost in appeal if they have new young quarterbacks or interesting coaching changes, and they receive demerits if they are the Kansas City Chiefs and everyone knows the results of the games anyway. (It was a joke. The results of the Chiefs games are not predetermined). So, what do I base my attractiveness rating on?Big plays. I like running backs who can score from their own 20-yard line. I like receivers who are open on the field even when they aren’t. And I like quarterbacks who throw that ball even when the safety is lurking. I like defenses that take the ball away, blitz, and sack. My Gen Z brain needs the excitement. Most NFL teams look for big plays on offense, but some teams still play the kind of defenses that allow them (looking at you, Detroit Lions). These teams are the cream of the viewing appeal. Conversely, we have some teams that have become so explosive on offense that defenses fear them terribly, and as such, a methodical game has sunk their appeal (looking at you, Chiefs).Close games. There are many games that have high appeal ratings before the start and falter in the final stretch. Do you remember how excited we were for the Broncos-Ravens in Week 9 last year? As good as the star players and key matchups were, the score was 24-10 at halftime and 38-10 in the third quarter. Eventually, you’ll switch to something else. Of course, we are rating the teams here, not the matchups, so how do teams benefit from close games? This is where the boring Chiefs gain some ground. They played in a historic number of close games last season. You, like me, were watching the end of that 30-27 encounter between the Chiefs and the Panthers in late December. How could you not be?Star players. This is a self-evident truth. Were you more willing to watch the Browns or the Titans last season? Both had bad quarterback play and bad records. But one had Myles Garrett. Of course, Garrett is only on the field half the time, and opposing offenses spend a lot of resources minimizing his impact on the game. But Brock Bowers made the Raiders more interesting to watch, as did George Kittle for the 49ers and Bijan Robinson for the Falcons. Star talent really moves the needle.Cool stuff. You might think it’s boring to include fancy football schemes in a coolness ranking, but I’m here to tell you: you like scheme cool stuff as much as I do. The Dolphins have always been fun to watch under Mike McDaniel because their backfield antics lead to impressive plays. Just this preseason weekend, Chargers defensive tackle TeRah Edwards had an interception and a return. Do you like that? (Weird Kirk Cousins echo, sorry). Then yes, you like scheme cool stuff! That big guy only drops off the line because defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is up to something. I don’t watch football games for the cool schemes. At least, not until the All-22 comes out. But they do improve my experience. Okay, here we go. Here are my official NFL attractiveness ratings for 2025: a complete ranking of all 32 teams that incorporates all those factors to help guide your remote control this fall.
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ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CINCLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | INDJAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MINNE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SFSEA | TB | TEN | WSH
1. Washington Commanders
The Commanders were the perfect team to watch last season. Twelve of their games ended with a margin of eight points, more than all but three teams. In the fourth quarter, they had 19 scoring drives in the fourth quarter (the fourth-highest) and gave up 20 scoring drives (the sixth-highest). A big part of that is that they played fast under Kliff Kingsbury, with the most no-huddle plays of any team since Chip Kelly’s Eagles. More plays equal more opportunities for excitement. What else? Jayden Daniels was electrifying. The Commanders completed multiple Hail Marys, one of which won them a legendary game that broke the Bears franchise. Daniels was magical. The Commanders had the best fourth-down conversion rate in history for a team that attempted more than 10 fourth-down conversions (87%). Daniels was magical. But I also enjoyed cheering them on. It’s been a couple of difficult decades for Washington fans, and the team received a big boost of sympathy in the Adam Peters-Dan Quinn-Jayden Daniels era. I wanted to see them succeed.2. Baltimore Ravens
If you don’t like Derrick Henry alongside Lamar Jackson in the same backfield, you don’t like the same football as me. That’s the most terrifying thing that has been in a backfield, period. And it’s not just that they’re good. It’s the way they’re good. Henry’s breakaway runs are like avalanches, seen long before they hit, gaining speed and power as they grow. Jackson’s are like lightning: sudden, unpredictable, and spectacular. And that’s just the running ability. Let’s not forget that the two-time MVP had 41 passing touchdowns last season and led all quarterbacks in explosive pass rate. Fun stuff. The Ravens are also famous for being capable of a collapse in the last quarter, regularly producing some of the most absurd win probability graphs, bad for the team, good for viewing appeal.3. Detroit Lions
The numbers from last season for explosive play rate (very high) and explosive play rate allowed (also very high) may not matter much for the 2025 Lions, who have two new coordinators and a much healthier defense that secures the back end. But will an offense with Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs really stop scoring on big plays? The Lions led the league with seven touchdowns from over 50 yards last season, and I’m inclined to believe that won’t stop. Then there’s coach Dan Campbell, who may be the most interesting head coach in the league. The Lions went for 33 fourth downs last season, including 45.6% on the opponent’s side of the field. In 2023? It was 48.4%, the highest rate since at least 2001. Punts and field goals would top the list of least interesting plays, and Campbell is here to eliminate them from the game.
4. Cincinnati Bengals
I don’t default to “incredible offensive with bad defense” as the most interesting build to watch, I actually like a competitive game with good defensive stops. But… the Bengals are a lot of fun to watch. Not just because Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins are good. Because it’s exciting to watch their seismic march towards 35 points, their victory despite their defense inevitably failing them in the end. The Bengals had a 4-7 record in their 11 one-score games. They enter this season with a new defensive coordinator in Al Golden, but the roster still predicts high-scoring affairs. Cincinnati gave us some of the most interesting games to watch at the end of last season: the overtime win against Denver, the last-second loss to the Chargers, the failed 2-point conversion against Baltimore, and should offer much of the same in 2025.5. Philadelphia Eagles
Those who find the “tush push” a deplorable bastardization of football and an undeserved cheat code wouldn’t rank the Eagles so high. I, however, am enlightened. I find the “tush push” a hilariously entertaining play, if only for the obnoxious celebrations of the Eagles’ offensive line when they once again execute it. But it’s also so entertaining for how prepared the opposing defense is: how sure they are of what’s coming and how desperate the team wants to be to thwart it. There’s no moment in football like the pre-snap tension of the Brotherly Shove. Of course, that’s just a small percentage of the Eagles’ plays. The vast majority are huge runs by Saquon Barkley, heroic long throws from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith, or a key defensive stop by Jalen Carter or Cooper DeJean or Zack Baun or Quinyon Mitchell or Nolan Smith Jr. and so on.6. Atlanta Falcons
If you didn’t watch a full Falcons game last season, you weren’t living right. In September, they had a four-game stretch as follows: They defeated the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Eagles, in a two-minute drill. They lost to the eventual AFC champions, the Chiefs, by one score after two consecutive drives in the red zone ended with turnovers on downs. They defeated the division rival Saints with a game-winning field goal after giving up the lead with one minute remaining. They defeated the division rival Buccaneers in overtime behind a 500-yard performance from Kirk Cousins. That was just a month! Now, Michael Penix Jr. is the starting quarterback; he was second in the league in air yards per attempt last year (10.1). The defense relies on huge returns from first-round rookies to generate some kind of pressure on the passer. It’s hard to think of a team with a higher ceiling and a lower floor.7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield is one of the few players in the league so interesting to watch that he transcends fandom. You can’t help but root for him when he’s arguing with defensive linemen after running for a key first down. The collective excellence of the Buccaneers’ offense around him (Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin) means a very interesting experience to watch. The addition of Emeka Egbuka could even make this offense a similar experience to that of the Bengals in 2025. However, the Buccaneers are limited in this ranking by the caution of their coach, Todd Bowles. He doesn’t go for enough fourth-down attempts or 2-point conversions. The Bucs’ defense is eminently interesting to watch, albeit with a lot of effort, with sacks and takeaways, all at the expense of big plays. Only three teams gave up more passes of over 30 yards than the Buccaneers last season.8. Jacksonville Jaguars
Watching a Jaguars game is a hilarious time (unless you’re a Jaguars fan, which is up to you, frankly). They played 13 one-score games last season and had a 3-10 record. They couldn’t stop the breeze defensively with 2.4 points per drive allowed and a 14.4% three-and-out rate, the worst in the league. But when Trevor Lawrence is the starter, they have enough on offense to make us believe. Brian Thomas Jr. is the kind of star talent that demands looks, and Travis Hunter could soon be the same opposite him.
Damn, just look at this team for Hunter! Are you going to be the only person tuning into Patriots-Jets when the first two-way player since Deion Sanders is also playing? Are you going to miss the first game with two receiving touchdowns and a pick-six because you were tuned into the third quarter of Giants-Cowboys? No.9. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders’ argument is very simple. The main characters are extremely fun to watch. Geno Smith is a high-risk, high-reward quarterback who completes very difficult passes (fifth in completion percentage above expectation last season, according to NFL Next Gen stats) against incoming pressure. Brock Bowers is a tight end who creates more after the catch than any player at his position except George Kittle. Ashton Jeanty will probably do some great things. And Pete Carroll is out there chewing gum and tackling his own players during warm-ups. The second part of the argument is that the defense could be really, really, really bad. With Christian Wilkins cut and Jakorian Bennett traded, the Raiders have now lost more than 5,800 snaps from last season’s defensive roster. A good passing game on offense plus a totally unreliable defense means all kinds of fireworks.10. Green Bay Packers
The Packers are difficult to place here. The good includes 74 plays of at least 20 yards last season (fourth-most in the league), 21 scoring drives in the fourth quarter (most), and 10 games within a score (tied for ninth-most). Jordan Love was seventh in passing yards per attempt, as the Packers play explosive football, push the ball downfield, and score late. And, oh, I almost forgot: Green Bay was third in takeaways per drive on defense. The Packers also create big plays on that side of the ball. The bad: they disappointed against key opponents last season, with a 0-4 record against the Vikings and Lions, and 0-2 against the Eagles in the regular season and postseason. They were losing 28-0 in the first game against the Vikings, which I turned off… and then turned back on at the end when they made it 28-22. They lost 20-3 in the third quarter of the second game against the Vikings before coming back in the last quarter. And they also lost 24-3 against the Lions the first time. These large deficits in the third quarter make me lose focus, even if I eventually come back to see their failed comeback attempts.11. Buffalo Bills
On paper, the Bills might not actually be very entertaining. The defense is a play-and-alignment group that had a heroic year in ball thefts (17.5% of opposing offensive series, best in the NFL) but generally concedes yards in incremental and unspectacular paper cuts. The unit also lacks an exciting star, with all apologies to Christian Benford. The offense, which has historically been a more explosive group, reduced big passing plays last season, and really passing plays altogether. The Bills ran the ball more than ever in the Josh Allen era, and although James Cook had the occasional huge run, it was still a more methodical approach. With 7.9 air yards per attempt, this was Allen’s least field-centric season of his career.On the other hand: it’s Josh Allen, the reigning MVP.
