Get settled in for another cracking week of NFL action. Here we breakdown key injuries and storylines lines of gameweek 7.
The Buffalo Bills cemented their position as worthy Super Bowl favourites this past weekend by exorcising the ghosts of that agonising playoff defeat at Arrowhead in January 2022.
Josh Allen (more on him to come) and co were terrific as they outpointed Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in an eagerly-awaited game which truly delivered on all the hype.
The Philadelphia Eagles meanwhile remain the NFL’s only undefeated team after knocking off the hated Dallas Cowboys 26-17 in a huge NFC East showdown on Sunday Night Football.
Our Midweek Update looks at some of the storylines from that sensational Week 6 slate, and gives you a few betting hints to help with your parlay picks and NFL prop bets for Week 7.
NFL Injury Report
Pro football is a brutal game, played by powerful athletes at devastating speed. No wonder then that injuries play a massive part in determining which teams come out on top each February.
Here are some of the major injuries to hit the headlines in Week 6:
Carson Wentz (QB, Washington Commanders): Wentz requires surgery on the finger he broke during Thursday’s ugly 12-7 victory over the Chicago Bears, and it is an injury which means he will be out of action for 4-6 weeks. It’s dire news for Wentz and the Commanders - who are already pretty much out of the running for the NFC East title and a playoff berth. Taylor Heinicke will take over at the controls and things do not figure to improve anytime soon in the nation’s capital.
Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown (WR, Arizona Cardinals): The Cards are another team for whom the season just goes from bad to worse. And now their major offseason trade acquisition is out for several weeks with a fractured foot suffered in Sunday’s loss in Seattle. While the injury should not be season-ending for ‘Hollywood’, it did persuade the Cardinals to trigger a trade for Carolina Panthers WR Robbie Anderson just hours later. Arizona is struggling at 2-4 but still incredibly only one game out of first place in the brutally tough NFC West. This week DeAndre Hopkins returns from his six-game suspension too, so maybe all is not lost in the desert just yet.
Randall Cobb (WR, Green Bay Packers): Just when Aaron Rodgers thought things could not get any worse, he loses his most dependable target for 2-4 weeks with an ankle sprain. While Cobb may not be the force he once was, he remains a trusty safety blanket for Rodgers, who is really struggling to get the best out of a pretty thin group of pass catchers. Green Bay has now lost back-to-back to each of the New York teams, having been at least a touchdown favourite in both games. The heat is on in Wisconsin.
Kenny Pickett (QB, Pittsburgh Steelers): The Steelers rebounded from that humiliating loss in the most incredible fashion by upsetting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Sadly their rookie QB, and now their starter, was not on the field for the final gun. Pickett was blasted by a big hit during the third quarter and left the game headed for concussion protocol. It is hoped he will be medically cleared to start this week’s matchup with Miami on Sunday Night Football.
Cameron Brate (TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers): One piece of good news for the Bucs after that loss in Pittsburgh was that Brate avoided serious injury after a scary incident which saw him carted off the field wearing a neck brace. The tight end had only just returned from the concussion which had seen him miss Week 5, and now he has a sprained neck to deal with. It could though have been much worse.
Joe Noteboom (LT, Los Angeles Rams): Absolute disaster for the Super Bowl champion Rams, who suffer another major loss on their already depleted offensive line. Noteboom tore his Achilles during Sunday’s 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers and he is gone for the season. It will be tough sledding from here on in for poor Matthew Stafford…
Dak Prescott (QB, Dallas Cowboys): We end this week’s injury segment with news of a player who is about to return to action. Prescott has been out since breaking his thumb in a Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay, but he is likely to be back in the starting lineup for Sunday’s home game vs Detroit. Prescott said he felt “fantastic” throwing on the field before the Cowboys’ Sunday night loss to Philadelphia.
NFL Odds: Stock Rising
Week 6 delivered more fantastic performances which had a significant impact on the early betting lines. Here are some of the displays which really jumped out:
Josh Allen (QB, Buffalo Bills): It’s tough for Allen’s stock to get much higher these days, but on Sunday in Kansas City he produced another performance for the ages. The Bills QB threw for 329 yards and 3 TDs to lead his team to a thrilling 24-20 win over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the NFL’s game of the year so far. Allen has everything, from incredible physical gifts to the leadership intangibles which win Super Bowls, and now he is putting everything together. He is the hottest of MVP favourites right now, and rightly so.
Kenneth Walker III (RB, Seattle Seahawks): Walker got his big chance to start for Seattle in the home game vs Arizona following a season-ending injury to Rashaad Penny. The exciting rookie lived up to the pre-game billing too, carrying for 97 yards and a score on 21 carries as the Seahawks won 19-9. He has a ton of potential and the ability to take it to the house from anywhere on the field. This surprising Seattle offense has yet another explosive weapon.
Bailey Zappe (QB, New England Patriots): Remember back in 2001 when New England’s starting QB Drew Bledsoe lost his starting job to a certain Tom Brady after he got injured? We just wonder whether a similar scenario is developing in Foxboro right now. Rookie fourth-round draft pick Zappe has led the Pats to two straight wins as a starter following injuries to Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer. The former Western Kentucky standout was stellar in Cleveland on Sunday, throwing for 309 yards and 2 scores in a 38-15 rout of the Browns, and now we wait to see what happens when Jones is healthy again…
Brian Daboll (HC, New York Giants): It is not often we namecheck a coach in this category, but Daboll is deserving of his moment in the sun after Big Blue produced another upset win to improve to 5-1. This time it was the Baltimore Ravens on the wrong end of a shock score as the Giants prevailed 24-20 at MetLife. Daboll is doing a terrific job in his first season as an NFL head coach, squeezing every last drop out of what appears on the face of it an overmatched roster.
Matt Ryan (QB, Indianapolis Colts): Maybe talk of Ryan’s demise was a little bit premature. It definitely was if you are basing it on Sunday’s thrilling 34-27 win for the Colts over the Jacksonville Jaguars. A few short weeks ago Ryan had a nightmare as Indy lost 24-0 to the Jags in Florida, this time he shredded their defense for 389 passing yards and 3 TDs.
Joe Burrow (QB, Cincinnati Bengals): At last in 2022 we got to see the Bengals looking like they did on that glorious Super Bowl run in 2021. Burrow was the star of the show in Sunday’s 30-26 win over the Saints in New Orleans, hitting clutch throw after clutch throw and even producing an incredible TD run. He also rekindled that explosive partnership with his BFF WR Ja’Marr Chase. Maybe things are well and truly back on track for the 3-3 Bengals.
NFL Game of the Week: Kansas City @ San Francisco
Time: 9.25pm UK, Sunday
TV: Sky Sports NFL
Two teams licking their wounds after painful losses lock horns in Santa Clara with much on the line as the 2022 regular season really starts to hot up. This also just happens to be a rematch of Super Bowl LIV, won by the Chiefs back in early 2020.
KC heads to the Bay Area on the back of that loss to Buffalo knowing that they are now level with the Los Angeles Chargers at the top of the AFC West. Further mistakes could be very costly.
Things are arguably even more pressing for the Niners, who suffered a shocking 28-14 loss to the underdog Falcons in Atlanta last weekend.
San Fran was without the injured defensive behemoth Nick Bosa for that one, and his absence told as the Falcons dominated en route to a convincing victory.
This should be a beauty with the likes of Mahomes and Deebo Samuel among others providing real star power for one of America’s games of the week.
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