NFL Week Seven Predictions
Entering Thursday Night’s Eagles-Giants game, 10 teams had only one win or less. Of those ten teams, six of them have a 1-5 record. The combined record of those 10 teams are 9-48-2. Of those ten teams, two of them have fired their head coach. This is very unusual statistic for an NFL season that will go down as one of the strangest in its 101 year history.
Article by Dave Nguyen, AKSM Sports
News & Notes
Too Many Losers: Entering Thursday Night’s Eagles-Giants game, 10 teams had only one win or less. Of those ten teams, six of them have a 1-5 record. The combined record of those 10 teams are 9-48-2. Of those ten teams, two of them have fired their head coach. This is very unusual statistic for an NFL season that will go down as one of the strangest in its 101 year history.
Antonio Brown is BACK: Antonio Brown rumors are happening once again. On July 31st of this year the NFL handed him an eight-game suspension due to violations of the NFL’s persons-conduct policy. If he were to sign with a team, the earliest he can play in a game is Week Nine of this season. Rumors have been circulating that the Seattle Seahawks were ready to make him an offer after his suspension because Brown is close with quarterback Russel Wilson and has worked out with him and Geno Smith this summer. But on Friday Night Brown was able to sign a 1-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady has the ultimate arsenal of Rob Gronkowski, OJ Howard, Cameron Brate, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and now Antonio Brown.
Tua Time in Miami: In last week’s win vs the Jets, former Alabama standout and fifth overall pick in the 2020 Draft Tua Tagovialoa appeared in the last two minutes of the Dolphins 24-0 victory. Tagovialoa threw completions for nine yards, seeing his first action since his season ending hip injury last year at Alabama. Earlier this week, Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores named the former Crimson Tide All-American the starting quarterback of the Dolphins for the rest of the season. He will make his first start against the Rams in Week 8.
COVID Strikes Vegas: On Wednesday of this week, Las Vegas Raiders offensive tackle Trent Brown was put on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and was sent home from practice. Additionally, the entire starting offensive line for the Raiders were sent home, not practicing on Wednesday either. In a season where the cancellation and rescheduling of games to the coronavirus has happened frequently this season, Sunday Night’s Raiders-Buccaneers game is now in jeopardy. As of Thursday, the game switched times with the Seahawks-Cardinals game, going to 4:05pm and Seattle at Arizona will be on Sunday Night Football.
Eagles win NFC (L) East Battle: With a 21-10 lead with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Giants seemed to have a win locked against the Eagles. But Carson Wentz was able to will his offense with two touchdown drives, including a game winning touchdown pass to Boston Scott, to defeat the Giants 22-21. The Giants become the second team this season to blow a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles sit atop the NFC East with a 2-4-1 record. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Eagles are projected to win the division by 54% with a record of 6-9-1.
Ravens Bolster Defense: On Thursday of this week, the Baltimore Ravens traded for Vikings and former Jaguars Defensive End Yannick Ngakoue or a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2022, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The former Pro-Bowl defensive end was traded to the Vikings in the offseason from Jacksonville, but with the Vikings record at 1-5, and the Bears and Packers battling it out at the top of the NFC North, there isn’t a realistic chance for the Vikings to make the post-season. Ngakoue will be reunited with his former line-mate Calaias Campbell, and hope to do as much damage as they did in 2017 when they led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game.
Game Predictions and Outlooks
Sunday 1:00 PM
Lions (2-3) at Falcons (1-5): Finally after six weeks, the Falcons were able to win their first game of the 2020 season after they dismantled the Vikings 40-23. Julio Jones will be the main focus point in this game, as he has eight receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns last week, helping Matt Ryan’s stat sheet with 371 yards and four scores. The Lions are coming off a 34-16 win at Jacksonville, where Philly native D’Andre Swift broke out for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. A quarterback matchup between two good friends in Ryan and Matt Stafford should have a lot of passing yards between the two former first round picks in Atlanta. Prediction: Falcons 28-25.
Browns (4-2) at Bengals (1-4-1): Baker Mayfield had a start that he will want to forget, as he threw a pick-six in his first drive last week in Pittsburgh as the Browns’ four-game win streak came to an end in their 38-7 loss to the Steelers. Mayfield and the offense will need to turn things around if they want to remain in the AFC Playoff picture. The Browns face Joe Burrow again for the second time this season, and Cleveland knows that the former LSU standout is hard to beat, as the Browns only beat Burrow by five the last time these two teams faced. Prediction: Browns 26-23.
Steelers (5-0) at Titans (5-0): A battle of two undefeated teams for the right to claim the best record for the AFC, as this game had to be rescheduled to to the Titans outbreak of COVID cases a few weeks ago. The Steelers defense gave Baker Mayfield fits, forcing him to throw two interceptions, a pick-six, throw eight incompletions and 119 yards, and sacked him four times. Pittsburgh’s defense is top five in sacks, yards allowed, and turnovers, but Ryan Tannehill has the Titans offense rolling. The man under center for Tennessee threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns in their overtime win against the Texans. It will be a defensive battle with the key on which defense can limit the run game from their opponent. The Titans rely on their run game for their success, as they are fifth in rushing and second in total yards. Prediction: Steelers 28-27.
Panthers (3-3) at Saints (3-2): The Saints are coming off a bye-week while the Panthers are coming off an ugly loss where they managed to kick two field goals in the first half of their 23-16 loss against the Bears. The positive for the Panthers is the production of Mike Davis, as he has played solidly in place of Christian McCaffrey. Davis is averaging 4.3 yards a carry for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Ball control needs to be a key against the Saints offense, as Drew Brees has thrown for over 1300 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Alvin Kamara has accounted for 676 combined rushing and receiving yards and seven combined touchdowns, doing everything he can to contribute to the Saints offensive production until Michael Thomas gets back to his pro-bowl form. While the Saints revived a scare against the Chargers two weeks ago, the bye-week should help them going forward. Prediction: Saints 30-23.
Bills (4-2) at Jets (0-6): There isn’t much to say about the Jets. To summarize how their season is going, Joe Flacco took a 28 yard sack in their 24-0 loss to the Dolphins. The Bills are coming off a loss at home to the Chiefs, who are primed for another run at the Super Bowl. Josh Allen continues to play well and is considered a dark horse candidate for the 2020 MVP, as he is fifth in the leage in passing yards with 1,711. He continues to target Stefan Diggs, who is third in the league in receiving yards (555) and receptions (42). Expect a big win for Buffalo. Prediction: Bills 35-20.
Cowboys (2-4) at Washington (1-5): In another NFC (L) East battle, Andy Dalton leads the Cowboys on the road against the Washington Football Team. Dallas got embarrassed on Monday Night Football against Arizona, and Zeke Elliot’s fumbling issues didn’t help. The Washington defensive line is nasty, and it looks to stop Zeke while generating a lot of pressure against Dalton. Questions loom if Kyle Allen is the solution at quarterback, but the Cowboys are still favored in this matchup…barely. Prediction: Cowboys 23-21
Packers (4-1) at Texans (1-5): The Packers are coming off a bad loss against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who scored 38 unanswered points after the Packers jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The injury to Left Tackle David Bakhtiari is going to hurt the Packers offense. Aaron Jones is listed as questionable with a calf injury, and would be a big loss if he can’t play against Houston. The Texans are coming off an overtime loss to the Titans, despite a valiant effort by Deshaun Watson. The former Clemson star completed 28 of 37 passes for 335 yards and four scores through the air. This game may be close, but make no mistake, as long as Aaron Rodgers is under center, the Packers always have a chance to win a game. Prediction: Packers 31-27.
Sunday 4:05 PM
Buccaneers (4-2) at Raiders (3-2): The Raiders are coming off a bye-week well rested and arguably have the best win of the NFL as they defeated the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium two weeks ago. Henry Ruggs was able to break out with two receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, showing why his speed was an important factor when the Raiders drafted him in the first round of this past year’s draft. Derek Carr threw for three touchdowns and 347 yards in the win, and may need a similar performance against Tom Brady and the Bucs. While the Raiders offensive line is a concern, that may favor the Buccaneers defense, who blitzed the heck out of Aaron Rodgers last week. Todd Bowles leads the top defense in terms of yards allowed per game (282) and is third overall in sacks (22) hoping to give Carr fits on Sunday. Prediction: Buccaneers 35-28.
Sunday 4:25 PM
Chiefs (5-1) at Broncos (2-3): Patrick Mahomes became the fastest quarterback in NFL history to throw for 90 touchdown passes (37 games), a record that was previously held by Dan Marino (40 games), as the Chiefs took care of the Bills on the road last Monday. Mahomes is sixth in passing yards (1,699), eighth in completions (144), and third in touchdown passes (15) heading into Mile High Stadium. The Broncos were able to kick their way past the Patriots last Sunday, as Temple alum Brandon McManus made six field goals, two of which were from 40+ and another two from 50+ yards, in their 18-12 win in Foxborough. Denver’s defense forced Cam Newton to throw two interceptions and limited him to 17 of 25 passes for 157 yards and no touchdown passes, but he Chiefs offense brings a different type of style that involves more speed and tempo, which can be trouble for the Broncos. Prediction: Chiefs: 31-23
49ers (3-3) at Patriots (2-3): The Patriots were outkicked by the Broncos last week, as Cam Newton and the new England offense was held in check for 12 points. The 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo were able to get back on track in their win against the Rams, establishing the run with Raheem Mostert and end arounds with Debo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Jimmy-G threw three touchdown passes and 268 yards, as he will be a point of focus in his first return to Foxborough since the Patriots traded him to San Francisco three years ago. Prediction: Patriots 24-21.
Jaguars (1-5) at Chargers (1-4): The Jaguars are on a five game losing streak after shocking the Colts in Week One, allowing Lions rookie D’Andre Swift to run all over them last week in their 34-16 loss. Justin Herbert continues to develop this season, showing resilience against the Saints two weeks ago on Monday Night Football. The rookie phenom has thrown for 1,195 yards and nine touchdown passes this season, and has a good set of receivers to help him in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Herbert hopes to lead the Chargers to their second win of the season at home against Gardner Minshew II and the Jags. Chargers 30-22.
Sunday Evening
Seahawks (5-0) at Cardinals (4-2): Russel Wilson takes his high powered offense and his leage leading 19 touchdown passes to Arizona in a Sunday Night showdown against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. Wilson is very efficient this season, as he is second in the leage in completions percentage (72.8) and average yards per passing attempt (8.9), and is arguably the front runner for this year’s MVP. Murray was not able to connect with DeAndre Hopkins as much against the Cowboys, but the ground attack of Murray and Kenyon Drake were able to run all over the Dallas defense last Monday. Two highly talented duel-threat quarterbacks will battle in what should be a great game on Sunday Night in the desert. Prediction: Seahawks 28-27.
Monday Evening
Bears (5-1) at Rams (4-2): Nick Foles takes the NFC North leading Bears to Los Angeles to battle the Rams on Monday Night Football. Foles said to the media earlier this week that he is not afraid to win ugly football games, as their win against the Panthers was not pretty at all. The former Super Bowl MVP has thrown for 878 yards and six touchdowns in four games played, but has a solid running game led by David Montgomery. The Rams are coming off a divisional loss to the 49ers this week and can’t afford many losses if they want to stay in the NFC playoff picture. Jared Goff and the Rams offense were limited to 16 points in their loss at San Francisco last week, but they hope to get back on track at home against a stout Bears defense led by Khalil Mack. Prediction: Rams 26-21.