Week 1 is here, and you might be entering the weekend with your own preferences regarding which games to focus on, and which to place on the backburner.
Most of you have your favorites and fantasy players to track. But in case you’re completely neutral or need help breaking ties with regard to what to watch, we’ve ranked all 16 games from most appealing to least enticing.
1. Panthers at Broncos (Thursday night, NBC): The Thursday night opener is always a must-watch, especially with the Panthers seeking revenge and 2015 seventh-round pick Trevor Siemian making his debut at quarterback for the defending Super Bowl champions.
2. Patriots at Cardinals (Sunday night, NBC): Two Super Bowl contenders, one without their franchise quarterback. Gonna be fun to see Jimmy Garoppolo’s debut, especially against such a jacked defense.
3. Giants at Cowboys (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): This is always an entertaining divisional matchup, but especially this year. Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott will debut for Dallas, and they’ll go up against a completely revamped Giants defense. A lot to see here.
4. Packers at Jaguars (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Are the Packers back with Jordy Nelson? Is Jacksonville ready to become a contender again? Two teams trying to make major statements to start the 2016 season. And plenty of offense to boot.
5. Steelers at Redskins (Monday night, ESPN): Two high-charged playoff contenders with fun quarterbacks and strong fanbases. Great early-season Monday nighter.
6. Vikings at Titans (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): The Titans have a lot to look forward to with Marcus Mariota kicking off his second season and Derrick Henry and DeMarco Murray debuting in the backfield. Meanwhile, it’ll be interesting to see how Minnesota looks sans Teddy Bridgewater.
7. Bears at Texans (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Houston’s new-look offense is worth checking out, and the Bears should put up a fight on the road.
8. Lions at Colts (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): A lot of eyes will be on Andrew Luck as he makes his return.
9. Browns at Eagles (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Robert Griffin III and Carson Wentz make their respective debuts. Beyond that, though, this is a cross-conference matchup between two bad teams.
10. Bengals at Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): These teams are better than a lot of teams listed above. The problem is there just aren’t any juicy storylines to kick off the season. Status quo for both franchises, which is kind of boring in Week 1.
11. Buccaneers at Falcons (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): How much progress has second-year Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston made? What will happen with Tampa’s second-round rookie kicker Roberto Aguayo? Pretty enticing divisional matchup out of the gate.
12. Bills at Ravens (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Two AFC playoff contenders (for now) with a lot of question marks. Could be in for a wild one.
13. Chargers at Chiefs (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): A nice early-season divisional matchup, but nothing jumps out at you.
14. Raiders at Saints (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): This is Oakland’s first chance to tell the football world it is a contender. Looking forward to seeing what the Raiders bring to the table.
15. Dolphins at Seahawks (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): Two talented teams, but the blowout potential is always high in Seattle.
16. Rams at 49ers (Monday night, ESPN): This would be a lot more fun if top pick Jared Goff were making his debut, or if it were being played in Los Angeles. Now, all we have to look forward to is the anthem. And Todd Gurley, I guess.
