Week 7 NFL game viewability rankings

Week 7 in the NFL is here, and you might be entering the weekend with your own preferences regarding which games to focus on, and which to place on the backburner. Most of you have your favorites and fantasy players to track. But in case you're completely neutral or need help breaking ties with regard to what to watch, we've ranked all 15 games from most appealing to least enticing.

1. Broncos at Colts (Sunday night, NBC): It's not just Peyton Manning's return and the Luck vs. Manning quarterback matchup. It goes beyond that. This is just a good matchup between two eventual AFC playoff teams. At home, the Colts have a very good chance to hand the Broncos their first loss of the season.

2. Bengals at Lions (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green, Matt Stafford, Andy Dalton, Reggie Bush, Gio Bernard. Plus, two scary defensive fronts. Throw in that both teams are inconsistent and erratic and this could be one of the most entertaining games of 2013. Very evenly matched and similar teams, too.

3. Cowboys at Eagles (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): First place in the league's most popular division is on the line. This game will inevitably be high scoring and close. No complaints there.

4. Bears at Redskins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Washington is trying to keep its season alive in a matchup between two playoff-caliber teams in the NFC. Expect a lot of points. 

5. Seahawks at Cardinals (Thursday night, NFL Network): Obviously the Seahawks are the better team, but they aren't the same on the road. That's what makes this divisional matchup sort of interesting. Yeah, it won't be an offensive masterpiece, but watch two of the game's best cornerbacks — Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman — do their thing.

6. Ravens at Steelers (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): This game would have been ranked higher in years gone by, but neither team is much better than average right now. Still, it'll be interesting to see if Pittsburgh can pull off an upset and hand the defending champs a 3-4 record.

7. Rams at Panthers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Two mediocre teams coming off impressive victories. That makes this kind of cool. The winner will be considered a contender as we approach the midway point of the season. Plus, it's two No. 1 overall picks battling at quarterback. 

8. Texans at Chiefs (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Texans are that car wreck you can't look away from. This could be a blowout, but it's still worth checking out the undefeated Chiefs against a team that still has quite a lot of talent.

9. Patriots at Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): The Pats are really banged up, but the Jets finally came back to earth last weekend. This is almost certainly going to be a New England blowout. If it's not, it becomes very enticing. 

10. Chargers at Jaguars (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): This isn't ranked lower only because I have a feeling we'll be on upset alert in the fourth quarter. 

11. 49ers at Titans (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, FOX): Meh. The Titans are probably an 8-8 team, so this is only interesting if they keep it close into the fourth quarter.

12. Browns at Packers (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS): There's nothing fun about watching the Browns, especially in lopsided games like these.

13. Bills at Dolphins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): This would be more intriguing if the Bills were at home. They aren't the same on the road. Both teams have been decent this year, but this game still lacks sex appeal.

14. Buccaneers at Falcons (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): This is only a little intriguing because the Falcons are trying to save their season. At home against the winless Bucs, though, it might be a blowout.

15. Vikings at Giants (Monday night, ESPN): Poor ESPN. This will still be watched because everyone wants to see how many more picks Eli Manning will throw, but it's still a terrible prime-time game between two teams with a combined record of 1-10. 

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com (covering Super Bowls XLIV, XLV and XLVI), a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Bloguin, but his day gig has him covering all things NFC East for Bleacher Report.

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