32 things we learned in NFL Week 7: As trade deadline nears, so do showcase opportunities

Nairavoice | Oct 26, 2026 3h ago 186 0 11 min read

32 things we learned in NFL Week 7: As trade deadline nears, so do showcase opportunities

The 32 things we learned from Week 7 of the 2026 NFL season:

0. Zero wins? Still? The Los Angeles Chargers, who were off this week, are now the league’s lone winless club after the Miami Dolphins broke through Sunday to beat the New York Jets. Congratulations to Fins rookie coach Jeff Hafley, a New Jersey native ironically, whose team has been far more competitive in recent weeks, even if the win column only now reflects their sustained effort.

1. Number of collective NFC East wins since the end of Week 4 – that one coming Sunday, when the New York Giants upset the Texans in overtime at Houston.

1a. Note, another divisional win should be in the offing soon enough, given the depleted Philadelphia Eagles will host the disappointing Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on “Monday Night Football” – though it’s not like we haven’t seen ties from this recently hapless division lately.

2. The number of undefeated teams remaining entering “Sunday Night Football,” the Kansas City Chiefs trying to remain unblemished hours after the San Francisco 49ers suffered their first loss of the season – and four turnovers – at Atlanta. The Minnesota Vikings are 6-0 but once again benefited from their not-so-strenuous schedule – so far – by outlasting the Indianapolis Colts, who are already in a state of transition, 16-10 on Sunday.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers’ all-time rank for regular-season touchdown passes (540) after he broke his tie with Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in Sunday’s 16-10 defeat of the New Orleans Saints in suburban Paris.

Aaron Rodgers (540) passed Peyton Manning (539) with the third-most regular season passing touchdowns in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/8li419RtBU
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2026

4. Gargantuan Pittsburgh TE Darnell Washington snared Rodgers’ momentous TD – the 6-foot-7, 264-pounder (his weight a very conservative estimate) beating Saints CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (5-11, 199) on the 4-yard scoring pass. Hardly a fair fight.

Darnell Washington playing bully ball 😤
PITvsNO on NFL Network
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/2lhYhoLAns
— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026

5. But it was quite a nice bid for Washington to put his own claim on International Tight Ends Day (hat tip to NFL Network’s Rich Eisen for that one).

6. The league’s sixth international game of this season was Sunday’s Steelers-Saints matchup staged in France, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis the specific site. A shame that local unrest cast a bit of a pall over the event, several fan events canceled amid French anti-government protests, though they apparently never interfered with the teams during their stay or the game itself.

7. Still, the Steelers might want to ask for more dates abroad after they conquered Ireland last season, the NFL’s first visit to the Emerald Isle, before their successful invasion of France.

@AaronRodgers12 rocking all the chains on the flight home from Paris 💎 @CamHeyward
(via @Rudolph2Mason) pic.twitter.com/z0gOrYRFtg
— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026

“I prefer the Guinness over any of the beers in France, no offense. I’ve always been a Guinness lover,” Rodgers told reporters after the game. “We had a great time in Ireland. Fantastic time. And we had a great time here. I think it’s great what the league’s doing. Expanding like this to be able to play in the first game in Paris in the league’s history is great.”

A look at the Terrible Towel being sold in Paris; or ‘Le Torchon Terrible’ pic.twitter.com/XvQYdmnvEU
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) October 25, 2026

8. There are three more international dates left on the 2026 slate, but none next week (fantasy managers, rejoice). The Bengals and Falcons will play in Madrid during Week 9, with the Patriots and Lions meeting in Munich the following weekend. The 49ers and Vikings will close it out with a “Sunday Night Football” clash in Week 11 at Mexico City.

9. The number of foreign countries the league has now played in.

10.Could Japan be the 10th?

11. “I’ll be a Cardinal forever,” Hall of Fame WR Larry Fitzgerald said Sunday, when Arizona retired his No. 11 jersey and officially inducted him into its Ring of Honor. Fitzgerald, being the man of character he’s always been, also apologized to the fan base for not officially saying goodbye after his final season in 2020, feeling at the time that celebrating his career wouldn’t be appropriate while the world was still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I started here, I wanted to finish here and now my name gets to stay here.”
Larry Fitzgerald was inducted into the Cardinals’ Ring of Honor on Sunday.
The former wide receiver thanked the Bidwill family, other inductees, his family and, of course, the fans. pic.twitter.com/rMSfgP14zg
— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) October 25, 2026

12. Did QB Baker Mayfield save the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ season? Let’s not go quite that far. But his return – accompanied by a custom-made glove, courtesy of the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, on his throwing hand to protect his injured thumb – sparked quite a response from his team in a 43-13 shellacking of the division rival Carolina Panthers … who remain atop the always middling NFC South, but only 1½ games ahead of tied-for-last Bucs.

13. The number of touchdowns caught by tight ends on their national holiday, including Washington’s and two apiece from the Jets’ Mason Taylor and Rams’ Davis Allen. The 49ers’ George Kittle, who popularized a “holiday” very few celebrate, had a day to forget, his fumble one of San Francisco’s many miscues in its worst game of the season.

HAPPY NATIONAL TIGHT ENDS DAY ‼️ pic.twitter.com/9JA5RjQYPJ
— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026

14. The NFL trade deadline is little more than two weeks away, the cutoff to obtain a player on another roster set for 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 10. Said another way, Sunday – along with Weeks 8 and 9 – will be important datapoints as teams decide whether they’re in buy, sell or stand-pat mode. Regardless, games are also now serving as something of a showcase for potentially available players.

15. There’s no better example than the Colts, who fell to 2-5 on Sunday after giving the Vikings a spirited battle. Still, a week after she fired longtime GM Chris Ballard, it’s time for owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon to see the writing on the wall and start shopping assets ahead of what’s an inevitable rebuild in Indy.

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16. That should start with RB Jonathan Taylor, who could be emerging as the primary prize to be had given the number of contenders that could use a jolt to their run games. He ran for 95 yards and a TD against a staunch Minnesota D that entered the weekend allowing a league-low 12.8 points per game. While getting maximum value for Taylor, whose recently signed extension runs through the 2028 season, is paramount, the Colts also have to be very careful not to blow this opportunity in the event he suffers an injury that would be especially untimely (yes, admittedly, any injury would be untimely for Taylor).

16a. All-Pro G Quenton Nelson, DT DeForest Buckner and even WR Keenan Allen, who are all on expiring contracts, should also all be showcased as for sale in Indianapolis’ store front window.

16b. Unfortunately, the Colts probably aren’t likely to find a market for K Spencer Shrader, who began the day 18-for-18 this season in the field-goal department … before misfiring twice in that six-point loss at Minneapolis.

17. The number of rushing attempts by the Saints on Sunday.

18. The number of rushing yards by the Saints on Sunday. Yeah, not really a formula for winning football, even when you’ve fueled up on croissants.

19. Tennessee Titans RB Tony Pollard is currently relegated to his 1-6 team, yet he put on one heckuva show in Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Pollard finished with three rushing touchdowns and 155 yards from scrimmage – quite a timely reminder of his multi-dimensional ability for any other teams in search of help at his position. He’s also a far more cost-efficient option than Taylor. Pollard is currently on an expiring deal that would require a potential suitor to merely pick up the prorated portion of his $6.7 million base salary.

20. With the Chargers officially in last place league-wide, it’s time for them to let go of veteran OLB Khalil Mack, 35, a former Defensive Player of the Year who’s also in a walk year. Be nice to see his ability, leadership and rock-steady approach rewarded with another shot at the ring that’s eluded the 13-year veteran.

21. Bucs OLB YaYa Diaby could be another bargain-bin target, insomuch as he’s currently playing out a rookie contract that pays him $3.7 million this season. He had 19 sacks and 149 QB pressures over the course of his first three years and exploded for three sacks in Sunday’s rollover of the Panthers after a quiet start to this season. He’s no Mack … but he’s not paid like him, either.

22. It didn’t appear Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell nor Green Bay Packers K Trey Smack really wanted to win Sunday’s game at Ford Field. We kid, of course, but Campbell’s failed fourth-down gamble at his own 24-yard line in the final five minutes – with the game tied – was immediately followed by the rookie’s blocked field-goal try from 35 yards (his second miss of the day) and gave this intra-divisional battle a hot-potato feel.

23. Even with RB Josh Jacobs back in the lineup, the Pack only managed 60 yards on the ground and 3.2 per carry – though he did finish with 91 yards from scrimmage and a receiving TD.

24. Did the Los Angeles Rams discover something while ending their losing streak Sunday? RBs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum ran for 90+ yards apiece on a day when the team ran 56% of the time in its decisive 35-21 defeat of the Las Vegas Raiders.

25. Entering Sunday, the Rams had run on 36.1% of their plays this season. Hmmm.

26. Props to QB J.J. McCarthy, who won his first start for the Giants on what was largely a mistake-free day − he was an efficient 20-for-28 passing (252 yards) against the Texans’ stout defense.

27. The number of points scored by the Giants – courtesy of four rushing touchdowns, one by each of the team’s top three remaining running backs just days after Najee Harris was jettisoned from their ranks and amid coach John Harbaugh’s search for a steady hand to stabilize the backfield.

28. It would appear that Cam Skattebo remains the best answer here after posting the first 100-yard rushing game of his NFL career while also taking care to protect the ball in overtime – something he didn’t do two weeks ago in Washington. But Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. should remain part of this equation after the trio combined for 180 rushing yards on Sunday.

Big day for Skat! 👊
Cam Skattebo records his first career 100-yard rushing game a week after recording ZERO rush attempts. pic.twitter.com/ktKzAmadVd
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 25, 2026

29. As for Houston? Now 2-5, despite the addition of WR Marvin Harrison Jr., who scored his first TD with the team Sunday? This team looks officially cooked after dropping to 0-4 at home.

30. The number of points scored by the Denver Broncos on Sunday, their highest offensive output of the season in a 30-16 defeat of the Arizona Cardinals.

31. Denver QB Bo Nix also became just the fifth player in league history to throw a TD pass that covered at least 50 yards while running for a score that covered at least 50 yards in the same game. Hope Arizona native Ryan Fitzpatrick enjoyed the performance.

Bo Nix becomes just the fifth player in NFL history to record a rushing touchdown of 50+ yards and a passing touchdown of 50+ yards in the same game, per @EliasSports . He joins Justin Fields (2022), Lamar Jackson (2022), Cam Newton (2012) and Ace Parker (1938)
— Tyler Gorse (@Tyler_Gorse_) October 25, 2026

32. The jersey number of Lions DB Brian Branch, who played his first game Sunday since he ruptured an Achilles last December. He had four tackles and a fourth-quarter interception in a game Detroit won 20-17 on a field goal at the gun. Welcome back, sir.