Welcome to October football. And, a pretty darn good start to boot.
Week 5 has a plethora of quality games, including a couple of serious AFC clashes in the early window with the Buffalo Bills visiting the Houston Texans, and the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Baltimore Ravens.
There’s also plenty of intrigue in the prime-time matchups with the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs meeting on Monday night, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys facing off on Sunday night in the Steel City.
But which game is the best? Which games are not so good but still make the list? Let’s examine.
10. Indianapolis Colts (2–2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0–4)
Watchability score: 0.8
This is more about curiosity than excitement. The Jaguars have been a full-blown tire fire and could be another loss or two away from Doug Pederson needing a realtor. Meanwhile, the Colts have quarterback questions and the worst-ranked defense in the league. Let’s party!
9. Las Vegas Raiders (2–2) at Denver Broncos (2–2)
Watchability score: 1.3
Somehow, this game is for sole possession of second place in the AFC West. How good is Denver’s defense? The Broncos are 2–2 with quarterback Bo Nix throwing for 165 yards per game on a comical 4.8 yards per attempt. Expect a low-scoring, hard-hitting affair decided by who makes a big mistake.
8. Arizona Cardinals (1–3) at San Francisco 49ers (2–2)
Watchability score: 3.1
If nothing else, we should see plenty of offense. The Cardinals have Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson on the outside with tight end Trey McBride providing additional punch. San Francisco isn’t at full strength with Christian McCaffrey still out, but George Kittle and Deebo Samuel are back. Expect plenty of points.
7. Cleveland Browns (1–3) at Washington Commanders (3–1)
Watchability score: 3.6
Jayden Daniels is must-see TV. Furthermore, Cleveland could be on the precipice of trading away some players, including star receiver Amari Cooper, if things don’t turn around quickly. We could be witnessing the ascension of one team and the downfall of another.
6. Green Bay Packers (2–2) at Los Angeles Rams (1–3)
Watchability score: 4.2
This game would rank higher if the Rams weren’t so ravaged by injury. Still, Los Angeles is a dangerous team with Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay leading the way. As for the Packers, this is a borderline must-win if they want to stay in the thick of the NFC North race.
5. Dallas Cowboys (2–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3–1)
Watchability score: 5.0
This is a great, old-school rivalry and the only matchup of teams that played in three Super Bowls against each other, with the Steelers winning twice. As for the current iterations, Dallas is without star edge rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. Can the Cowboys overcome those losses and get a big road win Sunday night?
4. New Orleans Saints (2–2) at Kansas City Chiefs (4–0)
Watchability score: 6.1
Two weeks ago, the Saints were the best team in football. Suddenly, they’re trying to avoid dipping below .500. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are without Rashee Rice, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Isiah Pacheco. Still, Kansas City is favored in its quest to go into its Week 6 bye as the only AFC unbeaten.
3. New York Jets (2–2) at Minnesota Vikings (4–0)
Watchability score: 6.9
England is getting a good game with the Vikings playing host to Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. New York is coming off an embarrassing defeat to the Broncos where it was held without a touchdown. As for Minnesota, it has been the league’s surprise team led by Sam Darnold and his NFL-best 11 touchdown passes.
2. Baltimore Ravens (2–2) at Cincinnati Bengals (1–3)
Watchability score: 8.1
This is a fascinating game. Baltimore has gotten itself off the proverbial ropes with wins over the Cowboys and Bills after an 0–2 start. Conversely, Cincinnati is still very much in trouble. A loss here for the Bengals, and making the playoffs becomes an extremely daunting challenge. No NFL team has made the playoffs after a 1–4 start.
1. Buffalo Bills (3–1) at Houston Texans (3–1)
Watchability score: 9.4
C.J. Stroud and Josh Allen. The Stefon Diggs revenge storyline. Someone getting a key tiebreaker down the line. It’s all happening in Houston on Sunday, with the first meeting ever between these two quarterbacks. If there’s a game that should require scoring 30 points to win, this is it.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Week 5 Watchability Index: Top 10 Games to Watch.
