The Washington Commanders placed starting quarterback Carson Wentz on injured reserve Saturday, ensuring he will miss at least four games as he recovers from a broken finger on his throwing hand.
Wentz suffered the injury during Washington's 12-7 win over the Chicago Bears on October 13 and underwent surgery to repair the broken finger earlier this week.
The 29-year-old will be eligible to return from IR on November 20, but his prognosis after surgery indicated he could miss up to six weeks.
The Commanders (2-4) will start Taylor Heinicke under center on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, with rookie fifth-round draft pick Sam Howell serving as his back-up.
In his first year with Washington, Wentz opened the season by throwing seven touchdowns in the first two games but has followed with three touchdowns and three interceptions over his past four games.
Heinicke started 15 games for Washington last season, throwing for 3,419 yards and 20 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.
With the Commanders sitting in last place of a competitive NFC East, some fans are already clamouring to see Howell as the starter.
The San Francisco 49ers' running game hasn't quite performed at the standard they would have hoped so far in 2022, but they made a blockbuster move to address that on Thursday by trading for two-time All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey
San Francisco traded a second, third and fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft as well as a fifth-rounder in 2024 to prise McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers.
At his best, McCaffrey can be one of the most devastating playmakers in the NFL. Back in 2019, he became only the third player after former 49ers great Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk to rack up 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.
In the two subsequent seasons, however, McCaffrey played only 10 games because of injury and will carry a cap hit of at least $12million in each of the next three seasons.
While he has played every game so far in 2022, giving up that level of draft capital and committing to pay that contract -- though it could be restructured in the offseason -- for a player with McCaffrey's durability problems represents a significant risk.
The 49ers' average of 4.43 yards per carry is 14th in the NFL, though they rank ninth in Efficiency versus Expected -- which compares the projected yards to the actual yards gained or prevented in specific situations -- on run plays.
San Francisco's run game has not produced at an elite level so far in 2022, but it is among the most efficient in the NFL.
The level of compensation paid to land McCaffrey suggests the 49ers believe he can lift their rushing attack to the very top of the league, but can he do enough to justify the outlay spent on him?
Still a potent running threat
Despite playing behind an offensive line in Carolina that ranks 30th in run block win rate, McCaffrey has, through the first six weeks, produced a compelling argument that he is one of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL.
While his 393 rushing yards are only good enough for 14th in the NFL, his advanced numbers illustrate his value running the ball.
His yards before contact average of 2.29 yards is below the league average of 2.5, with that figure a reflection of the disappointing blocking of the offensive line in Carolina.
However, McCaffrey did an impressive job of overcoming the Panthers' futility in the trenches, putting up 2.44 yards after contact per attempt, above the average of 2.05.
Additionally, he is also averaging 3.36 yards per carry on runs where there is a disruption by a defender, again above the league-wide mark of 3.05 and just below that of Saquon Barkley (3.37), who is second in the NFL in rushing yards with 616.
Though the Niners, who possess a young interior offensive line, are just 16th in run block win rate, that still represents a marked improvement on Carolina's performance in that area, indicating McCaffrey will benefit from blocking that will enable him to rack up more yardage in the backfield, rather than having to limit the negative impact of defenders taking advantage of blown blocks to break into the backfield.
Yet his rushing production is just part of the appeal with McCaffrey, with the potential added dimension offered by his significant receiving upside surely a huge factor in the 49ers' decision to part with such a substantial package of draft picks.
The receiving gold standard
Despite battling injuries for each of the past two seasons, McCaffrey still has an extremely strong claim for being considered the premier receiving running back in the NFL.
Since 2017, when he was drafted eighth overall by the Panthers, only the New Orleans Saints' Alvin Kamara (3,454) has racked up more receiving yards among running backs than McCaffrey (3,292).
However, Kamara has played 78 games to McCaffrey's 64 in that time and the per game numbers skew heavily in the latter's favour. McCaffrey has averaged 51.4 receiving yards per game across his career, the most among running backs since 2017, compared to 44.3 for Kamara in second. No running back has more receptions for first downs than McCaffrey (174) in that span while only Austin Ekeler (26) and Kamara (20) have more receptions for touchdowns than his 18.
This season, though the Panthers targeted him 43 times in the passing game -- only Ekeler (48) has more among backs -- McCaffrey's production through the air has not been efficient.
He has produced a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 17 of his 43 targets. His burn rate of 39.6 per cent is below the league average at his position of 47.6, and he has delivered a big play on 11 per cent of targets (the average this season for backs is 12.7).
Yet his final weeks in Carolina were ones with a team clearly ill-equipped to maximise his talents.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan should have no such problems, with McCaffrey likely to benefit from his new play-caller's ingenuity and from playing alongside another of the league's most versatile offensive weapons.
Doubling up on wide backs
McCaffrey may be the NFL's best pass-catching running back, and he is joining the league's top ball-carrying wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, on the San Francisco offense.
Last season, Samuel set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver in a single season, eight of his 14 touchdowns coming on the ground.
When lined up as a running back for a downhill carry in 2021, Samuel averaged 6.58 yards per rush. He recorded 4.11 yards before contact per attempt, 2.67 yards after contact and averaged 4.77 yards per attempt on carries where there was a run disruption by a defender, his remarkable proficiency in the self-termed 'wide back' role fuelling San Francisco's surge to the NFC Championship Game.
This season, Samuel has 19 carries from the running back spot and is averaging 6.53 yards per rush and 4.61 yards after contact per attempt.
Not every NFL week is going to be filled with great games. The law of averages says there will be some clunkers.
But it only takes one game to spice up a Sunday, and Week 7 has such a contest in the form of a Super Bowl rematch.
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV three seasons ago, the Niners failing to finish the job in Miami having led 20-10 with seven minutes remaining.
San Francisco's first chance for a measure of revenge comes on Sunday, when the 49ers host the Chiefs in a game SmartRatings sees as the best of the week.
SmartRatings is a Stats Perform AI-based platform that provides excitement ratings for sporting events, teams and players. The excitement scale, ranging from 0-100, is powered by complex algorithms that are predicated upon six primary variables: pace, parity, novelty, momentum, context and social buzz.
The weight of each variable is dynamic and adapts as a season progresses. The excitement scale translates to the following general sub-ranges: 0-39 (Dull Game), 40-64 (OK Game), 65-84 (Good Game), 85-100 (Great Game).
Here, we take a look at Chiefs-49ers clash in the Bay Area and two other games viewed as the most exciting of Week 7 and the key matchups that could decide them.
Green Bay Packers @ Washington Commanders
SmartRating: 54
Win Probability: Packers 74.2%
Key Matchup: Allen Lazard vs. Washington cornerbacks
Randall Cobb's injury means Aaron Rodgers has even fewer receivers he can trust, so Lazard can expect plenty of targets to come his way as the Packers look to end a two-game losing run.
The numbers suggest Lazard will be able to find joy against a vulnerable Washington secondary.
Lazard has won his matchup with a defender, which Stats Perform labels as a 'burn', on 21 of his 32 targets. His burn rate of 65.6 per cent is above the league average of 60.6 for receivers with a minimum of 20 targets.
He has produced a big play on 12 of those targets, good for a big play rate of 37.2 that is 10th among wideouts (min. 20 targets).
Washington's starting corners, Benjamin St. Juste and Kendall Fuller, have allowed 12.27 and 13.15 burn yards per target respectively -- the average for corners with at least 20 targets is 10.05.
Both have given up a big play on over 30 per cent of their targets -- St. Juste (31.3%), Fuller (36%) -- at a position where the average is 25.5. In other words, Rodgers and Lazard should theoretically be able to thrive against both starting corners. If they do, the Packers' passing game might finally get on track and boost Green Bay's hopes of a deep playoff push many anticipated before their underwhelming start.
Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans
SmartRating: 60
Win Probability: Colts 54.4%
Key Matchup: Jeffery Simmons vs. Quenton Nelson
The AFC South is turning into a dogfight, with the 3-2 Titans leading the 3-2-1 Colts by half a game going into this divisional clash.
For the Colts to make sure the tie with the Houston Texans that separates them and the Titans does not prove costly down the stretch, they need to knock off Tennessee.
Doing that will involve stopping Jeffery Simmons, who has been a force on the interior of the Tennessee defense.
Simmons has beaten a pass protector on 18 of his 23 pressures this season. Only four interior defensive linemen have defeated a blocker on a pressure more often.
However, the Colts have a left guard in Quenton Nelson who has once again been one of the NFL's elite at his position in 2022.
Nelson has allowed a pressure on just 3.1 per cent of his pass protection snaps, giving him the sixth-best pressure rate among guards with at least 100 snaps this season.
The Colts will at least need to slow down Simmons for their passing game to prosper as it did against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the heavyweight battle between two former first-round picks in the heart of the trenches could well decide who takes command of the division.
Kansas City Chiefs @ San Francisco 49ers
SmartRating: 71
Win Probability: Chiefs 50.7
Key Matchup: Fred Warner vs. Chiefs offense
A Super Bowl rematch between two teams coming off losses was made spicier with the news of San Francisco's blockbuster trade for running back Christian McCaffrey on Thursday.
But McCaffrey is unlikely to have much of an impact if he does play on Sunday given the limited time he has had to absorb the 49er playbook.
More key to the 49ers' hopes of at least partially avenging their Super Bowl collapse is the performance of a player who intercepted Mahomes in that game, Fred Warner.
The 2020 first-team All-Pro is the organisational heartbeat of the 49er defense, the man who plays a pivotal role in ensuring DeMeco Ryans' group is ultra-disciplined and consistently in the right position to make plays.
That discipline fell down in Week 6 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons, in which an extremely banged-up defense struggled to handle the Falcons' array of motions and zone-read runs involving quarterback Marcus Mariota.
San Francisco will get back a host of players from injury this weekend and the defense must do a better job of handling motion against an offense that heavily relies on it and will have to be alert to Mahomes' running threat, which for defenses is a frustrating complement to the wondrous things he can do throwing the ball.
Still, with no Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs' avenues to explosive plays are not as plentiful as they once were, and the 49ers will likely approach Kansas City in a similar way to the Buffalo Bills defense last week, leaning on two-high safety zone coverages in an attempt to force Mahomes to attack underneath.
Warner has allowed receivers to get open in zone coverage on just 10.87 per cent of his zone plays, his zone open rate the best in the NFL among linebackers. With his acumen in that area of the game and the athleticism he possesses to run downfield with Mahomes' primary target Travis Kelce, a bounce-back effort from Warner will be crucial to San Francisco's hopes of overturning odds that are slightly in Kansas City's favour.
The Denver Broncos have listed quarterback Russell Wilson as questionable for their Week 7 meeting with the New York Jets.
Wilson injured his hamstring during the Broncos' 19-16 overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday, a game in which the 33-year-old started brightly before Denver collapsed.
Wilson finished the first quarter with a perfect 10 completions, including a touchdown, but completed just five of his subsequent 18 passes as the Chargers fought back.
Things then went from bad to worse for the Broncos as Wilson confirmed he had played through the pain barrier after straining his hamstring in the latter stages of the game.
On Friday, the Broncos listed Wilson as questionable for the clash with the Jets, while head coach Nathaniel Hackett said the team will make a "game-time decision" on his involvement.
Wilson was already managing a shoulder injury sustained in the Week 5 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, and has been seen wearing a wrap under his pads in recent outings.
The Broncos enter their meeting with the Jets with a 2-4 record for the season, with nine-time Pro Bowl QB Wilson completing just 58.6 per cent of his passes since arriving in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.
Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins will miss up to six weeks of action following knee surgery.
The 23-year-old, who was the 55th overall pick for the Ravens in the 2020 draft, missed the whole of the 2021 season after suffering a knee injury in his team's final preseason game.
Dobbins returned to action in Week 3 of the 2022 campaign against the New England Patriots, and has played four games in all, scoring a touchdown in the 23-20 defeat to the Buffalo Bills in Week 4.
However, he did not practice all week after not playing in the second half of the 24-20 defeat at the New York Giants in Week 6.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Dobbins will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the next few days that will keep him out for "four to six weeks".
The 3-3 Ravens, who face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, will have to turn to Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill over the next few weeks to maintain their impressive running game, spearheaded by quarterback Lamar Jackson, who himself has rushed for 451 yards in six games this season.
Baltimore rank seventh in the NFL for rushing yards (934) but are first for average yards (5.95).
Christian McCaffrey officially joined the San Francisco 49ers on Friday and expressed excitement about joining the Kyle Shanahan-led offense.
Acquired from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday for a haul of draft picks, McCaffrey met with the media after taking part in his first practice with the 49ers.
"In my opinion, the best run game and one of the most explosive offenses in the league. How could you not want to play here as an offensive weapon," McCaffrey said. "I couldn’t be more fired up to be here. Obviously, I have a little bit of a history with coach Shanahan. I can’t express how happy I am to be here."
The trade sends McCaffrey back to the Bay Area where he starred in college at Stanford.
McCaffrey’s father, former NFL wild receiver Ed McCaffrey, won a Super with the 49ers in 1994 and won two more titles in Denver with Shanahan’s father, Mike, as his head coach.
"I don’t think there’s anybody better at putting guys in position to have success and tailoring to what they’re good at," McCaffrey said of Kyle Shanahan. "I’ve watched him to do some unbelievable things with some great running backs, even the guys in the room right now. I’m just excited to learn from them."
The 49ers will add McCaffrey to a group of playmakers that includes versatile receiver Deebo Samuel, star tight end George Kittle and receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Samuel has thrived under Shanahan in becoming one of the league’s most productive players and McCaffrey should be able to do many of the similar things, whether lining up in the backfield or in the slot as a receiver.
"It’s an honour to be compared to him [Samuel]," McCaffrey said. "I’m happy to share the locker room with him and I think we can do some exciting things."
While clearly one of the best running backs in the league, McCaffrey has had trouble staying healthy in recent seasons. He missed 23 games over the previous two seasons due to injuries but has played in all six games in 2022.
"I think you’re always adapting every offseason," McCaffrey said regarding injuries. "It’s a constant change in figuring out what’s the best thing to do, so I made some tweaks here and there, talked to some different guys. Every year I’ve made certain changes and at the end of the day, it’s an ongoing process. Just take it day by day."
McCaffrey ranks fourth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (607) despite playing for the league’s 32nd-ranked offense. He and Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb are the only players in the league to have five games this year with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.
The New York Jets travel to face the Denver Broncos on the back of a three-game winning streak on Sunday, though their recent record in this contest suggests it could be a struggle for their offense.
Denver's defense has recorded a shutout in each of the Broncos' last two home games with the Jets.
The Broncos might have expected to enter this Week 7 contest with a winning record, but it is the Jets who are in much better shape in the AFC after six weeks.
Having started the season 1-2, the Jets have claimed three wins in a row since Zach Wilson returned from injury and face a Broncos team now 2-4 after two consecutive overtime defeats and with questions lingering over the performances of Russell Wilson.
The Broncos' blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks for the nine-time Pro Bowl QB has not worked out as intended so far. Wilson has a completion percentage of 58.6 this season. In 10 seasons with the Seahawks, his lowest single-season completion percentage was 61.3 in 2017.
His Week 6 performance in overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers was particularly poor as Wilson completed just 15 of his 28 passes (53.6 per cent), with Wilson's former Seahawks team-mate Michael Robinson warning there could be a 'mutiny' in the locker room due to his 'robot' approach.
A yards per game average of 240.3 is only enough to rank 14th in the NFL and Wilson's well-thrown rate, a Stats Perform metric that measures how often a pass is accurate and well-thrown, stands at 72.6 per cent. Of players with over 100 passing attempts this season, only the Chicago Bears' Justin Fields has a lower percentage (72.1).
In contrast to the Broncos' woes, the Jets come into the matchup on a high after securing their first three-game win streak since 2019, with last week's victory at the Green Bay Packers also marking their first three-game road winning run in a single season since 2010.
That year, the Jets season ended with a trip to the AFC Championship game. They have not been back to the playoffs since and recorded a winning record just once in that time (10-6 in 2015).
Only once since 2018 have the Jets had more wins in a single season (seven in 2019) than the four they have amassed so far yet, while the feeling is positive, it is no secret Zach Wilson still has work to do.
In his three games since returning from injury, all of which have been victories, he has thrown 572 yards with a completion percentage of 56. He has thrown only one touchdown completion while tossing two interceptions.
The No.2 pick from the 2021 draft has seen general manager Joe Douglas vastly improving Wilson's supporting cast, but their recent surge has been in spite of Wilson rather than because of him.
A well-thrown rate of 72.5 is a concern on its own but is especially concerning given 82.6 percent of his throws have been to an open target, the fifth-highest rate among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts.
No player in the NFL with at least 50 pass attempts this season has a higher pickable pass percentage than Wilson's 10.14, while he is continuing to hold the ball for far too long.
Indeed, his average time of 2.94 seconds from the snap of the ball to the throw is the longest of any player to have a passing attempt in 2022.
Clearly, both Wilsons have significant strides to make, but the difference is Denver is locked into Russell Wilson for the long-term on an extremely lucrative contract. Zach Wilson is still on his rookie deal and the Jets could soon start to have conversations about whether to activate his fifth-year option or look to move on to a new potential answer at the game's most important position. Breaking their scoreless streak in Denver against a vaunted Bronco defense will at least improve the case of the player the Jets hope will blossom into their franchise quarterback.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury have played down their heated exchange during a win over the New Orleans Saints.
The Cardinals snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a 42-34 victory on Thursday, as the visitors' stand-in QB Andy Dalton threw three interceptions.
For Arizona, Murray completed 20 of his 29 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, but he also made headlines through his second-quarter row with Kingsbury.
Murray appeared to shout, "calm the f*** down" at his coach on two occasions, but insisted there was no ill feeling between the pair after the win.
"The clock was running down and we couldn't get off the play that we were trying to run," Murray said. "So, it was... I guess it's my fault. I'll take it.
"We're good. We're going to make it right. We ended up scoring so that was good. But, yes, that's all I was saying, just chill out.
"It doesn't faze me, and I don't think it fazes him. We're just trying to win. [It was an] in the moment type of thing. After that, we're good."
Kingsbury shared Murray's view of the incident, adding he liked to see such levels of competitiveness from his QB.
"I mean, it's good," Kingsbury said. "I think we are working through, as an offense, where we want to be and what we want to do.
"When you have competitors that have a level of intensity like that, I think it will keep pushing us forward."
The Cardinals' win represented their first 40-plus-point game since January 1, 2017, breaking the longest streak in the NFL of 87 games, and took them to 3-0-4 for the season.
Heading into Week 7 of the NFL season, the picture is still delicately poised as the race for the playoffs begins to heat up.
The Philadelphia Eagles (6-0), Buffalo Bills (5-1) and Minnesota Vikings (5-1) are all on a bye this week, along with the Los Angeles Rams (3-3), which provides an opportunity for the chasing pack to close the gap.
Both New York franchises are on the road as they look to extend their winning records, the Giants in Jacksonville to face the Jaguars while the Jets tussle with the Denver Broncos, and elsewhere, the Kansas City Chiefs have a stern test in San Francisco against the 49ers.
With all that and more on the cards, Stats Perform has delved into the numbers to preview this weekend's action.
New York Giants (5-1) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4)
The Giants may have season form on their side against the Jaguars but they are the only team to never win a road game in Jacksonville (0-3), who are one of two franchises the Giants have not won against away from home alongside the Baltimore Ravens.
Victory against the Ravens in Week 6, coming on home soil, saw the Giants secure a fifth win of the season and become the first NFL team this term to surpass their win total from last year (four). Their largest wins increase in the Super Bowl era was from one in 1966 to seven in 1967.
Daniel Jones' form has been key to that improvement, completing at least 70 per cent of his passes in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He has the opportunity to become only the second Giants QB in the Super Bowl era to do so in three straight games, alongside Eli Manning in September 2018 (minimum 20 attempts each game).
The Jaguars' 2-4 record does not paint the full picture of their season, though, with a +24 point differential standing as the sixth best in the NFL and the best for a team with a losing record through six games since the 2010 Los Angelese Chargers (+31, 2-4).
In last week's defeat to the Indianapolis Colts, Trevor Lawrence completed 20 of 22 passes (90.9 per cent) to become the youngest player (23 years, 10 days) to ever record 90 per cent accuracy from at least 20 passing attempts in a game.
Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) @ San Francisco 49ers (3-3)
Kansas City face the 49ers boasting victories in four of the last five matchups, including a 31-20 triumph in Super Bowl LIV, but are 1-5 in San Francisco – with their only win there coming in the teams' first-ever clash in 1971.
The Chiefs have not been strong defensively, allowing at least 20 points in all six games to begin the season and stand as one of four teams who are yet to allow fewer than 20 in any game this season.
That bodes well for the 49ers, who are 2-0 at home this season and have allowed fewer than 10 points in both of those games, though they have never held their opponent to fewer than 10 points in the team's first three home games of any season.
The potential return of Nick Bosa will be of concern for Patrick Mahomes, after he missed last week due to a groin injury, as the 49ers are pressuring quarterbacks in 48.4 per cent of passing plays with Bosa on the field (122 plays) compared to 34.9 per cent without him (86 plays).
New York Jets (4-2) @ Denver Broncos (2-4)
The Denver Broncos are in need of a major improvement in performance and hosting the Jets will provide encouragement, having shut them out in two straight home games, including 26-0 last year.
The Jets have reason to be optimistic themselves, however, with last week's 27-10 victory against the Green Bay Packers securing their first three-game winning streak since 2019 and their first three-game road winning streak in a single season since 2010.
Meanwhile, the Broncos fell to a 19-16 overtime defeat to the Chargers in Week 6 and suffered their second straight overtime loss, with no team ever having played three straight overtime games in NFL history.
Russell Wilson found himself under scrutiny again last week, completing only 15 of his 28 pass attempts for a completion percentage of 53.6. In total this season, he has a 58.6 completion percentage, having entered the year with a lowest single-season completion percentage of 61.3 in 2017.
Elsewhere…
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their first six road games as a franchise against the Miami Dolphins but head to Florida in Week 7 with a 6-3 record in the past nine meetings. However, they have not had a quarterback start at the Dolphins other than Ben Roethlisberger since Kordell Stewart in 1998.
Each of the last 11 games between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chargers have been decided by a single-digit margin, with the only longer streak in NFL history being a 14-game stretch between the Colts and Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020.
Aaron Rodgers stands 0-3 in road games against the Washington Commanders, with the Green Bay Packers 2-8 in their last 10 games in Washington – their victories coming in 1968 and 2004.
Tom Brady faces the Carolina Panthers with 15 completions in each of his last 39 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tying Brady's career-best streak with 39 straight games for the New England Patriots from 2011 to 2013.
The San Francisco 49ers have won the Christian McCaffrey sweepstakes, acquiring the All-Pro running back from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday for four draft picks, according to multiple reports.
Off to an ugly 1-5 start, the Panthers had been considering trading McCaffrey, and they found a partner in the 49ers. Carolina will receive picks in the second, third and fourth round in the 2023 draft, and a fifth-round selection in 2024.
The 26-year-old McCaffrey ranks fourth in the NFL with 670 scrimmage yards, amassing 393 on the ground and another 277 through the air.
He joins a 49ers team that lost starting running back Elijah Mitchell to a sprained MCL in the season opener and quarterback Trey Lance to a season-ending broken ankle the next week.
Despite the significant injuries, the 49ers are 3-3 and in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks and defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
The versatile McCaffrey gives quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo another weapon to an offense that features receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle.
The eighth overall pick of the 2017 draft, McCaffrey’s best season came in 2019, when he became the third player in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. He finished with 1,387 rushing yards and 1,005 receiving yards and 19 total touchdowns to tie for the league lead.
Injuries, however, limited him to just 10 total games in 2020 and ‘21, but he’s suited up for all six games this year.
McCaffrey becomes the second Carolina player traded to an NFC West team this week after the Arizona Cardinals acquired wide receiver Robbie Anderson on Monday.
The Arizona Cardinals snapped their two-game losing skid by capitalizing on three Andy Dalton interceptions in a 42-34 win over the New Orleans Saints on Thursday.
The Cardinals led 35-17 before the Saints scored two fourth-quarter TDs through Dalton passes, but the damage was done as Arizona improved to 3-4 at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Arizona QB Kyler Murray, who was seen shouting at head coach Kliff Kingsbury in the second quarter, completed 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, along with 30 rushing yards. DeAndre Hopkins sparked his side, returning from suspension for the first time this season for 103 yards from 10 catches.
Cardinals running backs Eno Benjamin, who had 12 carries for 92 yards, and rookie Keaontay Ingram both scored TDs.
The story of the game was Saints QB Dalton, starting for the fourth straight game in Jameis Winston's absence due to a back injury.
Dalton had thrown only one interception in his previous three starts, but gave away three, including two pick-sixes to Marco Wilson and Isaiah Simmons. He had 30-of-47 passing for 361 yards with four touchdowns, connecting with Juwan Johnson for two of them, but the three interceptions hurt.
The Saints had gone ahead early when Dalton found Rashid Shaheed with a 53-yard TD pass, but the Cardinals worked their way back with 25 second-quarter points. Ingram powered his way in for a TD, before Wilson swooped on Marquez Callaway's tip ball, followed by Simmons' interception return from the 40-yard line.
The game marked the Cardinals' first 40-plus-point game since January 1 2017, breaking the longest streak in the NFL of 87 games.
The Dallas Cowboys have not made an official announcement, but according to Dak Prescott he will be back starting at quarterback on Sunday against the visiting Detroit Lions.
When asked during a press conference on Thursday if he would be starting on Sunday, Prescott responded, “I am.”
He then paused briefly and said, “I think.”
Though he tried walk back his slip-up, all signs point to Prescott being under center for the first time since suffering a fracture near his right thumb in the fourth quarter of a 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 11.
He has been medically cleared to practice and got through a full training session on Thursday for the first time since his injury.
''It's about staying where my feet are,'' Prescott said. ''Just thankful I went out there and had a good practice. Just put my mind right where I am, and when I look up I'll be prepared ready to go for Sunday.''
Prescott said he had no issues throwing and joked that he threw 140 passes – his way of saying he has no limitations.
"I did everything. I wasn't limited by any means," Prescott said. "There wasn't a pitch count. I think I threw about 140 balls, something like that. I just made that up, but there was no pitch count. I was full go."
He threw 40 passes during a practice on Wednesday and also threw on the field prior to the Cowboys’ 26-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday.
That marks the only blemish on Dallas’ record since the season opener.
Cooper Rush led the Cowboys to four consecutive wins in place of Prescott, completing 61.9 per cent of his passes for 775 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 97.1 passer rating before completing 47.4 per cent of his 38 attempts for 181 yards with a TD throw and three picks for a 37.3 rating in Week 6.
''He went out there and did everything I expected Cooper to do,'' Prescott said. ''Understand that everybody had to raise their level and everybody is going to continue to raise their level. That is what he has done and what the team has done. Now I can come back and we can keep rolling.''
Prescott, however, also struggled in Week 1, completing 48.3 per cent of his 29 attempts for 134 yards and an average of 4.6 yards per throw with one interception and a 47.2 rating.
Tua Tagovailoa says he was "wondering what happened" after being knocked unconscious by a big hit in the Miami Dolphins' defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Dolphins quarterback was briefly hospitalised after hitting his head on the ground while attempting to extend a play during a 27-15 Week 4 loss.
Tagovailoa has not played since, but he cleared the concussion protocols last weekend and is set to start against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
The 24-year-old has spoken for the first time about the injury he sustained on September 29.
He said: "I wouldn't say it was scary for me at the time because there was a point where I was unconscious, so I couldn't really tell what was going on.
"When I did come to and kind of realised what was going on and what was happening, I didn't think of anything long term or short term. I was just wondering what happened."
Tagovailoa has vowed to learn from the experience and change his approach where necessary.
"Throwing the ball away hasn't been something that I've done in the past really well," he said.
"Because I'm trying to make plays, and so just learning from that – if it's not there, it's okay to throw it away. It's the longevity of me just being able to be the quarterback for this team and not try to make something out of nothing."
Miami started the season with three consecutive wins but are now 3-3 after three defeats in a row.
Tagovailoa warned he will not be returning with a magic wand to ensure their fortunes are turned around immediately.
"I just gotta be myself – I'm not the saviour of this team. I don't just come in and we start winning games," he said.
"It's a team deal. The defense gets us stops, the offense goes and puts points on the board, and the defense can help put points on the board as well as special teams.
"So for me, I just look at it as coming into this week and just be myself. Don't try to force anything. Don't try to make plays that aren't there – just give our playmakers the ball and let them go to work."
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown got a second opinion on his injured left foot and will be sidelined at least one month.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury gave the injury update Wednesday, and although he admitted he didn’t know the exact nature of the injury, he said it won’t require surgery.
"It looks like it’ll be indefinite. I think at least a month, I would say," he said via video from Bo Brack of PHNX Cardinals podcast. "We’ll evaluate it and go from there."
It was originally being reported that Brown would be sidelined at least six weeks after he was injured in Sunday’s 19-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Brown ranks fifth in the NFL with 43 receptions and has the seventh-most receiving yards with 485, while his three receiving touchdowns account for half of Kyler Murray’s TD passes.
Murray, though, will have a pair of new weapons at his disposal for Arizona’s Thursday night game against the New Orleans Saints.
Robbie Anderson will make his Cardinals debut after being acquired from the Carolina Panthers on Monday, and DeAndre Hopkins will rejoin the team with his six-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs now over.
Belief is a powerful emotion.
Athletes from a variety of sports over the years have spoken about the power of self-belief that allowed them to overcome the odds and prevail.
In the world of fantasy football, where the stakes are substantially lower, it is easy to lose faith after a few bad weeks given the season is so short.
Still, even as the losses mount, it's important to not get discouraged, trust in your line-up decisions and, most importantly, remember that it's just a bit of fun.
Not everything is going to go right for all your players in every game, but with Week 7 on the horizon, Stats Perform has gone through the numbers and identified four offensive players and a defense deserving of your faith for the upcoming slate of games.
Quarterback: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys @ Detroit Lions
Prescott is finally set to return to the lineup after Cooper Rush kept the Cowboys firmly in the mix during his absence with a fractured thumb.
There may some reticence to roll with Prescott in fantasy in his first game since the season opener.
Against the Lions, there's little reason to have such concerns. Their defense is allowing 7.37 yards per pass play, the second most in the NFL, while only the Cleveland Browns have conceded more offensive touchdowns than Detroit's 18.
Game flow could work against Prescott putting up a huge fantasy performance if the Dallas defense allows the Cowboys to build a big lead, but there's no reason to expect him to struggle on his return.
Running Back: Kenneth Walker, Seattle Seahawks @ Los Angeles Chargers
Walker backed up his explosive performance against the New Orleans Saints in Week 5 with a strong showing in Week 6 as the Seahawks knocked off the Arizona Cardinals.
He racked up 97 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries versus Arizona and now gets to face a Charger run defense that has displayed no improvement despite heavy offseason investment.
Only the New York Giants (5.61) are allowing more yards per rush than the Chargers (5.56). Walker already has seven rushes of 10 yards or more this season and, if you have this exciting rookie on your roster, you can afford to believe he will deliver in a substantial way in LA.
Wide Receiver: Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Samuel was kept relatively quiet as the 49er offense endured a difficult day in Atlanta last week, failing to score in the second half of their 28-14 loss to the Falcons.
Even so, he still managed seven catches for 79 yards and his fantasy managers who may be worried about a drop-off from the San Francisco attack should stay calm.
The 49er run game sputtered in Atlanta, gaining just 50 yards, but it looked at its best on the two carries Samuel received out of the backfield.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan last season turned to putting Samuel in the backfield to give his offense a spark and it produced stunning results. Don't be surprised to see him do the same here.
With the Chiefs level with the Lions with 18 offensive scores allowed, a varied role for Samuel on Sunday could spell a highly productive effort on an offense that may benefit from the return of All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams.
Tight End: Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers @ Washington Commanders
The Green Bay offense is in dreadful shape, with some questioning whether it is broken beyond repair following a dismal defeat to the New York Jets at Lambeau Field.
Aaron Rodgers has called for the Packers to simplify their attack in the wake of that loss. Any huge schematic changes seem unlikely but what is probable is that Rodgers will focus on the few targets he trusts.
One such target is Tonyan, who was last week targeted 12 times, catching 10 passes for 90 yards.
With Randall Cobb on the sideline through injury, Allen Lazard and Tonyan will likely be Rodgers' favoured weapons in the passing game. Whether he can engineer an upturn in Green Bay's fortunes is open for debate, but Tonyan's place in the pass-catching hierarchy for the Packers gives him plenty of fantasy value against a Commanders defense that has allowed 12 passing touchdowns, the second-most in the league.
Defense/Special Teams: New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals
Is your faith in the New Orleans defense shaken by the Cincinnati Bengals' comeback against the Saints? Well here come the Cardinals to make everything all better.
The Cardinals managed nine points against a Seahawks team that has allowed 163 this season. Only the Lions have given up more.
On a per-play basis, the Steelers are the sole team to put up fewer yards (4.77) than the Cardinals (4.81).
The Saints' defense is not as fearsome as in days gone by, but it has the benefit of facing an utterly anaemic offense in Week 7 and is worthy of some belief as a result.
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