NFL Week 7 Group of the Week: Jalen Hurts and His Star Receiver Make the Lower

Each week, we’ll offer up the very best of the NFL for a given week, kind of like the fantasy football team you wished you had.

We’ll pick one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers and a tight end – OK, this is sounding a lot like a super-hindsight fantasy football team – as a way to look back on the weekend that was.

A star running back returns to the team, while the quarterback finally got his passing game going to the point that one of his receivers ended up on this list with him.

I hear you already, pointing out that Bo Nix had four total touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone as part of a remarkable comeback win for the Broncos. Hurts delivered his best performance of the season, still mistake-free but remarkably efficient by going 19-for-23 for 326 yards with three touchdown passes. 

The Eagles have won despite their offense a lot this season, and they won because of their offense against the Vikings. This was a strong week for quarterbacks — Matthew Stafford had five touchdowns in the London win over the Jaguars, and Joe Flacco and Patrick Mahomes were huge in their wins, as well.

It feels like he’s here every week, but Taylor has been such a core part of the Colts’ 6-1 start that it’s hard to leave him off. Sunday was more of the same — 18 carries for 94 yards and another three touchdowns, as well as three catches for 38 yards. He’s now leading the NFL with both 697 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.  You can’t argue with that, and each week validates him as an MVP candidate if you believe in non-QB contenders.

RB: D’Andre Swift, Bears

For the second running back spot, it’s the battle of big games against bad teams. It’s tempting to reward Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins, who had three touchdowns in grinding out 84 yards on 25 carries against Miami, but we’ll go with Swift. 

The Chicago RB1 ran 19 times for 124 yards and a touchdown in Chicago’s win over the Saints. He’s on pace for more yards and more touchdowns than when he went to the Pro Bowl with the Eagles in 2023. 

Swift is a big part of why the Bears are now 4-2 and have won four in a row, with touchdowns in each of the last three.

We could put both Eagles receivers on here – Smith and A.J. Brown were both huge in the Eagles’ win over the Vikings, but we’ll give the nod to Smith.

The former Heisman Trophy winner had nine catches for a career-best 183 yards and a 79-yard touchdown. Philadelphia’s offense hasn’t looked right even in victories this year, and Sunday was much, much better by 2025 standards.

WR Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals

We’re going to make lots of people unhappy here no matter who we pick. Davante Adams had three touchdowns! A.J. Brown, Chris Olave, Rashee Rice, two each! 

But we’ll go back to Thursday’s big win for Cincinnati. Chase had 23 targets, matching the third-most in NFL history, that he turned into 16 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. Chase delivered big play after big play to help Flacco get just enough to pull out a big home win.

Ja’Marr Chase has been the clear premier offensive playmaker in NFL Week 7. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

TE Oronde Gadsden II, Chargers

Who, you ask? Gadsden is a fifth-round rookie out of Syracuse, and he’d totaled all of four catches for 48 yards entering Sunday’s games, but went off in a breakout game. 

The son of the former Dolphins receiver finished with seven catches for 164 yards and a touchdown — and yes, we hear you making your case for Pittsburgh’s Pat Friermuth and his two touchdowns in a tight-end crazy game on Thursday.

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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