Here are the teams that are out this week on byes:
NFL Watchability Index, Week 4: Let’s all take naps
It’s early in the season and more than a sixth of the league will be at home any way. Might as well kick your feet up for some shut eye.
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
1) Seattle Seahawks -- defending Super Bowl champions, 2014 Super Bowl favorites.
2) Denver Broncos -- defending Super Bowl losers, also 2014 Super Bowl favorites.
3) Cincinnati Bengals -- perhaps the best of the three remaining undefeated teams, strong Super Bowl hopeful.
4) Arizona Cardinals -- perhaps the next best of the three remaining undefeated teams, appears to have won this year's round of veteran backup quarterback roulette.
5) Cleveland Browns -- perhaps the most talked-about team in the NFL, 1-2 but playing well and surprisingly watchable.
6) St. Louis Rams -- just bad.
That’s five teams who would have headlined anticipated games this weekend, gone. All that’s left are maybe two or three games that you want to watch just by sight on paper. There’s an old rivalry in the NFC North, a clash of styles between two NFC title contenders, and a decent cross-conference matchup taking place in Baltimore. To get excited for any of the nine other games you’ll have to invent a reason, or better yet wait until they give you a reason to tune in.
Be lazy. If the NFL isn't going to demand your full attention for one weekend, this may be the one. It's a prime napping slate. Wash yourself in the white noise of Titans-Colts, and if Andrew Luck needs to lead Indianapolis on a 95-yard drive for a touchdown with a minute left, trust that your intuition will kick you awake. We promise to pound out the appropriate number of exclamation points, yelling as loudly as our powerful little blogging platform will allow.
And if you miss it, that’s okay too. It’s Week 4 for chrissakes. Every game matters, sure, but maybe some are less than equal than others. Curl up and enjoy some football. Or don’t.
Sunday, Sept. 28
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET -- FOX
Here's hoping we can figure out what the hell is wrong with the Packers' offense. Last Sunday was ugly, not least of which because it came against the a Detroit Lions defense that, despite playing surprisingly well this season, shouldn't be that good.
The Bears have been outgained by 300 total yards over their last two games, both wins, so it’s unclear if the fates will even let the Packers win even if they get back on the rails.
Anyway, this game is going to be weird.
Rating: 4/5
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. ET -- CBS
These teams mirror each other quite nicely. Both started 2-0 before suffering double-digit losses last week -- though the Bills' loss to the San Diego Chargers than the Texans' loss to the New York Giants, for now -- and both our predicated on strong defense, hot young receivers and poor quarterbacking.
This is the perfect example of a nap game. Defenses will keep proceedings closes, until late when someone will have to make something happen. Then you can let out a yawn, rub out your bleary eyes and marvel.
Rating: 3/5
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. ET -- CBS
I almost forgot to include this game as I was writing this, which probably tells you what you need to know. Except that the Indianapolis Colts have a tendency to play to their competition. They have played 18 one-score (fewer than seven points) games during the regular season since Andrew Luck entered the league, good for eighth in the NFL. They also have the best winning percentage in those game at 77.8 percent, well ahead of the Bengals at 64,7 percent.
So there’s a decent chance this game will be close, but the Colts are going to win anyway so who cares.
Rating: 2/5
Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. ET -- CBS
Again, the profiles are so similar that you almost expect a three-quarter struggle and a stupid ending. Joe Flacco and Cam Newton are both perfectly comfortable with dramatic outbursts, good or bad.
Rating: 4/5
Detroit Lions at New York Jets, 1 p.m. ET -- FOX
The week’s trend of weirdness continues. The Lions’ defense -- the same unit that finished 17th in total defense last season -- is ranked No. 1 in total defense through three games. It is No. 3 in passing yards allowed per game, and No. 2 in rushing yards behind only the Jets.
Meanwhile, Geno Smith has three touchdown passes to four interceptions and 77 passer rating, and yet his progress is still sort of encouraging. He is plenty accurate, and defendants can still roll out the not-enough-weapons rebuttal with Eric Decker absent. Smith is still making too many dumb mistakes, but we're supposed to forgive young players for those.
These teams look so little like themselves, I just don’t know what to think.
Rating: 3/5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET -- FOX
Jesus Bucs, get your shit together.
Rating: 1/5
Miami Dolphins at Oakland Raiders, 1 p.m. ET -- CBS
The Dolphins are cracking. Ryan Tannehill named himself a starter this week expressly against what Joe Philbin told media, and defenders openly Kevin Coyle's gameplan. And yet, Vegas still pegs the Raiders' head coaching job as the most unstable this season (just ahead of the Dolphins!).
So yeah, someone’s season officially going down the shitter this week.
Rating: 3/5
Jacksonville Jaguars at San Diego Chargers, 4:05 p.m. ET -- CBS
Jesus Jags, get your shit together.
Rating: 1/5
p.s., the Chargers might be pretty great
Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings, 4:25 p.m. ET -- FOX
The Falcons' offense is a beauty behold when everything is going right. Teddy Bridgewater probably won't be able to lead the Vikings to enough points to keep up, but Atlanta should be a good litmus test of how excited we should be about his rookie season.
Rating: 3/5
Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers, 4:25 p.m. ET -- FOX
The 49ers are in bad shape. They’ve now lost two straight games by falling on their faces in the second half of games. The Eagles appear to be determined to be a screamer of a team this season, however, making every game -- even against the inept -- worth valuable Watchability points. Unlike the 49ers, the Eagles seem to struggle to start games only to find a second half groove. Thirty-point comeback sound good? Cool.
Rating: 4/5
New Orleans Saints at Dallas Cowboys, 8:30 p.m. ET -- NBC
Man, this looked like a juicy matchup when the SNF schedule was announced in April. But no one should be impressed by the Cowboys’ wins over the Titans and the Rams, and no one should be impressed with the Saints, period.
At least the key actors are still giving convincing performances. DeMarco Murray deserves some kind of award.
Rating: 3/5
Monday, Sept. 29
New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:30 p.m. ET -- ESPN
The Patriots and Chiefs are phoning it in. You can, too.
Rating: 2/5
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