Bye Week Check-Ins: Week 7

While 28 teams will play in Week 7, four teams will get a bye week as they regroup and look ahead to the rest of the season.

The bye teams show variety: two have started the season well, while the other two haven’t had the season they expected so far.

But with a week off, how can these groups regroup and improve for the rest of 2026, or continue their success for the rest of the season?

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Oct 4, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) celebrates with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at New Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imag

The first team on its Week 7 bye is Buffalo, off to a great start.

They sit at 5-1 and lead the AFC East, though the Patriots are right there at 4-2.

Joe Brady’s first season as head coach has been polarizing offensively, with the Bills leading the NFL in points per game at 32.8. Even crazier, Buffalo is 4-0 this season while allowing 30-plus points, making them the first team in NFL history to have four-plus wins despite allowing 30-plus points through six games.

On that notethat note, though, Buffalo’s defense has been much less impressive. The Bills are allowing 28.5 points per game, the 28th most in the NFL through six weeks. They are also 31st in touchdowns allowed and 31st in passing yards allowed per game.

With the trade deadline looming, Buffalo may need to address its defense. its defense

As for the elite offense, Josh Allen continues to be ridiculous, completing 1,504 passes for 1,504 yards and four interceptions. He’s also run 48 times for 240 yards and 4 touchdowns, with a 62.5% success rate on his runs.

James Cook continues to hold it down in the backfield for Buffalo, with 117 rushing attempts, 627 yards, and six touchdowns. He’s converted 35 first downs on his runs this season.

Tyler Bass’s return has also been a welcome addition, as he’s converted all 13 of his field-goal attempts so far and 18 of 20 extra-point attempts.

The Bills have few negatives from an offensive and special-teams perspective. The season’s outcome will hinge entirely on the defense, and with the bye week coming up, that needs to be Buffalo’s focus.

Get this defense right, and the Bills have a legitimate chance at winning a Super Bowl in February.

Between the end-of-overtime debacle in the Giants game and a 1-4-1 record, things haven’t been too fun in Washington so far, heading into their bye week.

A healthy Jayden Daniels was supposed to bring better fortune this season, but things hhaven’tgone to plan for the Commanders.

Even more concerning, the one win came without Daniels, and the Commanders are now 0-7-1 in his last eight starts.

Washington isn’t particularly good on either side of the ball: 21st in points per game (22.0) and 29th in points allowed per game (28.7).

The Commanders are tied for first in turnover differential at plus-six but still have a minus-40 point differential, which seems difficult, but they’re doing it.

They have no rushing weakness, as Jacory Croskey-Merritt leads the team with 239 yards on 67 attempts, and Rachaad White is second with 145 yards on 36 attempts.

Daniels hasn’t been great, but he’s not terrible either, completing 64.7% of his passes for 759 yards and five touchdowns. On the plus side, he hasn’t thrown an interception yet in 2026.

The Commanders still have a thorn in their side: Laremy Tunsil went down before the season started, and Terry McLaurin tore his patellar tendon on Monday night, ending his season.

Washington seems directionless right now, with more questions than answers. Dan Quinn’s fate as head coach will likely be the first domino to fall, but many more questions will follow.

As for the rest of the 2026 season, the Commanders will likely slog to the finish line.

The Jaguars may be coming off a tough loss to the Texans in London, but the 2026 season has started well in Jacksonville.

They sit 4-2 and top the AFC South as they enter their bye week, ranking top-ten in both points scored and allowed per game.

The Jaguars score 25.7 points per game (8th in the NFL) and allow 17.3 (3rd in the NFL), making them a formidable opponent on both sides of the ball.

Trevor Lawrence has been great, completing 65.2% of his passes for 1,480 yards, 14 touchdowns, and four interceptions; his running back Bhayshul Tuten is solid as well.

In the receiving game, Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and Brenton Strange have led the way.

The two real negatives have been Brian Thomas Jr.’s play, which has almost completely stopped the pass defense as a whole.

Despite ranking 3rd in points allowed, the Jaguars are 30th in passing yards allowed per game and 30th per play. Some of that could be from playing ahead a lot, but they still need to fix it.

Despite the few negatives, Jacksonville looks like a team that will keep playing well into January.

As long as they stay healthy, this bye week should be about rest, because most of what the Jaguars have done under Liam Coen has worked. Now they have to keep doing those things, and it should be another 10-plus-win season in Duval County.

And now for last and certainly least, the Los Angeles Chargers.

Calling the 2026 season a disaster would be an understatement, as the Chargers have reached their bye week and still hhaven’twon a game. They are 0-6.The

The McDaniel experiment has been horrible, and the offensive line has been even worse.

Despite being pressured on just 24.5% of dropbacks (3rd lowest in the league), the Chargers allow the highest pressure rate in the NFL at 46%, and Justin Herbert has been sacked on 10.4% of dropbacks, the 2nd-highest rate in the league.

Overall, they rank 30th in points per game (15.0) and 22nd in points allowed per game (25.2).

The 2026 Chargers are also the first team since the 2009 Titans to start 0-6, average 115 or fewer points per game, and give up 15-plus giveaways through those six games. That Titans team recovered to finish 8-8, but the same fate likely doesn’t await this Los Angeles team.

ddoesn’t020 Herbert has been the most pressured, sacked, and hit quarterback in the NFL, and nothing seems to be changing for the Chargers.

He’s been bad, yes, but how much of the blame is on the quarterback when the team fails him over and over?

Overall, Herbert has completed 59.4% of his passes in 2026 for 1.141 yards, five touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

The Chargers’ leading rusher is Omarion Hampton, but hhe’saveraging just 3.6 yards per carry behind his offensive line.

There aren’t many good things to say about the Chargers right now, and for a team that lost just six games in 2025, being 0-6 at your week seven bye week is an unmitigated disaster. There’s no other way around it.

As of right now, the Chargers and Dolphins are the only two winless teams remaining in the NFL (Miami is 0-5 and had a week six bye week), and they will meet in Miami on Sunday, Dec 27, where the loser could very well be in line to select first in the 2027 NFL Draft.

As it stands, that might be the biggest game left on the Chargers’ schedule.

As for this bye week and what comes after, the Chargers will play the Rams on Nov 1 as they try to win their first game of the season.

Buffalo and Jacksonville have lots to look forward to, while Washington has been disappointing and injured yet again, but they could have some surprise wins up their sleeve as the season winds down.

As for the Chargers, they’re in a league of their own when it comes to disappointing seasons, and they’ve had almost no positives so far in 2026.

It’ll be interesting to see where these teams land as the rest of the 2026 season unfolds. Will Los Angeles and Washington have new coaches/coordinators? Will Buffalo finally get over the hump under Brady? Can Jacksonville truly ascend into a premier AFC contender?

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