NFL Week 7 roundup: Kenneth Walker and the 5-0 Chiefs come to Seattle (Oct. 24)
Quick Read
Former Seahawk Kenneth Walker III and the 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs play at Seattle (3-3) on Sunday Night Football at 5:20 p.m. PT on NBC.
Zach Charbonnet is back on Seattle's active roster but ruled out for Sunday, while guard Anthony Bradford returns from injured reserve and tight end Elijah Arroyo is done for the season.
Week 6 produced a record 31 game-winning scores in the final five minutes or overtime through six weeks, and the Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard.
The Bears beat the Patriots 30-24 on Thursday night, and Steelers vs. Saints in Paris opens Sunday at 6:30 a.m. PT.
Kenneth Walker III spent his first four NFL seasons in Seattle and was the Super Bowl LX MVP. On Sunday night he returns to Lumen Field with Kansas City, leading the NFL with 665 rushing yards for a Chiefs team that is 5-0 and the last unbeaten club in the AFC, according to the NFL's Week 7 preview.
Here is our weekly look around the league: what Seattle is dealing with before the Chiefs arrive, the rest of Week 6, the Players of the Week, a front office firing and two suspensions, and the Week 7 games worth your Sunday. For the game that closed Week 6, see our recap of the 49ers' 23-17 Monday night win over Washington.
Seahawks: Charbonnet waits, Bradford returns
Seattle activated running back Zach Charbonnet to the active roster Thursday and moved tight end Elijah Arroyo to injured reserve, Seahawks Wire reported. Charbonnet, who tore his ACL in last season's divisional round, practiced fully all week, but coach Mike Macdonald ruled him out for Sunday. "We're going along with the plan," Macdonald said, adding there was "no setback," according to Seahawks.com.
Arroyo is having season-ending shoulder surgery, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. That leaves AJ Barner, Eric Saubert and Nick Kallerup as the active tight ends.
The better news is up front. Right guard Anthony Bradford is back from injured reserve and Macdonald said he will play Sunday, Seahawks.com reported, which will give Seattle its full starting offensive line together for only the second time this season.
Linebackers Drake Thomas (ankle) and Chazz Surratt (calf) are out, so Tyrice Knight, who had seven tackles against Denver, stays in the lineup. Safety Nick Emmanwori (hip), outside linebackers DeMarcus Lawrence (knee), Uchenna Nwosu (hip) and Connor O'Toole (hamstring), and backup quarterback Drew Lock (right elbow) are questionable, according to the team's Week 7 injury report.
Kansas City is banged up on the offensive line too. Right tackle Jaylon Moore (concussion) is out and left tackle Josh Simmons went on injured reserve this week. Receiver Rashee Rice and running back Brashard Smith are also out, and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed is questionable.
Walker vs. Smith-Njigba, and a Kelce milestone
Sunday night (5:20 p.m. PT, NBC) puts the league's top rusher against its top receiver. Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 717 receiving yards and has topped 100 yards in five of Seattle's six games, including 12 catches for 134 yards at Denver. One more 100-yard game would make him the fourth player of the Super Bowl era with 100 receiving yards in six of his team's first seven games, the NFL says.
Walker ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns in a 22-6 win over the Chargers last week. Through five games he has 760 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns, and he leads the league with 52 missed tackles forced, per Next Gen Stats. With 115 rushing yards Sunday, he would be the fourth player with that many in five of his team's first six games.
Travis Kelce needs 35 receiving yards to pass Tony Gonzalez (15,413) for the most by a tight end, including the postseason, and three catches to pass Marvin Harrison for fifth on the all-time regular-season list. Kelce was limited in practice early in the week with an ankle injury but was not on Friday's final report. Andy Reid's 5-0 start was the sixth of his career, a total only George Halas (10) and Paul Brown (6) have reached, according to the NFL.
Week 6 around the league
Another week of late drama. The NFL counted 31 games this season with a game-winning score in the final five minutes or overtime, the most ever through Week 6, and 12 second-half comebacks from 10 or more points down.
London walk-off. Houston beat Jacksonville 34-31 at Wembley Stadium on a walk-off field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn. C.J. Stroud threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns, and the Jaguars' Travis Hunter caught a touchdown pass and made an interception, NFL.com reported.
Browns alone in first. Cleveland beat Baltimore 13-10 after Carson Schwesinger forced a Derrick Henry fumble, moving the Browns to 4-2 and alone atop the AFC North.
Steelers rally in overtime. Pittsburgh trailed Tampa Bay by 13 entering the fourth quarter and won 26-19 in overtime, with Jalen Ramsey ending it with a sack. Ramsey is the first defensive back since 2000 with 10 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks in a game, and Aaron Rodgers passed Peyton Manning for fourth with his 255th career game with a touchdown pass, including the playoffs, according to the NFL.
Eagles skid continues. Carolina beat Philadelphia 25-14, handing the Eagles their first four-game losing streak under Nick Sirianni. Jalen Hurts is on injured reserve.
Six field goals, all the points. Arizona's Chad Ryland made all six of his kicks, including a 43-yard walk-off, in an 18-16 win at the Los Angeles Rams.
Elsewhere. Chicago beat Atlanta 31-23 as Kyler Gordon had three sacks and two forced fumbles in his season debut. Buffalo edged Las Vegas 33-30, New Orleans beat the New York Giants 34-27, New England beat the New York Jets 26-19, Green Bay beat Dallas 23-13 for its third straight win, and Tennessee won for the first time under Robert Saleh, 26-20 at Indianapolis. The Chargers fell to 0-6.
Thursday night. Week 7 opened with Chicago beating New England 30-24. Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, the AP reported. Cairo Santos hit a career-long 58-yard field goal for a 30-21 lead with 1:34 left, and after the Patriots' Andres Borregales answered from 47 yards, Rome Odunze recovered the onside kick, according to Bears.com. The Bears are 5-2 and the Patriots 4-3. Our pregame look at that one is here.
Week 6 Players of the Week
AFC offense: Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, for the London win. It is his fourth career award.
AFC defense: Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey, his third career award and first with Pittsburgh.
AFC special teams: Titans running back Julius Chestnut, who returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and a 20-13 fourth-quarter lead at Indianapolis.
NFC offense: Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, 30 of 36 for 305 yards and a touchdown against Atlanta. The NFL says he is the third quarterback with fewer than 15 interceptions at the time of his 50th career touchdown pass, joining Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.
NFC defense: Saints cornerback Martin Emerson, seven tackles, four passes defensed and two interceptions against the Giants.
NFC special teams: Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland, six of six on field goals and all 18 of Arizona's points.
Front office firing and suspensions
Indianapolis fired general manager Chris Ballard on Oct. 19, the day after the loss to Tennessee dropped the Colts to 2-4. "Our standard is to compete for championships, and I believe a change in leadership is necessary to meet that standard," owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said in a team statement. Ballard, in his 10th season, was 72-82-1 as GM, NFL.com reported. Assistant GM Ed Dodds will run personnel for the rest of the season, with the Nov. 10 trade deadline coming up, Pro Football Talk reported.
The NFL suspended two Bills defensive backs, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Sam Franklin Jr., one game each without pay for spitting at an opponent in the win at Las Vegas, according to NFL Communications. Both suspensions start Monday, during Buffalo's bye week, and both players can return Nov. 2, after the Bills' Nov. 1 game against Baltimore.
Week 7 games to watch
Times are Pacific, from NFL.com. Buffalo, Jacksonville, the Chargers and Washington are off this week, per the league's bye schedule.
Steelers vs. Saints, Paris, 6:30 a.m., NFL Network. The first regular-season NFL game in France, at Stade de France. Rodgers needs two touchdown passes to pass Drew Brees for second in career games with multiple touchdown passes. A loss would drop New Orleans to 2-5 heading into its bye, NFL.com noted.
49ers at Falcons, 10 a.m., FOX. San Francisco (6-0) goes for 7-0 before its Week 8 bye. Brock Purdy is tied for the league lead with 14 touchdown passes.
Colts at Vikings, 10 a.m., CBS. Unbeaten Minnesota allows a league-low 12.8 points per game. Justin Jefferson needs three receiving yards to pass Calvin Johnson for the third most in a player's first 100 games.
Bengals at Ravens, 10 a.m., CBS. Derrick Henry has 135 career touchdowns, one shy of Marshall Faulk for fourth among running backs. Joe Burrow has 31 career games with three or more touchdown passes, and one more would tie Peyton Manning (32) for the third most by a player in his first seven seasons.
Broncos at Cardinals, 1:05 p.m., CBS. Arizona tight end Trey McBride has a tight end record 49 catches through six games and needs four more to become the second-fastest tight end to 400 career receptions.
Packers at Lions, 1:25 p.m., FOX. Green Bay's Christian Watson (538) and Matthew Golden (501) have both topped 500 receiving yards, and Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs leads the NFL with nine scrimmage touchdowns.
Chiefs at Seahawks, 5:20 p.m., NBC. See above.
Cowboys at Eagles, Monday, 5:15 p.m., ESPN/ABC. Philadelphia tries to stop a four-game losing streak.
Related stories
Sources
NFL Communications: Seven From Sunday, Week 6 (Oct. 18, 2026); C.J. Gardner-Johnson suspended one game (Oct. 19); Week 7 NFL Preview (Oct. 20); Week 6 AFC and NFC Players of the Week (Oct. 21); Sam Franklin Jr. suspended one game (Oct. 21); What To Look For, Week 7 (Oct. 21)
NFL.com: Week 6, What We Learned from Sunday's games
NFL.com: How to watch Week 7 NFL games, schedule and Paris game details
NFL.com: Steelers vs. Saints, three must-know storylines for the Paris game, by Jeremy Bergman
NFL.com: 2026 NFL bye weeks
NFL.com: Colts fire GM Chris Ballard after 2-4 start, by Kevin Patra
Colts.com: Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties (Oct. 19, 2026)
Pro Football Talk: Assistant GM Ed Dodds will run Colts personnel department, by Josh Alper (Oct. 19, 2026)
Seahawks.com: Zach Charbonnet ruled out, other injury updates from Mike Macdonald, by John Boyle (Oct. 23, 2026)
Seahawks.com: Week 7 injury report, Chiefs at Seahawks, by John Boyle (Oct. 23, 2026)
Seahawks.com: Anthony Bradford will return Sunday vs. Chiefs
Seahawks Wire: Elijah Arroyo out for season after shoulder surgery, by Dom Skene (Oct. 22, 2026)
AP: Bears beat Patriots 30-24 on Thursday night (Oct. 22, 2026)
Bears.com: Game recap, Bears knock off Patriots on Thursday Night Football, by Larry Mayer
ESPN: Patriots at Bears game page
Willamette News: 49ers hold off Commanders 23-17 on Monday Night Football
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