5 NFL teams that must win in Week 7

1. Dallas Cowboys

This is the second week in a row that the Dallas Cowboys have been featured in this list, and there was little reason to expect a return trip for them considering their opponent. The Cowboys had dropped two in a row entering Week 6, where they hit the road to take on the 0-4 New York Jets.

The Jets got Sam Darnold back for this game, and he absolutely carved up the Cowboys’ secondary to the tune of 23 of 32 passing for 338 yards with two touchdowns, including a 92 yard bomb to Robby Anderson that swung the momentum of the game in the second quarter. The excellent showing from Darnold allowed the Jets to build a 21-6 halftime lead against the Cowboys, a deficit that proved to be too big for Dallas to overcome.

This was the second week in a row that the Cowboys dug themselves a huge early hole after falling behind the Green Bay Packers 31-3 in Week 5. There is no question that the Cowboys have been banged up, playing the Jets without both of their starting tackles and losing Amari Cooper to a quad strain in the game, but they still had plenty of talent to beat a Jets team that looked like one of the NFL’s worst without Darnold.

The pressure has started to ratchet up in Dallas, with preseason Super Bowl hype giving way to questions about whether or not the Cowboys are frauds. Dallas is fortunate to still be in first place in the NFC East, but that could change Sunday night when the Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles are also 3-3, and Dallas’ sweep of them a year ago paved the way for the Cowboys’ NFC East title. If Dallas drops its fourth straight to the Eagles, at home in front of a national TV audience, the hot seat under Jason Garrett will become nuclear.