NFL Week 7: Falcons, Patriots square off in Super Bowl rematch on Sunday night

Atlanta coach Dan Quinn wants the Falcons to get the ball to wide receiver Julio Jones more. The New England Patriots, the Falcons' Week 7 opponent, rank last in the NFL in pass defense and are the first team in league history to allow six straight quarterbacks to throw for at least 300 yards.

There could be a fantasy-football alert here to get Jones in your lineup - except why would he ever be out of your lineup?

The last QB who didn't reach at least 300 yards against the Patriots is Atlanta's Matt Ryan. He had 284 passing yards in the Falcons' 34-28 loss to New England on Feb. 5 in Super Bowl LI.

For the eighth time in NFL history, the Super Bowl opponents will play again in the following regular season. But don't call it a rematch. It's not one, New England coach Bill Belichick explained when asked to compare Atlanta's offense under coordinator Kyle Shanahan, now the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, and current coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

"I just look at their offense this year," Belichick told reporters during his Wednesday press conference. "Coach Sarkisian has a very well-balanced offense that's explosive, can score from anywhere on the field in a number of different ways with a number of different players. ...

"We're focused on the team that we're playing this weekend. I don't really care about what some other coach did some other year. Like right now we're getting ready for the Falcons -- coach Sarkisian's offense, coach (Marquand) Manuel's defense and coach (Keith) Armstrong's special teams under the direction of coach Quinn. That's who we play this week. That's what we're getting ready for. What somebody else did some other year, it's really not that relevant right now."

That also would seem to apply to New England's Super Bowl strategy against Jones. The former Foley High School and Alabama star had four receptions for 87 yards in the Super Bowl to cap his second straight All-Pro season.

But the Falcons threw him the football only four times, and Belichick has explained the Patriots overplayed Jones depending on the direction of his cut. Jones played despite a toe injury that required offseason surgery.

New England's defensive backs won't have that working for them against Jones on Sunday night.

"He's an outstanding player," Belichick said of Jones. "He's a great blocker, strong after the catch. He's made tremendous catches down the field. Again, he can take short plays and turn them into big plays, break tackles, gain a lot of extra yards, makes some tough first downs. He helps them in the running game, too, blocking on the perimeter. He's a complete player."

The Falcons won't be looking back at Super Bowl LI either. Why would they want to? Atlanta had a 25-point lead in the third quarter and were on the losing side of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

"We talked about it,'' Quinn said. "The biggest thing to say was you don't get to replay games, and you don't get to go replay the Super Bowl. We lost last week, and you don't get to go replay the Miami game.

"One of the sayings we have is: 'The only fight that matters is the one you're in.' So that's where our focus is. Even deeper than that, our focus is for us to play at our best. We're not there yet, so that's what we're out chasing. We don't want to go in the rematch world because we've learned our lessons, and you don't get to apply them until you're back in them again. If we keep looking back in the rear-view, we're not going to be where we want to be."

The NFL's Week 7 kicks off with an old AFL rivalry: The Kansas City Chiefs visit the Oakland Raiders at 7:25 p.m. CDT Thursday. CBS, NFL Network and Amazon Prime will carry the game.

The Falcons and Patriots square off at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on NBC.

Week 7's third nationally televised game features the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC East rivalry at 7:30 p.m. Monday on ESPN.

On Sunday, the broadcast schedule in Alabama includes the Carolina Panthers-Chicago Bears game on CBS TV affiliates at noon, except WTVY in Dothan, which will carry the Jacksonville Jaguars-Indianapolis Colts game, and WHNT in Huntsville, which will broadcast the Tennessee Titans-Cleveland Browns game. In the second game of the CBS doubleheader, the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers will blanket the state at 3:25 p.m.

FOX TV affiliates in Alabama will broadcast the New Orleans Saints-Green Bay Packers game at noon Sunday.

For the Alabama Game of the Week, fans get two - Chiefs-Raiders on Thursday and Titans-Browns on Sunday. In each of those games, the teams' active rosters have 10 players from Alabama high schools and colleges.

Week 7 is the third of the season with open dates. The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans have byes on Sunday.

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The complete Week 7 schedule (with all times central and with point spreads from vegasinsider.com):

Thursday

  • Kansas City Chiefs (-3) at Oakland Raiders, 7:25 p.m. (CBS, NFL Network, Amazon Prime)

Sunday

  • Arizona Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Rams (-3.5) in London, noon
  • Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings (-5.5), noon
  • Carolina Panthers (-3) at Chicago Bears, noon
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (-3) at Indianapolis Colts, noon
  • New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (-3), noon
  • New Orleans Saints (-5.5) at Green Bay Packers, noon
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills (-3), noon
  • Tennessee Titans (-6) at Cleveland Browns, noon
  • Dallas Cowboys (-6) at San Francisco 49ers, 3:05 p.m.
  • Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5), 3:25 p.m.
  • Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers (-1.5), 3:25 p.m.
  • Seattle Seahawks (-5.5) at New York Giants, 3:25 p.m.
  • Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots (-3.5), 7:30 p.m.  (NBC)

Monday

  • Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

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