Week 7 of the 2026 NFL season should kick off with a banger, the Chicago Bears hosting the New England Patriots in a matchup of 2025 playoff teams − and projected 2026 playoff teams. Call it a Super Bowl 20 rematch if you like − we wouldn't, though it will be Da Bears' first game at Soldier Field since Mike Ditka, the legendary coach of the famed '85 team, died earlier this month.
The game will be the second meeting of Bears QB Caleb Williams and New England's Drake Maye, the first and third overall picks, respectively, of the 2024 NFL Draft. Maye's Patriots won a forgettable 19-3 affair when they were rookies, neither passing for even 200 yards in that game.
History is expected to be made Sunday morning, when the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh
Steelers are scheduled to play the league's first regular-season game in France, assuming the regional social unrest doesn't escalate to an even more dangerous level.
Sunday afternoon, the undefeated San Francisco 49ers will attempt to become the first team to seven wins this season in Atlanta. The Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens square off, each looking for an edge in the tightly packed AFC North. A game with similar stakes in the equally competitive NFC North will occur in Detroit, where the surging Green Bay Packers will visit the rested Lions.
The Seattle Seahawks will host the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night in the Kenneth Walker Bowl, the Super Bowl 60 MVP and league rushing leader set to face his former team for the first time. The Dallas Cowboys will face the Eagles in Philadelphia in a matchup of spiraling NFC East rivals on Monday night.
Here's how our experts view the weekend ... hopefully with more clarity than last week's 50-50 foresight.
(Odds provided by BetMGM)
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL Week 7 picks straight up, against the spread: Bears or Patriots on 'TNF'?
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