Five outrageous predictions for Week 7 of the NFL season

Here we are again with a weekly article attempting to make some rather bold predictions around the NFL world.

Last week wasn't necessarily an outright failure on our part. We did correctly pick the Carolina Panthers to go into Seattle and defeat the Seahawks. We were also proven right by Dan Campbell and the Miami Dolphins in their blowout win over the Tennessee Titans.

This week, the stakes remain high for some of the top teams in the NFL. Can the New England Patriots remain undefeated against a vastly improved New York Jets squad? Will Cam Newton's strong early-season performance translate to another win on national television Sunday night?

Here are five outrageous predictions for Week 7 of the NFL season.

1. The New York Jets will be in first place by the end of Sunday

The idea of New York going into Gillette Stadium and handing the defending champions their first loss of the season seems a bit ridiculous. There is no way the New England Patriots finish Sunday in second place in the AFC East. It just seems so darn absurd on the surface.

Not so fast, my friends. The Jets match up very well against their division rivals this season.

The likes of Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams along the Jets' defensive line should cause some major fits for Tom Brady, who has actually been sacked 13 times in five games this season after going down just 19 times all of last year. Being without left tackle Nate Solder also doesn't help here.

If Brady is faced with a ton of pressure in this one, it will make the Jets' secondary that much better. Considering Darrelle Revis will likely be in shut down form against Julian Edelman, that has to be a worry for the home team.

More than this, New York boasts the necessary personnel to contain Rob Gronkowski. After all, the Jets are yielding an average of just 31 receiving yards to tight ends on the season.

If the Jets hold true to form in these key areas, it wouldn't be surprising to see them finish Week 7 with a 5-1 record and in first place in the AFC East.

2. Matt Cassel will outperform Eli Manning, lead the Dallas Cowboys to a big win

Manning's offensive line was the talk of New York prior to the past two games. Unfortunately for the Giants franchise quarterback, that hasn't held up in the two games since. Manning faced pressure a combined 32 times against the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Now going up against a Dallas Cowboys defense that has Greg Hardy and Randy Gregory playing together for the first time, this has to be a major concern for Tom Coughlin's squad.

While Manning is good at most of the things he does on the football field, succeeding with pressure in his face is not one of those things. He's thrown just two touchdowns and boasts an 83.2 rating when under pressure this year.

On the other hand, Cassel has the pleasure of playing behind a dominant Cowboys offensive line in his first start with the team. He will be doing so against a Giants defense that has racked up just eight sacks in six games. With Cassel's experience, a clean pocket would enable him to beat a rather pedestrian Giants secondary. And in reality, that's why Dallas made the decision to move on from Brandon Weeden as the starter.

Look for Cassel to put up 250-plus yards and multiple touchdowns in a surprising Cowboys win against a Giants squad that struggled so much just a few short days ago.

3. Todd Gurley will top 200 yards against the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland ranks dead last against the run in the NFL, allowing nearly 150 yards per game. When you take into account receiving yards, running backs are putting up an average of 187.3 yards against the Browns. That's been one of the biggest issues with the team's consistency thus far this season.

For his part, Gurley has put up 320 total yards in his past two games — the first extensive action of his NFL career. With Nick Foles still struggling to gain momentum in the passing game, the expectation has to be that Gurley will be the central focus of the Rams offense on Sunday. If so, there's no reason to believe he's not going to have a huge game.

4. Philip Rivers will put up 400-plus yards in losing effort against the Oakland Raiders

Without any resemblance of a rushing attack on offense, Rivers has been forced to put the ball up at a record clip this season. He's coming off a performance in a loss to the Green Bay Packers that saw him break the San Diego Chargers single-game records in completions (43), attempts (65) and passing yards (503).

In fact, Rivers has put the ball up a whopping 113 times over the past two games — both losses. Sadly for the Chargers, they netted a total of 40 points in those two games.

Now heading into a game against a Raiders team that has a potent offensive attack of its own, it stands to reason that this will be a high-scoring game.

Oakland may be yielding the seventh-most yards in the NFL, but it ranks in the middle of the pack in scoring defense. This means that the Raiders have done a good job bending without breaking. That's an indication that the Chargers may rack up a nice amount of yards while still only putting up points in the low 20's — something that could lead to a home loss against their division rivals.

5. The Philadelphia Eagles will hand Cam Newton and Co. their first loss of the season

Newton and the Carolina Panthers may be riding high after a road win against the Seattle Seahawks last week. Though, it's not going to get much easier against an Eagles team that has won three of its past four while still not clicking on all cylinders.

Philadelphia put up a substandard overall performance in a 27-7 win over the New York Giants in one of the ugliest games of the NFL season last Monday night. It did, however, find some sort of identity in the second half.

Riding the elite-level play of defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, the Eagles were able to control the line of scrimmage against New York. That control flooded over to the offensive side of the ball, where DeMarco Murray was able to put up his first 100-yard rushing game as a member of the Eagles.

If Philadelphia can find a way to control the trenches against a Panthers squad that has question marks along both lines, it could very well eliminate Carolina from the ranks of the undefeated on Sunday night.

Check out Vincent's other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL.