Giants drama, Rivers rules and other NFL notes that you need to know heading into Week 7

Jarrett Bell | USA TODAY

A quick glance at items of interest as Week 7 rolls on in the NFL …

Who’s hot: Philip Rivers. Look who’s made a jolly rise in the AFC West. With Rivers quietly off to one of the best starts of his career (115.1 passer rating, 2nd in the NFL), the Chargers (4-2) face the Titans in London as one of the NFL’s hottest teams. A three-game winning streak has them right on the trail of the AFC West-leading Chiefs. The difference for Rivers is that he has a surplus of emerging weapons to work with, including Melvin Gordon, Mike Williams, Tyrell Williams and Austin Ekeler.

Pressure’s on: Eli Manning. Giants co-owner John Mara’s “shut-up-and-play” public chastising of Odell Beckham Jr. this week struck me as quite the diversionary tactic as a Monday night spotlight at Atlanta looms. Beckham’s ESPN interview was not the problem (in an NFL environment where they contend they don’t pay attention to outside noise, media, etc.), and it doesn’t change the decline that Manning has exhibited. Sure, he could use more support from the offensive line and, yes, he won two Super Bowls. But when since-ousted coach Ben McAdoo had the gall to bench Manning last year, he surely had his reasons. And how’s this for irony: Mara talked about Beckham not creating headlines … as he created headlines himself.

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Key matchup: Drew Brees vs. Ravens defense. There’s just one team Brees has never beaten: Baltimore. That will hardly be a given on Sunday, when the Saints icon looks to notch his 500th career passing TD, too, against the Ravens’ No. 1 defense. Outdoors, at that. Baltimore collected 11 – eleven! – sacks at Tennessee in Week 6 and has allowed an NFL-low 12.8 points a game. Brees is tearing it up with a 122.3 passer rating that would easily be the best of his career if it holds up for the season and hasn’t thrown a pick (11 TDs) while sparking the NFL’s highest-scoring team. Game on, at the Big ATM.

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Rookie watch: Sony Michel. It’s been a season of evolution for the Patriots offense, with the impact of the first-round pick from Georgia no small matter. Michel, whose start was derailed by injury, is clearly in the flow now – he’s missed 100-yard rushing games in each of his past three starts by a mere two yards. With fellow running back James White in tow as the one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers out of the backfield, New England heads into Sunday’s game at Chicago equipped with a formidable 1-2 backfield punch.

Next man up: Brock Osweiler. After the surprise factor of last weekend, with Ryan Tannehill’s mysterious shoulder injury forcing Osweiler into the lineup for Miami, there’s been a full week of preparation for the visit from the Lions on Sunday. That’s not necessarily a good thing. One thing for sure: Osweiler gets around. Over the past three years, he’s had stints with Houston, Cleveland, Denver for a second time and now Miami.

If the playoffs were today … Washington would be NFC East champ. Maybe that changes on Sunday with the next chapter of the storied rivalry with the Cowboys (who have never lost to the R’s with Dak Prescott at quarterback) commencing at FedExField. In any event, this three-team NFC East race will have some legs for at least a few weeks as Philadelphia (3-3) has yet to face Washington (3-2) or Dallas (3-3). Maybe the best defense will make the difference as the R’s (despite being shredded at New Orleans in Week 5), Cowboys and Eagles all have defenses ranked in the Top 12.

Stomach for an upset: Bengals at Chiefs. The magic of Patrick Mahomes is counterbalanced by the woefulness of the last-ranked Kansas City defense, which is on pace to allow more yards than any other NFL team since 1940! That equates to opportunity for Cincinnati (a 6-point underdog) and the potential for a Sunday night shootout at Arrowhead between division leaders. Quiet as it's kept, only the Rams, Saints, Patriots, Chargers and, yes, Chiefs have scored more points-per-game than Cincy.

Did you notice? In nine overtime games this season, kickers have missed five field goal attempts – which is more striking when considering that’s more OT misses than all of last year.

Stat’s the fact: Rams star Todd Gurley, leading the league with 870 yards from scrimmage and 9 rushing TDs, heads to San Francisco with a chance to become the fifth different player with 1,000 yards and 10 rushing TDs in the first seven games of a season. Priest Holmes did it twice (2002, 2004) and was last to hit that marker. The first? Jim Brown, with 1,060 yards and 14 TDs in 1958. Terrell Davis (1998) and Eric Dickerson (1983) also had such impact.