Following the Watchability Index from Week 1 in the NFL, with point spreads and totals also available for Week 2, I thought it would be a good idea to plot the same relationship and see what Week 2 holds in terms of the best and worst games on the schedule. Like the Week 1 plot, the Line vs. the Total is plotted on the top chart and the win expectations are embedded in the two plots in the lower part of the dashboard. Focusing on the top chart, there are some good matchups in the upper left-hand quadrant, representing games that are expected to be high-scoring and relatively close. There is a tradeoff between these three games as the highest-totaled games also have slightly higher favored teams. Baltimore at Houston, New Orleans at Las Vegas, and the Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia appear to be very good and exciting matchups for the week, spread evenly across start times. The upper right-hand quadrant also has three games that are expected to be relatively high-scoring, but with slightly higher favorites. Kansas City at the LA Chargers is likely to be most intriguing to most when looking at this group, but Atlanta at Dallas and Carolina at Tampa Bay could certainly be interesting.
The lower right-hand quadrant shows the games which are expected to be lower-scoring and less competitive. While most of these games are clustered together, the one far away from the others in the lower-right corner is the least interesting of the matchups for week 2 with Tennessee being a sizeable favorite over Jacksonville and the game having one of the lowest totals on the board. The lower-left quadrant represents games expected to be close, but with lower expected point totals. Minnesota at Indianapolis is an intriguing matchup here as it has the lowest point spread for the week and the total is just below an average game for Week 2 in the NFL.
As you can tell, I can’t wait for football season to start. I’ll update each of the Watchability charts as the season gets closer.
Comments