The Week 7 NFL schedule is just as exciting as always, but for two teams, they will be the ones watching and not playing as it is their bye week.
Two teams who have strong passing games and have had rollercoaster type of seasons will be watching games with a bye in Week 7. Those two teams are the Houston Texans and the Detroit Lions.
The Texans enter their Week 7 bye coming off a 33-17 win over the Cleveland Browns and are 3-3 on the season. Houston has won two of their past three games with a rookie quarterback under center. Deshaun Watson is becoming the quarterback Texans fans have been dreaming about for years. Already in his first six NFL games, Watson has passed for nearly 1,300 yards and has thrown 15 touchdowns.
Houston is third in points scored per game (29.5) and second in rushing yards per game (137.7) and are in the middle of the pack in total yards per game offensively (343.8).
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The Texans defense ranks in the Top 10 in yards allowed per game (7th) and passing yards allowed per game (10th). They are allowing 24.5 points per game (24th) and 107.2 rushing yards per game.
When the Texans return to the field in Week 8, a very strong team will be waiting for them in the Seattle Seahawks … in Seattle, so that will be a very tough test for the Texans rookie quarterback.
As for the Lions, they also sit at .500 with a 3-3 record through six games played and are a bit of a mystery as to how good they are and can be. They’ve been average in the standings thus far, and this past Sunday their defense was no match for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, losing, 52-38.
The Lions really needed this bye week because they’ve lost their past two games, and their last win in Week 4 was by just seven points with a 14-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Offensively, the Lions are in the Top 10 in the NFL with a 26.8 points per game average, but rank 21st or worse in total yards per game (28th), passing yards per game (21st) and rushing yards per game (84).
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Numbers like that will not win games in the playoffs, much less get a team into the playoffs, so as they take in this Week 7 bye, the Lions must reflect on what they need to do to become a better offense. Defensively, the Lions are 26th in points allowed per game and 23rd in passing yards per game.
The Lions will return to the field in Week 8 when they will host the Pittsburgh Steelers.