The 2025 season is almost upon us, but with the lull between the last meaningful practice and Week 1, it’s still a bit of “listicle” season around the NFL world. Well folks, Ben Solak and ESPN just released one of the weirdest lists you’ll ever see.
They’re calling it the 2025 Watchability Ranking, and it’s quite a trip.
Ben Solak has not liked the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, and spoiler alert, what follows is no different. Actually, now that I think about it, this might just be your classic East
Coast Bias geographically-based partiality. Three NFC West teams make up the bottom six.
Here’s the criteria, you decide.
Watchability is also about intrigue. Teams get watchability bumps if they have new young quarterbacks or interesting coaching changes, and they get watchability demerits if they’re the Kansas City Chiefs and everyone knows the outcomes of the games anyway.
Specific measurable categories include:
- Big Plays
- Close Games
- Star Players
- Cool Stuff
Before we get to the Seahawks, here’s the top 10 in order:
- Washington Commanders
- Baltimore Ravens
- Detroit Lions
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Atlanta Falcons
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Green Bay Packers
The major issues I have with this top of the list are the Bengals, Buccaneers, Jaguars and Raiders. The Cincinnati Bengals are just not interesting anymore. Joe Burrow is old news, and their inability to play defense is no longer fun to watch.
Here’s what Solak said about the Seahawks, who found their way all the way down at the 4th-least-watchable team in the NFL.
From Weeks 7 to 14 of 2024, the Jets gave up 37, 25, 13, 31, 28, 26, and 32 points. Never mind the fact that he also compared Sam Darnold to the 40-year-old and incredibly medicated Aaron Rodgers, the defense was not elite and these teams are not similar.
I think it’s only fair, since we do our fair sure of critiquing ill-compiled ESPN lists, to take a stab at it on my own. It is heavily biased and equally subject to scrutiny, and I have already forgotten what the criteria categories are that I typed above. Please enjoy.
The Real Watchability List, from Least to Most
- Browns
- Jets – If ever a team in human history was not likely to fix Justin Fields, it is these New York Jets.
- Saints
- Colts
- Cardinals
- Bengals
- Cowboys
- Dolphins – because scoring 40 ppg in September is no longer interesting, knowing how the story ends.
- Patriots
- Buccaneers
- Kansas City Chiefs – auxiliary things are now the most interesting; is Travis Kelce still good? Are the refs still on their side? Will people rage quit over Taylor Swift?
- Los Angeles Chargers – Jim Harbaugh, super interesting. Team, not very interesting.
- Carolina Panthers
- Tennessee Titans – go Cougs
- Pittsburgh Steelers – Who will crash out first: Aaron Rodgers or DK Metcalf?
- Chicago Bears
- Denver Broncos
- Las Vegas Raiders – I think they will get markedly less interesting as the season goes on.
- New York Giants – would be far, far lower if it weren’t for morbid curiosity about the end of Russell Wilson’s career.
- Seattle Seahawks – Trying honestly to think about where most people might peg the Seahawks. But Cooper Kupp, Jaxon-Smith Njigba, DeMarcus Lawrence, Leonard Williams, Devon Witherspoon, Mike Macdonald’s defense – those all draw a crowd.
- Jacksonville Jaguars – would be far, far lower if it weren’t for Travis Hunter.
- Houston Texans
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Los Angeles Rams – with Matt Stafford in the game: will he survive? With Stafford out of the game: can the team?
- Atlanta Falcons – Penix time
- Washington Commanders
- San Francisco 49ers – I believe the entire nation falls into one of two camps: those who believe the Super Bowl is within reach, and those who believe this year all absolute hell breaks loose and the foundation of San Francisco crumbles in HD.
- The top four are a bit interchangeable, Lions Eagles, Bills and Ravens. Always a good time.
Have at it.
