NFL has some monster Week 7 matchups

NFL Week 7 has some monster matchups. The lineup features a Super Bowl “rematch” between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers and a battle for control of the best division in the league between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Both of these marquee games have odds hovering right around a two-point spread. The 49ers and Vikings are favored.

And neither of those matchups is a primetime game. But news early Tuesday brought one Week 7 primetime game fully into the spotlight: New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers. On Monday, the Steelers were 1.5-point favorites on BetMGM. On Tuesday, news broke that Davante Adams was traded to the Jets, and the odds flipped. The Jets are now 1.5-point favorites to win Sunday night’s primetime game.

Let’s take a look at highlights from the rest of the slate. The first game of Week 7 sees Sean Payton return to New Orleans as the Saints host the Denver Broncos for Thursday Night Football. Both teams are coming off a loss, but the Saints looked much worse in an absolute circus match against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was the Saints’ fourth consecutive loss. The Broncos, on the other hand, were on a three-game winning streak before losing to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The odds for this matchup flipped Monday with the Saints going from 1-point favorites to 1.5-point underdogs.

Then we have our third consecutive Sunday morning game from the United Kingdom. The Jaguars are in London again, this time against the New England Patriots. They lost 35-16 against the Chicago Bears last week to fall to 1-5, but now face another 1-5 team. Second time’s the charm? The Patriots, though coming off a loss to the Houston Texans, saw a good debut from Drake Maye, who threw three touchdowns against the Super Bowl contenders.

Those Super Bowl contenders, the Texans, are up against a tougher rival in Week 7. We mentioned the best division in the league above: the NFC North, which is the only division where every team has at least four wins. The other team in the north in action this week is the 4-2 Green Bay Packers, who are hosting the 5-1 Texans, leaders of the AFC South.

Two Monday night games close out Week 7 with the Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers at Arizona Cardinals.

The biggest favorites of the week are the Buffalo Bills (-8.5) vs. Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders (-7.5) vs. Carolina Panthers. The closest contests are the Broncos (-1.5) vs. Saints, 49ers (-1.5) vs. Chiefs and Jets (-1.5) vs. Steelers.

On bye this week: Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys