NFL Week 3 Preview: Ranking Every Game and Why You Should Watch

The NFL is immensely popular and is the king of all sports in America. I don't need to sit here and tell you that you should watch the NFL, because most already do. 

What I'm here to do is sit and decipher which games are going to be hidden gems and which are going to be duds. Last week didn't offer any spectacular match ups but that isn't the case again for this week.

There's a lot to get to, so let's get started.

No. 16: Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns

Entertainment scale: 2 

Why you should watch: Neither the Browns nor the Dolphins are going to light up the scoreboard, and everyone loves scoring, or at least the general public does. Despite the lack of offensive weapons on both sides there are some interesting story lines to keep an eye on, such as the continued progression of Colt McCoy and Chad Henne.

Reggie Bush, Peyton Hillis, Brandon Marshall and Josh Cribbs are all capable of making big plays. Don't expect any of them to go off for monster performances though. Cleveland and Miami are both solid defensivelythe Dolphins' stats may not show it but they've played two stellar offensive teams in Houston and New England.

This game doesn't have the national appeal that others possess and that is why it is the least watchable game of Week 3.

No. 15: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers

Entertainment scale: 2

Why you should watch: The Chiefs are off to a miserable start to the season. San Diego on the other hand is off a disappointing performance against New England. This is a perfect opportunity for the Chargers to bounce back against a struggling team. This is also a perfect opportunity for the Chiefs to salvage their season.

Phillip Rivers and Co. are going to show up, but can Matt Cassel pick up his production to help make up for the loss of Jamaal Charles? If he can, this game has potential. Don't count on it though as it would be quite shocking if Kansas City all of a sudden showed a pulse.

No. 14: Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks

Entertainment scale: 3

Why you should watch: The reason for the low ranking is mostly because of the stigma the NFC West has attached to it. Poor seasons from the entire division a year ago have soured the national media and fans on the division. 

The addition of Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals instantly made the NFC West better and more entertaining. His continued progress and ability to connect with Larry Fitzgerald will be interesting to follow throughout the season along with Sunday. 

Seattle has less going for it than Arizona does, and to be honest, the Seahawks are dragging this match up down. They are a team that you want to avoid on Sunday's, but the Cardinals make this game interesting because of the Kolb-Fitzgerald connection. It also doesn't hurt that they have Patrick Peterson to spice things up on punts, as he's a threat to take it to the house anytime he touches the ball.

No. 13: Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts

Entertainment scale: 3

Why you should watch: Sunday Night Football will be in Indy this week and that means all attention will be on Peyton Manning, who won't even be playing. The Colts aren't going to be good this year, although it wouldn't be surprising to see them put up a spirited performance against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh looks like it will find itself in the playoff mix again and possible be a Super Bowl contender. This is a game that the Steelers should win fairly easily, but like I said already, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Colts show up and push Pittsburgh to the brink.

The blowout factor and no Manning keep this game low in the rankings.

No. 12: San Francisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Entertainment scale: 4

Why you should watch: Personally, I find this to be an entertaining match up, yet I don't feel the general public will have the same opinion. Andy Dalton doesn't have the national appeal yet, but his progress is something that I am very interested in. As for the 49ers, Alex Smith is still running the show in San Fran and the Niners are still an underachieving team.

Both teams have good running backs—Cedric Benson's suspension won't kick in till next weekwhich spices up this match up. This game has a chance to be close. Neither team is significantly better than the other and neither has the ability to run away with a game.

Key an eye on this one as a possible gem.

No. 11: Denver Broncos at Tennessee Titans

Entertainment scale: 5

Why you should watch: Two teams that are destined to finish in the 7-8 win range will battle it out this weekend. The Broncos are coming off an important win over the Bengals while the Titans are coming off a shocking win over the Ravens.

What makes this game worth tuning into is watching the quarterback situation in Denver, and if Chris Johnson can break out of his slump. Kyle Orton is going to have to continue to play well and produce wins for the Broncos to avoid all of the Tim Tebow talk. It's a volatile situation in Denver and something that won't go away.

Johnson got his money this offseason but he hasn't earned it on the field. The lack of training camp has hurt him and it could be awhile before he is effective again. Fantasy owners will definitely have their eyes on this game.

No. 10: Baltimore Ravens at St. Louis Rams

Entertainment scale: 5

Why you should watch: If the Rams play like they did against the Giants this game will be unwatchable. St. Louis has a ridiculously tough schedule to start the season and is staring down an 0-3 record. But in the NFC West, they are far from out of the division race.

Baltimore followed up an impressive win over Pittsburgh with a pathetic showing against Tennessee. It was a typical letdown game scenario and the Ravens fell into the trap. 

It's hard to get overly excited about this one with the way each of these two teams played last week.

No. 9: Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings

Entertainment scale: 6

Why you should watch: The Vikings have owned the Lions over the past 10 plus years. Detroit is hoping to change its fortunes in Minnesota this Sunday and have a great chance to do so. Matthew Stafford is healthy thus far and has shown his star potential through two games. 

Donovan McNabb looks like this could be his last season starting in the NFL, and maybe his last period. That's how old the once dominant quarterback looks. Tuning in on a weekly basis to see McNabb's demise as a legitimate starting quarterback is sad.

If he is unable to conjure up a solid effort against the Lions, it's time for the Vikings to start thinking about transitioning Christian Ponder into the starting role.This is going to be an entertaining divisional battle that has a very good chance of being close.

The Lions may be on the up and up, but the Vikings aren't going to make it easy for Detroit.

No. 8: Jacksonville Jaguars at Carolina Panthers

Entertainment scale: 6

Why you should watch: You may be wondering why this game is so high but you really shouldn't be surprised. Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert are set to square off, which makes this game much more entertaining than had it been Newton vs. Luke McCown. 

Don't let the Panthers' 0-2 record fool you, this team can play. The defense has lost Jon Beason and Thomas Davis for the season, which will hurt, but the offense can light it up with Steve Smith catching passes and Newton flinging bombs. 

Jacksonville comes into this game with its pride a little stung after a poor outing against the Jets. If the Jags have any hopes of competing in the AFC South this is a must-win game. 

This match-up comes in at No. 8 because of the battle between Newton and Gabbert.

No. 7: New York Jets at Oakland Raiders

Entertainment scale: 6

Why you should watch: Rex Ryan's been relatively quiet through two weeks—which is a nice change of pace—as he should be seeing how the Jets are 2-0. The Raiders are coming into this game off of a loss, but have the ability to challenge a Jets team that hasn't looked all that sharp through two weeks, despite the thrashing that they gave the Jaguars.

This is a statement game for an Oakland team that needs to prove that it belongs. The AFC West is a division up for grabs and this would be a big step for the Raiders as they hope to stake claim of the division.

All in all this should be a defensive battle that is decided by which quarterback makes less mistakes. Mark Sanchez needs to avoid making the one or two throws a game that make Jet fans shake their heads, and the same goes for Jason Campbell.

This should be an enjoyable match up to watch.

No. 6: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

Entertainment scale: 7

Why you should watch: If Michael Vick was guaranteed to play this would be competing for the top spot, but that isn't the case. There's a chance Vick will play, although it seems like the decision won't be made till closer to game time. 

This is a battle between two 1-1 division rivals who flat out don't like each other. This game has a lot of appeal to it, yet, I can't seem to get too excited about it until I know Vick is in the lineup. Mike Kafka did a nice job against Atlanta, but he doesn't have nearly the same national appeal as Vick does.

Philadelphia-New York will definitely be worth checking out on Sunday, it just won't have the same intensity for an objective viewer than it would have with No. 7 taking the snaps. 

No. 5: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Entertainment scale: 8

Why you should watch: The NFC South was the best division in football last season hands down. It had three teams win 10 or more games. This year, the South teams haven't gotten off to as good of a start. Every team in the division is 1-1 minus Carolina.

After Sunday, either the Bucs or Falcons will be under .500. Matt Ryan will have to prove that he can get the job done on the road against Josh Freeman and his young squad. These two quarterbacks have a bright future and will be battling it out year in and year out over the next decade, so get used to this match up.

Look for a budding rivalry to start between these two teams this season.

No. 4: New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills

Entertainment scale: 8

Why you should watch: This is the only game in Week 3 that features two 2-0 teams battling it out. What makes it even better is that the Bills and Patriots reside in the same division. The Bills always seems to play the Pats tough for some reason even when they aren't very good.

New England should be on upset alert as Buffalo has a lot more to prove this early in the season. Ryan Fitzpatrick has looked terrific through the first two games, but Tom Brady has looked even better. This will be a great match up between two teams that have played great football thus far.

One team will go down this weekend and most experts will peg the Bills to be that team. But don't count out Buffalo, they definitely have a shot to give New England a run for its money.

No. 3: Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

Entertainment scale: 9

Why you should watch: Monday Night Football features an old school rival in which both teams have playoff aspirations. The Redskins look rejuvenated this season behind the stellar play of Rex Grossman. The Cowboys should be 2-0 had they not choked to the Jets, but that's in the past.

Tony Romo redeemed himself last week with clutch play after he suffered an injury. Now he will be asked to lead the Cowboys to another victory but this time it will be against a much tougher opponent than the Niners. 

Do I really need to continue on to why you should watch this game? I mean, it's the only game on Monday.

No. 2: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

Entertainment scale: 10

Why you should watch: A rematch of the NFC Championship from this past playoffs will take place on Sunday. The Bears were unable to come away with a win on the road against the Saints while the Packers were able to take care of the pesky Panthers.

Jay Cutler left last season's title game with an MCL injury and received a ton of heat for it. Now he has a chance to earn a little redemption with a win over the Packers. This is a good ole fashion rivalry where each team doesn't like the other.

Expect to see hard-nosed football with some big time hits taking place. This isn't going to be a game where both teams combine to score over 50 points. Aaron Rodgers and Co. may have an explosive offense, but this game will be decided by whomever plays better on defense.

No. 1: Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints

Entertainment scale: 10

Why you should watch: Forget tradition. Forget division rivalries. Forget rivalries in general. 

When the Texans and Saints meet this upcoming Sunday it is going to be the best game of the week. Both team's are explosive on offense and we should be in for a shootout. 

The real reason this game tops my list for most entertaining games of Week 3 is because I want to see if Houston is for real. This is its year to make some real noise with the Colts out of the picture. If they can't get it done this season then they never will be able to with the coaching staff, and maybe even personnel, in place.

As for the Saints, they don't want to fall to 1-2 in the competitive NFC South. They are going to want to make a statement with this game to show that they can compete with one of the best teams in the AFC.

For those that have NFL Sunday Ticket, enjoy this gem of a game. For those that don't, I suggest finding a bar where you can watch these two duel it out.