Ranking the 75 Best Games of the 2018 NFL Season

The NFL schedule release is upon us on Thursday. As a thought exercise, we decided to hold a draft of the 75 games that were most intriguing to us, taking into account the following factors: 1) How exciting the teams are to watch play, 2) Quarterbacks, 3) The extent to which the game is likely to matter for playoff potential, and 4) Television viewership of the teams. It will be interesting to see how these games get spliced up for the prime or standalone viewing windows of Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Thursday Night, and Monday night between Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN.

Because these criteria are pretty straightforward, we’re not going to explain why the games are ranked where they are. Some teams like the Colts and Texans will depend on the health of stars like Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson. Where rookies like Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Saquon Barkley wind up — and how they perform — could also have some impact. Here was the result of our Draft.

1. Patriots @ Steelers
2. Packers @ Patriots
3. Patriots @ Jaguars
4. Packers @ Rams
5. Eagles @ Cowboys
6. Eagles @ Rams
7. Steelers @ Jaguars
8. Packers @ Vikings
9. Jaguars @ Cowboys
10. Steelers @ Raiders
11. 49ers @ Packers
12. Raiders @ Chiefs
13. Cowboys @ Eagles
14. Vikings @ Patriots
15. Eagles @ Saints
16. Chiefs @ Patriots
17. Vikings @ Eagles
18. 49ers @ Rams
19. Packers @ Seahawks
20. Saints @ Falcons
21. Rams @ 49ers
22. Texans @ Patriots
23. Steelers @ Saints
24. Chiefs @ Rams
25. Chargers @ Rams
26. Vikings @ Packers
27. 49ers @ Seahawks
28. Cowboys @ Texans
29. Seahawks @ 49ers
30. Cowboys @ Seahawks
31. Eagles @ Jaguars
32. Falcons @ Packers
33. Bears @ Packers
34. Vikings @ Rams
35. Cowboys @ Panthers
36. Rams @ Seahawks
37. Chiefs @ Raiders
38. Packers @ Lions
39. Raiders @ 49ers
40. Jaguars @ Texans
41. Texans @ Eagles
42. Colts @ Patriots
43. Rams @ Seahawks
44. Panthers @ Steelers
45. Saints @ Cowboys
46. 49ers @ Chiefs
47. Falcons @ Eagles
48. Patriots @ Lions
49. Chiefs @ Steelers
50. 49ers @ Vikings
51. Eagles @ Giants
52. Rams @ Raiders
53. 49ers @ Chargers
54. Cowboys @ Falcons
55. Saints @ Vikings
56. Packers @ Bears
57. Saints @ Panthers
58. Patriots @ Jets
59. Panthers @ Eagles
60. Falcons @ Saints
61. Falcons @ Steelers
62. Texans @ Jaguars
63. Seahawks @ Rams
64. Patriots @ Titans
65. Steelers @ Browns
66. Titans @ Cowboys
67. Colts @ Eagles
68. Falcons @ Panthers
69. Cowboys @ Redskins
70. Chiefs @ Broncos
71. Cowboys @ Colts
72. Vikings @ Bears
73. Panthers @ Saints
74. Cowboys @ Giants
75. Vikings @ Lions