Vikings, Chiefs Stay Perfect as Rams, Eagles Slide in Week 7

WHO:

Arrowhead Pride - The Vikings’ upcoming opponents were listed as the Colts, Lions, Bills, Packers, and 49ers.

Arrowhead Pride - The Patriots’ Drake Maye and A.J. Brown had not yet established a connection after Brown returned.

Arrowhead Pride - The Packers’ Matthew Golden and Christian Watson were described as becoming an elite receiving tandem.

NFL.com - Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner went on injured reserve with a groin injury, and Davante Adams was out at least six weeks with a hamstring injury.

NFL.com - Raiders coach Klint Kubiak, quarterback Kirk Cousins, tight end Brock Bowers, and kicker Matt Gay were highlighted; Gay had made all but one field goal and all 14 extra points.

Arrowhead Pride - The Week 7 rankings noted that Kenneth Walker III had a major impact for the Chiefs.

Arrowhead Pride - The Rams’ Trent McDuffie was traded to Los Angeles during the offseason.

Arrowhead Pride - The Chargers’ offensive coordinator is Mike McDaniel.

commanders.com - Giants head coach John Harbaugh said the team had not found anyone to “be the back”; the Giants released running back Najee Harris.

commanders.com - The Texans announced Tank Dell would return after suffering multiple torn ligaments and a dislocated kneecap; Marvin Harrison Jr. had three catches for 34 yards in his debut.

commanders.com - Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will miss the remainder of the season while recovering from deep blood clots.

Arrowhead Pride - The Week 7 power rankings were compiled by the author and staff voters Caleb James, Ron Kopp Jr., Rocky Magana, and Jared Sapp.

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings placed the San Francisco 49ers first, the Kansas City Chiefs second, the Buffalo Bills third, and the Minnesota Vikings fourth.

Arrowhead Pride - The Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles were the biggest fallers, each dropping nine places to 17th and 24th, respectively.

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings described the NFC North as having four teams that could reach the postseason and said every AFC North team had a winning record.

CBS Sports - The article’s Week 7 picks covered the Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins at New York Jets, Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals, and Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens, as well as seven other listed matchups.

CBS Sports - CBS Sports identified Aaron Glenn as the Jets’ head coach and noted that the Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard after losing to the Titans.

WHAT:

Arrowhead Pride - Chicago rose from 10th to fifth, Pittsburgh from 19th to 14th, Cleveland from 22nd to 16th, and Tennessee from 32nd to 30th in the Week 7 rankings.

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings said Bijan Robinson needed more than 11 touches per game for Atlanta to have a realistic chance of winning.

CBS Sports - The article projected scores and picks for the listed matchups: Vikings 33–19 over the Colts (Vikings -6.5); Jets 23–16 over the Dolphins (Jets -4.5); Browns 24–17 over the Titans (Browns -1.5); Cardinals 23–20 over the Broncos (Cardinals +4.5); Bengals 30–23 over the Ravens (Bengals +2.5); Bears -3, Steelers -3.5, Giants +9.5, Falcons +3.5, Panthers -3.5, Lions -3, Raiders +4.5, Chiefs +2.5, and Cowboys -4.5.

CBS Sports - Cincinnati was 10–3 against the spread in its last 13 road games following a win started by Joe Burrow.

commanders.com - Houston’s run defense ranked No. 3; Philadelphia linebacker Zack Baun’s pass breakup on Carolina’s own 11-yard line led to a three-and-out.

commanders.com - Green Bay ranked last in the NFL in third-down conversions at 27.6% entering its game against Dallas.

commanders.com - Washington had an 0–2–1 record over its previous three games.

NFL.com - The Raiders’ Ashton Jeanty was questioned in the context of the team’s performance.

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings placed Buffalo third after it rose one spot, Minnesota fourth after rising two, Chicago fifth after rising five, Baltimore sixth after falling three, Jacksonville eighth after falling three, Seattle 10th after falling three, Denver 11th after rising one, Green Bay 12th after rising four, Detroit 13th unchanged, Pittsburgh 14th after rising five, Carolina 15th after rising two, Cleveland 16th after rising six, the Rams 17th after falling nine, Houston 18th after rising six, Las Vegas 19th after falling one, the Giants 20th after falling six, Atlanta 21st after falling one, Dallas 22nd after falling one, New Orleans 23rd after rising two, Arizona 25th after rising one, Indianapolis 26th after falling three, Tampa Bay 27th unchanged, the Jets 28th unchanged, Washington 29th unchanged, Tennessee 30th after rising two, Miami 31st after falling one, and the Chargers 32nd after falling one.

Arrowhead Pride - The article said Jayden Daniels had not won a game as a starting quarterback in more than a full calendar year.

Arrowhead Pride - The author said the Chargers would return from their bye week to possible uncertainty over offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s job.

NFL.com - The Rams had four drives end on blocked or missed field goals, five end on downs, and six end on Matthew Stafford interceptions.

Arrowhead Pride - The Week 7 rankings placed Chicago fifth, Baltimore sixth, and New England seventh; the Bears rose five places, while the Ravens fell three and the Patriots rose four.

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings said Cleveland led the AFC North despite every team in the division having a winning record.

CBS Sports - In its Vikings–Colts analysis, CBS Sports said Daniel Jones averaged 5.2 air yards per attempt against the blitz and 9.5 without it; it cited Kyler Murray’s best performance of the season and improving passer rating and yards per attempt in each game.

CBS Sports - CBS Sports said Tennessee was outgained by 213 yards in its win over Indianapolis and that Cam Ward had performed well in fourth quarters, while the Titans were tied for the fewest points scored in the first three quarters.

CBS Sports - The Bengals’ Joe Burrow ranked second in completion percentage and seventh in passing yards per game; Baltimore had a rotating door at center.

commanders.com - Washington’s defense recorded three consecutive three-and-outs in the second half against San Francisco; Brock Purdy was sacked three times for a loss of 15 yards and attempted four passes in the final 30 minutes.

commanders.com - Washington was outgained 303–90, went 0-for-0 in red-zone trips, and had two first downs, compared with San Francisco’s 17.

commanders.com - Terry McLaurin was out for the season with a torn patellar tendon; Mike Evans left the Washington–San Francisco game with Achilles soreness.

commanders.com - Philadelphia linebacker Zack Baun recorded six tackles, one stuff, and a pass breakup against Carolina. The Eagles were without Saquon Barkley (hamstring) and Tank Bigsby (abdomen); Dameon Pierce averaged 2.9 yards per carry and rushed for 35 yards.

commanders.com - Dallas’ defense held Green Bay to six points and 83 total yards in the second half and sacked Jordan Love three times. Green Bay converted 27.6% of third downs entering the game.

commanders.com - Dallas and Philadelphia both entered their matchup with 2–4 records; a Dallas win would bring the Cowboys to 3–4 overall and 2–1 in the NFC East.

CBS Sports - The article listed its 2026 Locks of the Week record as 15–14–1 ATS and its overall record as 38–53–2 ATS and 57–35–1 moneyline.

commanders.com - The NFC East became the first division since the NFL merger to go winless in consecutive weeks when every team played.

commanders.com - Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy scored 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points on three drives, tied Eli Manning’s franchise record for passing yards in a fourth quarter, and was named the Week 7 starter.

commanders.com - The Giants had 84 rushing yards against the Saints; Cam Skattebo had no carries. The Eagles were held below 50 rushing yards for a second consecutive week.

commanders.com - The Eagles entered their Dallas matchup on a four-game losing streak, their longest since 2020 and the first in the Nick Sirianni era.

commanders.com - Dallas had a season-low 48 rushing yards against Green Bay, and Dak Prescott threw two interceptions and recorded a 65.2 passer rating.

commanders.com - Washington lost 23–17 to San Francisco after trailing 23–3; its turnover differential was +6, tied for the NFL lead, while its point differential was -40.

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings said the NFC East had no team win a game during the previous two weeks, including a game between two division teams.

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings placed New England seventh, Jacksonville eighth, Cincinnati ninth, Seattle 10th, Denver 11th, Green Bay 12th, Detroit 13th, Pittsburgh 14th, Carolina 15th, Cleveland 16th, Houston 18th, Las Vegas 19th, the New York Giants 20th, Atlanta 21st, Dallas 22nd, New Orleans 23rd, Arizona 25th, Indianapolis 26th, Tampa Bay 27th, the New York Jets 28th, Washington 29th, Tennessee 30th, Miami 31st, and the Los Angeles Chargers 32nd.

CBS Sports - The Vikings were projected to beat the Colts 33–19, with Minnesota picked at -6.5. The article said Minnesota led the NFL in blitz rate at 69.8%, ranked first in third-down and red-zone efficiency, and faced a Colts offense averaging 4.7 yards per play.

CBS Sports - The Jets were projected to beat the Dolphins 23–16; the pick was Jets -4.5. The Jets’ red-zone efficiency was 38%, their points-per-game average was 18.7, and they allowed 20.3 points per game. The Dolphins averaged 14.0 points per game.

CBS Sports - The Browns were projected to beat the Titans 24–17; the pick was Browns -1.5. Deshaun Watson had four game-winning drives and, in that span, completed 18 of 24 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

CBS Sports - The Cardinals were projected to beat the Broncos 23–20; the pick was Cardinals +4.5. Arizona had upset the Rams and held Matthew Stafford’s team to 16 points. Denver quarterback Bo Nix averaged 5.6 yards per attempt and 4.9 air yards per attempt.

CBS Sports - The Bengals were projected to beat the Ravens 30–23; the pick was Bengals +2.5. Cincinnati had the NFL’s second-most sacks by defensive tackles through Week 6, and the Bengals were 10–3 against the spread in their last 13 road games after a win started by Joe Burrow.

CBS Sports - Other picks were Bears -3, Steelers -3.5, Giants +9.5, Falcons +3.5, Panthers -3.5, Lions -3, Raiders +4.5, Chiefs +2.5, and Cowboys -4.5.

WHERE:

NFL.com - The Rams–Raiders game was framed as a matchup in which Las Vegas could exploit Los Angeles’ special-teams and injury problems.

commanders.com - Houston beat Jacksonville 34–31 in London; the Texans held Chris Rodriguez Jr. to 55 yards on 11 carries.

CBS Sports - The Steelers–Saints matchup was listed as taking place in Paris.

CBS Sports - The Jets–Patriots game discussed in the article was played in Foxborough.

WHEN:

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings described the season as one-third complete and evaluated teams for Week 7.

CBS Sports - The picks article listed the Patriots–Bears game for Thursday and Cowboys–Eagles for Monday; it also said Buffalo, the Los Angeles Chargers, Washington, and Jacksonville were on a Week 7 bye.

CBS Sports - The article said the Vikings would be rested after their bye and described Denver’s 4.9 air-yards-per-attempt average as the shortest through six games in the past 20 seasons.

WHY:

CBS Sports - CBS Sports said it favored Cincinnati partly because the Bengals were rested after their bye and because Baltimore had instability at center.

Arrowhead Pride - The rankings said the Chiefs and 49ers appeared to be separating from other teams in their respective western divisions, while the AFC East appeared to be a two-team race involving the Patriots and Bills.

CBS Sports - CBS Sports backed Minnesota because of its defense and home-field advantage, and favored Arizona because of concerns about Denver’s offense.

HOW:

commanders.com - Washington’s Jeremy Reaves broke up passes on third-and-11 to George Kittle and third-and-8 to Christian McCaffrey.

commanders.com - Green Bay converted nine of 10 third downs in the first half against Dallas, then went 2-for-8 in the second half.

CBS Sports - In the Jets–Patriots game, the Jets kicked a 36-yard field goal with 36 seconds left to make the score 26–19; their onside kick failed. CBS Sports reported a 3–2 against-the-spread record for its five Week 6 locks and a 5–9 ATS, 6–8 straight-up overall record for the week.

The Week 7 power rankings put San Francisco first, Kansas City second, Buffalo third, and Minnesota fourth. Chicago climbed five places to fifth, while the Rams and Eagles fell nine spots, to 17th and 24th. Cleveland led the AFC North, where every team had a winning record, and the rankings saw postseason potential across all four NFC North teams. Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts will miss the rest of the season while recovering from deep blood clots. The Rams also lost defensive tackle Kobie Turner to injured reserve, while Davante Adams is expected to miss at least six weeks with a hamstring injury. Houston announced Tank Dell’s return after serious knee injuries. Washington’s defense held San Francisco to just 90 yards, but the Commanders have gone winless in their last three games. Green Bay entered its matchup with Dallas converting a league-low 27.6 percent of third downs.