- Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is set to return from a six-game suspension.
- Patriots coach Mike Vrabel will face the Titans, the team he coached for six seasons.
- The NFL’s top two scrimmage yards leaders, Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey, will face off on Sunday night.
There are 17 NFL teams above .500 entering Week 7. The 5-1 Indianapolis Colts have the AFC’s best record. While the 5-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the NFC’s top record. Both teams have tough road games this week.
The New York Jets remain the NFL’s lone winless team.
There have been 27 contests with a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime, the most through Week 6 in NFL history, via NFL Research. We’ll certainly have more this week with plenty of good matchups.
USA TODAY Sports examines five things to watch in Week 7:
Chiefs get Rashee Rice back from suspension
It was premature to write off the Chiefs.
Fresh off their biggest win of the young season, the Chiefs will now welcome in their top wide receiver. Rice is set to make his season debut after his six-game suspension.
Rice is the possession receiver, yards after catch creator and go-to wideout Kansas City’s been missing.
Rice’s return means the Chiefs will finally have their full complement of wide receivers. It will mark the first time Rice, Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown will all be on the field together for a regular-season game.
“I think they’re looking forward to it maybe even more than I’m looking forward to it. They’re excited to play together, those three are very close,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week. “It will be great to get him (Rashee Rice) back going and in the swing.”
The Chiefs host a Raiders club with the AFC West’s worst pass defense.
“He’s gonna want to be out there every single play,” Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said of Rice this week. “That’s just the mentality that he has. I think it’s gonna be our job as teammates and coaches to kind of build him back the right way, but it’s gonna be hard to keep him off the field for sure.”
Mike Vrabel returns to Tennessee
The Patriots head coach is returning to Tennessee this week, a franchise he coached for six seasons (2018-23). Vrabel had a 54-45 career regular-season record and went 2-3 in the postseason as the Titans head coach.
Vrabel landed in a suitable situation with the Patriots after being dismissed by the Titans. He’s guided New England to a 4-2 start, and they are currently atop the AFC East.
“I’m grateful for another opportunity and being here. I love being here and everything else,” Vrabel said this week. “You just hope if you get another shot and another opportunity, like we tell our players, be ready for it and take advantage of it.”
On the other side, it could be a bit of karma in Tennessee. The Titans are looking for a long-term solution at head coach since firing Vrabel following the 2023 season. The Titans parted ways with Vrabel’s successor, Brian Callahan, after just 23 games at the helm.
Mike McCoy’s been given the interim head coaching tag with the Titans. The Titans’ primary objective should be to successfully build around quarterback Cam Ward.
Jonathan Taylor vs. vulnerable Chargers run defense
Taylor is a midseason candidate for NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
The Colts running back enters Week 7 with a league-leading 603 rushing yards and eight touchdowns from scrimmage. He’s registered an NFL-best 422 rushing yards after contact. He has a favorable matchup against a Chargers defense that’s allowed a 100-yard rusher in the past two contests.
“I don’t even think any of us really know what he’s capable of, but I think he’s going to show us this year,” Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. told reporters earlier this week. “I see him this year, everything he’s doing, and that’s a credit to him, credit to our o-line. I mean, they are blocking their tails off and they’re busting their (expletive) like every single day.”
Taylor is the only player in the AFC with at least 85 yards from scrimmage in each of the first six weeks. Indianapolis ranks fourth in the NFL in run block win rate, per ESPN.
The 5-1 Colts have the AFC’s best record. Indy’s off to its best start since 2009.
Scrimmage yards leaders go head-to-head Sunday night
The Falcons vs. 49ers game on Sunday night features two of the top running backs in the league in Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey. The two represent the NFL’s top scrimmage yards leaders entering Week 7.
Robinson’s compiled an NFL-best 822 yards from scrimmage. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 6 after he produced 238 yards from scrimmage (170 rushing and 68 receiving) and a touchdown in a victory against Buffalo.
“He’s the best player in football. I’ve said it multiple times. I can’t say it enough,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said of Robinson after the team’s Week 6 victory. “You can always have your pick. You can always go out there and figure out who you want to vote for, but in my opinion he’s the best player in football.”
The 49ers have been ravaged by injuries this season, star linebacker Fred Warner (ankle) being the latest loss. But running back Christian McCaffrey’s given San Francisco reason to be optimistic. McCaffrey’s tallied 780 yards from scrimmage, which ranks second in the NFL. McCaffrey became the first running back in NFL history with at least 50 receiving yards in each of his team’s first six games of a season, per NFL Research.
NFC championship game preview?
There’s another Monday Night Football doubleheader this week, but the marquee matchup is the Bucs vs. Lions.
The 5-1 Bucs enter Week 7 with the best record in the NFC. The 4-2 Lions are coming off a loss but are 2-0 at home.
Mayfield (10,083 passing yards and 81 touchdown passes) and Goff (10,594 passing yards and 81 touchdown passes) are the top two players in passing yards and touchdown passes in the NFL since 2023, per NFL Research.
“They’re playing hot football, it’s a very good team,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Baker Mayfield. The way he plays, his leadership, his ability to push the ball down the field, make plays with his legs. I just think he’s playing at a high level.”
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
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