Thursday Night Football: Ranking this year's beefed-up slate of streaming-exclusive games

Thursday Night Football game rankings by Tiers

To say that the Thursday Night Football experience has improved would be a dramatic understatement. In years past, all 32 teams were required to play on Thursday Nights, making the exclusive games often tiresome to watch.

Any day with an NFL game on is a good day, but can you imagine having to watch the Carolina Panthers take on the New York Giants on a Thursday? NFL fans might still tune in, but the fact that games are exclusively on Amazon Prime make brutal matchups like that a tough sell.

Now, not all 32 teams are required to play on Thursday nights. Teams can play as many as two Thursday night games, making the matchups arguably better than they have ever been.

Week 2's matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins has the potential to not only be one of the best Thursday night games this season, but it might be the game of the year between two dynamic offenses in the AFC East.

With that in mind, let's see just how good this game is compared to the other Thursday night games.

Thursday Night Football Game Rankings: How did this get here?

16) Denver Broncos at New Orleans Saints, October 17

Seriously, how did this game get here? Neither the Denver Broncos nor the New Orleans Saints are expected to be competitive this season. These teams aren't in the same division, or even in the same conference. What's the appeal? Bo Nix could be a player worth watching, but he looked underwhelming in Week 1 and the Saints might be the most boring team in the NFL on paper. At least Russell Wilson is gone.

15) Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, September 26

The New York Giants have lost six in a row against the Dallas Cowboys and 13 of the last 14 meetings between these two NFC East rivals. Is this season really going to be any different? The NFL forced us to watch the Cowboys come to MetLife and win 40-0 to begin last season, and based on how the Giants looked Week 1, it might be even worse this time around. I get the fact that they're rivals and marketable, but c'mon. We don't need to watch this.

14) New England Patriots at New York Jets, September 19

Aaron Rodgers being healthy is preventing this game from being lower in the rankings. It's hard to see the appeal outside of the fact that the New England Patriots and New York Jets are division rivals. Even after their shocking Week 1 win it's easy to assume that the Patriots will be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season. Jacoby Brissett starting over Drake Maye takes all appeal away on their end, even if that was the right decision. This Jets defense might hold them to single digits, and the game should not be all that competitive. If it is, that likely means it'll be a really sloppy showing.

13) Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, November 29

The game being shown on Prime Video during the week of Thanksgiving is the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs on Friday, November 29, so we're going to go with that on this list. That game will almost certainly not be great. Yes, the Raiders came to Arrowhead and beat the Chiefs last season, but does anyone realistically expect them to compete with them again? By this point in the season, the Chiefs will presumably be comfortably in playoff positioning while the Raiders will be out of contention. Having Patrick Mahomes on the field helps, but there's little appeal other than that.

Thursday Night Football Game Rankings: Will keep an eye on it

12) Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams, October 24

There's enough star power to make this game worthy of paying attention to. Justin Jefferson and Cooper Kupp are among the league's best receivers. Puka Nacua should be back by this game too. The Minnesota Vikings won't be great with Sam Darnold at the helm, but they showed enough in Week 1 to get their fans excited, even if it was against the lowly Giants. The Los Angeles Rams are always fun to watch when they're somewhat healthy, too, and should be firmly in the NFC playoff picture. At the end of the day, Darnold quarterbacking the Vikings moves this game down in the rankings.

11) Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles, November 14

Fans of offense should drop everything they can to tune into this game. The Washington Commanders couldn't do much at all defensively, but Jayden Daniels impressed, particularly on the ground. The Philadelphia Eagles didn't look particularly inspiring on both ends of the ball Week 1, but they won and scored 34 points. They might score 45 against Washington in a game that could be a shootout.

10) Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, November 21

AFC North matchups are almost always close until the very end, and that's what's keeping this game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns in this tier. Both of these teams are elite defensively, but have glaring offensive holes, particularly at the quarterback position. It'll be ugly throughout, but should be close at the end, making it worthwhile enough to keep an eye on.

9) San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, October 10

The reason this game is in this tier and not in a better one has to do with past results. The San Francisco 49ers dominated the Seattle Seahawks twice last season and have taken five in a row against their NFC West rivals. Four of the five games have been decided by more than one score. It'll be interesting to watch Mike Macdonald's defense against this Niners offense, but it's hard to imagine the Seahawks doing much against San Francisco's defense to keep this game super close.

Thursday Night Football Game Rankings: Definitely watching

8) Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals, December 19

Will this be the year Joe Burrow finally puts together a good showing against the Browns? He's gone just 1-6 against Cleveland and has struggled in most of the games, especially recently. The Cincinnati Bengals lost in Week 1 in embarrassing fashion, but have historically kicked it into gear late in the season. This Week 16 matchup could prove to be pivotal for both teams and will likely be close, making it worth watching even if Deshaun Watson is still quarterbacking the Browns.

7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons, October 3

This game might've been higher on the list if Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons didn't look horrible in Week 1. This game could have massive implications in the NFC South, but it's hard to expect these teams to do much damage in the NFC beyond winning the division. It's absolutely worth watching, but there are better games to watch.

6) Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears, December 26

Caleb Williams didn't have his best showing in Week 1, but it's reasonable to expect a rookie to struggle a bit in his first taste of NFL action. By the time Week 17 rolls around, though, there's a good chance that the Chicago Bears are fighting for a playoff spot, and the Seahawks could easily be a team they're competing with. If these teams are duking it out, this will be an electric game to watch. If not, at least we get Caleb and a talented Bears team.

5) Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers, December 12

The Rams and 49ers split two one-score games last season, and could easily be involved in more close contests in 2024. The NFC West title might not be on the line, but this could easily be a playoff preview. It is absolutely a game worth watching.

Thursday Night Football Game Rankings: Cancel all plans

4) Houston Texans at New York Jets, October 31

The Houston Texans might be the best team in the AFC other than the Chiefs. The Jets have more question marks, but if Aaron Rodgers can stay healthy, they should be a force. C.J. Stroud going up against this elite Jets defense should be fun to watch, and the Jets (hopefully) having a competent offense should make them much more watchable in these prime-time games. A Rodgers injury changes everything, but for now, this game is worth cancelling all plans for.

3) Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens, November 7

Both the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens lost Week 1, but they're still expected to be among the leaders not only in the AFC North, but in the AFC as a whole. By this Week 10 matchup, both Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson should be fully locked in and dominating. It's impossible to predict who will win this game, and it could change the landscape in a competitive AFC North. These two teams losing Week 1 does drop it down a couple of slots, though.

2) Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions, December 5

Entering the season, it was realistic to expect the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to duke it out in a very tough NFC North division. Green Bay's chances took a hit with the Jordan Love injury, but by the time Week 14 rolls around, Love should be back and who knows, the Packers might still be in the hunt. Even if they don't have a chance at a division title, the Packers will be desperate for a win with a healthy Love against a really good Lions team. This should be a very entertaining game, and could easily be a playoff preview.

1) Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins, September 12

This game should rock. The Miami Dolphins didn't look great offensively in Week 1, but they historically shine in warm weather early in the season. The Buffalo Bills might take a step back this season, but they still have Josh Allen running the show. This should be close, high-scoring, and entertaining. It also could prove to have a major impact in the standings. The fact that it's taking place in Week 2 is a bit of a bummer, but we'll get to see these teams mostly rested ready to play in a close shootout.