Top 10 storylines for Week 7 of the NFL season

As we near the midway point of the 2016 NFL season, the early part of the year gives way to questions surrounding where each team stands. Who are the real contenders? Can the teams that have surprised early on continue their winning ways? Which head coach will be the first shown the door?

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady looks to continue his excellent run against a Pittsburgh Steelers squad that’s going to be without Ben Roethlisberger.

Meanwhile out west, the Denver Broncos play host to their former quarterback and the Houston Texans in a battle of first-place teams. In the NFC, the Arizona Cardinals look to salvage their season against a hot Seattle Seahawks team in the desert.

These are among the top-10 storylines for Week 7 of the NFL season.

1. Who will be the first coach shown the door?

We’re getting to that point in the season when certain teams realize that they have no opportunity for a postseason spot. It’s in this that coaches are normally shown the door. It’s not a rare occurrence at all. Front offices now start to look to the future — one that doesn’t include their current flailing plans.

Who will be the first coach shown the door this season? How will this week’s slate of games impact all of this?

Even money has to be on Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. Sure owner Jim Irsay has thrown his public support behind Pagano and general manager Ryan Grigson.

That means very little in the grand scheme of things. Indianapolis currently sits at 2-4 on the season and in last place in the AFC South following a disastrous late-game meltdown against the Houston Texans. Pagano has long been on the hot seat, and a loss to the Tennessee Titans would only add to that.

Speaking of the hot seat, one really has to wonder whether the Cincinnati Bengals have to move on from long-time head coach Martin Lewis. Also 2-4 on the season, Cincinnati faces the real possibility to playing out the string without a chance at a sixth consecutive playoff appearance.

If Cincinnati were to lose to the winless Cleveland Browns at home on Sunday, that would only add more fodder for those calling for Lewis’ head. At that point, is it possible the usually loyal Bengals brass decides to cut ties once and for all?

Interestingly enough, two head coaches that were seemingly on the hot seat — Gus Bradley and Rex Ryan — have seen their teams turn it around. Bradley’s Jacksonville Jaguars have won two consecutive games. Meanwhile, Ryan and the Buffalo Bills are in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

If either of these teams were to start struggling again, the expectation has to be that both coaches would find themselves on the hot seat again.

2. Tom Brady looks to continue ridiculous run

What Brady has done in two games since returning from suspension is absolutely absurd. It has the New England Patriots as the favorites in the AFC. More than that, it has Brady himself on a possible trajectory to be considered an MVP candidate. This, despite the fact that he missed the first four games of the season.

It’s unfortunate that Brady and the Patriots won’t be facing Ben Roethlisberger when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers Sunday. Though, it does also mean that Brady has an opportunity to continue his early-season success as the NFL itself heads to the midway point of the year.

For the Patriots, this is significant. At 5-1, they have a one game lead over the other three AFC division leaders. Following Sunday’s game, they travel to Western New York to take on a Bills team that handed the Brady-less Pats a shutout loss back in Week 4.

Revenge will definitely be on New England’s mind there. This isn’t to say Bill Belichick and Co. can overlook a still-talented Steelers squad in Week 7.

3. Brock Osweiler returns to Denver

The talking has already started. Hard feelings are present. And this battle between two first-place teams promises to be one of the top stories heading into Sunday’s Week 7 action.

To say that there’s no love lost between Osweiler and his former Denver Broncos team would be an understatement. John Elway has talked openly about his ex-quarterback, at which point Osweiler responded publicly to said criticism.

This all with the backdrop of the Houston Texans taking to Mile High in an attempt to hand Denver its third straight loss. All the while, Houston looks to remain in first place in the rather pedestrian AFC South.

How will Osweiler respond to playing in front of 70,000-plus Broncos fans that will likely be booing him? Will Wade Phillips and the Broncos’ defense throw the book at the team’s former quarterback in an attempt to force him to fold? Remember, despite Osweiler leading Houston back to a late-game win over the Indianapolis Colts last week, he’s struggled big time in his first season in Texas.

On the other hand, and primarily due to Osweiler’s decision to take the cash Houston threw his way, the Broncos’ quarterback situation remains unsettled. First-year starter Trevor Siemian is coming off a Week 6 performance that saw him complete 30-of-50 passes for just 230 yards in a 21-13 loss to the previously fledgling San Diego Chargers. That’s another story to watch here.

4. Huge NFC West game in the desert

Two games behind the Seattle Seahawks in the loss column, it’s put up or shut up time for the Arizona Cardinals. They have to take care of business at home on Sunday night. Should that fail to happen, not only will the team likely fall out of the division race, it could very well find itself hard-pressed to earn a playoff spot altogether.

Despite a dominating win over the New York Jets last week, Arizona simply isn’t at the level we expected it to be this season. Maybe it’s Carson Palmer’s struggles or something completely different, but the Cardinals must now find a way to get that signature win.

On the other side of the ledger, Seattle has an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the NFC West heading into Week 8. A win here, and Pete Carroll’s squad would find itself three games ahead of Arizona in the loss column. It would also hand the Cardinals an absolutely devastating home loss.

As we look at the early NFC Playoff picture, it stands to reason 10 wins will be the cutoff spot for a postseason appearance. If Arizona were to fall to 3-4 on the season, it would set the team back big time.

From Richard Sherman doing battle with Larry Fitzgerald to Patrick Peterson lining up against Doug Baldwin, the matchups here are plentiful. Let’s just hope the game itself is great.

5. Surprising teams look to continue success on the road

Can the Washington Redskins win their fifth consecutive game after starting the season 0-2? That question will be answered against another surprising squad in the Detroit Lions on Sunday. In Miami, the Buffalo Bills will look to also win their fifth consecutive after opening the season with two consecutive losses.

Meanwhile, the four-win Oakland Raiders attempt to rebound from last week’s blowout loss in Jacksonville against a Jaguars squad that’s won two in a row. These are three games that could have wide-ranging playoff ramifications moving forward.

We will focus on the Jaguars-Raiders game a bit below, but the most-intriguing of these three matchups has to be Miami and Buffalo.

As we mentioned above, Buffalo has won four consecutive games. With a win over the Dolphins in South Beach on Sunday, he Bills will record their first five-game winning streak since 2004. This would help Rex Ryan’s squad potentially find a way to end its 17-year playoff drought.

Not to be outdone, Miami is coming off a monstrous win over the heavily-favored Pittsburgh Steelers. At just 2-4 on the season, playoffs seem to be a pipe dream. Though, the goal here has to be for the team to continue improving under first-year head coach Adam Gase. A win over a red-hot Bills team would surely go a long way.

Meanwhile, in Detroit, the Redskins are looking to keep pace with the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East. It will come against a Lions squad that’s 3-3 on the year — a team that also boasts playoff expectations. This is definitely an under-the-radar matchup on Week 7’s docket.

6. Sam Bradford back in Philly

It was just two months ago that the Philadelphia Eagles were looking forward to the 2016 season with Bradford starting in a completely revamped offense under first-year head coach Doug Pederson. Despite the wholesale changes Philadelphia went through during the offseason, the hope here was that Bradford would be able to turn around the team’s fortunes.

This all came to a crashing halt on a practice field in Winter Park. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a gruesome injury — one that forced him from the field for the entire season. At that point, the defending NFC North champs became desperate to find a stopgap option. And in one of the most-shocking trades in recent league history, Minnesota sent a first-round pick and chance to Philadelphia for Bradford (more on that here).

Now, less than two months later, these two teams face off with what has to be considered some pretty big playoff implications in the NFC.

Bradford has awed fans in Minnesota’s new venue, proving skeptics wrong and potentially finding himself in the MVP conversation. All the while, he has the Vikings with the only undefeated record in football.

On the other hand, Philadelphia is coming off two consecutive losses after starting the season 3-0. For the first time in his young career, Carson Wentz is struggling. It comes at a time when he’s set to face off with the quarterback the Eagles jettisoned from the town in an attempt to get him under center in short order.

There’s a whole lot to look at here from an individual perspective. Wentz will want to prove to the naysayers that Philadelphia didn’t make a mistake by handing him the keys to the kingdom mere months after he was starting for North Dakota State.

Meanwhile, Bradford heads back to the City of Brotherly Love as a visitor. He does so after disappointing the fan base in his only season with the Eagles. It’s in this that Bradford will face thousands of hecklers in what promises to be the most-hostile environment of his NFL career.

7. Can the Packers right the ship?

Following Sunday’s 30-16 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Aaron Rodgers and Co. are in a vast amount of trouble. At 3-2 on the year, Green Bay is right there with other bottom-rung playoff contenders heading into week 7. More importantly, it is now two games behind the Minnesota Vikings in the loss column in the NFC North.

We’d normally be looking at the defense when it comes to any struggles in Green Bay. But that’s most definitely not the case this season. Instead, it’s Rodgers and the team’s passing game that’s struggled big time.

It’s been so bad this season that certain members of the Packers’ offense have been pointing fingers at one another (more on that here).

Now heading into Thursday’s Week 7 matchup against a one-win Chicago Bears team, the Packers have an opportunity to right the ship here. It comes against an injury-plagued defense that simply doesn’t have the personnel to match wits with what Green Bay can bring to the table.

Interestingly enough, it will also come with Green Bay missing both Eddie Lacy and Jame Starks to injury. This means the recently acquired Knile Davis will get the start at running back. If nothing else, this affords Rodgers and the passing game an opportunity to break out of its early-season funk. Should that not happen, the Packers will find themselves primed to be upset.

8. Mile-long issues in Mile High

It all started out so swimmingly for the defending champion Denver Broncos. Four consecutive wins to open the season. Decent play from the quarterback position. A continually dominating defense. The look of a potential contender to repeat as champs.

Then, in one instant, the Broncos found everything come crashing down like a house of cards. It started two weeks ago when the team was embarrassed at home by the Atlanta Falcons. It then continued this past Thursday night on the road against the previously struggling San Diego Chargers.

Now at 4-2 on the season, the first-place Broncos look to rebound from a disastrous past two weeks and get back on track.

The issue this week against Houston is likely going to be on offense. The Texans head into Week 7 ranked second to the Broncos in pass defense at 189.3 yards per game. They are also yielding an 80.2 quarterback rating while racking up 16 sacks in six games.

On the other hand, Denver’s passing game has been utterly non-existent over the past couple weeks.

What makes things even more disturbing here, Denver has taken on two lackluster pass defenses during this span. Atlanta comes in at 26th against the pass while the Chargers rank 24th.

With Trevor Siemian slated to be back under center after last week’s disastrous performance, one has to wonder if the Broncos will eventually turn to rookie Paxton Lynch should these struggles continue.

In any event, Denver heads into Week 7 tied with the Raiders for first place and just a half game ahead of Kansas City in the AFC West. It needs to get back on track at home on Sunday night.

9. Talented young teams square off in Jacksonville

Looking for their first three-game winning streak since 2013, the Jacksonville Jaguars play host to a four-win Oakland Raiders squad on Sunday afternoon.

It promises to be a very intriguing game between two of the most talented young teams in the NFL. It also offers Gus Bradley and the Jags an opportunity to inch closer to the playoff race in the AFC.

Oakland was riding high with a 4-1 record and tied for first place in the AFC West heading into last week’s home date with the Kansas City Chiefs. It responded by putting up just one touchdown in an humiliating 26-10 loss to Alex Smith and Co.

This has some thinking the Raiders could be in the midst of a tailspin that has best defined the organization for the better part of the past two decades. In order to prove skeptics wrong and maintain their status among division leaders, the Raiders need to bounce back in a big way here.

For the Jaguars, as we mentioned above, this is an opportunity. While they have won two consecutive games, both came by one score against less-than-stellar opponents (Indianapolis and Chicago). The Raiders and their elite-level offense are a completely different monster.

10. Colin Kaepernick’s first start in San Francisco

Kaepernick did not necessarily perform poorly in his 2016 starting debut last week. Instead, it was San Francisco’s defense that led the way in what was a blowout loss to Buffalo. Now set to make his home debut, Kaepernick has a chance to cement his status as the 49ers’ starter for the remainder of the year.

Equally as important for the much-maligned quarterback, he has an opportunity to prove that he can still be a starter-caliber quarterback in the NFL. We saw glimpses last week, but that gave way to a whole host of accuracy issues in the second half. When all was said and done, Kaepernick completed just 13-of-29 passes for less than 200 yards.

With the national anthem protest still in the forefront of Kaepernick-related discussions, he’s going to have to show himself better on the field come Sunday. Fortunately, he should have a golden opportunity to do just that against a bad Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense.