The seventh Sunday of the NFL Season is upon us!
Today has several marque matchups that will directly affect the divisional and conference races, including the NFC game of the day between the undefeated Minnesota Vikings and the 3-2 Philadelphia Eagles. The AFC game of the day sets the nearly unstoppable New England Patriots against the quarterback-less Pittsburgh Steelers. No matter what team you root for, those two games should be must watch TV!
New York Giants vs Los Angeles Rams 9:30am NFL Network (London)
The Giants have won the last six meetings agains the Rams, but this Rams team seems energized by the move to Sunny southern California. With both teams having to travel to London, it could be a sloppy anything goes affair, though.
Eli Manning passed John Elway on the all-time passing touchdowns list last week and will look to continue that march up the charts today.
Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals 1:00pm CBS
The Battle for Ohio won’t be much of a battle with the Browns still seeking their first win and the Bengals looking to get back on track by beating their cross-state rivals for the fourth consecutive time.
If you’re an AFC North fan or live in Ohio, this game may interest you, otherwise there’s better viewing options in the early games.
Washington Redskins vs Detroit Lions 1:00pm FOX
The Lions have taken the last three meetings between these two old franchises, but they’ve never gone up against Washington with Jay Gruden at the helm.
Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford has had a hot hand so far this season, passing for 1648 yards with a passer rating of 106, but Redskins QB Kirk Cousins has 1695 yards so far.
Expect a shootout in this one with a point total north of 60.
Oakland Raiders at Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00pm CBS
The Raiders are in a tie for first place in the AFC West and are looking to take sole possession with a win today and a Denver loss tomorrow on Monday Night Football. For that to happen, Derek Carr and his high flying offense have to take care of business on the Florida coast, a state they’ve not had much luck in over the past decade or so.
Jacksonville is still in the hunt in the AFC South and looking to fight their way back into serious contention with a win today and Texans loss tomorrow on Monday Night Football.
New Orleans Saints vs Kansas City Chiefs 1:00pm FOX
These two teams know how to put up points, but Andy Reid has his Kansas City defense playing smash mouth, slobber knocking football.
Drew Brees has the most 400-yard passing games in NFL history, but KC’s top ten passing defense may have something to say about that. This game should be full of fireworks and Sportscenter worthy highlights.
Buffalo Bills vs Miami Dolphins 1:00pm CBS
The Ryan brothers have their Bills at 4-2 and a half game behind New England, whom they beat at home a few weeks ago. Miami is fresh off a shocking win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On paper, the Bills have the edge, but in this anything-goes league, this one is almost too close to call.
Baltimore Ravens vs New York Jets 1:00pm CBS
In a rare scheduling oddity, the Ravens play for the second straight week in an opponent’s stadium. Last week they faced the New York Giants in East Rutherford, this week they return to take on the Jets.
The Ravens have only lost one of the last nine games against the Jets, and with Geno Smith getting the start this week to jump start an offense mired in Ryan Fitzpatrick picks and poor decisions, chances are the Ravens will run that win streak to 9 of 10.
NFC GAME OF THE WEEK: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles 1:00pm FOX
Sam Bradford, known as the savior of the frozen Norseland, takes his undefeated Viking team back to Philadelphia, the team that traded him to Minnesota just a few short months ago, to take on hot-handed rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, the player Bradford lost out to in Philly before they traded him away.
This is one of those games where the players will tell you it doesn’t mean anything, when it really does. Expect Minnesota’s defense to dig deep and help their quarterback get revenge on the team that cast him aside.
Indianapolis Colts vs Tennessee Titans 1:00pm CBS
From the mediocre AFC South comes a fight for second place in the division between two teams that don’t have a winning record. Yes, that’s how bad this division is right now.
The Colts and their rock bottom bad defense will look to stop Marcus Mariota and a Titans offense looking to get rolling for the first time in years. Expect poor coaching, worse play calling and possibly some bad officiating influencing the outcome of this game far more than the player’s execution on the field.
San Diego Chargers vs Atlanta Falcons 4:05 FOX
The Atlanta Falcons are riding the #1 offense in the league right now and look to continue that trend against a Chargers team that’s searching for their identity amidst a new-stadium crisis. The fans in Georgia have a brand new stadium coming, but So Cal fans aren’t so quick to dole out cash to build the Chargers a new home.
It would almost be shocking if Atlanta didn’t drop 40+ points in this one while Philip Rivers and the Chargers scratch and claw just to hang on for the ride.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs San Francisco 49ers 4:05 FOX
These teams similarities should make for an interesting game as lighting rod Colin Kaepernick makes his second start after finally regaining his job over journeyman Blaine Gabbert. Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston doesn’t want any parts of being the second best QB in this game, however.
Both quarterbacks have been met with tons of hype, and received nearly equal amounts of criticism since being thrust into the spotlight. While the two teams only have three wins between them, this matchup should still garner plenty of press and interesting moments.
AFC GAME OF THE WEEK: New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers 4:25 CBS
Tom Brady continues his revenge tour at the convergence of three rivers in Pittsburgh today. Prior to Ben Roethlisberger’s injury, this may very well have been a perfect preview of the AFC Championship game. Without Big Ben, Steeler coach Mike Tomlin is going to have to coax some magic out of the old Steeler offensive bag of tricks.
With Big Ben, this was anyone game, but without him Tom Brady has the decided edge. However, after last weeks stunning loss to Miami, history will be against New England. Not only has Pittsburgh won seven in a row at home, they’ve responded to losing by trashing the team they play the follow week more times than not in the past few years.
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals 8:30pm NBC
Sunday Night Football continues with a duel in the desert between two NFC Super Bowl contenders. The all-time series is tied at 17, but Pete Carroll’s team has won three of the last four.
Arizona stumbled out of the gate this season, dropping three games so far. However, head coach Bruce Arians, ageless wonder Larry Fitzgerald and rising star David Johnson have no intentions of rolling over in front of their rabid home crowd in Glendale Arizona.