Week 7 NFL Game Previews: The Return of Revis

Game of the Week: New York Jets at New England, CBS, 1 ET

Darrelle Revis. Tom Brady. A combined 9-1 record. These are the quick and dirty selling points.

What's really going to be interesting is seeing how Brady and Belichick attack the Todd Bowles defense. Look beyond Revis—well, OK, if Revis lines up on Rob Gronkowski that will be compelling, but even outside of Revis, the Jets have been excellent on defense. Rex Ryan is the foil we all love for Belichick, because nothing is better than a man who is liable to say anything at any moment. The Jets defense now, however, is as good if not better than anything rolled out in the Ryan days. With all the extra depth at defensive back, they're better equipped to deal with the relentless Pats.

The stinky underside of this game is that it ultimately comes down to how much Ryan Fitzpatrick the Jets can foist on a good Pats defense. Which is to say that things are not likely to end in New York's favor.

Still, this is must-watch TV for the other side of the ball.

Pick: Patriots 30, Jets 21

Fantasy Football Addict Game of the Week: New Orleans at Indianapolis, FOX, 1 ET

The words "Super Bowl rematch" always bring to mind something more than the reality. Last week, the Ravens and 49ers combined to have a giant pity party reenacting a Super Bowl that happened just three years ago. Colts-Saints happened six years ago. Hank Baskett is now some famous girl's boyfriend. The Colts are so far into the Andrew Luck Era that we're already complaining about how slow the progress has been. The Saints are barely clinging on to the Payton-Brees core that made them an NFC favorite for half a decade.

The reality of this game is that, much like Ravens-49ers, somebody has to actually win it. The Colts are trending back in the right direction. Luck looked healthy on Sunday night, even if he was still sailing some balls. For all the (rightful) shit the Colts have taken over the past month for just beating up on bad teams in division, they generally take advantage of the other bad teams on their schedule too.

The AFC South is so bad that Chuck Pagano is going to lose his job after winning the division. That's called getting Schottenheimered.

— Bart Hubbuch (@BartHubbuch)October 19, 2015

Yes, at this point, Brees and Payton qualify to be included in that statement—at least until we can trust the Saints' young defense to shut down a good offense for a half.

Pick: Indianapolis 30, New Orleans 28

Football Nerd Game of the Week: Carolina at Philadelphia, NBC, 8:30 ET

Nothing brings together old-school fans, in my experience, like a chance to laugh at Chip Kelly failure. Here's a chance for Kelly to prove that this whole Sam Bradford experience can actually work. Carolina's got a nice defense, and star corner Josh Norman is going to lock down half the field. Bradford is going to have to throw the ball well to win.

Of course, it's not all Bradford's fault that this offense hasn't played up to potential. The offensive line has its share of disappointments. Center Jason Kelce has had a bad season. Wideout Jordan Matthews has not taken the expected leap. There's way too much Miles Austin and Riley Cooper for any offense not operating in 2013.

Meanwhile, with an oft-criticized offense and a bad receiving corps, the Panthers are succeeding. Cam Newton came through for the Panthers in Seattle, despite a lack of talent around him. (It did take him the whole game, of course, but those last few drives were magnificent.)

It's almost as if quarterback talent matters more than scheme.

Pick: Carolina 23, Philadelphia 17

Game Between Preseason Disappointments: Houston at Miami, CBS, 1 ET

Rare Feat No. 1: The Dolphins have somehow lost to the Texans every time these teams have played. The Texans as a franchise have a winning percentage of 42. They have four winning seasons in 13 years. The Dolphins are 0-7 against them.

Rare Feat No. 2: Thanks to the modern marvel that is the AFC South, the Texans somehow have almost an equal chance of making the playoffs and getting the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The AFC South: Where you can simultaneously have a 12% chance at the playoffs and a 8% at the No. 1 pick — Rivers McCown (@riversmccown)October 21, 2015

The Dolphins finally got the running game going under new head coach Dan Campbell. That was more than enough to vanquish the fading Titans last week. The Titans aren't that much worse than the Texans.

Miami had everything a team could hope for going into the season except faith in their quarterback and their head coach. At least one of those problems was "fixed." That's more than you can say for the Houston defense or quarterback situation.

Pick: Miami 27, Houston 17

Game You'll Only See On Yahoo!: Buffalo "at" Jacksonville, London, 9:30 AM ET

These two teams are strikingly close to each other, offensively. Each has a strong stable of receivers and running backs. Each has a somewhat questionable offensive line. Each has a young quarterback with a few blemishes that can turn any busted play into a 25-yard run.

This should be a "get healthy" game for the Buffalo front seven. Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus have complained loudly about Rex Ryan not letting them get after the quarterback. The Bills somehow have the fourth-worst defensive Adjusted Sack Rate in the NFL despite a plethora of talent.

The Jaguars, they also have a defense. I expect to see it facing a lot of running plays if Blake Bortles puts the ball up for grabs as often as he did last week.

Pick: Buffalo 28, Jacksonville 17

Prime-time Game That Shouldn't Be: Dallas at New York Giants, FOX, 4:25 ET

(I know this isn't officially a prime-time game, but with nothing airing alongside FOX's late game in most markets, let's roll with it. Why are there only two late games, anyway? Was it vital that Cleveland-St. Louis kick off early?)

If the only compelling thing about your division race is the "who can screw up the least?" contest, it probably doesn't deserve prime billing. And yet for two years now, the NFC East has been shoved down America's pie hole. This game is a prime example. There's no reason that the Giants and the Cowboys make for a better game than Oakland-San Diego or Minnesota-Detroit.

Because traditional rivalries and fan base sizes dictate things, though, this is the game you'll watch on Sunday afternoon. You'll see Dallas try to figure out which of their quarterbacks is more done than the other. You'll see Kevin Gilbride ignore that his team has Odell Beckham, Jr. You'll probably see if Christine Michael can be more effective than Joseph Randle. We'll wonder together how the Giants lost the first game these two teams played this season.

You have my permission to not watch this game. There are better things to do with your free time than watch Matt Cassel try to reinvent himself as someone who can throw a forward pass.

But you'll watch.

Pick: New York 23, Dallas 16