Looking at Week 7.

While Week 7’s 14-game slate doesn’t feature too many ‘marquee’ matchups, there are a couple of games worth watching, outside of Sunday’s Dallas-Minnesota game.

The best game of the week is likely going to be the Monday night game, when 5-0 Indianapolis visits 4-1 Jacksonville. The Jaguars always play the Colts tough, so don’t be surprised if Jacksonville pulls out the win.

The only other game of the week pitting two teams with winning records takes place in Detroit, as the 3-2 Lions welcome 4-2 Tampa Bay. The Bucs are back to their old selves, winning with great defense and a serviceable QB. The Lions need a victory to make sure they don’t fall too far behind Green Bay, but that’s going to require their offense to not disappear like it did against the Redskins two weeks ago.

In a couple of clashes pivotal for the home teams, Tennessee visits Houston, Chicago visits Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh visits Denver.

Houston has not been the same without Andre Johnson, and they need to find a way to somehow stay over .500 while he remains out injured, which stands to be for at least another week or two. But, Vince Young may well not play on Sunday, so that’s good news for Gary Kubiak.

A lot of people may have figured the Bears were on track after beating the Packers, but they took a step back in a loss to the Vikings. As long as Brian Griese has to throw it 85 times a game, and the Bears aren’t defending as well as they should, they’re going to be looking up in the NFC North. With that said, things don’t bode well for them going into Philly, after the Eagles rolled up over 400 yards against the Jets. Then again, the Eagles have been as up and down as the Bears, so no one knows what to expect going into this one.

The Broncos have looked progressively worse in losing their last three games, and with one of the league’s top rushing attacks coming into town to take on the league’s worst rush defense, Broncos fans could be in for a third straight home loss. They best start making plans for when Travis Henry is suspended, which looks to be in only a few weeks. But, right now, he’s the least of their worries, as very little is going right in the Mile High City.

In the other games involving NFC East teams, 3-3 Arizona goes to 3-2 Washington, and 4-2 New York hosts 2-3 San Francisco. The chances look good for both NFC East teams, because Arizona and San Francisco are dealing with some serious QB issues going into this weekend. For Arizona, Kurt Warner may force himself to play through a torn ligament in his non-throwing elbow, while the same could be said for a still-healing Alex Smith. I know Tim Rattay and Trent Dilfer aren’t exactly attractive alternatives, but it would be smart for Warner and Smith to sit this weekend because they’d be testing their injured bodies against two tough defenses.

Full Week 7 Schedule

San Francisco (2-3) at New York Giants (4-2)
New England (6-0) at Miami (0-6)
Tennessee (3-2) at Houston (3-3)
Tampa Bay (4-2) at Detroit (3-2)
Baltimore (4-2) at Buffalo (1-4)
Atlanta (1-5) at New Orleans (1-4)
Arizona (3-3) at Washington (3-2)

St. Louis (0-6) at Seattle (3-3)
Chicago (2-4) at Philadelphia (2-3)
Minnesota (2-3) at Dallas (5-1)

Pittsburgh (4-1) at Denver (2-3) - Sunday Night Football
Indianapolis (5-0) at Jacksonville (4-1) - Monday Night Football

Green Bay (5-1), Carolina (4-2), Cleveland (3-3), and San Diego (3-3) all have their bye weeks in Week 7.