With the first six weeks of the NFL season in the books, we are starting to get a pretty good idea of what we can expect from all 32 teams. While the Los Angeles Rams remain the class of the NFL, the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints have shown they’re right behind the Rams in the NFL power rankings right now. The Rams should have no problem maintaining their perfect record against the San Francisco 49ers this week. Meanwhile, the Chiefs, Patriots and Saints will all feature in intriguing matchups. Here is a look at the top five games for Week 7 of the NFL season.
New England Patriots @ Chicago Bears
Line: New England -3.5
There was no shortage of excitement in New England’s 43-40 win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week. It was a statement win for the Patriots at home. Now they take on a Bears team that is feeling some heat. The Bears started 3-1 and should have gone to 4-1 considering they were fresh off a bye and facing the Brock Osweiler-led Miami Dolphins. Instead, a loss there and now the Patriots visiting means they could fall to 3-3 after such a positive start.
New Orleans Saints @ Baltimore Ravens
Line: Baltimore -2.5
Fresh off a bye, the New Orleans Saints return to face the Baltimore Ravens in a matchup of Super Bowl contenders. The Saints offense is humming as they’ve scored 119 points in the last three weeks. That sets up interestingly against a Ravens team that is fresh off a shutout and leads the league in points per game allowed (12.8).
Carolina Panthers @ Philadelphia Eagles
Line: Philadelphia -4.5
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles looked terrible in back-to-back losses to the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings, but rebounded with a big 34-13 win over the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. Now Philadelphia returns home for three in a row at Lincoln Financial Field with the Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys coming up on the schedule. Carolina will be playing with a sense of urgency following a 23-17 loss to the Washington Redskins last week. This is their third straight matchup against an NFC East opponent.
Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins
Line: Washington -1.5
The Cowboys have been one of the most difficult teams to evaluate through the first six weeks of the season. Just when it looked as though they had hit rock bottom in a 19-16 loss to the Houston Texans, they bounce back with a 40-7 blowout win over the Jaguars to get back to 3-3 on the season. Now they’ll square off with the Redskins in a battle for first place in the NFC East.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs
Line: Kansas City -6
The Chiefs finally hit a bump in the road in last week’s 43-40 loss to New England. The fact that Kansas City actually almost won that game despite not being able to find the end zone in the first half is a testament to the team’s talent and resolve. Now the Chiefs return home to face a Bengals team that has outperformed their stats so far. They are 30th in total defense, 29th against the pass and 20th against the run. That probably won’t work out so well against the high-flying Chiefs this week.