Worth the replay?

Thursday, August 13's games ranked by how good they turned out to be: late drama, comebacks, lead swaps and overtime. No scores, no winners, so you can decide what to watch without spoilers.

Best games of the season →

#1
ColtsatPatriots
NFLDown to the wire
C+
48/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30
Swings13/25
Comeback3/20
Decided late15/15
Back-and-forth3/10
Drama 63 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 48
#2
LionsatBengals
NFL
C+
47/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension28/30
Swings13/25
Comeback3/20
Decided late15/15
Back-and-forth3/10
Drama 62 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 47
#3
Titansat49ers
NFL· NFL Net
C
41/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension28/30
Swings13/25
Comeback3/20
Decided late8/15
Back-and-forth3/10
Drama 55 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 41
#4
PackersatSteelers
NFL· NFL Net
D
26/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension5/30
Swings14/25
Comeback7/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth8/10
Drama 34 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 26
#5
CardinalsatRaiders
NFL· ESPN Unlmtd
D
23/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension5/30
Swings13/25
Comeback7/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth5/10
Drama 30 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 23
#6
ChargersatTexans
NFLOne-sided
D
18/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension1/30
Swings13/25
Comeback5/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth5/10
Drama 24 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 18

Ranked from each game's win probability as it was played (ESPN's for football and basketball; ours, from the goals, for hockey): how in doubt it was near the end, how far the winner came back from, how late it was decided, how big its momentum swings were and how often a team erased a deficit, with a bonus for overtime. That drama is then weighted by how good a matchup it was going in (its pre-game Watchability score), so a thriller between top teams ranks above an equally wild game between minor ones.