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Top storyline for each Week 7 NFL game

Joe Nicholson, USA Today Sports

Week 7 of the NFL season presents us with some pretty interesting backstories. It starts with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers battling it out to remain somewhat viable in the NFC Playoff race.

It continues with the New York Jets attempting to unseat the New England Patriots in first place in the AFC East — all the while sending Tom Brady and Co. to their first loss of the season.

Are coaches in Jacksonville, Tennessee and Washington on the hot seat? Can interim head coach Dan Campbell continue to impress in that role after last week’s blowout win?

Will the most surprising team in the NFL remain undefeated at home against a Philadelphia Eagles squad that seems to have righted the ship after struggling early in the season?

These are among the top storylines for Week 7 of the NFL season.

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers: A battle out of the cellar in the NFC West

If we were to have told you this time last year that Seattle and San Francisco would head into a Week 7 matchup tied for last place the following season, you probably would have exited from the website, never to return again.

But that’s where we are at right now. Both teams enter this game tied for last place with any hope of playoff contention heading into the middle part of the season on the line.

For Seattle, the struggles are two-fold. Its offensive line has been absolutely atrocious all season, allowing Russell Wilson to be pressured nearly half the time he drops back to pass. Overall, Wilson has been sacked a league-high 26 times on the season.

Defensively, the Legion of Boom has blown four fourth quarter leads thus far this season. In fact, that number would be at five if the officials had not “handed” Seattle its win against the Detroit Lions in Week 4.

There are major concerns that Seattle’s pass defense just doesn’t have the same mentality that we have seen in the past. That’s magnified by the fact that its secondary has yielded a 70 percent completion rate to quarterbacks on the year.

Colin Kaepernick, who has put up a tremendous two-game stretch, will look to take advantage of Seattle’s issues at home on Thursday night. Unfortunately for Kaepernick, he has struggled a great deal against the 49ers division rivals in his career.

In five games, the quarterback has posted a 1-4 record with a 54.1 quarterback rating against the Seahawks. He’s 30-16 with a 94.0 rating against the rest of the NFL.

More than keeping his team in contention in the NFC West (San Francisco isn’t making the playoffs), Kaepernick needs to prove that he can compete at a high level against Seattle. There’s no better time coming off a short week at home against a defense that has struggled more than at any previous point in the quarterback’s career.

If it doesn’t happen on Thursday, there is no reason to believe it ever well. We can rest assured both Jed York and Trent Baalke will have a spiked interest in this game.

Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars: Gus Bradley’s job security

There seems to be no real talk within the Jaguars organization of replacing Bradley as the team’s head coach. Instead, that’s been limited to the media and fans alike.

While the powers to be in Jacksonville knew Bradley was taking on a rather lofty rebuild when he came over from Seattle, the product on the field simply hasn’t improved to the level that suggests his job is safe.

After a 1-5 start to the season, Bradley is now 8-30 as Jacksonville’s head coach in nearly two and a half years. That’s simply not going to get it done.

The largest issue here has been the defense — Bradley’s area of expertise as the previous head of the Legion of Boom in Seattle.

The Jaguars’ defense ranks 30th in the NFL in scoring at just over 29 points per game. It is also allowing a 103.6 quarterback rating in the passing game and has intercepted a total of one pass in six games. If that area of the field doesn’t improve, it’s hard to tell exactly what value Bradley brings to the team moving forward.

Cleveland Browns at St. Louis Rams: Can the Rams take advantage of a weakened division?

There is a decent chance that St. Louis will find itself right in the thick of the NFC West race heading into the middle part of the schedule.

At 2-3 on the year, the Rams are just one game behind Arizona in the loss column. Going up against an inferior Browns team at home on Sunday, Jeff Fisher and Co. have a golden opportunity to hit November with a .500 record.

The issue here for St. Louis is that it doesn’t play at anywhere near the same level against foes outside of the division. Since the start of last season, the Rams are 4-4 against the NFC West and 4-9 against the rest of the NFL. Considering how good the division had been up until just recently, this is a telling stat.

In order for the Rams to be taken seriously against Arizona, they are going to have to actually win against lackluster opponents outside of the division. It’s that simple.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions: “Get right” game for the Vikings offense?

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Amazingly, the Lions defense ranks 29th in the NFL in scoring and is allowing the sixth-most yards in the league through six games. This is the complete antithesis of a defense that ranked third in scoring and second in yards against last season.

It also means that the Vikings have an opportunity to overcome recent offensive struggles while putting the Lions away for good in the NFC North.

It’s not that Teddy Bridgewater has been terrible. Instead, the second-year quarterback simply hasn’t progressed at the same level we anticipated following an outstanding rookie season.

He’s put up just three touchdowns compared to four interceptions while averaging a tad over 200 passing yards per game. It’s not a coincidence that the Vikings rank 29th in scoring offense and 27th in total yards through six games.

At 3-2 on the year, Minnesota is firmly in the NFC Playoff race. And in reality, it will likely remain there for the long haul. However, the team’s offense needs to perform at a higher level in order to be taken seriously in an ultra competitive conference.

Simply put, Minnesota’s dynamic young defense can’t be relied on to hold up an anemic offense for much longer.

Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins: Dan Campbell and Co. looking to start a winning streak

Following a 38-10 blowout win over the Tennessee Titans in Campbell’s head coaching debut last week, the Dolphins must be feeling real good about themselves.

They finally got the running game going to the tune of 180 yards after putting up less than 75 in three of the first four games.

The Dolphins’ defense found a way to force four turnovers while getting to Titans quarterbacks a total of six times after tallying just one total sack in their first four games.

Now at 2-3 on the season, Miami has a golden opportunity to get right back into the playoff race. The first step here has to be a .500 record and the start of a winning streak.

Taking on another two-win club that’s also coming off a strong performance, this isn’t going to be an easy task. But based off what we saw last week, Miami should be more than up for the task.

New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck vs non AFC South competition

Kevin Hoffman, USA Today Sports

Following last week’s loss to the New England Patriots, Indianapolis finds itself at 3-3 on the season and just one game ahead of Houston in the porous AFC South.

It’s also now just 15-16 against teams outside of its division since Luck took over as the starter back in 2012.

Going up against a bad Saints defense at home on Sunday, Luck has a chance to lead his team to over .500 on the season. More than that, he simply needs to prove that beating up on less-than-stellar AFC South competition isn’t going to be his calling card moving forward. Unless that happens, the Colts will never really be taken seriously in the AFC.

And let’s be honest for a second here, they will be in the playoffs once again this season. Any sort of success against teams outside the division between now and then would be helpful.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs: Home team looking to snap five-game losing streak

Five games behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West after six weeks, Kansas City is already toast in the division. And any hope of actually rebounding from a horrendous early-season performance to make the playoffs is all but lost. This doesn’t mean that the Chiefs should lay down at home against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

You can only play the games that are ahead of you on the schedule. Whether it is Ben Roethlisberger or Landry Jones under center, Pittsburgh offers Kansas city a difficult matchup in Week 7. It’s going to be important that Andy Reid makes sure his team hasn’t already checked out on the season.

A 1-5 start is bad, but continuing those struggles throughout the remainder of the season would be a terrible look for what is still a talented football team. It could also lead to questions about Reid’s future in Kansas City, especially if the team extends this long losing streak into the second half of the year.

New York Jets at New England Patriots: Battle for first in the AFC East

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It’s hard to believe that New York is going into Week 7 with an opportunity to grab first place from an undefeated Patriots team. But that’s right where we are at heading into this all-important matchup on Sunday.

The interesting thing here is that New York matches up well with the defending champs.

With three absolute studs along the defensive line in Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams, there is absolutely no reason why the Jets can’t control the trenches in this one. That’s only magnified with Patriots left tackle Nate Solder being lost for the season with an injury.

With the top-ranked scoring and overall defense in the NFL, the Jets should be able to make Tom Brady’s day uncomfortable.

Equally as important, New York boasts a middle of the field that could contain Rob Gronkowski. David Harris is one of the top cover inside linebackers in the league. Meanwhile, free safety Marcus Gilchrist is playing at a Pro Bowl level.

Add in Darrelle Revis to cover Julian Edelman, and the Patriots offense could be in for a rude awakening in this one.

What the Jets like to do offensively could also cause some issues for the Patriots’ defense. Brandon Marshall is being targeted an average of 10 times per game. He’s also bringing in over 71 percent of the passes thrown in his direction and is coming off four consecutive 100-yard performances.

Without a true shut down cover guy, Marshall could very well dominate the Patriots’ secondary. If that happens, Chris Ivory and an improved running game will have a field day on the ground.

All that said, Tom Brady is Tom Brady. It’s hard to imagine him letting the Jets leave Gillette Stadium on Sunday evening in first place. Every time we have questioned this future Hall of Fame quarterback, he has stepped up to prove us wrong. That could very well happen again on Sunday.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Redskins: Kirk Cousins and the Redskins quarterback situation

It’s clear that Washington has made the decision to stick with a struggling Cousins for the remainder of the year. In fact, Jay Gruden’s job appears to be safe heading into Week 7.

Knowing Redskins owner Daniel Snyder the way we do, this could change on a whim. And to be perfectly honest, Snyder would have every right to pull the plug on both projects.

Stuck between what would be a lengthy rebuild and a false belief they can contend, the Redskins have won just six of Gruden’s first 22 games as their head coach.

If they are unable to hold off an improved Buccaneers team on Sunday, there are going to be continued rumblings that Gruden simply isn’t the man for the job.

More than that, Washington’s continued backing of Kirk Cousins as the starter is absolutely absurd. He has not done a darn thing to prove he’s a better option than either Colt McCoy or Robert Griffin III.

Over the course of his past 10 starts, Cousins has posted a 81.7 quarterback rating with 16 touchdowns compared to 19 turnovers. Washington is 3-7 in those starts.

Maybe it’s Gruden’s unbridled hatred for RGIII, but the head coach standing by Cousins could very well be what costs him his job.

It might not come after this week, but we can rest assured the rhetoric regarding Gruden’s job security will light up even more should Washington lost at home against the Buccaneers.

Atlanta Falcons at Tennessee Titans: Ken Whisenhunt’s job security

There is a major issue here. How in the world can Whisenhunt still be coaching a NFL team after going 4-29 in his previous 33 games? Even to those who are willing to give head coach’s a longer leash, that’s absolutely absurd.

Outside of Marcus Mariota’s performance and a somewhat improved defense, there isn’t much we can take away in terms of positives thus far this season.

Tennessee may rank third in total defense, but it’s in the bottom 13 in the NFL in scoring defense. Mariota may be playing good football, but Titans quarterbacks are now on pace to be sacked a whopping 64 times on the season.

Even in just his third season as the team’s head coach, it’s becoming readily apparent that Whisenhunt isn’t the man for the job. The longer that Tennessee’s brass ignores this, the further it will set back the progression of the team on the field. That’s the harsh reality here.

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers: Another statement game for the road team

Just like prior to its Week 6 bye against the Denver Broncos, Oakland has a tremendous opportunity to prove its worth in a division that seems to have taken a major step back from previous seasons.

A win against the Chargers on Sunday, and Oakland would find itself with a two-game lead in the loss column over its division rival down south. And depending what happens with Kansas City’s game against Pittsburgh, the Raiders could have a three-game lead over the Chiefs in the loss column.

None of this really matters if the Raiders can’t take care of business on the field. They had an opportunity to hand Denver its first loss of the season back in Week 5, but a late-game Derek Carr interception sent the Raiders to their second consecutive one-score defeat.

Even if the Raiders are not able to contend with Denver moving forward this year, they need to overcome that final hurdle and come out on top in winnable games.

It starts this week against a San Diego Chargers team that has now lost four of its past five games and is in danger of falling completely out of the AFC Playoff picture.

We are pretty sure Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio would like nothing more than to help push the divisional rivals further down in the totem pole while helping his team maintain its standing in second place.

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants: Matt Cassel’s Cowboys debut

Losers of three consecutive games, Dallas could lose its next two outings and still be in the thick of the NFC East race. That’s how bad this division has been through six weeks. This doesn’t mean that Jason Garrett and Co. are okay with struggling to win against less-than-stellar competition.

Instead, the Cowboys focus this week has to be to defeat a New York Giants squad that just put up a dud of a performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

There seems to be a few different moving pieces in Dallas coming out of its bye. Matt Cassel will start under center after Brandon Weeden laid a complete egg in his three starts in Tony Romo’s stead. Meanwhile, new acquisition Christine Michael has been getting first-team reps at running back.

For the Cowboys, it’s all about finding the right mix on offense. Since Romo went down with an injury in Week 2, Dallas is averaging 18 points and 315 yards per game.

If that doesn’t change, the Cowboys could very well find themselves out of the NFC East race by the time Romo returns in late November.

Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers: Home team looking to remain undefeated

By virtue of their late-game win over Seattle this past week, the Panthers find themselves at 5-0 and alone in first place in the NFC South.

More than just simply finding a way to win at CenturyLink, last week’s performance gives Carolina confidence that it is indeed among the best teams in the NFL heading into the middle part of the schedule.

Sunday night’s game could very well be a trap for Carolina. It’s playing at home against an Eagles squad that still doesn’t seem to be clicking on all cylinders. More than that, the high of defeating Seattle on the road could force Carolina into a lackluster overall effort against a lesser team.

With all that said, Cam Newton is playing at such a high level that it’s hard to believe he’s going to let his Panthers team let its guard down at home on national television. If that doesn’t happen, Carolina might very well be looking at a 6-0 start to the season.

Baltimore Ravens at Arizona Cardinals: Can the Cardinals take a stranglehold on the NFC West?

Courtesy of Joe Camporeale, USA Today Sports

There is a scenario in play this week that could see the Cardinals go to bed on Monday just a half game ahead of St. Louis and one game ahead of either San Francisco or Seattle in the NFC West.

This was unimaginable just a few short weeks ago, when it looked like Arizona was among the best teams in the entire league.

But after two losses in their past three games, the Cardinals find themselves in a precarious position — front runners in a division with a nice amount of talent behind them.

Good news, Cardinals fans. They are taking on a Ravens squad that has been beyond atrocious on defense this year. With the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington at the skill positions, this could very well be a “get right” game for the Cardinals offense.

If not, all of our premature expectations from earlier in the season could come crashing down relatively quickly here. Arizona is playing a vastly inferior team at home on Monday night.

Anything short of an emphatic win should be cause for alarm for Bruce Arians and Co.

Check out Vincent’s other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL

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