An NFL season is like strapping into a rollercoaster and blindfolding yourself. It's thrilling, slightly terrifying, and, most notably, it leaves you never knowing when the twists and turns are coming. Each week is a constant reminder that we truly don't know what's going to happen, even if we dig as deep as we can into each storyline and stat to see who has the edge. 

That said, we've been fortunate here to keep you in on a few developments that were right around the corner this season. Last week, we noted that we wouldn't be surprised if Tennessee pulled out its first win of the season, and they proved us right. However, we whiffed on the other predictions, especially MarShawn Lloyd exploding for 100 yards rushing. Despite the tasty matchup against a poor Dallas run defense, the Packers back mustered just 10 yards on the ground. Hey, while we'd love to get every pick right, the nature of this story is to pull out some obscure and/or bold-ish predictions, which means we're inherently going to miss on a few. 

Nevertheless, we're rolling our sleeves back up, pointing the bat toward the outfield, and calling our shot on some storylines and/or individual performances that we wouldn't be shocked to see happen over the course of Week 7. 

Bo Nix is benched during Broncos vs. Cardinals

To put it nicely, Bo Nix has been bad through the first six weeks of the season. The Broncos quarterback seems skittish attempting any pass that goes much further than the line of scrimmage, and the Denver offense is suffering because of it. Nix's 4.9 air yards per attempt this season is the lowest of any quarterback through six games in the last 20 years. Meanwhile, his passer rating and EPA per dropback are 23rd among 29 quarterbacks to throw at least 100 passes this season. Despite the ball traveling the fewest through the air than any other quarterback in the league this season, Nix's turnover-worthy throw rate ranks 17th. 

For instance, Nix nearly threw a pick-six on the opening drive of Denver's eventual win over Seattle on a throw that was about five yards down the field towards the right sideline. 

Denver has already shaken up the offensive playcalling duties with Sean Payton taking back the play sheet over David Webb. If the offense continues to struggle, the next step is to make a change at quarterback, even if it is only for a brief period. 

The Cardinals defense just stifled Matthew Stafford and the Rams last week, holding them to 16 points in an upset win at SoFi Stadium. If Arizona puts together a similar performance and they take advantage of some of Nix's riskier throws, another upset could be brewing, and if things get out of hand, it wouldn't be stunning to see Nix finish this game on the bench. 

Gambling angle to note: Bo Nix is +117 to throw an interception (via DraftKings Sportsbook). 

Kenneth Walker III has muted return to Seattle

Kenneth Walker III has arguably been the story of the first half of the regular season. He's unquestionably the top offseason acquisition, as the Chiefs running back has the most rushing yards (665) in the first five games with a team in NFL history. Those rushing yards are the third-most by any player through five games in the past 50 seasons. Walker also joined Jim Brown (1963), Eric Dickerson (1983), Emmitt Smith (1995), Marshall Faulk (2000), and Priest Holmes (2002) as just the sixth player all-time with at least 750 scrimmage yards and eight total touchdowns in the first five games of a season. He's simply been sensational. 

Naturally, given how prolific Walker has been, he's eyed for another massive performance on Sunday night, especially because he'll be going up against his former team, the Seattle Seahawks, who he earned Super Bowl LX MVP honors with last year. This homecoming/revenge game has plenty of juice to it, but it might not deliver with Walker dominating up and down the sidelines. 

Seattle is tied for the third-fewest rushing yards per attempt (3.5) allowed so far this season. They're also tied for the seventh-fewest missed tackles on rushing attempts and second in yards before contact per rush (0.57). Those stats suggest that the Seahawks should be able to get after Walker quickly and that they don't have an affinity for missing tackles. 

Gambling angle to note: Kenneth Walker III's over/under rushing yards total is set at 87.5 and -110 to the Under. Walker's over/under for rushing + receiving yards is 111.5 and set at -113 to the Under (via DraftKings Sportsbook). 

J.J. McCarthy looks solid in first Giants start

You know the 2026 regular season has gone absolutely haywire when we're buying a little bit of J.J. McCarthy -- new starting quarterback for the New York Giants -- stock. Outside of an interception, however, McCarthy looked sharp coming in during the fourth quarter of New York's loss to the Saints. The former first-round pick completed 11-of-21 passes for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Giants also scored 17 points while he was under center. That was enough for John Harbaugh to name him the starter, and now he'll make his first start this Sunday in Houston against the Texans. 

While that sounds daunting given the reputation of the Texans' defense, they haven't been as lethal as they were a year ago. Through six games, Houston's defense ranks 20th in scoring (23.8 points per game allowed). They've also had three games this season with at least 30 points allowed. 

With the Texans coming back from a game in London last week, this might be an opportunity for McCarthy to shine in his starting debut and take advantage of what has been a sneaky shaky Houston defense. 

Gambling angle to note: J.J. McCarthy is +266 to throw for at least 2 TDs (via DraftKings Sportsbook). 

Packers-Lions flirt with 70 total points scored

I think points could come in bunches during this NFC North matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to the point where we're flirting with a total of 70 points scored. This would mark just the fourth time this season that two clubs have combined for at least 70 points, and one of those other games already involved the Lions (Week 2 vs. Bills, 72 points scored). 

The Lions play at a tremendous pace, running 66.4 plays per game (seventh-highest in the NFL). Not only do they run a lot of plays, but they score a ton, as their 32.8 points per game average ranks second in the league. While Green Bay has a strong pass defense, there's simply too much firepower on the Lions offense to expect them to contain them wire-to-wire, especially as they'll come into this game well-rested after having the Week 6 bye. Moreover, the Lions defense has been Swiss cheese. Yes, they'll be getting star safety Brian Branch back, but this is a unit that has the worst total defense (404.4 yards) and third-worst third-down rate (29.6%) in the NFL entering Week 7. That might improve slightly with Branch, but it's still a weakness that Jordan Love will be able to exploit with Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. 

On throws with at least 20 air yards this season, the Lions are allowing an opposing passer rating of 116.2 (fifth-worst in the NFL) and four passing touchdowns (tied for league-high). Over the past two games, Love is second in the NFL in passer rating (135.4) on such throws, so it could be bombs away throughout the afternoon at Ford Field.  

Gambling angle to note: The total for Packers-Lions is set at 53.5 with the Over priced in at -110. An alternative total of 59.5 is +179 to the Over, and the alternate total of 69.5 is +576 to the Over (via DraftKings Sportsbook). 

Aaron Glenn finally gets first divisional win

Now that the Jets finally snapped their interception-less streak earlier this season, it's time for Aaron Glenn to get off the schneid when it comes to the AFC East. Did you know that Glenn enters Week 7 without a single divisional win under his belt? The Jets head coach is 0-7 so far against division foes in his head coaching career, and the games largely haven't even been that competitive. Overall, Glenn's Jets have been outscored by 129 total points in those divisional games. 

Fortunately for Glenn, he, in theory, has an easy road in front of him to get that first win within the AFC as his Jets are 4.5-point favorites and -230 on the moneyline to win in Week 7. While a win at these odds doesn't typically fall into the shock-and-awe narrative of this piece, it does when Glenn snaps a winless streak. Meanwhile, if he falls, it only heats up his seat, so this is a game worth paying attention to. 

Gambling angle to note: Jets are -115 to cover the 4.5-point spread (via DraftKings Sportsbook).