The following dashboard presents some valuable information about week 3 games in the NFL. The “Watchability Index” is based upon betting market point spreads and totals for the week and current records of the teams. This information can be combined to peer into the future and think about what games are the most “Watchable” games for week 3 in the NFL. The visualization shows the absolute value of the point spread on the horizontal axis and the total (over/under) on the vertical axis. Additionally, the sum of team wins (home team plus road team) is noted by color with yellow being the highest sums and red being the lowest sums. The shape reveals the day of the game.
Based on this week’s numbers, what games are most “Watchable”? Let’s start from least interesting in the lower right-hand quadrant. NY Jets at Indy is likely the least entertaining game on the docket on Sunday with a double-digit point spread and a low total. Carolina/Chargers, Tampa Bay/Denver, and Washington/Cleveland also generally fit this description. Cincinnati at Philadelphia is interesting to see which team will get their first win, with a slightly higher total and around an average point spread for the week. Although also in the lower-right hand quadrant, I think there could be considerable interest in the Las Vegas/New England game as Las Vegas looked impressive Monday Night and New England was one play (and better clock management) away from being 2-0.
Moving to the upper right-hand quadrant, these games offer expectations of high scoring, but are not expected to be extremely close games. Detroit at Arizona offers potential fireworks in terms of scoring and returns to daily fantasy players in this game, while Dallas, off of the best onside kick in history, travels to Seattle in an anticipated high-scoring affair, but with Seattle as a considerable favorite in the contest.
The lower-left quadrant has one of the best games on the schedule for the weekend, despite a slightly below-average total (for the week) in the Rams at Bills. Both teams are 2-0 and have been impressive on the field. We’ll see if the travel schedule of the Rams plays a role here and how Buffalo looks when playing a team outside of the AFC East. A couple of 2-0 teams are also featured in this section in games facing off against teams that have had some bad luck/tough schedules so far. Houston at Pittsburgh, despite the lower total, is an intriguing game as Houston needs a win after having to face KC and Baltimore in back-to-back weeks, and Pittsburgh trying to show it is a serious contender in the AFC. Atlanta, who faced Seattle then lost a game they seemed to have complete control of against Dallas, hosts a surprising 2-0 Chicago team in a matchup that will likely reveal much about the future of both teams.
In the top-right quadrant, which features games fans generally enjoy the most, we have Tennessee at Minnesota, with a slightly above average total, and then two exciting night games to look forward to in this weekend’s action. Green Bay at New Orleans and Kansas City at Baltimore not only give viewers a chance to see the top teams this season (even with slight hiccups by the Saints and Chiefs in Week 2) but promise lots of scoring. Both Sunday Night and Monday Night offer anticipated close games coupled with high totals for some must-see TV.
I hope the index helps you in looking forward and planning for your weekend of NFL football. Enjoy the games.
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