Unless you’re the San Francisco 49ers or Cleveland Browns, the first six weeks of the NFL season have flown by. We’re now entering a stage when teams have to take that next step from an early-season mentality to the real dog days of the fall.
Week 7 itself presents us with some unique matchups across the board. How will C.J. Beathard of the aforementioned 49ers perform against a weak Dallas Cowboys pass defense in his first NFL start? Remaining in the NFC, we’re most definitely interested in seeing how Brett Hundley — also making his first NFL start — plays against a suddenly improved New Orleans Saints pass defense.
But the most intriguing matchup has to be in New England, where the defending champion Patriots look to defeat Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons in a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl.
These are among the top matchups for each Week 7 NFL game.
Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders: Mitchell Schwartz vs Khalil Mack
While the Raiders continue to struggle, Mack has picked up where he left off after earning NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors last season. The two-time Pro Bowler has put up four sacks in six games this season. This has him on pace for his third consecutive double-digit sack campaign. It’s also going to have to continue Thursday night if the Raiders want to avoid a five-game losing steak and suffer a crippling blow in the AFC West.
The good news for Mack and Co. here is that they’re going up against a Chiefs offensive line that’s yielded 20 sacks of Alex Smith in six games. It led to a disastrous first-half performance against Pittsburgh last week and could be the undoing for what had previously been a dominant offensive attack. That’s where Schwartz comes into play at right tackle against Mack.
Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings: Ravens pass defense vs Case Keenum
Sam Bradford might not be returning any time soon, if at all. Despite being activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list on Monday, Teddy Bridgewater is weeks away from actually starting a game after missing the past 13-plus months to injury. This means that the Vikings’ starting job is Keenum’s over the short term.
Minnesota has won two of Keenum’s four starts this season. During that span, the veteran has tossed four touchdowns compared to one interception. Not too shabby, at all. It will get more difficult this upcoming week against a Ravens pass defense that ranks fifth in the NFL and has yielded a 71.1 passer rating on the season.
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers: Saints defense vs Brett Hundley
We have to give Hundley a little bit of a break. He was absolutely thrown into the fire on the road last week after Aaron Rodgers suffered what now looks to be a season-ending collarbone injury. Like clockwork, the former UCLA standout would go on to throw three interceptions in a loss to the Vikings.
There’s no way to tell just how good Hundley will be under center. He’s impressed in the preseason each of the past two summers, but that’s completely different than actually taking over for a former MVP in the regular season. The 24-year-old quarterback’s first regular season start will come Sunday against a surprising Saints defense that tallied three touchdowns in an epic performance against Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions last week. Welcome to the real NFL, Brett.
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins: Brandon Shell vs Cam Wake
As we’ve mentioned multiple times this season, Wake continues to defy Father Time. The likely future Hall of Famer has contributed to a sack in each of the past four games. He’s on pace for double-digit sacks for the fifth time in his career and ranks in the top 10 among all edge pass rushers in quarterback hurries heading into Week 7. Needless to say, Wake has been an impressive cog on a Dolphins defense that ranks third in the NFL in scoring an 10th in points allowed.
Sunday against a surprising Jets team, Wake will have an opportunity to take on what has to be considered an equally surprising right tackle in the form of Brandon Shell. The second-year pro out of South Carolina did not allow a single pressure in Week 5’s win against Cleveland and helped anchor a passing game that put up north of 350 yards against New England last week. It should be a solid under-the-radar AFC East matchup here.
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears: Kelvin Benjamin vs Kyle Fuller
Early-season consistency has given into major production for Benjamin over the past three weeks. During that span, he’s caught 17-of-23 targets for 261 yards and a touchdown. Considering just how inaccurate Cam Newton has been this season, the big-bodied receiver will have to continue providing that large catch radius if Carolina is going to come out on top in the NFC South.
It will be a surprisingly difficult test Sunday against a cornerback in Kyle Fuller who has turned his career around big time in 2017. The former first-round pick anchors a secondary that’s yielding the eighth-fewest passing yards to quarterbacks on the season. And for his part, Fuller was absolutely dazzling against Baltimore last week.
He did not allow a single completion in passes thrown to his side of the field. It’s one of the primary reasons Chicago came up with its second upset win against an AFC North opponent this season. If Fuller can duplicate this in Week 7, the Bears have a fighting chance to knock Carolina off.
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams: Adrian Peterson vs Rams run defense
After torching a previously top-10 Buccaneers run defense to the tune of 134 yards and two scores in his Cardinals debut, Peterson has a much more favorable matchup here. In his first all NFC West matchup, the future Hall of Famer takes on a Rams run defense that ranks in the bottom four of the NFL and has yielded an average of 4.8 yards per rush, allowing eight touchdowns on the ground in the process.
It will be interesting to see if AD’s debut in the desert was a mirage of sorts. If not, the Cardinals might have themselves a solid rushing attack after placing dead last in the NFL in that category prior to Peterson’s arrival.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills: Mike Evans vs Tre’Davious White
Through five games this season, Buffalo has yielded two touchdown passes compared to eight interceptions for an incredibly low 66.5 quarterback rating. Prior to the team’s bye, however, this unit allowed Andy Dalton to throw for 328 yards in a loss to the Bengals.
One of the primary reasons for Buffalo’s success on defense is rookie first-round pick Tre’Davious White. In combination with the recently acquired E.J. Gaines, Buffalo’s top two corners have yielded a sub 50 passer rating when targeted on the season. Sunday against Tampa Bay, White himself will be tasked with taking on a Bucs receiver in Mike Evans who has struggled to the tune of a 56.5 catch rate.
How this individual matchup plays out will impact who comes out on top between two teams coming off losses in their previous games.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts: Jalen Ramsey vs T.Y. Hilton
Hilton is coming off a one-catch performance against the Tennessee Titans this past Monday night. For the Pro Bowl receiver, it represented one of the worst outings of his professional career. It also came against a Titans defense that had yielded 12 touchdowns compared to four interceptions through the air in the first five games of the season. Ouch.
With Jacoby Brissett set to be under center again on Sunday, Hilton needs to step up for his young quarterback in order for the Colts to avoid a 2-5 start to the season. In no way will it be easy against a Jaguars team that enters Week 7 in a three-way tie for first in the AFC South.
Through six games, Jacksonville’s pass defense ranks third in the NFL and has yielded a 60.0 quarterback rating. And for his part, Ramsey remains the best overall cover corner in the league. Up to this point, Ramsey has allowed a sub 40 percent completion mark and 35.8 passer rating on the season.
Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns: Jack Conklin vs Myles Garrett
Just when the Titans’ offensive line needed to step up in pass protection, that’s exactly what we saw this past Monday night against the Colts. A hobbled Marcus Mariota, practically playing on one leg, was sacked just one time and saw a clean pocket through the game. It led to a 36-22 Titans win and a 300-plus passing yard performance from Super Mario.
Second-year right tackle Jack Conklin hasn’t exactly had himself the best of sophomore seasons. After earning All Pro honors last year, Pro Football Focus grades him out as the 37th-best pass protecting tackle in the game. In order for the Titans’ offensive line to take that next step, he has to perform at a higher clip. It starts Sunday against a Browns rookie in Myles Garrett who has recorded three sacks in his first two NFL games. Whew.
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers: Cowboys pass defense vs C.J. Beathard
It only took two-plus quarters for the 49ers to see enough from Beathard to name him the team’s starting quarterback moving forward. Taking over for an ineffective Brian Hoyer in the second quarter of last week’s game, the rookie third-round pick almost led San Francisco back from a 17-0 deficit to defeat the Redskins in D.C. All said, the rookie completed 19-of-36 passes for 245 yards in the narrow loss.
Beathard is now set to make his first NFL regular season start against a Cowboys pass defense that is yielding a 65.6 completion percentage and 100-plus passer rating on the season. It’s an ideal home matchup for the young quarterback. Should he perform at a high level, San Francisco might be able to pull the upset after losing its past five games by a combined 13 points.
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers: Adam Jones vs Antonio Brown
Are you ready for the fun? The over/under in Vegas on a fight breaking out in this game has to be pretty interesting. There’s been no other division rivalry more contentious than this one over the past few seasons, with both Jones and Brown being at the center of it.
In an interesting turn, each of these veterans are also playing at a high level. Brown enters Week 7 leading the NFL in receptions (48) and receiving yards (700). He’s also catching 65 percent of the passes thrown in his direction from Ben Roethlisberger. To put this into perspective, Brown has accounted for 35 percent of Big Ben’s completions and nearly half of the quarterback’s passing yards on the season.
On the other side, Jones heads a Bengals pass defense that ranks second in the NFL heading into Week 7. He’s been burnt at times this season, which should be of concern for Cincinnati. But Jones remains a dynamic play-maker, something that needs to come out in droves Sunday for the Bengals to win their third consecutive game.
Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants: Germain Ifedi vs Jason Pierre-Paul
After struggling through the early part of the season, Ifedi has picked it up big time as Russell Wilson’s blindside protector. Seattle’s franchise quarterback has been sacked six times in the past three games. But most of this pressure is coming from the right side, where fellow tackle Rees Odhiambo has legitimately been the worst starting tackle in the NFL this season.
Ifedi now has a less-than-stellar matchup against a pass rusher in Jason Pierre-Paul who dominated to the tune of three sacks in last week’s surprising Giants win over the Broncos in Denver. Should Ifedi struggle here, and considering we know Odhiambo will struggle, Seattle could very well come out of its bye with a surprising road loss to the one-win Giants.
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers: Broncos offensive line vs Joey Bosa
The performance of Watson and fellow offensive linemen Billy Turner was absolutely atrocious in Denver’s surprising loss to the Giants last week. As mentioned above, Pierre-Paul took that side of the line to school big time, recording three sacks. It was bad. Really, really bad.
Both Watson and Turner are now injured, leading us to wonder what might come of this line. It’s also now going to be tasked with going up against a pass rusher in Joey Bosa who has recorded 16 sacks in 18 career games. Should Bosa get pressure from that side of the defensive line, it could force Trevor Siemian into another horrible outing. If so, the Chargers might be able to find a way to win their third consecutive game after losing four straight to open the season.
Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots: Matt Ryan vs Pats pass defense
In a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl, we look at two areas from each of the reigning conference champs that are not playing anywhere up to where they should be. Coming off an MVP season, Ryan has thrown six touchdowns compared to six picks in five games. His 87.3 passer rating ranks in the bottom 10 of the NFL among regular starting quarterbacks on the season.
In New England, the Patriots’ pass defense was just torched to the tune of 350-plus passing yards from Jets starter Josh McCown. Now through six weeks, the Patriots have yielded the most passing yards and a 104.4 quarterback rating to opposing signal callers. Something has to give here. And whoever wins this individual matchup will likely come out on top Sunday night.
Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles: Kirk Cousins vs Carson Wentz
Dare we say these are the two-best quarterbacks in the NFC East thus far this season? Coming off a three-touchdown performance against Carolina last week, Wentz is on pace for 4,224 passing yards and 35 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions.
Cousins may have struggled late in the game against San Francisco last week, but the Redskins’ starter still boasts a 106.4 passer rating and has his team just one game behind Philadelphia in the loss column in the AFC East heading into Week 7.
With Dallas and New York both struggling back east, the NFC East champion could come down to these two teams. In the last of two matchups between these teams, it will be important for Philadelphia to hold home-field here. Should that happen, Wentz and Co. will be in good position to earn the division crown. That’s where the performance from both of these quarterbacks will likely be the deciding factor.