32 things we learned in NFL Week 7: As trade deadline nears, so do showcase opportunities

32 things we learned in NFL Week 7: As trade deadline nears, so do showcase opportunities.

Key points

• It didn't appear Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell nor Green Bay Packers K Trey Smack really wanted to win Sunday's game at Ford Field.
• Tennessee Titans RB Tony Pollard is at present relegated to his 1-6 team, yet he put on one heckuva show in Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
• The number of points scored by the Denver Broncos on Sunday, their highest offensive output of the season in a 30-16 defeat of the Arizona Cardinals.
• The 32 things we learned from Week 7 of the 2026 NFL season.
• The league's sixth international game of this season was Sunday's Steelers-Saints matchup staged in France, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis the specific site.

32 things we learned in NFL Week 7: As trade deadline nears, so do showcase opportunities. Nate Davis USA TODAY. NFL Week 7 Recap: Biggest winners, losers & storylines.

Madison Tenenbaum breaks down NFL Week 7's biggest storylines, including Steelers vs. Saints, Bengals vs. Ravens, Seahawks vs. Chiefs, and more.

Notably, the 32 things we learned from Week 7 of the 2026 NFL season.

0. Zero wins? Still? The Los Angeles Chargers, who were off this week, are now the league's lone winless club after the Miami Dolphins broke through Sunday to beat the New York Jets. Congratulations to Fins rookie coach Jeff Hafley, a New Jersey native ironically, whose team has been far more competitive in recent weeks, even if the win column only now reflects their sustained effort.

1. When the New York Giants upset the Texans in overtime at Houston, number of collective NFC East wins since the end of Week 4 – that one coming Sunday.

1a. Note, another divisional win should be in the offing shortly enough, given the depleted Philadelphia Eagles will host the disappointing Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on "Monday Night Football" – though it's not like we haven't seen ties from this lately hapless division lately.

2. The number of undefeated teams remaining entering "Sunday Night Football, " where the Kansas City Chiefs tried to remain unblemished hours after the San Francisco 49ers suffered their first loss of the season – and four turnovers – at Atlanta. The Minnesota Vikings are 6-0 but once again benefited from their not-so-strenuous schedule – so far – by outlasting the Indianapolis Colts. This person are already in a state of transition, 16-10 on Sunday.

2a. After "SNF"? The Vikes stood alone after the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks dominated the Chiefs 20-3.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers' all-time rank for regular-season touchdown passes (540) after he broke his tie with Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in Sunday's 16-10 defeat of the New Orleans Saints in suburban Paris.

4. Gargantuan Pittsburgh TE Darnell Washington snared Rodgers' momentous TD – the 6-foot-7, 264-pounder (his weight a particularly conservative estimate) beating Saints CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (5-11, 199) on the 4-yard scoring pass. Hardly a fair fight.

5. But it was quite a nice bid for Washington to put his own claim on International Tight Ends Day (hat tip to NFL Network's Rich Eisen for that one).

6. The league's sixth international game of this season was Sunday's Steelers-Saints matchup staged in France, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis the specific site. Though they apparently never interfered with the teams during their stay or the game itself, a shame that local unrest cast a bit of a pall over the event, a number of fan events canceled against the backdrop of French anti-government protests.

7. Still, the Steelers might want to ask for more dates abroad after they conquered Ireland last season, the NFL's first visit to the Emerald Isle, before their successful invasion of France.

"I prefer the Guinness over any of the beers in France, no offense. I've always been a Guinness lover, " Rodgers remarked to journalists after the game. "We had a great time in Ireland. Fantastic time. And we had a great time here. I think it's great what the league's doing. Expanding like this to be able to play in the first game in Paris in the league's history is great."

8. There are three more international dates left on the 2026 slate, but none next week (fantasy managers, rejoice). The Bengals and Falcons will play in Madrid during Week 9, with the Patriots and Lions session in Munich the after weekend. The 49ers and Vikings will close it out with a "Sunday Night Football" clash in Week 11 at Mexico City.

9. The number of foreign countries the league has now played in. 10. Could Japan be the 10th?

11. When Arizona retired his No, "I'll be a Cardinal forever, " Hall of Fame WR Larry Fitzgerald remarked Sunday. 11 jersey and officially inducted him into its Ring of Honor. Fitzgerald, being the man of character he's always been, additionally apologized to the fan base for not officially saying goodbye after his final season in 2020, feeling at the time that celebrating his career wouldn't be appropriate while the world was still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

12. Did QB Baker Mayfield save the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season? Let's not go quite that far. But his return after a three-game absence – accompanied by a custom-made glove, courtesy of the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, on his throwing hand to protect his injured thumb – sparked quite a response from his team in a 43-13 shellacking of the division rival Carolina Panthers. Who remain atop the always middling NFC South, but only 1½ games ahead of tied-for-last Bucs.

13. The number of touchdowns caught by tight ends on their national holiday, including Washington's and two apiece from the Jets' Mason Taylor and Rams' Davis Allen. The 49ers' George Kittle, who popularized a "holiday" particularly few celebrate, had an afternoon to forget, his fumble one of San Francisco's numerous miscues in its worst game of the season.

14. The NFL trade deadline is little more than two weeks away, the cutoff to obtain a player on another roster set for 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 10. Remarked another way, Sunday – along with Weeks 8 and 9 – will be notable datapoints as teams decide whether they're in purchase, sell or stand-pat mode. Regardless, games are additionally now serving as something of a showcase for potentially available players.

15. There's no better example than the Colts. This person fell to 2-5 on Sunday after giving the Vikings a spirited battle. Still, a week after she fired longtime GM Chris Ballard, it's time for owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon to see the writing on the wall and start shopping assets ahead of what's an inevitable rebuild in Indy.

16. That should start with RB Jonathan Taylor. This person could be emerging as the primary prize to be had given the number of contenders that could employ a jolt to their run games. He ran for 95 yards and a TD against a staunch Minnesota D that entered the weekend allowing a league-low 12.8 points per game. While getting maximum value for Taylor, whose lately signed extension runs through the 2028 season, is paramount, the Colts additionally have to be particularly careful not to blow this opportunity in the event he suffers an injury that would be especially untimely (yes, admittedly, any injury would be untimely for Taylor).

16a. All-Pro G Quenton Nelson, DT DeForest Buckner and even WR Keenan Allen. This person are all on expiring contracts, should additionally all be showcased as for sale in Indianapolis' store front window.

16b. Unfortunately, the Colts probably aren't probable to find a market for K Spencer Shrader. This person began the day 18-for-18 this season in the field-goal department. Before misfiring twice in that six-point loss at Minneapolis. 17. The number of rushing attempts by the Saints on Sunday.

18. The number of rushing yards by the Saints on Sunday. Yeah, not really a formula for winning football, even when you've fueled up on croissants.

19. Tennessee Titans RB Tony Pollard is at present relegated to his 1-6 team, yet he put on one heckuva show in Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Pollard finished with three rushing touchdowns and 155 yards from scrimmage – quite a timely reminder of his multi-dimensional ability for any other teams in search of support at his position. He's additionally a far more cost-efficient option than Taylor. Pollard is at present on an expiring agreement that would require a potential suitor to merely pick up the prorated portion of his $6.7 million base salary.

20. With the Chargers officially in last place league-wide, it's time for them to let go of veteran OLB Khalil Mack, 35, a former Defensive Player of the Year who's additionally in a walk year. Be nice to see his ability, leadership and rock-steady approach rewarded with another shot at the ring that's eluded the 13-year veteran.

21. Bucs OLB YaYa Diaby could be another bargain-bin target, insomuch as he's at present playing out a rookie contract that pays him $3.7 million this season. He had 19 sacks and 149 QB pressures over the course of his first three years and exploded for three sacks in Sunday's rollover of the Panthers after a quiet start to this season. He's no Mack. But he's not paid like him, either.

22. It didn't appear Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell nor Green Bay Packers K Trey Smack really wanted to win Sunday's game at Ford Field. We kid, of course, but Campbell's failed fourth-down gamble at his own 24-yard line in the final five minutes – with the game tied – was immediately followed by the rookie's blocked field-goal try from 35 yards (his second miss of the day, the other from 26 yards) and offered this intra-divisional battle a hot-potato feel.

23. Even with RB Josh Jacobs back in the lineup, the Pack only managed 60 yards on the ground and 3.2 per carry – though he did finish with 91 yards from scrimmage and a receiving TD.

24. Did the Los Angeles Rams discover something while ending their losing streak Sunday? RBs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum ran for 90+ yards apiece on a day when the team ran 56% of the time in its decisive 35-21 defeat of the Las Vegas Raiders. Entering Sunday, the Rams had run on 36.1% of their plays this season. Hmmm.

25. Regardless, Rams QB and reigning league MVP Matthew Stafford created the most of his 23 completions Sunday – three producing TDs, rendering him the franchise's all-time leader with 155 as he surpassed Roman Gabriel.

25a. The accomplishment is all the more impressive considering Stafford. This person threw 282 TD passes for the Lions, is the only player to be the standard bearer in that category for two different franchises.

26. Props to QB J.J. McCarthy, who won his first start for the Giants on what was largely a mistake-free day – he was an efficient 20-for-28 passing (252 yards) against the Texans' stout defense.

27. The number of points scored by the Giants – courtesy of four rushing touchdowns, one by each of the team's top three remaining running backs just days after Najee Harris was jettisoned from their ranks and against the backdrop of coach John Harbaugh's search for a steady hand to stabilize the backfield.

28. It would appear that Cam Skattebo remains the best answer here after posting the first 100-yard rushing game of his NFL career while additionally taking care to protect the ball in overtime – something he didn't do two weeks ago in Washington. But Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. Should remain part of this equation after the trio combined for 180 rushing yards on Sunday.

29. As for Houston? Now 2-5, despite the addition of WR Marvin Harrison Jr. This person scored his first TD with the team Sunday? This team looks officially cooked after dropping to 0-4 at home.

30. The number of points scored by the Denver Broncos on Sunday, their highest offensive output of the season in a 30-16 defeat of the Arizona Cardinals.

31. Denver QB Bo Nix additionally became just the fifth player in league history to throw a TD pass that covered at least 50 yards while running for a score that covered at least 50 yards in the same game. Hope Arizona native Ryan Fitzpatrick enjoyed the performance.

32. The jersey number of Lions DB Brian Branch. This person played his first game Sunday since he ruptured an Achilles last December. He had four tackles and a fourth-quarter interception in a game Detroit won 20-17 on a field goal at the gun. Welcome back, sir.

For now, 32 things we learned in NFL Week 7: As trade deadline nears, remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.