Skip to main content

Broncos best Saints in Sean Payton's return to Big Easy. Plus, your NFL Week 7 preview 🏈

Jim Reineking   Paste BN

This is the Paste BN Sports NFL newsletter, 4th and Monday. If this newsletter isn't already getting conveniently delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe.

NFL Week 7 is here ...

➤ About last night: Denver Broncos 33, New Orleans Saints 10 — Sean Payton was on the Superdome sidelines and Drew Brees was in the house Thursday night. We advise Saints fans to think of the good times, because the present is not good at all. Payton's Broncos cruised against the Spencer Rattler-led Saints, who dropped their fifth game in a row. Payton's victorious return to New Orleans surely puts even more pressure on his successor, Dennis Allen.

➤ Game of the week: Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings — Every team in the NFC North is above .500 and every team in that division (at the moment) looks like a bona fide playoff team. However, the Lions (4-1) and Vikings (5-0) not only look like the teams to beat in the division, but also in the National Football Conference. This one could be huge come January as the road to Super Bowl 59 might go through Ford Field or U.S. Bank Stadium. The bummer here, of course, is the injury to the Lions' star edge rusher, Aidan Hutchinson. How the team manages to get pressure on vagabond quarterback (and MVP candidate!) Sam Darnold will be a key aspect of this game to follow closely.

➤ Super Bowl rematch of the week: Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers — Under normal circumstances, this is your "Game of the Week," but sorry (not sorry) Lions-Vikings is a better matchup at this point in the season. The 49ers (3-3) got off to a slow start, but did look good in last week's win over the Seattle Seahawks on "Thursday Night Football." The Chiefs (5-0) are seeking their third 6-0 start in franchise history and can become the 10th defending Super Bowl champion ever to open a season with at least six straight wins. These two teams' encounter in Super Bowl 58 was a classic, and fans will be expecting the same on Sunday afternoon at Levi's Stadium.

➤ Sneaky-good game of the week: Houston Texans at Green Bay Packers — While Chiefs-49ers is a Super Bowl rematch, could this one at Lambeau Field be a Super Bowl preview? That's probably a stretch. But both teams are coming off overwhelming wins over underwhelming opponents in Week 6. The Texans (5-1) already are cruising toward a second consecutive AFC South title. The Packers (4-2) will have their work cut out for them (see above) to win the highly competitive NFC North.

➤ Dreadful game of the week: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns — For the meantime, this spot is reserved for the Browns, who have won just one game (how did they ever win one?) and are trending toward tank mode after trading their best (until Nick Chubb comes off injured reserve) offensive weapon this week. Under the direction of dumpster-fire quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Browns offense ranks last in the league in yards per game (yes, even behind the Will Levis-led Tennessee Titans and offensively challenged New England Patriots) and 30th in points scored. Joltin' Joe Burrow and the Bengals (2-4) can use this game to stack some wins after last week's victory over the New York Giants on "Sunday Night Football." The Bengals host a less-than-impressive Philadelphia Eagles team in Week 8 before facing another struggling team, the Las Vegas Raiders, in Week 9.

➤ Game I'm mildly interested in, and not just because I have Garrett Wilson on my fantasy team: New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers — We'll have been waiting all day for Sunday night to see how Davante Adams fits into the Jets offense after limited practice time with new (and old — both in age and collective experience — when referring to 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers) teammates. Speaking of old, 35-year-old veteran quarterback Russell Wilson could make his Steelers debut in this one. Sliding aside Justin Fields — who guided the Steelers to a 4-2 start — in favor of Wilson would be an unprecedented move. The Jets (2-4) are in full-on desperation mode after firing a head coach and trading for Adams. Let's see how this plays out!

➤ Just going to rank some games I'm interested in watching without giving any context:

  1. Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  2. Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons
  3. Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills
  4. Carolina Panthers at Washington Commanders
  5. Los Angeles Chargers at Arizona Cardinals

➤ Don't forget to set your alarm ⏰, there's a London game on Sunday: New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars — This is the second straight week that the Jaguars are playing a London game (this time it's at Wembley) and the third consecutive week that the NFL has held a game in London. This is the 13th time that the Jaguars will play a game in London. This is the third London game for the Patriots, who won their previous two. Last season, the Patriots played in Frankfurt, Germany, losing to the Indianapolis Colts.

🚨 Public service announcement 🚨 If you're still alive in Paste BN Sports' survivor pool (there are only 66 of 10,357 entries still alive, so well done!), please make sure to make your Week 7 pick!

📸: Fans, mascots, cheerleaders and celebrities at NFL games

NFL Week 7: Pigskin prognostications, betting tips, rankings

➤ Week 7 picks: This is where Paste BN Sports' panel of experts has provided fans with the great public service of making prognostications for every game this weekend, both straight up and against the spread.

➤ Bold predictions: Which teams and players could surprise the most in Week 7?

➤ NFL Week 7 betting odds: Which teams are favored this week?

➤ Best bets for Week 7: Lorenzo Reyes is back with his favorite NFL bets for Week 7, including why he likes lines involving the Commanders and Chargers this weekend.

➤ Power rankings: See how all 32 teams stack up after six weeks of play. Two playoff teams from last season reside in the bottom four.

NFL news, notes and analysis

➤ Aaron Rodgers gets everything he wants. Now he has to deliver: It's been a crazy few days for the New York Jets, who fired head coach Robert Saleh and then traded for Davante Adams, Rodgers' favorite target from their time together in Green Bay. In giving Rodgers all the toys he wants, the Jets took away all his excuses, Nancy Armour writes.

➤ Trade grades: In a busy few hours on Tuesday, the Raiders traded Davante Adams to the Jets and the Browns dealt Amari Cooper to the Bills. Which teams and players made out the best after those two deals?

➤ Trade candidates: With Davante Adams and Amari Cooper already dealt and the trade deadline nearly three weeks away (yes, it's the same day as Election Day 2024), Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz points out 16 other players who could be swapped leading up to, or at, the deadline.

➤ It's frustrating times in Dallas: And team owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones fueled a stir with a testy exchange with some radio show hosts. The lowlight coming when he seemingly threatened to replace the three hosts. Jarrett Bell wonders: For real?

➤ Tom Brady’s conflict of interest reflects superstar privilege: It finally happened on Tuesday. The Las Vegas Raiders secured Tom Brady as a limited partner. If you're scoring at home: That's advantage, Raiders. In a major way. And this includes the optics of a conflict of interest that flies in the face of the popular league that touts fair competition, Jarrett Bell writes.

➤ Atlanta to host Super Bowl 62 in 2028: This will be the second time the league's championship game will be played at the technological wonder that is Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the fourth time overall that Atlanta has hosted the Super Bowl.

Fantasy football: Rankings, start 'em/sit 'em and other lineup needs

In case you didn't need more fantasy football lineup upheaval with injuries, bye weeks and the like, two major trades went down this week when wide receivers Davante Adams and Amari Cooper were traded to the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, respectively. This could have cascading impacts on a number of players on those teams and throughout the league.

➤ Fantasy rankings for Week 7: For your convenience, these position-by-position rankings were updated for this week's games.

➤ Start 'em ⬆ and sit 'em ⬇ for Week 7: Here is where we list eight players to start, and eight to sit, this weekend. Find out why you should sit Justin Herbert, but start Andy Dalton.

➤ Start 'em 📈/sit 'em 📉 by position: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Kickers | Defenses/special teams

➤ Risers and fallers: Find out why QB Baker Mayfield, RBs J.K. Dobbins and Kimani Vidal, and WRs Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson are looking up, and QB Patrick Mahomes, RBs Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker, and WR Brandon Aiyuk are trending down.

➤ Fantasy injury report: There are some key fantasy football players on the injury report for Week 7. Here's what we know about their status. 🩹

➤ Fantasy trade value charts: These charts have been updated for Week 7 and can be used as your very own fantasy football trade analyzer in standard, half-PPR (point per reception), and full PPR leagues. 📊

Week 7 NFL schedule

(All times Eastern)

Thursday

Sunday

Monday

Bye week: Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys

📅: Complete 2024 NFL schedule

From the YouTube algorithm

This is where we reprise some NFL lore and recall a classic, memorable game from yester-year that featured Week 7 opponents.

When Joe Montana was injured in the 1990 NFC championship game against the New York Giants, it changed the course of pro football history.

First, it foiled the 49ers' quest to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls ... a historic accomplishment the 2024 Chiefs are attempting to attain.

Then, a subsequent elbow injury suffered in the 1991 preseason vaulted longtime backup Steve Young into the starting role in San Francisco.

Montana missed nearly two seasons, playing in just one game — the 1992 regular-season finale. By then, Young had emerged as a league MVP, and one of the greatest quarterbacks was expendable. In the 1993 offseason, the 49ers traded the aging Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs. To the surprise of no one, he immediately found success, leading the Chiefs to the 1993 AFC title game.

Entering the 1994 season, both the 49ers and Chiefs were heavy favorites to reach the Super Bowl. In Week 2 of that season, the two teams met in an epic regular-season clash at Arrowhead Stadium. Montana threw for two touchdowns in the 24-17 win for the Chiefs. It wasn't a great day for Young, who threw two second-half interceptions, lost a fumble and was sacked in the end zone by Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas for a safety.

The Montana vs. Young Super Bowl matchup many clamored for did not happen. The Chiefs made the playoffs as a wild-card team, but were defeated by Dan Marino's Miami Dolphins in what was Montana's final game. The 49ers, however, finally toppled the mighty Dallas Cowboys in the NFC title game and then steamrolled the overmatched San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl 29.

(As a semi-related aside, they just don't make big-game intros like they used to. Check out these from the 1990 and 1992 NFC championship games.)

But, wait ... there's more!

There are too many classic matchups featuring Week 7 opponents to highlight just one old-school game.

We're dialing this one back to just after the start of the new millennium for one of the NFL's greatest games with a name — the "Music City Miracle." On Jan. 8, 2000, the Tennessee Titans hosted the Buffalo Bills for an AFC wild-card playoff game at the then-Adelphia Coliseum.

These two teams entered this classic with some playoff history. The Titans' predecessor, the Houston Oilers, were defeated in the 1992 playoffs by the Bills after Buffalo pulled off what was then the largest comeback in NFL history.

Entering the 1999 playoffs, the resurgent Titans were riding quarterback Steve McNair, running back Eddie George and a marvelous rookie defensive end nicknamed "the Freak," Jevon Kearse, to a playoff return; the franchise's first since its relocation from Houston to Tennessee. The Bills, meanwhile, had been a playoff regular since the late 1980s. However, this would be the Bills' last playoff appearance until the 2017 season.

When kicker Steve Christie's field goal gave the Bills a 16-15 lead with 16 seconds remaining, it seemed it was over for the Titans. Except, the Titans had a trick up their sleeve for the ensuing kickoff. A return play called "Home Run Throwback" was executed to perfection as Lorenzo Neal fielded the kickoff, handed the ball to Frank Wycheck, who then lateraled the ball across the field to Kevin Dyson, who raced down the sideline untouched for the winning touchdown.

(The play has been debated for years over whether the Wycheck-to-Dyson throw was a legal lateral. It was a lateral ... get over it, people!)

Galvanized by the epic victory, the Titans defeated the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts in the divisional playoffs, won the AFC championship over the Jacksonville Jaguars, but ultimately were defeated in a Super Bowl thriller by the "Greatest Show on Turf," the Kurt Warner-led St. Louis Rams.

📸: NFL teams wearing alternate or throwback uniforms

Get your daily dose of sports with the Morning Win!

For The Win's daily sports newsletter pairs the latest news from around the sports world with the smartest – yet somewhat irreverent – takes from FTW's staff.

Come celebrate your fandom with us Monday through Friday by signing up here.

If you enjoy reading 4th & Monday 📰, encourage your football fan friends to subscribe 📱. Follow the jazzily jaunty writer of this newsletter on X and/or Threads @jimreineking 🧵.

Facebook Twitter Email