Six Teams Most Desperate for a Week 7 Win

Just about any team/fanbase can skate by to this point in the season with some semblance of hope. All you realistically need is two wins to have a chance at the playoffs, and any respectable fan will concoct a hypothetical route to the 7 seed.

But we're getting awfully close to the point of no return. There are several teams who've fucked around til this point, and if they fuck around anymore they're gonna find out.

Partially based on my preseason expectations, these are the teams that most need to win this weekend.

No. 1: Los Angeles Rams (2-4)

I can't believe they're 2-4 either.

But isn't it kind of awesome? It's like clockwork the "Super Team" of the year underperforms. The opening week loss to San Francisco is understandable. The loss to Denver was literally taken from them by the refs, so even though Denver is not a good football team, that's also understandable.

But back to back losses at home to the Bills and Cardinals - not so much.

The Bills offense is great, but they gave that game away with special team's blunders. That should've been a win 10 times out of 10. This past week was simply inexcusable, scoring 16 points and losing a game in which your defense didn't allow a TD.

This team is kind of a mess right now, and they're running out of leash to lose games they shouldn't lose.

One week the defense struggles, the next week the offense struggles, and the special teams is a disaster every week.

They need to beat the Raiders Sunday, who are a team themselves in dire need of a win. At 2-5, even with a lighter schedule the next month and a half, their room for error essentially goes to zero.

This Sunday proved there is no such thing as a light schedule, since Arizona would've certainly fallen into that category. It's approaching scary time in LA.

No. 2: Atlanta Falcons (2-4)

Reminder that this is somewhat based on my personal preseason expectations.

I picked the Falcons to win the South, which after two weeks looked like my worst take of the year.

But after a couple wins and the offense firing with Michael Penix, a lot more people joined me in thinking this was the best team in the South (where to be fair, all teams suck).

A tough loss against Snoop Huntley (the one game backup bump) was followed up by a beatdown by the Bears (I know they came back but for all intents and purposes it was a beatdown), and all of a sudden the Dirty Birds are 2-4 staring at a gauntlet of a schedule.

It's hard to call a game against the undefeated Niners a must-win, but I think we have to.

After SF, the Falcons have the Bucs on the road (all divisional road games are tough and Baker might be back), followed by the Bengals, Chiefs, Vikings, and Lions.

That feels like 1-4 to me, maybe 2-3. If that's the case, and they don't beat the Niners this week, that leaves them sitting at 4-8 heading into the final five games.

I know you're never technically out of the NFC South picture (seeing how that's exactly where they were last year when they won their final four games to barely miss the playoffs) but you can't bank on 8-9 winning the division.

A win this weekend would provide a morale bump that moves the 1-4 or 2-3 over the next five games to 2-3 or 3-2. Then, they sit at .500 down the stretch.

This feels like a huge game for Atlanta. You can't lose three in a row at home.

No. 3: Houston Texans (2-4)

This one is more situational, since last week was the true must win to keep their season alive.

But against the Giants - the first place Giants I must add - with JJ McCarthy likely getting the start and an upcoming bye in week 7, this feels like a foreshadowing game for Houston.

A win puts them at 3-4 heading into the bye and all the confidence in the world. This team just last year made the playoffs starting 0-3, and with a win they essentially restart their season and everyone in that building will be thinking playoffs.

A loss, though, would be heartbreaking. Following up a gutty, season saving win with a loss as a double-digit favorite to move to 2-5 would deflate any air they pumped in their tires. That would be a long bye week, and they would have to play the rest of the year with a lot more desperation than they would with a win.

The schedule is pretty favorable for a team that won 12 games last year too. The Ravens, Jaguars, and Packers are the only three teams left on their schedule that in my opinion have deep playoff expectations. A win this week almost assures the Texans a 10-win season.

No 4: Dallas Cowboys (2-4)

It's hard to say this is a must win when considering how little I think of this team.

But if Dallas can't win the NFC East this year, it's time to blow it all up. And I mean ALL up.

The last two weeks have been so embarassing to watch. The defense is allergic to third down stops, they don't guard guys in the flat, and don't make any big tackles.

That's an unfortunate but also not new story.

What is, is that the offense has been equally bad. 29 points the last two weeks combined, four TDs and five turnovers.

Ceedee Lamb looks like he took his 21 target, 17 reception game against the Texans as his NFL send-off and is coasting into retirement; he barely looks like he's trying. Neither he nor George Pickens were able to get any separation against Green Bay's DBs on Sunday night, so much so that Dak didn't even try to push the ball down field.

But most concerning is their inability to run. They've had one game all season where they rushed for over 75 yards, and currently sit 31st in the NFL in rushing (last year they were 10th).

With no threat of the run, it's no wonder defenses can guard Lamb and Pickens easier on the outside. Their ability to run, as is anyone's in the NFL, is largely responsible to granting one-on-ones and favorable coverages for the passing game.

They play the Eagles on the road, fresh off the news of Jalen Hurts missing the season. I'm not confident they'll win this game, but it sure feels like they need to. With how bad the NFC East is, there should be no excuse for this team to not win it (even if that means at 9-8).

No. 5: Seattle Seahawks (3-3)

I don't care that they're 3-3. I don't care that they've lost two games when scoring 29 or more points.

This defense is still elite, and I won't be told otherwise.

I was in the building Thursday night in Denver when this defense made Ryan Fitzpatrick lose his mind on Bo Nix. I saw them allow one first down in the entire second half and OT, yet still lose the game.

The defense is not the problem. Sam Darnold is.

I like Darnold, and this is not me casting dispersions on him. But the facts are without his multiple multiple turnover games (yes there's supposed to be a double word there) the Hawks are 5-1.

With a defense as good as his, he and everyone else knows the only way to lose games is by handing the ball to the other team. That was the case last week against San Francisco, and again this week in Denver. Somehow, despite the Hawks turning it over seven times in two games against teams with Super Bowl aspirations, they had the ball with a chance to win both times.

Darnold hasn't gone a start without an interception this year. He hasn't found anyone outside of JSN with any level of consistency. Those both need to change.

Maybe he's forcing throws because of Seattle's inability to run, which also should change as Charbonnet and Price come back from injury.

But regardless he's costing them games, and if he throws an interception or two against the Chiefs this weekend, Seattle will bode a similar fate.

The Hawks have the Chiefs and Bears the next two weeks. They NEED at least one of them, but I think they need this one more. A statement win like this, especially if the offense plays well, will put them right back on track.

No. 6: Detroit Lions (3-2)

Doesn't it feel like a big game for the Lions this weekend?

The Packers are riding high off two convincing wins that flipped their season upside down, and because of it have slightly less urgency coming into this one.

It's tough to be in the basement of the division with a winning record, but would anyone disagree that the Lions have looked like the worst team in the North so far this year?

The urgency is there not just because of the standings, but because of how they've played up to this point. I know they killed the Cardinals, but their defense is terrible. Like dead last in passing defense, dead last in total defense, and 3rd from last in points allowed terrible.

Coming off a bye, if they don't show any ability to stop opposing offenses, their ceiling will soon be dropping. This isn't even a playoff defense nonetheless a potential Super Bowl one - and we know that's what the expectations for this team are.

I personally need to see something from Detroit. If they can't do it off a bye at home, I'll have to give one of my favorite teams to root for in the NFL a hard look in the mirror.