Week 7 is the kind of slate survivor pool players circle immediately: a few favorites with real appeal, a few spots that look safer than they might at first glance, and at least one game that could be messier than the spread suggests. After the Arizona Cardinals upset the Los Angeles Rams and wiped out a lot of entries last week, the margin for error feels thinner now. That makes the best picks in Week 7 all the more important.
Minnesota looks like the clearest place to land. The Indianapolis Colts are headed on the road to face a Vikings defense that has been one of the league’s toughest units under Brian Flores, and the timing could hardly be worse for Shane Steichen’s team.
The Colts dropped their Week 6 loss to the Tennessee Titans, then parted ways with general manager Chris Ballard, setting off rumors of a possible fire sale in Indianapolis. Offensively, they enter the week ranked 22nd in total offense, and they’ll need to rely on an inconsistent passing game against the NFL’s fifth-ranked run defense.
Flores’ group has given up only six touchdowns through five games, and while this one may stay close, the Vikings are the side I’d trust most here.
Houston also deserves a serious look, even if the matchup may not deliver the kind of runaway result the betting line hints at. The Texans are back home against the New York Giants after putting together back-to-back wins to steady themselves from an 0-4 start.
The Giants will turn to former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy at quarterback in a game that shapes up as a defense-first fight.
New York’s offense has struggled, but its defense has been solid enough to make life tricky for Houston, which is ranked fifth in pass defense through six games. With David Montgomery sidelined, the Texans may lean more heavily on the passing game, which has been uneven early on.
None of that points to a Giants upset, and I still expect Houston to leave with a 3-4 record, but it does suggest a tighter game than many will want to believe.
Then there’s Pittsburgh, which has the feel of a team hitting its stride at just the right time. The Steelers go to London to face the New Orleans Saints after rallying from a 16-3 fourth-quarter deficit for a 26-19 comeback win.
That was their third game with at least 26 points in four weeks, a sign the offense is finding a rhythm. The Saints bring plenty of issues on defense, ranking 31st in points and 29th in yards allowed, which gives Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh offense a path to another productive day.
But New Orleans also owns the No. 11 scoring offense in football, and Tyler Shough could make things uncomfortable for a Steelers defense that may have trouble shutting the door completely. Even so, the momentum is on Pittsburgh’s side, and Jaylen Warren looks positioned to set the pace as one of the game’s biggest X-factors.
In Other News...
Steelers Could Have A Trade Deadline Opening They Rarely Get
With the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaching, the Steelers may be looking at a market they do not often get to shop in while sitting at 4-2. Around the league, a handful of struggling teams are shaping up as possible sellers, which matters in Pittsburgh because it could open a path to add help without having to wait for the offseason.
The teams most worth watching are the Chargers, Dolphins, Buccaneers and Titans, all of whom could be forced to listen if their seasons keep going the wrong way. For the Steelers, that creates an unusual opportunity to look at available talent across multiple positions, from wide receiver to the secondary, and see whether a move is there to be made before the deadline closes. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Fans Just Got Painful Validation On George Pickens
George Pickens has a familiar kind of spotlight on him again, and this time it comes with a direct public critique from Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer after Week 6. Schottenheimer took aim at Pickens effort as both a receiver and a run-game participant, a familiar complaint for anyone who watched his last chapter in Pittsburgh, where the talent was never really in question but the consistency and engagement sometimes were.
For Steelers fans, the validation stings because it points back to a theme they know well from Pickens time here: the flashes were obvious, but so were the stretches that left everyone wanting more. Pittsburgh saw enough of those uneven days to understand why the discussion keeps circling back to effort, and Schottenheimers public comments only reopen the question of whether the same issues will keep following Pickens wherever he goes. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Backfield Suddenly Puts More On Jaylen Warren In Paris
The Steelers headed into the week with a healthier look on one side of the ball, as T.J. Watt was back at full practice after initially popping up with a calf issue. His return is a good sign for Pittsburghs defense, especially with the game shifting to Paris and the team trying to settle in for a strange week of preparation overseas.
The bigger offensive wrinkle is in the backfield, where Rico Dowdle is listed as questionable because of a knee injury after already missing time with a toe issue. If he cannot go or is only part of the plan, the burden figures to land on Jaylen Warren, who would be asked to handle a much larger share of the work than usual in a game that could demand a lot from Pittsburghs run game. [Read more 🡒]