Anything can happen in the National Football League and the kickoff to Week 7 of the 2026 season certainly solidified that idea. 

In the Chicago Bears 30-24 win over the New England Patriots, they triumphed despite allowing one of the most unique "Hail Mary" touchdown passes in recent memory. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's 48-yard checkdown touchdown pass to running back Rhamondre Stevenson was the only touchdown pass in the last 20 years in the final 10 seconds of a half, 40-plus yards from the end zone on a throw of 10 or fewer air yards, per CBS Sports Research. 

What other craziness could happen during the rest of the NFL's Week 7 lineup?

Daniel Jones cuts through Brian Flores' No. 1 Vikings defense 

The Minnesota Vikings are 5-0, and it is very much on the strength of defensive coordinator Brian Flores' aggressive unit. They are an immovable object. 

Flores' defense leads the NFL in:

• Scoring defense (12.8 points per game allowed)
• Third down defense (22.2% third down conversion rate allowed) 
• Red zone defense (27.3% red zone touchdown rate allowed)
• Goal-to-go defense (33.3% goal-to-go touchdown rate allowed)
• Completion percentage allowed (53.2%)
• Touchdown-to-interception ratio allowed (3-6)
• Sack rate (9.8%)
• Pressure rate (46.4%)
• Blitz rate (69.8%)

The Vikings' blitz rate of just under 70% (69.8%) is the highest by any team in any five-game span in the last 10 seasons, per CBS Sports Research. So how is that going to go for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones in Week 7? Well, the bold prediction here is that he doesn't commit any turnovers and totals multiple touchdowns against Flores' unit. Jones' splits versus the blitz are the exact same in terms of yards per pass attempt this season (5.9), and he actually has a higher completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratio, and passer rating against the blitz in 2026. Jones also got to spend the second half of the 2024 season watching how Flores' unit operates up close in practice on a daily basis after Minnesota scooped him up for depth purposes after his New York Giants release. 

That practice experience against Flores will allow Jones to produce a clean, efficient performance.

Bijan Robinson goes runs wild vs. the undefeated 49ers

The undefeated San Francisco 49ers not only have a top-five scoring offense (29.5 points per game) but also a top-10 scoring defense (18.3 points allowed per game). That also extends to their run defense, which ranks as the seventh-best in football, allowing just 90.2 rushing yards per game. 

Bijan Robinson, who enters Week 7 leading the NFL with 785 yards from scrimmage, will go off for 150-plus rushing yards against San Francisco. He'll be well rested after having just 11 touches in Week 6, his fewest in a game since 2024, and Robinson will break what has been one of the 49ers' biggest strengths: their control of outside-zone runs.

San Francisco has curbed outside-zone runs to just 3.2 yards per carry, the sixth-fewest in the NFL, and they are the only defense that hasn't allowed a gain of 10 or more yards on those runs, per the NFL's Next Gen Stats. They have also tackled rushers for a loss or no gain on 5 of 29 outside-zone carries, 17.2%. Robinson has 10 explosive runs (gains of 10 or more yards) on his 65 outside-zone carries, tied with Derrick Henry for the most in the league. He's also only been stuffed for no gain or a loss on 6 of his 65 outside-zone run carries. 

Robinson will repeatedly cook the 49ers, rushing to the outside, and he'll become not only the first player with over 100 yards rushing against San Francisco in 2026 but the first player to hit at least 150 yards rushing against San Francisco. 

Cardinals stun Broncos without scoring a touchdown

The Arizona Cardinals (2-4) upset the preseason Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams 18-16 in Week 6 as 13.5-point road underdogs, earning the second-largest upset win by any team in the last five seasons, according to CBS Sports Research. They accomplished that feat despite not finding the end zone one time. Arizona's 18 points came from six made field goals. 

The Cardinals host the Denver Broncos (4-2) while seeking their first win away from SoFi Stadium -- both of Arizona's wins have come on the road against the Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. Denver enters Week 7 with a top 10 scoring defense (20.8 points per game, 10th in the NFL), but Arizona will upset them too for their first home win of the season. Even more impressively, the Cardinals will also beat the Broncos without scoring a touchdown, just like they did with the Rams in Week 6.

How will that work? Arizona will pull off that near-impossibility thanks to the Broncos' offensive ceiling being capped by starting quarterback Bo Nix. Nix's 5.6 yards per pass attempt are the fewest in the NFL among quarterbacks to start every game in 2026, and his 4.9 air yards per pass attempt represent the shortest average pass length through six games in the last 20 seasons, according to CBS Sports Research. 

Not having to defend the deep ball will allow the Cardinals to get creatively aggressive on defense, and Nix will give Arizona's similarly shaky offense, led by journeyman Jacoby Brissett, enough latitude to win with six or seven made field goals and no touchdowns. 

J.J. McCarthy avoids being sacked vs. Will Anderson Jr., Texans 

The New York Giants have a new starting quarterback for Week 7 at the Houston Texans: Minnesota Vikings' 2024 10th overall pick castoff J.J. McCarthy. He ranked dead last in the NFL in completion percentage (57.6%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (11-12) and passer rating (72.6) among 33 qualified quarterbacks in 2025. He also had a 10% sack rate last season, the third highest in the entire league.

However, McCarthy will not be sacked in his debut as the Giants' starting quarterback despite facing the Houston Texans and All-Pro edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., the NFL's sacks leader with 7.5 entering Week 7. How will that happen? Perhaps McCarthy has taken a big leap from 2025 to 2026. After checking in for a benched Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter in Week 6, McCarthy threw for 243 yards, the most by any quarterback in the play-by-play era (since 1991) who had no passing yards in the first three quarters, per CBS Sports Research. 

The humbling he took, being traded for a 2027 fifth-round pick, plus playing in a more simplistic offense in New York under offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and senior offensive assistant Greg Roman, will allow McCarthy to play a cleaner game in Week 7. That will help him avoid Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter's clutches as he avoids being sacked all game long. 

Dolphins take a lead for the first time this season

The Miami Dolphins' 2026 season is going exactly as one would expect for a franchise paying more for players not on its roster (an NFL-record $179 million in dead cap hits) than for the players on its roster ($156 million). They're 0-5 and have the NFL's worst scoring offense, averaging 14 points per game.   

They're also just the second team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to not have a lead in the first five games of a season, along with the 2005 Houston Texans, per CBS Sports Research. However, they will acquire their first lead in a game of the 2026 season against the New York Jets.

The Jets have the worst red zone offense (37.5%) in the NFL, and they haven't scored a touchdown on their last seven red zone trips, which spans the last three games. New York has also been outscored 100-6 in the final two minutes of the first half under Aaron Glenn.

Miami will capitalize on Glenn's end-of-the-first-half mismanagement and take a lead in a game for the first time this season.