NFL Sunday Week 7 Games Ranked By Watchability

Each week this season, OutKick will get you primed for an NFL Sunday on the couch by telling you which games deserve the most attention. For Week 7, here we go...

NFL Games Worth Watching From Opening Kick Until Final Whistle

OutKick's Armando Salguero wrote a detailed piece on why this is the Game of the Week, which you can read here.

Main storyline: Confession. I always try to put at least one game from each window into this tier. But the early afternoon slate for Week 7 is ... well, it's rather lame. There aren't many games of particular note, but you need something to watch, so here we go.

At least this is a battle for the top of the AFC South. And hey, Matt Ryan and the Colts came alive last week to the tune of 34 points scored and over 400 yards of offense. They did it without star Jonathan Taylor, who will return this week. On the other side, Tennessee comes off its bye with a well-rested Derrick Henry. Two of the best running backs in the NFL facing each other where the winner takes the lead in the division race? That's good enough for me.

Main storyline: The intrigue in this game was already ridiculous and then the 49ers went and did something crazy and traded for Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco had not said whether or not he will play in this game, but it seems fairly certain that he'll at least suit up. He likely won't get a full workload, given that he landed in the Bay Area on Friday, didn't practice, and has to learn a new playbook. But when you have Christian McCaffrey on your team and you're facing one of the league's premiere teams, you find a way to make it work. Expect the 49ers to have 5-10 plays designed for their new toy and those alone should make you want to tune in to what could realistically be a Super Bowl preview. That's right, I said it.

Main storyline: This game is here because you don't have a choice, right? If you want to watch a game from beginning to end on Sunday night, this is the game. But honestly with all the terrible primetime games we've seen this season, this one at least packs some intrigue. You have the Brian Flores "revenge game" that he denies is a thing, but is totally a thing. You have the return of Tua Tagovailoa for the Miami Dolphins, who we haven't seen since his devastating concussion against Cincinnati. Plus, despite suffering a concussion last weekend, Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett appears poised to start this game. The bar for interesting primetime NFL games is pretty low, and I think this one clears it easily.

Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa appears ready to return for his first NFL action since a scary concussion suffered against the Bengals. (John McCall via Getty Images)

Games To Flip To During Commercials Of Better Games

Main Storyline: I'm a sucker for divisional matchups, what can I say? I think the Ravens are far better than their 3-3 record indicates; they've trailed for less than two minutes in all three of their losses COMBINED. They've also only trailed for 10 minutes of game time this entire season. To me, this is the coming out game for Lamar and the Birds. It's almost Halloween and their mascot's name is Edgar. For Edgar Allen Poe. Because he wrote "The Raven." Get it?

Main Storyline: It's the return of Dak Prescott to the Dallas Cowboys lineup! There was almost a QB controversy and then Cooper Rush went out and soiled himself against the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles and it became pretty clear that Dak needs to be the guy. This game should be fun, anyways, because the Detroit Lions are fun. Fun in the sense that they can score and they don't play any defense. That's about the only chance the Cowboys have to put points on the board.

Despite a 4-2 record, Dallas is 23rd in the NFL with just 18 points scored per game. But the Lions "defense" is good for what ails ya. Detroit allows an NFL-worst 34 points per game. No other team allows more than 28.6. So, yeah, welcome back Dak. It's like you planned it this way. Maybe he did? That would be diabolical.

The Dallas Cowboys will get QB Dak Prescott back against the Lions, his first NFL action since being injured in the team's Week 1 loss. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

I Guess It's OK If These Games Show Up On NFL RedZone

Main Storyline: This is actually a perfect NFL RedZone game. Most of it figures to be pretty boring, given that neither teams averages more than 20 points per game. However, both offenses have some exciting players who can make exciting plays. Bengals wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins form one of the league's best pass-catching duos and, despite the struggles of quarterback Marcus Mariota, Atlanta's Drake London and Kyle Pitts are both supremely talented youngsters as well. There should be some highlights in this game. It's just not one I'm sitting down to watch beginning to end.

Main Storyline: Does Vegas think the Jacksonville Jaguars are actually good? Or does it believe that the New York Giants are overrated? Perhaps it's a little Column A and a little Column B because the 2-4 Jaguars are favored to win this game over the 5-1 New York Giants. It seems like books are trying to sucker you into taking the Giants. And, you know what? I did. If you listen to the OutKick Bets podcast -- and if you don't, what's wrong with you? -- you know I'm backing the Giants here. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why Jacksonville is favored. The Jags have only been favored in four games since 2020. And guess what? They lost all four straight-up.

Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars are favored to win despite being 2-4 and facing the 5-1 New York Giants. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

If You're A Fan Of These Teams, I Guess You Might Care. But I Don't.

Main Storyline: Really the only thing keeping this game above the bottom tier is Aaron Rodgers. Although he hasn't been great this season, he's still arguably the most talented quarterback in NFL history from a pure ability standpoint. And, no matter how bad it gets, I'll never punt my TV off the back deck because someone put an Aaron Rodgers game on TV. I know, lame analysis. I don't care.

Main Storyline: I must be losing my mind. Actually, it's more that New York fans, by and large, are insufferable. If I put their precious Jets in the lowest tier, I'll probably get angry comments on here and on Twitter. I'm soft, and I don't want to hear it. But with Russell Wilson missing this game and Brett Rypien set to start, there's not a lot of fun here. Plus, the Broncos defense is really good and the Jets offense ... well, it just isn't. The total for this game is set under 40 points. Yawn.

If These Games Show Up On My TV, I'm Punting It Off My Back Deck

Main Storyline: I know what you're thinking. How can you justify Aaron Rodgers being in the tier above strictly for being Aaron Rodgers but not Tom Brady? And, the answer is simple. This is my column and I can do what I want. On the real though, Carolina is one of the biggest disasters in professional sports and just dealt away their best player. Plus, the Buccaneers are favored by two touchdowns. We've got a potential blowout between a mediocre team and an abject disaster. That's not what I would call "watchable."

Main Storyline: I mean, what is there even to say? You'll be watching to see if Davante Adams shoves another cameraman? He only does that after the game, so you can just tune in when the final whistle blows. By the way, if the final whistle blows and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Guess we'll find out after this disaster. Or we won't, because we won't be watching. I guess that's the point of the riddle, huh?