Perfect So Far: Can the 49ers and Vikings Stay Unbeaten in NFL Week 7?
Photo: NFL | Yahoo Sports
Perfect records get harder to protect with every passing week. The league’s unbeaten teams face new pressure every Sunday, and Week 7 tests two of them.
Here is what to watch among the undefeated NFL teams on the schedule.
49ers at Falcons (1 p.m. ET, FOX)
San Francisco improved to 6-0 last week for the fourth time in franchise history, matching its starts in 1984, 1990 and 2019. This year’s team is doing it with balance. The 49ers, along with Kansas City, are one of two teams in the top five of the league in both scoring offense (29.5 points per game) and scoring defense (18.3 allowed).
Brock Purdy deserves much of the credit. He is tied for first in the league with 14 touchdown passes and ranks second with a 118.1 passer rating. He has 27 career games with a rating of 110 or better, which is the third-most by any player through his first five NFL seasons. Only Russell Wilson (34) and Patrick Mahomes (31) have more. Tight end George Kittle also scored his fifth touchdown reception of the season last week.
Atlanta is 2-4, which makes this look like a mismatch. But a team in the NFC with a six-game winning streak is always one bad quarter from trouble.
Our lean: 49ers. If San Francisco’s offense and defense are both top five, it is hard to see Atlanta finding a way to keep up.
Colts at Vikings (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
Minnesota is 5-0 and leads the league in scoring defense at 12.8 points per game. A win would make the Vikings 6-0 for the fifth time since 1990, joining the 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2009 teams.
Here is how good the defense has been. Minnesota is the first team in 20 years, since the 2007 Steelers and Patriots, to hold opponents to 16 or fewer points and 300 or fewer yards in four of the first five games of a season.
There is also a little history waiting for Justin Jefferson. He has 598 career receptions and 8,738 receiving yards in 98 games, so he is two catches away from 600 and just three yards away from passing Calvin Johnson (8,740) for third place on the all-time list through a player’s first 100 career games. He should clear both marks early on Sunday.
Indianapolis is 2-4 and will have to find a way to move the ball against the league’s stingiest defense.
Our lean: Vikings by double digits. The defense is the best in the league, and the home crowd will be loud.
What it means
Both teams look like real contenders, not just hot starters. The 49ers have the offense and defense to keep winning, and the Vikings have the defense to win in any weather. The real tests come later, but a perfect Week 7 would build their cases.
Want more? Check our Week 7 preview for the Chiefs’ trip to Seattle, or our look at the Road to Super Bowl. The official NFL schedule has kickoff times and TV information.
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