15 key questions for NFL Week 7

Week 7 will be a pivotal one for several teams across the NFL, with quarterbacks like Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston trying to keep their teams in the hunt while others like Drew Brees look to keep the good times rolling. After a week filled with dramatic finishes like the overtime game between the Dolphins and Bears and the epic shootout between Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, there is sure to be plenty to keep fans interested yet again.

Here are 15 key questions entering Week 7 of the NFL season.

1. Will the Bears bounce back from a brutal loss?

It doesn’t get much worse than the way Chicago lost in Week 6. Facing backup quarterback Brock Osweiler, the Bears benefited from a Dolphins fumble inside the 1-yard line during overtime, and they still managed to lose. Their defense, which has been dominant for the majority of the season, looked exhausted in the South Florida heat. An injury to Khalil Mack almost certainly played a role in that, and his health will be worth monitoring going into Sunday. The Bears are hosting a white-hot Patriots team, and having a pass rush is their best chance of getting back into the win column.

2. Can Marcus Mariota and the Titans’ offense get going?

The Titans are struggling to score points, and inconsistent play from Mariota is the biggest reason for that. The fourth-year quarterback has missed numerous throws in the past several games and just doesn’t seem right since he suffered an elbow injury earlier in the year. Mariota has thrown for 246 yards, no touchdowns and an interception combined in the past two games, and the Titans put up 12 points total over that stretch. They looked downright awful in a 21-0 home loss to the Ravens last week, and they now have to travel to the west coast to face the Chargers. Mariota needs to catch fire for his 3-3 team.

3. Have the Colts given up on their season?

The Colts are a disaster defensively, and they need Andrew Luck to be at the top of his game to have a chance of winning. And considering Luck has thrown five interceptions over Indy’s last two games, it makes sense that the team only has one win on the season. The Colts have allowed 37-or-more points in their past three games. Fortunately, they host a below-average Bills team this week that will be starting Derek Anderson at quarterback. If they can’t win that game, that might be a good indicator that they have given up on 2018.

4. Can Brock Osweiler make it two wins in a row?

No one gave the Dolphins a chance of beating the Bears last week after Ryan Tannehill was ruled out with a shoulder injury, but Osweiler was shockingly efficient against a defense that has been one of the better units in the NFL. Osweiler threw for 380 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and he led a long field goal drive in overtime to help orchestrate the upset. Miami is hosting another beatable opponent in the Lions this weekend, though Detroit is coming off a bye and should be better prepared than Chicago was. If Osweiler plays like he did in Week 6, the Dolphins will be tough to beat.

5. Which team will be the first to hold Adam Thielen under 100 yards?

Thielen is having one of the best seasons for any wide receiver in NFL history, and yet it still seems like no one is talking about it. The Vikings star has eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark in each of the first six games of the season, and he’s on pace for an NFL record 154 receptions. He also has the longest streak of 100-yard games to begin a season in the Super Bowl era. Everyone is waiting for Thielen to come back to earth, but it hasn’t happened yet. It will be up to the Jets and their 22nd-ranked pass defense to try to slow him down this weekend.

6. How much of an impact can Greg Olsen still make?

Olsen returned from his latest foot injury last week, and the Panthers proved they are confident in his health by playing him on 59 of 60 offensive snaps. The 33-year-old caught four passes for 48 yards and was targeted seven times by Cam Newton. There’s no question Olsen makes Carolina’s passing game better, but he’s always going to risk re-injuring his foot. If the Panthers continue to keep him on the field at nearly all times, you have to wonder how long Olsen will last.

7. Will Baker Mayfield be impacted by his ankle injury?

Mayfield completed fewer than half his passes and was picked off twice against the Chargers last weekend, and he looked like a true rookie for the first time since he took over in Cleveland. He struggled to connect with most of his receivers and did not look good under pressure, but how much of that had to do with him tweaking his ankle during the game? Mayfield is expected to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and that hasn’t been a tough matchup for anyone. If anything is going to hold the rookie back, it will probably be a gimpy ankle.

8. What happened to the Jaguars’ defense?

It’s hard to escape the feeling that the Jags are suffering from a Super Bowl hangover of sorts since their big win over the Patriots in Week 2. With the exception of a 31-12 win over the Jets in Week 4, they have looked horrible over the past month or so. Last week may have been rock bottom, as they were demolished in every phase of the game and lost 40-7 to the Cowboys. Blake Bortles hasn’t been putting his defense in good positions, but that is something the unit has overcome countless times in the past. Lately, not so much. Their home game against the Texans on Sunday would be a nice time to get right.

9. Can the Ravens slow down Drew Brees?

Brees has been doing a Tom Brady impression this year, having arguably the best season of his career at age 39. He has yet to throw an interception and has 11 touchdown passes on the season after he finished with just 23 a year ago. He lit up Washington for 363 yards and three touchdowns last week while completing an absurd 89.7 percent of his passes. His Week 7 matchup is intriguing, as the Ravens rank 2nd in the NFL in pass defense and are at home. If Brees posts good numbers and leads New Orleans to a win in that spot, we need to start talking more about the possibility of him capturing his second Super Bowl ring.

10. Do the 49ers have any shot of handing the Rams their first loss?

Fresh off a tough 33-30 loss to the Packers on a last-second field goal, San Francisco gets to host the 6-0 Rams at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday. On paper, the matchup couldn’t look more skewed. The Rams are an offensive buzzsaw led by Jared Goff, and the Niners are working with backup quarterback CJ Beathard. But the Rams have shown a vulnerability defending the run, which is an area San Francisco can try to exploit. If the 49ers weren’t on a short week coming off such an emotional game, we might give them a shot against the Rams. Consider us shocked if they pull off the upset.

11. Have the Cowboys finally figured it out on offense?

A lot has been said about the ineffectiveness of Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense this season, but they’re fresh off a 40-point outburst against the Jaguars. Prescott only threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns, but the team finally unleashed him in the running game, and that opened everything up. If any complete performance is going to give Dallas confidence, it should be one against a defense like Jacksonville’s. The Cowboys have another tough task in Week 7 on the road against Washington, but they certainly have something to build off, especially if they let Dak keep running the ball.

12. Will the Bengals prove they’re a contender in the AFC?

The Bengals have been a bit inconsistent this season and are coming off a tough loss to the division-rival Steelers, but they’re still 4-2 and have a chance to prove this weekend that they belong in the AFC playoff discussion. Kansas City will be hungry to get back in the win column after a 43-40 shootout loss to the Patriots, so defeating them at Arrowhead Stadium will be no easy task for Cincinnati. However, Joe Mixon looks healthy and the Bengals have scored 34, 34, 27 and 21 points in the four games he has played. He’s clearly a difference-maker, but he’ll need to be a massive one for Cincy to score enough points to beat Patrick Mahomes and company.

13. Who will play with more desperation — Matt Ryan or Eli Manning?

This week’s “Monday Night Football” matchup features two quarterbacks who desperately need a win, but for different reasons. The 2-4 Falcons have been losing games despite Ryan having an MVP-caliber game, and they need to clean their horrendous defense up and take care of business at home if they want to remain in the playoff hunt. The 1-5 Giants have virtually no chance of reaching the postseason, and Manning has been viewed as their biggest problem — both by fans and his own teammates. Eli might need a good performance to save his job. Ryan needs another one to keep Atlanta’s season alive.

14. Is Josh Gordon on the verge of a breakout?

After playing 22 percent and 26 percent of the offensive snaps in his first two games with the Patriots, Gordon was in on 81 percent of the offensive plays against the Chiefs last week. He was also targeted nine times by Tom Brady after drawing six targets combined in Week 4 and Week 5. Then on Tuesday, Bill Belichick acknowledged that Gordon’s role has increased each week and said he thinks it will “continue to go that way.” The Patriots suddenly have one of the deepest offenses in the NFL with Julian Edelman back, Sony Michel emerging as a true No. 1 running back, and Gordon in the mix. It seems like a matter of time before Gordon has a huge game, and it could come against the Bears in Week 7.

15. Were the Bucs better off with Ryan Fitzpatrick?

There was no way Fitzpatrick was going to keep up the pace he was on through his first two games filling in for Jameis Winston, but the Bucs began the season 2-0 and nearly defeated the Steelers in Week 3. While Winston threw for nearly 400 yards last week against the Falcons, he tossed two interceptions — including one in the end zone. He now has four interceptions in fewer than two games since he returned, as he threw another two in Week 4 when he came off the bench. Winston has a good chance to lead his team to a win at home against the Browns this weekend, but he has to make better decisions with the football.