What does week seven have in store for us?
Just as we expected, week six included rookie quarterbacks (QBs) going off including the top three picks from the 2024 NFL Draft. For the games we are covering this week we have the following: an NFC North battle, the Super Bowl 58 rematch and a matchup between two high-powered offenses.
Lions visit Vikings in hopes of taking the NFC North lead
Did anyone predict the Vikings to be undefeated at this point in the season? I know I did not. Let us give credit where credit is due though, this team is playing some really good football.
The offense has been very good with the biggest surprise being veteran QB Sam Darnold. With that being said though Darnold is coming off his worst game of the season. He did play through what seemed to be an injury but even before that injury in the Jets game in London, something just looked off compared to the rest of the season. Luckily enough, the Vikings are coming off a bye-week and this should have given him enough time to rest up and heal.
The real strength of this team has been their Brian Flores led defense. Flores has been the best defensive play-caller this year and that is thanks to his heavy blitz style. The Vikings blitz at an insane rate and it has worked leading to the following rankings: third among sacks (20); tied for second in forced turnovers (13) and 330.2 yards given up per game (14th). The stars on this defense include edge rusher (EDGE) Andrew Van Ginkel, cornerback (CB) Stephon Gilmore, off-ball linebacker (LB) Blake Cashman and safety (S) Camryn Bynum.
Now with that being said, the Vikings defense is going to have its hands full with the Lions offense. The Lions offense is coming off a game in which they put up 47 points and close to 500 yards of total offense. This comes thanks to many many stars on their offense.
The run game has come with great success thanks to the amazing offensive line (OL), who some argue is the best in football, and the great running back (RB) duo of “Sonic and Knuckles” (Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery) who totaled 140 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against the Cowboys last week. The pass game has been amazing thanks to, again, their OL and the receiving weapons of wide receivers (WRs) Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams; tight end (TE) Sam LaPorta and QB Jared Goff.
Now let us address the elephant in the room, this defense is going to take a massive step back with EDGE Aidan Hutchinson out for the season. Hutchinson suffered a broken tibia in the third quarter at the Cowboys last week. Hutchinson was on historic pace and was easily the “drive” for this defense. While he was the biggest star on this defense, they still have great talent and will be a good defense overall.
After repicking and analyzing this game, I ended up keeping the Vikings undefeated in a massive win over the Lions.
Final Score: Lions 23 – Vikings 27
49ers looking for revenge in Super Bowl 58 rematch
Will the 49ers get revenge? Let us break down the teams and find out.
The 49ers come into this game coming off a big primetime win over the Seahawks. Their offense will be looking to build off that strong performance but standout RB Jordan Mason could be limited as he is dealing with a shoulder injury from last week’s game. It is not expected to be long-term currently though.
Rookie RB Isaac Guerendo will look to build off a strong start where he had 99 rushing yards on just 10 touches. Veterans WR Deebo Samuel and TE George Kittle will also be looking to build off strong performances in which they each had a receiving touchdown (Kittle having two). However, they will be dealing with a tough Chiefs defense though that ranks ninth among yards given up. The Chiefs defense features several standout stars with notable names being defensive tackle (DT) Chris Jones, LB Leo Chenal, LB Nick Bolton and CB Trent McDuffie.
The Chiefs offense has just felt off this year. QB Patrick Mahomes just has not looked “Mahomes” like. Did you know since the start of last season Mahomes is second in throw interceptions (20) behind Seahawks QB Sam Howell? Howell has yet to play this season.
It has not just been Mahomes though, TE Travis Kelce also has not looked like his old-self. Injuries have not helped though with standout WR Rashee Rice out for the year due to a huge knee injury. The Chiefs offense will need their defense to stay on course or they will need to pick it up if they have any hopes of beating the hot 49ers team.
In the end, I have the 49ers ending the Chiefs perfect record leaving only one team remaining with an undefeated record.
Final Score: Chiefs 20 – 49ers 23
MVP Candidates face off under Monday Night Lights
Ravens getting coverage back to back weeks? Yeah, I just could not help myself. The NFL just scheduled it like this and it happened to be the Ravens playing back to back teams with MVP candidates and high-powered offenses. This time around the MVP candidate is QB Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers.
Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense is coming off a massive win at the Saints and became the first team to score 50 plus points this season (51). They did this with 594 total yards and seven total touchdowns (one being on defense from a scoop and score by S Antonie Winfield Jr.). Notable stats from the game included: WR Chris Godwin having 11 catches, 125 yards and two TDs; RB Sean Tucker having 17 touches, 192 total yards and two total TDs; and S Antoine Winfield Jr. having four tackles, one pass deflected, one QB hit and fumble returned for a TD. The Buccaneers will be looking to build off that strong performance against a subpar Ravens defense that ranks bottom eight passing yards given up per game.
The Ravens offense is also coming off a very strong game in which they scored 30 points thanks to QB Lamar Jacksona and RB Derrick Henry. One could argue that both are MVP candidates and that is rare to see not one but two MVP candidates on the same team. Henry is on pace for 1995 rushing yards and 23 rushing TDs. Both are close to record breaking.
I am going to be honest, there is not much else to say about this game or the Ravens. Both teams are very high powered offenses with MVP candidates and we should expect a high scoring game.
After it is all said and done, I expected the Buccaneers to come out with the win as Mayfield adds to his MVP case.
Final Score: Ravens 33 – Buccaneers 40
Remaining Games and Predictions:
TNF Broncos at Saints: Note – Game has already been played. Actual Final Score: Broncos 33 – Saints 10
Patriots at Jaguars (in London): Jaguars bounce back after getting adjusted to London. Final Score: Patriots 28 – Jaguars 38
Titans at Bills: Bills take care of business in an “easy” win. Final Score: Titans 13 – Bills 41
Dolphins at Colts: Colts considering making QB change after disappointing game. Final Score: Dolphins 22 – Colts 18
Seahawks at Falcons: Falcons win fourth straight game in big NFC game. Final Score: Seahawks 19 – Falcons 30
Texans at Packers: Packers and Jordan Love win battle of young QBs. Final Score: Texans 24 – Packers 30 OT
Bengals at Browns: Browns start to consider selling at deadline after another loss. Final Score: Bengals 27 – Browns 10
Eagles at Giants: Giants pull off massive upset for second straight week. Final Score: Eagles 17 – Giants 23
Raiders at Rams: Rams get much needed win in hopes of getting healthy in the coming weeks. Final Score: Raiders 20 – Rams 31
Panthers at Commanders: Andy Dalton and Panthers pull off a weird upset with a game winning field goal. Final Score: Panthers 20 – Commanders 19
SNF Jets at Steelers: Davante Adams shows out in first game as a Jet in a win. Final Score: Jets 28 – Steelers 18
MNF Chargers at Cardinals: Chargers offense catches fire in the desert. Final Score: Chargers 43 – Cardinals 17
Teams on bye and their next opponent:
Bears next at Commanders | Cowboys next at 49ers
Standings:
AFC East
Bills 4-2 2-0 | Dolphins 2-3 1-1 | Jets 2-4 1-1 | Patriots 1-5 0-2
AFC West
Chiefs 5-0 1-0 | Chargers 3-2 2-1 | Broncos 3-3 1-1 | Raiders 2-4 0-2
AFC North
Ravens 4-2 1-0 | Steelers 4-2 0-0 | Bengals 2-4 0-1 | Browns 1-5 0-0
AFC South
Texans 5-1 2-0 | Colts 3-3 1-2 | Titans 1-4 0-1 | Jaguars 1-5 1-1
NFC East
Commanders 4-2 1-0 | Eagles 3-2 0-0 | Cowboys 3-3 1-0 | Giants 2-4 0-2
NFC West
49ers 3-3 1-2 | Seahawks 3-3 0-1 | Cardinals 2-4 2-0 | Rams 1-4 1-1
NFC North
Vikings 5-0 1-0 | Lions 4-1 0-0 | Packers 4-2 0-1 | Bears 4-2 0-0
NFC South
Falcons 4-2 3-0 | Buccaneers 4-2 1-1 | Saints 2-4 1-2 | Panthers 1-5 0-2
Playoff Bracket:
AFC: Division Leaders
1 Chiefs | 2 Texans | 3 Ravens | 4 Bills
AFC: Wild Card Teams
5 Steelers | 6 Chargers | 7 Colts
AFC: In the Hunt (within one or less games out of the playoffs)
Three win team: 8 Broncos
Two win teams: 9 Dolphins | 10 Jets | 11 Raiders | 12 Bengals
AFC: Outside of the Hunt (within two or more games out of the playoffs)
One win teams: 13 Titans | 14 Browns | 15 Patriots | 16 Jaguars
NFC: Division Leaders
1 Vikings | 2 Falcons | 3 Commanders | 4 49ers
NFC: Wild Card Teams
5 Lions | 6 Buccaneers | 7 Packers
NFC: In the Hunt
Four win team: 8 Bears
Three win teams: 9 Eagles | 10 Cowboys | 11 Seahawks
NFC: Outside of the Hunt
Two win teams: 12 Cardinals | 13 Saints | 14 Giants
One win teams: 15 Rams | 16 Panthers
