It finally feels like we got the many of the answers we were looking for this week. Some real contenders have begun to emerge, revealing numerous pretenders in the process. Some preseason favorites are in full spiral mode, where some dogs have started to make their mark on the league. Obviously this is all subject to change in a week, but as of now, this is where we're at.
Cardinals 42- Saints 34
Finally, a Thursday night game with some points. It was the defense doing the bulk of the scoring however, specifically for the Cards. Andy Dalton threw two of his three interceptions with less then two minutes to go in the first half, both turning into pick sixes. Maybe it's time to go back to Jameis?
Alvin Kamara got bottled up and phased out in the running game, but was able to salvage his fantasy day with seven receptions for 56 yards. Chris Olave is still really good, and probably the favorite for offensive rookie of the year with Breece Hall's recent injury. Kevin White even had a 64 yard catch-- the longest of his career.
Kyler Murray still looked bad Thursday, even with Deandre Hopkins back in the mix. Nuk commanded an insane (and anticipated) 48.3% of the targets from his QB, a trend we'll likely see continue until Hollywood can come back. Eno Benjamin actually looked solid on the ground too, possibly forcing himself into the backfield picture more. Season saving win for Arizona, maybe a job saving win for Kingsbury.
Bengals 35- Falcons 17
First game of the season that Atlanta failed to cover the spread. AJ Terrell's early exit allowed Cincy to do whatever they wanted through the air. Joe Burrow threw for an incredible 481 yards at an 11.5 YPA and three touchdowns. Dude was dishing bombs all day, and his opponent Marcus Mariota could not keep up.
Even with the game script screaming to throw, Arthur Smith kept the brakes on Mariota's passing, only allowing him 13 attempts. It's hard to say if that was a lack of confidence in the quarterback, a symbolic white flag or something else, but the Falcons seemed completely unwilling to engage through the air. If you started any pass catcher on this team this week, you were disappointed.
Huge win for the Bengals as they're rounding into form in a tight AFC. Atlanta is still very much in the race for the NFC South, but this loss revealed to them and the rest of the world just how far they still have to go as a team.
Cowboys 24- Lions 6
Turns out the Lions still suck. Shame on us for believing otherwise. Five turnovers in the second half doomed any chance of a comeback for Detroit, with Jared Goff accounting for four of them. The Dan Campbell experiment was fun, and definitely had this team playing hard, but that can only take you so far in this league. It feels like he'll be on the way out by the end of the year.
Dak was far from spectacular but he got it done, keying in on Ceedee Lamb, Noah Brown and Dalton Schultz for 14 of his 19 completions. Zeke punched in two scores but again, it was Tony Pollard looking more explosive in the backfield. They're a solid duo who should be able to keep defenses honest. Micah Parsons added another sack to his impressive resume, tying him for the league lead with seven.
Titans 19- Colts 10
Man, it felt like the Colts had figured it out after two gritty wins to get above .500. Granted, these were games against the Broncos and Jags, but we wouldn't be giving them a pass if they'd lost.
Which is exactly what they did Sunday in Tennessee, looking terrible in the process. Matt Ryan threw two picks, including a crushing pick six during a long drive when they only trailed 3-0. The game never felt close again, even with the Colts cutting the lead to 16-10 early in the fourth. They allowed a field goal drive after trimming the lead to one score and then fumbled the ball away out of Michael Pittman Jr's hands to put the final nail in the coffin.
Congrats to the Titans for managing to lock up the AFC South in week 7. With a 1.5 game lead plus tie breakers in hand, it would be stunning not to see them win this division. Ryan Tannehill was seen leaving the game in a walking boot, which isn't the most optimistic news for Tennessee. Fortunately for them, King Henry is still rumbling right along on the ground. He'll be a major contributor regardless of who ends up under center.
Commanders 23- Packers 21
From Super Bowl aspirations to 0-3 outright in their last three games as 5.5+ point favorites. This Packers team is bad. The front office hoped that Aaron Rodgers skillset, a steady ground game and a ferocious defense would alleviate the pressure this subpar group of pass catchers would have on the offense.
This hasn't been the case thus far, with really only the ground game showing up through the first seven weeks (when Matt LaFleur isn't sabotaging them out of the game plan). Rodgers still hasn't eclipsed 255 yards passing and his QBR is 26th in the league. It's easily the least threatening it's felt with #12 under center in all my years of watching him. I brought it up semi-sarcastically on the podcast, but just how safe is LaFleur's job?
Credit to Taylor Heinicke for bouncing back from a 1-7 start with a pick six. He provided a spark this underperforming offense has been lacking all year, particularly with Terry McLaurin. The wideout had five catches for 73 yards and his second score of the year. Brian Robinson ran hard on the ground again, and fellow RB Antonio Gibson even got involved with 13 touches and a touchdown.
Expect Heinicke to come back to Earth a little in subsequent games, but this was a big home win for Washington. Big trouble up in Green Bay.
Panthers 21- Buccaneers 3
As bad as things feel in Green Bay...shit feels 10x worse for Tampa. Mike Evans dropped what would have been a wide open 64-yard touchdown on the first drive and the tone was set for the day. The two teams alternated seven punts before PJ Walker found DJ Moore for a 20-yard score just before the half. The Panthers would never relinquish the lead.
After two punts and a turnover on downs to kick off the second half, Tampa allowed another long touchdown drive to the Panthers, increasing their lead to 14-0. It felt like a much deeper hole with how the Bucs' offense had performed. They answered with a 14-play possession of their own, but only managed a sad, shutout-breaking field goal.
Walker took Carolina down the field again, this time connecting with Tommy Tremble for a 29 yard touchdown. And that was all she wrote. The Panthers are still a bad team, but they overcame a much worse one Sunday. The Bucs look old, slow and discombobulated-- with no singular party to point the finger at.
Crazy twist here: Panthers are a game out of the division lead with this win. What a terrible group of teams.
Giants 23- Jaguars 17
Just another victory for the 6-1 Giants. This was another classic display of the brand of football Brian Daboll is implementing in New York-- clean, hard-nosed play that strikes when the iron gets hot. Their fourth victory when trailing or tied entering the final frame. Resilience.
The Jags had a chance to pull out one of the unlikeliest of wins you'll see. With no timeouts and 1:04 on the clock, Trevor Lawrence conducted a 74-yard drive, aided by numerous Giants penalties. The drive ended one yard from the end zone, as Christian Kirk was gang tackled by several blue defenders, securing the win. Tough loss for a gritty team.
Shoutout to Kirk for another great game, with 96 receiving yards on seven receptions. Travis Etienne also showed out in this one, strengthening his hold on the RB1 spot. Even Lawrence was okay against a pretty strong defense. Nice bounce back for Jacksonville, but another L in the loss column.
Ravens 23- Browns 20
As much of a must-win game as you'll find Baltimore in for a week seven matchup, but here we are. Like every Ravens' loss this season, they found themselves up by double digits in the fourth quarter. Then shit started getting weird.
Kareem Hunt was able to score for Cleveland to cut the deficit to 23-20. Lamar Jackson had the team in the midst of a 12 play, 55-yard drive when Justice Hill exploded through the hole to the CLE 20, fumbling in the process. It was a disgusting turn of events that felt all too familiar.
The Browns were unable to make Baltimore pay after a Cade York 59-yard field goal attempt missed very badly, sealing another buzzer beating defeat. Jacoby Brissett had a ton of success early against a tough Ravens secondary but wasn't able to sustain it as the game went. Bad lost fumbles in the second half by the QB and Donovan Peoples-Jones didn't help. This team won't be in any position to make a run at the playoffs when Deshaun Watson returns from suspension.
Lamar Jackson wasn't anything to write home about, but he avoided critical mistakes and moved the offense with relative consistency. He did this essentially without Mark Andrews, who Cleveland did a great job of neutralizing (0 catches on 4 targets). Rashod Bateman needs to cut it out with the drops; Baltimore doesn't have enough talent at receiver to be fucking up open opportunities.
Jets 16- Broncos 9
Breece Hall provided both major storylines from this game: an electric 62-yard touchdown rush and an ACL injury. Absolutely hate to see it. The injury derails a season that would've easily seen him finishing in the top two for OROY. Chris Olave's award to lose at this point.
That was about it for this game though. Brett Rypien performed admirably against a stout defense and predictably came up very short. Zach Wilson had another shaky game as well, raising questions about his long-term projectability as a franchise QB. With their game changing running back on ice for the rest of 2022, it'll be worth following how he rises (or falls) to the challenge.
Raiders 38- Texans 20
Loved the over in this game and boy did it deliver! The Raiders are playing well, winning two out of their last three and may be righting the ship in an underachieving AFC West.
Josh Jacobs was the man of the day, finding the end zone three times, rushing for 143 in the process. The Raiders may have elected not to pick up his rookie fifth year option, but the league's third leading rusher is earning a nice contract from some team next season. Davante Adams was a force again through the air, posting an 8/95 line.
The Texans actually led for most of this one, playing pretty competitively in the process. They were pushing to keep things close late when Davis Mills committed the first and only turnover of the game, an interception that Duron Harmon took 73 yards to the house. The hole was far too big for Houston at that point, who now are entrenched in a battle with Detroit for the #1 pick next draft.
Seahawks 37- Chargers 23
The Seahawks might actually be legit. Correction, the first place* Seahawks might actually be legit.
Seattle just walked into SoFi Stadium and rolled the Chargers by two scores. They busted things open early with a 17-0 first quarter lead and never really looked back, even as LA pulled within three. Geno Smith was super efficient again, overcoming the loss of DK Metcalf to throw for 210 and two touchdowns. He's been so much better then Russell Wilson this year that it's been amusing.
Kenneth Walker also erupted for 168 yards and two tuddys of his own, looking incredibly explosive in the process. He's going to be a major piece of this offense moving forward.
The Chargers look pretty soft. Justin Herbert seems lost without Keenan Allen, and Mike Williams also missed a good chunk of this game. Austin Ekeler is a problem in space, but they can't seem to get any rushing attack going to help balance the offense. JC Jackson will also be missing the rest of the season after suffering a ruptured patellar tendon. Injuries are really piling onto this Super Bowl hopeful-- they really need to get right vs. Atlanta and San Fran before their big showdown with Kansas City.
Chiefs 44- 49ers 23
Speaking of Kansas City...the Chiefs absolutely mollywopped the 49ers. San Fran only trailed 14-13 at halftime, then the flood gates opened, with KC scoring touchdowns on four consecutive drives. Patrick Mahomes threw for 423 and three scores, masterfully picking apart a banged up secondary. Mecole Hardman added three touchdowns of his own, two of which coming by ground.
The Niners simply aren't a team capable of hanging with the offensive buzz saw they ran into. Garoppolo made a few nice plays but too often looks tentative in the pocket. It feels like the team's confidence in him is slowly waning. We predictably didn't see a ton of Christian McCaffery, but it didn't make a difference on the end result. This was Kansas City's day, taking sole possession of the AFC West lead.
Dolphins 16- Steelers 10
What a weird game this was. Both teams came out and had a good bit of success moving the ball up and down the field, to the tune of 26 total first half points. Then the scoring stopped.
The second half featured ten punts, two interceptions and a turnover on downs. Six of those punts came on three and outs. The offenses went completely dormant. Kenny Pickett was at least able to drive Pittsburgh twice late in an effort to tie the game or take the lead, but both of those ended in interceptions for the rookie. It was an effort with some positives, but far from a complete performance.
Credit Miami for holding on at the end. It's baffling that a team with so much dynamic talent can fall off for such long periods of time. This was nearly a must win for them though, and they got it done. They'll get a much easier matchup next week in Detroit.
Bears 33- Patriots 14
Parlay killer of the week here. Patriots were eight and a half point favorites at home and got dismantled by Chicago. Outside of an electric two possession stretch once Bailey Zappe came in, New England was thoroughly outclassed.
Their defense let Justin Fields look like Lamar Jackson out there, managing a few remarkable escapes from the pocket and picking up chunk yardage with his legs. He was unstoppable all evening on the ground, which made for a much easier time on passing plays. Khalil Herbert is also visibly more explosive then David Montgomery.
Still not sure why Mac Jones started this game, but he either was still not 100% or sucks. Two straight three and outs followed by a duck of an interception resulted in him being benched-- or "taking himself out of the game," as some believed. By the time Zappe was subbed in, they were already in a 10-0 hole. Despite the rookie (briefly) pulling the Patriots out from that deficit, you can't help but wonder what type of momentum such a weird start gave to the Bears. They capitalized in Foxborough, stealing a big Monday night victory.
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@Choppinglines
*I own no rights to any images found in this blog
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