Column: The NFL ‘Product’ is Doing Just Fine, Regardless of What Many Try to Tell You Otherwise

(KWMN)- ‘Well this game sucks’ — signed a very disgruntled football fan as they grab their seventh beer from the fridge to sit back on the couch, and still inevitably watch this so-called terrible game.

I don’t really know when this started. It feels like it’s been emphasized, almost has exploded over the course of the last few seasons in the NFL. The idea that, the NFL’s ‘product’ is not good.

The reason I bring this up is because I’ve been seeing a lot of comments, a lot of statements on social media–Twitter, or X if you so see fit–that have been complaining about how bad the NFL has gotten. One twitter account says the NFL product has “Cratered,” over the last two years. Another complaining about the blowouts that have gone on during recent gamedays. Of course, these are followed by many of fans agreeing, rejoicing that they too believe what others believe! Sheep, in other words.

I just want to ask, ‘Why?’

The reasoning is often sound, backed with logic, but rarely backed with anything other than opinion. Look, this is a column, it’s an opinion piece. I’m not often willing to thrust myself into the business of telling someone their opinion is wrong. But here I am. The opinion that the NFL is a bad product–Is wrong.

Are there too many blowouts? Are there not enough points? Are there fewer exciting plays? The defense too good? Too bad? I beg to know what the actual issue is.

I’m not saying that it’s enjoyable to watch the Texans and Jets compete for worst performance on Thursday Night Football. Or watch the Cardinals Dominate the Jets in the afternoon window. Or watch the Broncos and Jets limp their way to a 10-9 final score (It’s always the Jets, that’s no coincidence). I am not arguing that there are some games that are bad. I just have a hard time calling the entirety of the product ~bad~.

Just as there are bad games, there are great games. Like the Ravens and Bengals last week. Like the Chiefs and Buccaneers, the week before. What about the Chiefs and Ravens to open the year? The Seahawks and Lions was a great primetime scoring fest. Those are games just off the tip of my tongue. Bills and Dolphins in Week Nine. Banger. Rams and Seahawks was an overtime finish in the same week. Another banger. I can go on and on and list many other games; the point is, there are great games, there are not so great games. Is that any different than other league? No.

If you want to make the argument with actual numbers, there isn’t one for those who say the product is bad. Scoring the NFL on average is up nearly two points higher than it was in the 2000s, but that argument doesn’t really play for any side. In 1964 the average scoring per game was 22. In 2024 it’s 22.5. So, the product got worse? Johnny Unitas–absolutely no disrespect being thrown here, let me be clear–won the MVP that year. He threw for 2800 yards and 19 TDs. Daniel Jones in 2022 threw for over 3000 yards and 15 TDs and that dude STINKS. I want to be clear here, different eras, different players and NO DISRESPECT to Johnny Unitas. But what in the world is worse?

“There are so many blowouts!!”

In terms of average margin of victory, the year 2022, and this year are both in the top six of all seasons in NFL history for having the LOWEST margin of victory. You think close games are a worse product?

I don’t even want to argue with these numbers. Football is ever changing. Everyone was passing a lot more, now the defenses are playing two-high safeties, so maybe running makes a resurgence. The sport ebbs and flows. I can assure you one thing though: it’s not a bad product either way.

You know what the issue is? Two things.

Firstly. Everyone loves to watch one bad primetime game, and they feel the need to cry about it somewhere. One blowout, one Giants/Panthers game in Germany makes everyone go crazy! I’m done arguing with numbers, because that’s boring. Just go back and look at the primetime games this season. For every god-awful Jets game that we’ve watched, there’s multiple games that went to overtime. Theres’s game winning kicks, there’s back and forth action. They have, in my humble and very correct opinion, been the best primetime games over the last few years.

Theres a bigger issue, however. That’s NFL Redzone. I LOVE NFL redzone. It is a fantastic invention by the NFL. So much so that other leagues are doing their best to try and copy it. But what Redzone has done, is it has created a false sense of every down, every second excitement for the viewer. Then, they go watch a FULL primetime game, and for some reason the viewer forgets that sometimes teams punt the football away. I don’t want Redzone to go anywhere, but let’s be for real when we think about the game of football.

Are the refs sometimes bad? Yes. Are there sometimes blowouts and ugly games? Yes. Does that mean the product of the NFL has ‘Cratered’? No. Absolutely not. You love football, or you don’t. You like football, or you don’t. It’s not a hard formula here.

I have a very simple and easy solution for those who believe the NFL product stinks nowadays: Stop Watching.