Week 7 NFL Preview

​MORE EXCITEMENT LIES AHEAD AS NFL ENTERS WEEK 7

The NFL heads into Week 7 following another exciting weekend of action. In Week 6, nine of 15 games were decided by one score (eight points or fewer), including three games – the MIAMI DOLPHINS’ overtime win against Chicago, the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS’ win against Kansas City on Sunday Night Football and the GREEN BAY PACKERS’ victory over San Francisco onMonday Night Football ­­– on game-winning field goals as time expired in the fourth quarter or overtime. Twelve contests this season have been won on the final play of the game, tied for the third-most through the first six weeks of a season since 2003.

Through the first six weeks of the season, 54 games have been decided by one score, tied with the 1999 season for the most in NFL history through Week 6. Twenty-eight of those games have been decided by three or fewer points, the second-most in NFL history through Week 6 (35 games in 1999), including four such games last week.

At least one game has gone to overtime in each of the first six weeks of the 2018 season, marking the first time since the regular-season overtime rule was instituted in 1974 that there has been an overtime game in each of a season’s first six weeks.

As the season approaches the halfway point, there are currently 21 teams with a .500 or better record. The LOS ANGELES RAMS (6-0) top the NFC and are the NFL’s only remaining unbeaten team, while the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (5-1) own the AFC’s best mark. Twenty-one teams are currently in or within one game of first place in their respective divisions.

Scoring continues to trend at a record pace in 2018. Through Week 6, there have been 504 total touchdowns and 4,489 total points scored, both the most in NFL history through the first six weeks of a season.

MOST TOUCHDOWNS IN FIRST SIX WEEKS, NFL HISTORY			MOST TOTAL POINTS IN FIRST SIX WEEKS, NFL HISTORY
SEASON	TOUCHDOWNS		SEASON	TOTAL POINTS
2018	504		2018	4,489
2015	481		2014	4,250
2014	479		2015	4,243
2016	470		2012	4,233

Los Angeles Rams running back TODD GURLEY leads the NFL with 11 scrimmage touchdowns this season and is the fifth different player since 1970 with at least 11 offensive touchdowns in his team’s first six games of a season. Gurley joins SHAUN ALEXANDER (12 in 2005), Pro Football Hall of Famers EMMITT SMITH (11 in 1995) and LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON (11 in 2005) and PRIEST HOLMES (11 in 2002 and 11 in 2004) as the only players to accomplish the feat.

Below are highlights of the Week 7 schedule:

The second of three 2018 London Series games kicks off at 9:30 AM ET (CBS) at Wembley Stadium on Sunday as the LOS ANGELES CHARGERS play host to the TENNESSEE TITANS. Tennessee is making its first appearance in London, while the Chargers play in the UK for the second time. Los Angeles running back MELVIN GORDON leads the AFC with 745 scrimmage yards and ranks second in the NFL with nine touchdowns (six rushing, three receiving). Titans safety KEVIN BYARD, who had an interception in Week 6, has nine interceptions since 2017, tied with Detroit’s DARIUS SLAY for the most in the league over the span. The 2018 London Series concludes in Week 8 with the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES taking on the JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS.

The NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, who sit at 4-2 and are tied with Miami atop the AFC East, visit theCHICAGO BEARS, who lead the NFC North with a 3-2 record, at Soldier Field on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, CBS). Patriots quarterback TOM BRADY passed for 340 yards with one touchdown and rushed for a touchdown in New England’s 43-40 victory last week, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to record 200 regular-season wins. New England running back SONY MICHEL ranks second among rookies with 400 rushing yards and aims for his fourth game in a row with a rushing touchdown. Bears quarterback MITCHELL TRUBISKY has nine touchdown passes in his past two games, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer SID LUCKMAN (nine in 1943) for the most by a quarterback in franchise history over any two-game span.

On Sunday afternoon, the BALTIMORE RAVENS welcome the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS to M&T Bank Stadium in an interconference showdown (4:05 PM ET, FOX). New Orleans quarterbackDREW BREES, who became the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (72,103) in Week 5, enters the contest needing one touchdown pass to become the fourth player in league history to record 500 career touchdown passes. The Ravens’ defense, led by linebacker ZA’DARIUS SMITH’s three sacks, recorded a franchise-record 11 sacks in Week 6, becoming the third team since 2002 to record at least 11 sacks in a single game.

The 117th meeting between the WASHINGTON REDSKINS and DALLAS COWBOYS (including the postseason) takes place at FedExField (4:25 PM ET, CBS), as both teams look to win consecutive games for the first time this season. Washington (3-2) enters Week 7 in first place in the NFC East. Redskins running back ADRIAN PETERSON, who leads the team with 339 rushing yards, aims for his fourth consecutive game against Dallas with a rushing score. Cowboys quarterback DAK PRESCOTT threw two touchdown passes and rushed for a touchdown in Dallas’ win last week and has nine career games with both a passing and rushing touchdown, tied for the fourth-most in league history by a player in his first three seasons.

In Sunday’s nightcap (8:20 PM ET, NBC), the CINCINNATI BENGALS travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS in a battle of AFC contenders. Since entering the league in 2011, Bengals wide receiver A.J. GREEN ranks third in the NFL with 8,707 receiving yards and fifth with 589 receptions. Kansas City quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES, who leads the NFL with 18 touchdown passes, has won six of his first seven career starts and is the only quarterback in league history to throw for at least 250 yards in each of his first seven games.

NFL WEEK 7 SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 21-22

(All times eastern)

Bye: Green Bay, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Seattle

Thursday, October 18	Sunday, October 21 (cont’d)
Denver at Arizona, 8:20 PM (FOX/NFLN/Amazon)	Carolina at Philadelphia, 1:00 PM Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM
Sunday, October 21	New Orleans at Baltimore, 4:05 PM
Tennessee at Los Angeles Chargers (London), 9:30 AM	Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco, 4:25 PM
New England at Chicago, 1:00 PM	Dallas at Washington, 4:25 PM
Buffalo at Indianapolis, 1:00 PM	Cincinnati at Kansas City, 8:20 PM (NBC)
Houston at Jacksonville, 1:00 PM
Detroit at Miami, 1:00 PM	Monday, October 22
Minnesota at New York Jets, 1:00 PM	New York Giants at Atlanta, 8:15 PM (ESPN)