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The NFL's most watchable teams (oh man, the Bills!) and boring (yikes, Patriots) for the 2022 season

The NFL season is almost here, and it’s high time we take stock of what’s on the table for this fall.

While I’m sure all 32 fanbases are excited to see their teams back in action again — the general observer and lover of football would be well-served to be a little more judicious with their free time. After all, not every NFL team is worth carving out three whole hours on an otherwise precious lazy Sunday. Once the initial glean of “football being back” has subsided, a harsh dose of reality sets in for those squads without worthwhile players or drama.

There are those teams you should avoid and probably run some annoying errands instead of watching. And then there are the teams, like, say, the many AFC heavyweights, that would fit perfectly in your loaded calendar on a regular basis.

As we did last year, here are For The Win’s rankings of the NFL’s most watchable teams during the 2022 season.

32
Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Emilee Chinn

Cleveland could’ve been a fun team with a bunch of exciting players, but it tied itself to a player who had 24 lawsuits of sexual misconduct levied against him. It’ll be hard to watch the team that sold its soul without having your stomach churn.

31
Seattle Seahawks

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Drew Lock or Geno Smith will be Russell Wilson’s replacement for the time being, and Pete Carroll can’t decide if he wants to rebuild or not. The hardest of passes all around. The Weather Channel will have you on the edge of your seat more often than these Seahawks.

30
Washington Commanders

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

If I ever have to willingly watch Carson Wentz play quarterback again, please know that me blinking twice is an official cry for help.

29
Carolina Panthers

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

How is a depressing quarterback Cerberus of Baker Mayfield-Sam Darnold-Matt Corrall any better than just Sam Darnold? The Panthers are like scrolling through Netflix on a random Tuesday night and finding forgettable movies named something generic like The Silver Person. You’ll turn it on because you’re bored and be on your phone within minutes, never looking up.

28
New York Giants

Brian Daboll’s in town, and the future could be bright… eventually. But this iteration of Big Blue will only leave you feeling blue about yourself and all your life choices.

A black cat on the field is the most interesting thing about the New York football Giants in years:

27
New England Patriots

AP Photo/Stew Milne

Great coach. Glorified game manager/mediocre quarterback. Zero noteworthy superstars that make you think football is worth the time. “Just do your job” is fitting for the Patriots — I would literally rather do menial work than watch them play the sport I love.

26
Minnesota Vikings

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The Vikings are the ultimate “Red Zone” team. And when I say “Red Zone,” I mean Justin Jefferson — the only reason Minnesota has any intrigue.

And yes, the guy who grills like below is still their quarterback:

25
Houston Texans

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I’ll be honest here. I could name four Texans players — Brandin Cooks, Laremy Tunsil, Derek Stingley Jr. and John Metchie — off the top of my head. There’s some real grim stuff happening in Southeast Texas right now.

24
New York Jets

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The starting left tackle is out for the year, and Zach Wilson almost appeared to be out for the year, which could’ve left the door open for Joe Flacco to play real games in the year 2022. Mind you, Flacco also apparently throws better passes than Wilson.

J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS.

23
Detroit Lions

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This month, while they’re on Hard Knocks (and playing up for the cameras), will be the most interesting the Lions will be all year. Watch for Dan Campbell’s usual apex predator soundbites to slowly shift to anecdotes about peaceful herbivores by December.

22
Chicago Bears

Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

Given some of their decisions lately, I’m not even sure the Bears are trying to win in 2022. That said, Justin Fields should be good for a few “wow” plays a game when he’s not embedded into someone’s turf. Not that I advise you to watch the Bears play live. You can catch those Fields plays on Twitter after the fact.

21
Jacksonville Jaguars

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A competent Doug Pederson might start to coax out the Trevor Lawrence we all expected coming out of the 2021 draft. But there’s not much else worth writing about the team that calls Duval County home.

20
Arizona Cardinals

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As fun (and strange) as it’s been to document Kyler Murray’s offseason drama this year, the Cardinals are the epitome of top-heavy. Throw in a coach that may *sprint* into an assistant gig in the Big-12 within two years, and I’d ironically love to play Call of Duty rather than have Arizona on my TV.

19
Atlanta Falcons

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Kyle Pitts and Drake London catching aerial lasers from Marcus Mariota every game? Yes, please! Watching the Falcons’ defense flail at basic tackle attempts? I can already feel a migraine coming on.

18
Pittsburgh Steelers

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Mitchell Trubisky might be having a good preseason thus far, but forgive me if I don’t want to watch him waste a core of Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, Pat Friermuth, Calvin Austin III and Najee Harris. I’ve seen this movie before, and it’s so sad.

17
New Orleans Saints

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I don’t know if the Saints will be “good” (the way most people define good), but I do know they’ll be appointment-viewing TV with Jameis Winston throwing to Mike Thomas and Chris Olave. Plus, there’s always the potential for a scintillating Winston speech that gets the goosebumps going.

16
Tennessee Titans

Syndication The Tennessean

If the Titans gave the ball to Derrick Henry 50 times a game, I’d probably plop down on my couch to catch a few minutes. I might still watch if I knew he would only get a series or two. I’d do anything to potentially catch a glimpse of an emotionless, brutal stiff arm to get the red-hot blood boiling:

15
Dallas Cowboys

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Micah Parsons is one of the more naturally talented defensive players in recent memory, Trevon Diggs sacrifices disciplined coverage for an abundance of picks and the bumbling Mike McCarthy is still the coach. The Cowboys are usually due for some solid football. But they can’t seem to stop stepping on rakes and hitting themselves in the face, creating excellent comedy.

14
Indianapolis Colts

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If Matt Ryan’s dip into the Lazarus Pits was successful, the well-balanced Colts will be more palatable than most of the teams on this list. Even if Ryan is a massive disappointment, it’s always fun to see Indy’s panic at falling just short of relevance after Lucking into two generational quarterback prospects in 15 years.

13
Philadelphia Eagles

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Many will likely fixate on Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. I don’t blame them! But have any of you kindred spirits also considered the mammoth Jordan Davis next to Fletcher Cox? I’m almost giggling at the thought of just typing this.

Fly Eagles, Fly So High.

12
Green Bay Packers

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Sans Davante Adams, I have a hunch the Packers won’t be as explosive or fun on offense this year. But they have the back-to-back MVP and a potentially elite defense. The football should be competent, even if it is sometimes insufferable and probably too much on primetime.

11
Miami Dolphins

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New head coach Mike McDaniel might be the NFL’s Most Interesting Man, and we get the blazing Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle together. Color my curiosity teal for the potential fireworks in South Beach.

10
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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In any other circumstances, a bona fide Super Bowl contender with a future Hall of Fame quarterback would probably top the list. But it’s Tom Brady, at age 45, in Year 23. Yawn. Boring. So boring. Zzzzz.

For the love of Belichick, retire for real already.

9
Baltimore Ravens

AP Photo/Gail Burton

This is the first year of Lamar Jackson’s career that he enters a season after missing the playoffs the winter before. He also apparently weighs 230 pounds now. Terrifying all around for a man on a mission… if you’re a defensive coordinator anyway. Quoth the Raven, forever more.

8
San Francisco 49ers

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Kyle Shanahan took a team led by Jimmy Garoppolo to a Super Bowl and two NFC title games in three years. Enter the gifted Trey Lance with what I think is the coolest tagline — “Trey Area” — for a 49ers player in years.

7
Denver Broncos

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For years, we begged the Seahawks to simply “let Russ Cook.” We pleaded and pleaded, and they only kind of listened to our desperation. At Mile High, with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, we’ll finally see Chef Russ full time. Don’t discount a ballhawk secondary led by sous chef Patrick Surtain II getting Wilson the ball back aplenty.

Yes, Chef. Heard, Chef.

6
Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Provided Matthew Stafford’s arm stays attached to its socket, he’ll now throw to Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson and (eventually) Van Jefferson.

Oh, and there’s Bobby Wagner now pairing with Aaron Donald. The big man is pretty good, I think.

5
Kansas City Chiefs

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The Chiefs slide down this list by virtue of their excellence becoming a little stagnant and tiresome. And there’s that unfortunate departure of Tyreek Hill, too. Still, it’s Pat Mahomes. I don’t think I’ve ever been more elated to watch any single quarterback play the game. I would’ve felt so guilty sliding his team out of the top five.

4
Las Vegas Raiders

AP Photo/Kirk Irwin

Josh McDaniels scheming up plays to get the ball into Davante Adams, Darren Waller, and Hunter Renfrow’s hands? (Mouth waters.) Sin City’s got itself a squad built to score lots of points. Points, in case you didn’t know, are very entertaining.

3
Cincinnati Bengals

AP Photo/Emilee Chinn

The Bengals went to Super Bowl 56 with a glorified turnstile of an offensive line. They now have one of the best OLs in the league on paper. That potentially means even more Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase theatrics. (Don’t forget these absolute gem white helmets.)

2
Los Angeles Chargers

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Justin Herbert has the numbers to back up his status as a superstar quarterback. He does not, however, have the team success. That’s probably going to change soon. With the additions of Khalil Mack and J.C. Jackson to a constellation of stars in L.A., I might honestly tune into all three hours of every Chargers game this fall.

This team will be so off-the-wall that I might even (gasp) put my phone down and just watch them play.

1
Buffalo Bills

Syndication Democrat And Chronicle

The Bills are still new enough as Super Bowl contenders to where you don’t simply despise seeing their logo week in and week out. They also have a loaded playmaking defense, a hunger to avenge two heartbreaking playoff defeats and a runaway freight train masquerading as an MVP candidate quarterback.

Buffalo is the best team in pro football, and I don’t want to miss a second of their pending rampage on the rest of the league.

See live draft results and grades at the 2024 USA TODAY NFL Draft Hub.

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