NFL Week 7 Good, Bad and Ugly: Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Turns Back the Clock

Now this is a slate of games every NFL fan can get behind.

In Paris, Aaron Rodgers led the Steelers to a 16–10 win over the Saints, running Pittsburgh’s record to 5–2. Rodgers threw for 212 yards and a touchdown while Jaylen Warren rushed for 101 yards, but Rodgers made one tough play after another to propel his team to victory.

With the win, the Steelers head home to face the Browns next Sunday, a Cleveland team that beat them in Week 4. After that, they have road games against the Bengals and Eagles. If Rodgers plays stateside as he did abroad, Pittsburgh might have a chance to make some noise as a contender.

Meanwhile, in the early window, the marquee matchup features the Ravens hosting the Bengals. Both teams have two losses. The loser will suddenly be forced to make up ground in the AFC North, a division without a losing record. Conversely, the winner will pick up a key divisional win and feel like it’s headed not only toward fighting for first place, but also toward the AFC’s top seed.

In the late window, it’s the Packers visiting the Lions in another divisional battle. Green Bay and Detroit, like Baltimore and Cincinnati, are in a division with no losing record, and both teams have two defeats. The Lions are coming off their bye week while the Packers are rolling, beating the Bears and Cowboys over the past two weekends by a combined 34 points.

Finally, on Sunday night, the Chiefs meet the Seahawks at Lumen Field in the Kenneth Walker III Bowl. Kansas City enters as the lone AFC unbeaten, while Seattle is 3–3 after losing three of its previous four games. Entering Week 7, Walker leads the NFL with 665 rushing yards on 6.3 yards per carry. He’ll face his old teammates, with a defense ranked No. 1 in the league, allowing just 237.3 total yards per game.

But we start with Thursday night, where the Bears showed just how powerful and prolific their attack can be when at full strength.

GOOD: Bears continue showing why their offense is elite

How many teams would be 5–2 with their backup quarterbacks playing three of their games? The Bears have done so, primarily because they have the second-best rushing attack in football (154.3 yards per game) and a host of weapons almost impossible to slow down for a full 60 minutes.

On Thursday night, with Caleb Williams at the controls, the Bears averaged 6.1 yards per play, and WIlliams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns. On the outside, Rome Odunze caught four passes for 69 yards, Colston Loveland caught seven receptions for 69 yards and a score, and Luther Burden III hauled in four passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. That’s not to mention running back D’Andre Swift, who already has seven rushing touchdowns.

With Williams starting, Chicago has scored 59, 31 and 30 points, all in victories. The only loss came in a rain-soaked, 9–3 slog in Week 2 against the Vikings. When the weather has played along, Chicago has been virtually unstoppable.

Perhaps the best news is that the defense is doing its part, ranking top-12 in both yards and points allowed per game. If that continues, the Bears have all the ingredients of a Super Bowl contender, led by an offense overflowing with talent and a quarterback only starting to see what he is fully capable of.

BAD: Patriots won’t panic, but their run game is in mud

On paper, the combination of TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson should be one of the best in football. On grass, it’s been mediocre.

At 4–3, the Patriots are two games back of the Bills in the loss column for the AFC East lead. To close the gap, they’ll need their backs to get rolling. Stevenson leads the backfield but averages only 3.7 yards per carry and hasn’t topped 70 yards in any game this year. As for Henderson, the 2025 second-round pick is barely seeing the field. After carrying the ball 38 times between Weeks 2-4 (he was injured in Week 1), Henderson has 14 rushing attempts for 62 yards and zero touchdowns.

While the passing game should be better with A.J. Brown returning from a high ankle sprain and Drake Maye back in form with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions over the past four games, it’ll be tough to gain ground in the divisional race without a multi-faceted offense.

Looking ahead, the Patriots will have a chance to get right on offense. Over the next five weeks, they’ll face the Dolphins, Packers, Lions, Chargers and Bills, all of whom rank 22nd or worse in points allowed except Green Bay.

Still, New England hasn’t found success on the ground despite a sizable investment in Henderson and continued efforts with Stevenson. If that doesn’t change, Maye and the league’s 12th-ranked defense will essentially be asked to shoulder the entire load.

UGLY: Saints’ offense needs more punch

Winning in the NFL is tough. It’s almost impossible without an offense consistently scoring at least 20 points.

On Sunday morning in Paris, the Saints lost 16–10 to the Steelers. For the second time in three games, New Orleans scored 13 points or fewer, including a 23–13 defeat to the unbeaten Vikings in Week 5. Second-year quarterback Tyler Shough was solid, throwing for 278 yards, but New Orleans again struggled to run the ball. Against Minnesota, the Saints had only 55 rushing yards on 3.2 yards per carry. In France, it was far worse, a paltry 18 yards on 17 carries. After signing Travis Etienne Jr. this offseason, the 2–5 Saints expected to thrive running the ball, but Etienne is sidelined with a hamstring injury.

The good news? New Orleans plays in the NFC South, which might be won with a losing record for the second consecutive year. Etienne is also eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 9 when the Saints host the Browns.

Still, the offense needs to find its footing under second-year coach Kellen Moore, something it hasn’t done over the past three weeks.

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