The Pittsburgh Steelers did what they seem to do best nowadays - prove they are not true contenders immediately after NFL fans might've thought they were among the upper echelon of teams in the AFC. The Steelers won four of their first five games and had a golden opportunity to beat a shorthanded Cincinnati Bengals team with Joe Flacco under center, but allowed Flacco to turn back the clock in a wildly frustrating defeat.
Aaron Rodgers played well, but the Steelers' defense - the highest-paid defense in the league by a wide margin, I might add - couldn't stop a nosebleed all night. The Steelers lost a game to a team they should've beaten, and that could come to haunt them down the stretch.
This loss goes to show that the Steelers are not good, and nothing in the NFL is guaranteed. Teams have to play their best football every week or else they risk getting upset. With that in mind, these four teams are on high upset alert in Week 7.
Denver Broncos
Why not start out hot? The New York Giants are heavy underdogs for their Week 7 game on the road against the Denver Broncos, and frankly, I have no idea why. Sure, Denver's defense is really good, and they made the playoffs in 2024, but Bo Nix has not played well, and the Broncos just played in London last week. Not only did they have to make the trip back without a bye, but in that London game, they nearly got beaten by the winless New York Jets in a game Justin Fields could do nothing.
Admittedly, I don't know what Jaxson Dart has in store for his fourth NFL start in a tough environment without Malik Nabers or Darius Slayton, but he's played so well with so little as a starter, and the Giants have won two of their last three games. I believe in Dart's ability to manufacture offense, I believe in Cam Skattebo's ability to run the ball, and I certainly believe in this Giants' defense.
It's a hot take to predict the Giants win this game outright, but I see very few reasons to believe in Denver right now, even if their 4-2 record suggests otherwise.
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are 4-2, are well-coached, and are facing an Atlanta Falcons team at home that's coming off a short week and has to travel across the country. Perhaps I'm not giving San Francisco enough credit by predicting that the Falcons will upset them, but it's hard to believe in a team as banged up as the 49ers.
George Kittle is back, which, admittedly, is huge, but he's likely nowhere near 100 percent, and San Francisco will be without Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall. Jauan Jennings might play, but he's banged up. The Niners have scored more than 21 points just once over the last month, and with both Fred Warner and Nick Bosa out, how exactly are they going to slow down this high-powered Falcons offense that just beat the Buffalo Bills?
Bijan Robinson might be the best skill position player in the NFL, and Drake London is playing at a ridiculously high level, too. Kyle Shanahan is a great coach, and the Niners have been finding ways to win in spite of the injuries, but I think the Falcons are better than their 3-2 record might suggest, are coming off a momentum-building win, and are healthier.
Seattle Seahawks
I hate to predict that the Houston Texans will beat a good team like the Seattle Seahawks because the Texans haven't shown that they can score much at all against even an average defense. What they can do, though, is defend, and I think they'll eke out a low-scoring win on the road on Monday Night Football.
The Seahawks have been producing offense mainly from the connection Jaxson Smith-Njigba has built with Sam Darnold. Smith-Njigba leads the NFL in receiving yards, and by a fairly wide margin. Unfortunately, though, he'll be matched up against Derek Stingley Jr. on the outside, one of the best corners in the NFL.
When Jaxon Smith-Njigba lines up vs Derek Stingley Jr, it will be cinema 🎥 pic.twitter.com/sUKF2BGRQn
— PFF (@PFF) October 18, 2025
Elite wideouts can and do beat elite corners, but it's really hard to do that. Stingley has been shutting just about everyone down since the start of 2024. If Smith-Njigba is taken out of the game in any way, who else will Darnold throw to? I don't think the Texans will score many points, but an argument can be made that they won't have to.
Philadelphia Eagles
Carson Wentz starting in Week 7 might not be what the Minnesota Vikings want, but I'd argue it gives them a better chance to win, particularly when going up against a Philadelphia Eagles team he'd love to beat. I'm not a fan of Wentz at this point in his career, but I also think J.J. McCarthy has a ton of room for improvement.
Not only do I think the Vikings will be better, especially with the potential for some offensive line reinforcements, but this pick has a lot to do with how poorly the Eagles have been playing. They've lost back-to-back games, and were just embarrassed by the New York Giants in Week 6.
The Eagles have been struggling, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, so I have no reason to believe they'll generate much of anything against Brian Flores' Vikings defense, especially with Minnesota having home-field advantage and coming off a bye.