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Posted by ESPN.com’s James Walker

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 7:

	Joe Robbins/Getty Images
	Hines Ward leads the NFL with 599 receiving yards.

Passing fancy: Coming off his second career 400-yard game last week, expect Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to once again air it out in Sunday’s high-profile matchup against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings (6-0). Roethlisberger is leading the NFL with 1,887 passing yards and has completed 72.5 percent of his passes. Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward also is leading the NFL with 599 receiving yards. Meanwhile, Minnesota is hurting in the secondary as top cornerback Antoine Winfield’s status is up in the air with a foot injury. The Vikings allowed 385 passing yards last week in a win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Not liking favored status: The Cincinnati Bengals have not responded well in games they were expected to win this season. Cincinnati is 3-0 as underdogs and 1-2 in games it which it was favored, losing to the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans at home and barely beating the Cleveland Browns on the road in overtime. This weekend the Bengals enter Sunday's game as a slight favorite at home against the Chicago Bears (3-2). Cincinnati cannot continue to drop games at Paul Brown Stadium if it wants to remain in playoff contention during the second half of the season. It will be interesting to see how the first-place Bengals handle increased expectations moving forward.

Bengals mystery: What "significant offer" did Cincinnati reportedly present to the Dallas Cowboys for tight end Martellus Bennett? We may never know for certain. But an educated guess is it was a high draft pick, a receiver or a combination of the two. The Bengals are very deep at receiver, which means a player like Chris Henry could’ve been dangled in front of the Cowboys, who have some question marks at the position. With the emergence of Andre Caldwell, the talented Henry is getting fewer opportunities than expected after a great preseason. A draft pick also is a possibility. But I don’t think it would've been wise to trade a high pick (first- or second-rounder) for another team’s backup tight end.

Browns blues: The Browns continue to fight an uphill battle. In addition to playing some bad football this season, two unexpected issues popped up this week as a dozen players, including defensive stars Shaun Rogers and Kamerion Wimbley, came down with the flu and starting cornerback Eric Wright crashed his vehicle early Friday morning. The good news is Wright was not seriously injured. The rest of the Browns who are sick have slowly recovered from the flu but combined to miss a lot of practice time this week. That could hurt their performance against the Green Bay Packers.

Rice under radar: For all the talk of Baltimore’s recent woes during its three-game losing streak, not enough people are focusing on the emergence of second-year tailback Ray Rice, who is leading the NFL with 766 total yards from scrimmage. Rice is the leading rusher (441 yards) and second-leading receiver (325 yards) in Baltimore’s high-powered offense. The Ravens (3-3) are on a bye this week. But through six games Rice is quickly making a name for himself on a league-wide scale. Rice is healthy and still has fresh legs. So expect to see a lot more from him in the second half of the season.

	US Presswire
	Ben Roethlisberger and the defending champion Steelers will take on Brett Favre and the undefeated Vikings in Week 7.

Posted by ESPN.com’s James Walker and Kevin Seifert

As one of just four undefeated teams, the Minnesota Vikings (6-0) can make a claim as arguably the best team in football.

As defending Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) can also claim they’re the team to beat until someone else holds the Lombardi trophy.

So which team has the advantage when the Vikings meet the Steelers Sunday in Heinz Field?

ESPN.com’s AFC North blogger James Walker and NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert debate the most important storylines in this high-profile matchup.

Which quarterback is more important to his team: Minnesota’s Brett Favre or Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger?

Seifert: Favre has already made a huge difference in at least two victories this season. Without his heroics, I think the Vikings lose to San Francisco (Sept. 27) and last week against Baltimore. Other than Favre and receiver Percy Harvin, the Vikings in essence are fielding the same team they had last year. Through six games in 2008, the Vikings were 3-3. I don’t know if a quarterback can have a bigger impact than doubling a team’s win total through six games. Roethlisberger is the cornerstone of the Steelers, but I like their chances with backup Charlie Batch better than the Vikings’ with backup Tarvaris Jackson.

Walker: Last I recall the Vikings were a playoff team in 2008 without Favre, and Jackson was their starting quarterback for the final four games, including the postseason. Favre is a luxury in Minnesota. At 40, he’s is not even the best player on his own offense. That award goes to tailback Adrian Peterson -- the real engine behind the Vikings. Without a doubt Roethlisberger means more to his team. At 27, Big Ben already has twice as many rings (two) as Favre (one), and Roethlisberger is just entering the prime of his career. He’s 55-22 (71.4 percent) as a starter and kept the Steelers afloat when Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu missed four games with a knee injury. But both deserve to be near the top of the MVP conversation. So look for the winning quarterback to make a huge push in that race as we approach the midpoint of the season.

Which defense is more likely to dominate?

Seifert: We’re not exactly at a high point for Minnesota’s defense right now. I’m pretty sure the Steelers will be scouring the tape of last week’s game against Baltimore, which rolled for 302 offensive yards IN THE SECOND HALF. The Ravens scored 21 points in less than five minutes of the fourth quarter and seemed to expose the Vikings’ pass defense. Most of that damage came after Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield left the game with a sprained foot. It’s difficult to replace a No. 1 cornerback, but can the loss of one player really decimate a defense that thoroughly? I like the Steelers’ chances of getting pressure against Favre more than the Vikings’ ability to cope with Winfield’s injury status.

Walker: I like the physicality of both defenses. But with home-field advantage, Winfield’s status uncertain and the return of Polamalu, the advantage goes to Pittsburgh. The Steelers have the NFL’s third-ranked defense, and that’s with Polamalu missing four games. Now everyone on Pittsburgh’s defense can revert back to their normal roles. Minnesota’s defense is underachieving this year at No. 18. Pittsburgh will be the toughest defense the Vikings have faced so far. The Steelers have the talent to match up with Minnesota’s offense and keep the game manageable. But with four turnovers last week, Pittsburgh's biggest concern should be taking care of the football and not giving the Vikings a short field.

	Rich Gabrielson/Icon SMI
	Adrian Peterson, the NFL's leading rusher, has had his best games against AFC North teams this season.

Who is the biggest playmaker in this game?

Seifert: You have to point out that two of the NFL’s four highest-rated quarterbacks are playing in this game. You have to give credit to any receiver, Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes included, who has made a Super Bowl-winning catch. But this game will feature a fascinating matchup between the NFL’s leading rusher (Minnesota's Peterson ) and its second-best rush defense (Pittsburgh). Peterson made quick work of the Ravens last week, rushing for 143 yards. But the Steelers are allowing only 74.5 rushing yards per game, and have given up only one rushing touchdown all year. If anyone can slice through the Steelers, it’s Peterson. But it will be a challenge.

Walker: With 10 combined wins, you can’t help but have a lot of playmakers in this game. For me, it’s a close race between Peterson and Roethlisberger. I believe these two players will most determine the outcome of Sunday's game. Peterson had his two biggest performances this season -- a combined 323 rushing yards -- against AFC North teams in the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. Usually the Steelers have success against big, physical backs, but Peterson is special. If he runs wild Sunday, Minnesota has the advantage. On the flip side, Roethlisberger is just as capable -- and perhaps more capable -- of putting up numbers similar to Joe Flacco's (385 yards) last week. So I like Roethlisberger’s chances of controlling the game more, especially with Minnesota hurting at cornerback.

Brad Childress and Mike Tomlin, former colleagues in Minnesota, usually rely on defense and power running. Whose roots will show more clearly in this game?

Seifert: My guess is that Childress would love to follow his roots, relying on Peterson and the defense to win it. But as we’ve discussed above, this game doesn’t seem to set up that way. Whether he likes it or not, Childress is going to have to rely on Favre and the passing game in its most significant test yet this season. This year’s version of the Steelers doesn’t seem to get beat by the running game, and the Vikings' defense might not be suited to take on the pass-happy Steelers. This isn’t likely to be a Childress-like game.

Walker: This is an interesting question, because I think one of Tomlin’s biggest strengths is the ability to be fluid during games. Tomlin is a defensive coach, but he’s not afraid to let Roethlisberger chuck it 35 to 40 times if necessary. Tomlin’s also not afraid to go for it on fourth down at times most coaches would not. Tomlin rarely coaches tight, and the same cannot be said for Childress, who tightened up last week in the fourth quarter against Baltimore. But it’s hard to argue with Childress’ 6-0 record. I think this game will see a little bit of everything, not just smashmouth football and good defense.