NFL Week 7

NFL Week 7 is the seventh week of the NFL schedule. With the trading deadline passed, teams begin to focus on the goal of making the playoffs.

In 2009, the Indianapolis Colts became the first team since the 1929, 1930 and 1931 Green Bay Packers to start three consecutive seasons with a record of 7-0.http://www.nfl.com/teams/coaches?coaType=head&team=IND The other team to be undefeated after week seven in 2009 was the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

From 1966 through 1999 there were seventeen teams with records of 7-0. Nine of those went on to play in the Super Bowl, with seven of them victorious. Those teams include the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to finish the regular and postseason undefeated, the 1977 Dallas Cowboys]], the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 1990 New York Giants, the 1991 Washington Redskins and the 1998 Denver Broncos.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/statitudes/news/2000/10/24/undefeated_last/

The NFL schedule for week seven features fourteen games. The New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and defending AFC Champions Indianapolis Colts are on byes this week. The games will be played on October 24 and October 25, 2010. The schedule features four divisional games, three inter-conference match ups and seven games with teams from the same conference facing off.

Featured games on the slate include a NFC East showdown on Monday Night Football when Eli Manning and the New York Giants face Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. Another match up worth watching is a battle between NFC North foes as the Minnesota Vikings, with or without Brett Favre travel to Lambeau Field to face their arch rivals in the Green Bay Packers.

Week 7 of the 2009 NFL season was laced with blowout victories and one sided contests. Eleven of the games were decided by double digit scores, with six of those decided by at least four touchdowns.

In games from week seven, the Cincinnati Bengals throttled the Chicago Bears, the New England Patriots hammered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Indianapolis Colts steamrolled the winless St. Louis Rams, and the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings.

Other games included the San Diego Chargers ripping the Kansas City Chiefs, the Houston Texans edging the San Francisco 49ers, the Green Bay Packers torching the Cleveland Browns, the Buffalo Bills over the Carolina Panthers, the New York Jets blanking the Oakland Raiders, the Dallas Cowboys over the Atlanta Falcons, the New Orleans Saints rallying in the second half to down the Miami Dolphins, the Arizona Cardinals with a road win over the New York Giants and on Monday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Washington Redskins.

This week marked the fourth consecutive week during which some of the teams in the league did not play because of their bye week. This means that the Cardinals, Eagles, Falcons, and Jaguars did not play. The doubleheader action this week belonged to CBS, and one of the late games Sunday afternoon featured the New York Jets visiting the Oakland Raiders.

40 years prior, the two teams met in Oakland and NBC, which was televising the game at the time, switched the east coast viewers away from the game before it ended to a made-for-television movie version of the story Heidi. Irate fans flooded the telephone switchboard at NBC, causing it to overload.

The game has become known as the Heidi Bowl. NBC now carries the Sunday night game, and this week's contest features the Seattle Seahawks visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The week ended on Monday when the New England Patriots hosted the Denver Broncos.