Last week, it felt like the league gave us some answers. Clearly outlined some contenders, pretenders and all of that.
Week seven threw all of that out the window. Massive upsets, comebacks galore and a ton of now unanswered questions. This, is what we watch for!
While we're here though, let's take a look back at these crazy thirteen games
Jaguars 31- Saints 24
-How do you drop that Foster Moreau? Obviously you can't pin this game on one play, but that's pretty firmly atop the list of complaints
-Digging a 24-9 hole didn't help the Saints' cause Thursday, aided by a Derek Carr pick six midway through the third. Dude's a certified bum under center, non-winning dump off machine
-Good for Alvin Kamara fantasy owners, the man added seventeen more carries and twelve more receptions for 153 total yards
-Trevor Lawrence has a little of that dump off syndrome in him every now and again too, going back and forth between boringly conservative and reckless
-Luckily for him, having a receiver like Christian Kirk who can take it after the catch helps move the rock and boost the stat line. His 44-yard, game winning catch and run was an impressive play
-Travis Etienne is a workhorse in this backfield, carrying the ball 14 times for 55 yards and finding pay dirt twice
Bears 30- Raiders 12
-Grossly underestimated Tyson Bagent, while foolishly thinking Brian Hoyer had anything left in the tank. The latter threw more touchdowns to Chicago than to his own team
-On the flip side, Bagent was generally efficient as he led the Bears to three touchdown drives. 21-29 for 162 and a score. Not going to bring you home an MVP, but not everyone is equipped to win games in the NFL. No need for the kid from Sheppard University to apologize for that
-DJ Moore was his favorite target, racking up eight catches on nine targets for 54 yards
-D'Onta Foreman was the man of the hour though, rumbling for 89 yards and two scores on the ground + a 3/31/1 line in the pass game. Waiver wire hero
-Man, do I feel bad for Davante Adams. Highly doubt this is what he expected after getting traded to Las Vegas less than two years ago
-I'm not sure why Aidan O'Connell didn't start for the Raiders. I understood bringing in the veteran Hoyer midgame last week, but with a whole week to prepare, why not give the young gun a chance? Couldn't have been worse than that
Browns 39- Colts 38
-Many, like myself, thought this game was going to be low scoring and dull. Each team scored every quarter, going back and forth for the entirety of the sixty minutes
-Deshaun Watson was a pathetic 1/5 for five yards and an interception before "suffering a head injury," which opened the door for PJ Walker to enter the game. Even after doctor's cleared the overpaid and handsy quarterback, Kevin Stefanski elected to keep him on the bench
-Jerome Ford started the game with a nice 69-yard touchdown run, then proceeded to average half a yard per carry the rest of the way
-Amari Cooper catching two of eight targets...gross day
-Gardner Minshew turns the ball over a lot. An interception and three lost fumbles gave Cleveland more than enough short fields to hang 39 points
-Jonathan Taylor looked good, splitting 36 carries down the middle with Zack Moss but outgaining him by 18 yards
-Was high on Josh Downs and he's delivered once again, leading the way with a 5/125/1 receiving line. The UNC product's always been known for his slot value underneath, but he's getting involved all over the field for this Colts' team
Patriots 29- Bills 25
-Red flag Buffalo. Phew...they start slow, don't consistently drive on offense and have a bad defense. Or injury ravaged, but the product's the product. My prediction is coming to fruition
-Two more turnovers for Josh Allen, just casually being excused by the media
-Big day for Dalton Kincaid, leading the team is catches and receiving, with eight grabs for 75 yards. It was Stefon Diggs and James Cook who found pay dirt however
-If you'd have told me Mac Jones would have outplayed Allen in this game by every single metric, I wouldn't have been able to fathom how that happened. But here we are. Mac was great, going 25/30 for 272 and two touchdowns, plus that ballsy game winning drive late. Oh, how the quarterback carousel spins along
-300th win for Bill Belichick, an accomplishment certainly worth recognizing
-Kendrick Bourne paces this team's receiving attack, but that kid Demario Douglas provides some much needed speed to this plodding group. The sixth rounder had four catches for 54 yards
Falcons 16- Buccaneers 13
-Really confident win by Atlanta, trading score for score with Tampa all game before another game winning drive by Desmond Ridder. If this can be his "bad" kind of performance, then he could end up carving out a career in this league
-What happened with Bijan Robinson...absolutely not a single concern on anybody's radar all week, then boom, dude's not able to play. Or like five snaps, or whatever he did play. Ravaged fantasy teams and prop bet tickets across America on Sunday
-Not sure how Drake London didn't break his back on this play, but what an effort! The second year receiver's putting together a nice year
-Baker Mayfield is no more than an average quarterback. Will have you competing most weeks, but just not getting it done regularly enough in tight ones
-Rachaad White is an incredibly average running back, in his own right, posting a 3.2 YPC through six games. The lack of teeth in the run game definitely doesn't help Mayfield
Ravens 38- Lions 6
-Lamar Jackson...my goodness. Putting on an absolute clinic in a game that many felt would be close. 21-27 for 357, three passing touchdowns and one on the ground; master class. He used his legs more as a threat than a weapon, faking the run before dropping the ball in over the top to wide open crossers, or slipping and sliding through the pocket until one of his guys opened up downfield. A ceiling type display
-Gus Edwards was a force all afternoon, taking 14 carries for a workmanlike 64 yards on the ground before rumbling for 80 on a broken play. With Justice Hill fumbling yet again, I'd imagine Gus has secured his role as this team's top dog
-Zay Flowers is incredibly fast, sudden, hands. Kid does it all. OBJ's been looking fluid, Mark Andrews was unstoppable near the goal line and even Rashod Bateman had two early catches! Pick your poison opposing defensive coordinators
-The Ravens led this game 28-0 before the Lions' vaunted offense picked up it's first first down. That's some Alabama-Georgia Southern type shit
-Jared Goff looked flustered by pressure on many of his drop backs, fumbling twice (losing one) and throwing an interception. Amon Ra St. Brown cooked though
-Jahmyr Gibbs put up the most productive day of his young career, taking 11 carries and 9 receptions for a cumulative 126 yards. He punched in a sad score late to dodge the shut out
Steelers 24- Rams 17
-Just a Pittsburgh Steelers win here, if I've ever seen one. Tight first half on the road, make the adjustments at the half and pull out a close one. Mike Tomlin's simply one of the best
-Kenny Pickett still looks pretty pedestrian, but he was able to move the ball with a quiet confidence while pulling off this comeback. Realizing that you actually can just throw it up in the vicinity of George Pickens and that he'll generally make the play has helped the second year QB
-Jaylen Warren continues to look more explosive than Najee Harris, but the latter keeps handling the heavier loads. Both punched one into the end zone in the decisive fourth quarter
-Really ineffective performance from Matthew Stafford. The Steelers did an excellent job of neutralizing Cooper Kupp, which forcing Stafford to pepper Puka and other lesser targets. The result was a sub-50 completion percentage
-Nacua did make some outstanding plays among his twelve targets, ultimately posting an 8/154 line. But this pass attack was big play or bust, with extra bust
Seahawks 20- Cardinals 10
-This was the opposite of a fun game, but Seattle did pick up a win it desperately needed
-Geno Smith was okay in the absence of his WR1, finding his rookie receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jake Bobo for 124 yards and a touchdown each. His two turnovers could have been costly against a better team
-Kenneth Walker's a monster, handling 26 totes for 105 yards. He was stuffed at the goal line a few times, preventing him from adding to his yearly total of six
-If Kyler Murray had returned from injury a little sooner, Josh Dobbs would probably be considered somewhere as a bridge starter this upcoming offseason. But these last two games have really shown that his ceiling is backup, maybe a long-term backup at best
-Not much else exciting right now in Arizona. Emari Demercado had a decent day, Trey McBride is pretty good. I like Zaven Collins too, on the D line. But this is going to get worse before it gets better in Glendale
Broncos 19- Packers 17
-I predicted 17-16 Packers... it was right there. But they let Russell Wilson, of all people, drive to set up a go ahead field goal with just under four minutes to go
-Predictably, Jordan Love couldn't respond, throwing the game sealing interception near midfield with a minute and a half left on the clock. He's been tough to watch
-AJ Dillon had another semi-good day, despite Aaron Jones being back in the mix. Don't anticipate it staying that way
-I shit on Russ a little above, but he played a clean, albeit boring, game. Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy were able to put up respectable numbers for the first time in the same week, recording 76 and 64 respectively, on 11 combined catches
-Javonte Williams, still looking explosive. This offense really could be dynamic with any talent under center. Jaleel McLaughlin also continues to look really fast
Chiefs 31- Chargers 17
-Same old Chiefs, same old Chargers. Patrick Mahomes continues to dominate his divisional rivals, boasting an 18-3 career record against the AFC West. Immaculate
-Mahomes was incredible, just dicing what many believed would be a strong Chargers secondary en route to 424 passing and four touchdowns. The man was unstoppable
-Travis Kelce was, predictably, his favorite target, flirting with history as he caught 12 balls for 179 receiving. He surprisingly only scored once
-Not sure why a franchise that was so quick to boot Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season is still letting Brandon Staley run this clown show. He's failed in every facet as head coach in LA
-Justin Herbert barely completed half of his passes and threw two picks, never really getting the offense into any type of rhythm
-Austin Ekeler going MIA didn't help matters, with the RB1 totaling just 45 yards on 15 touches. Total nonfactor
-Josh Palmer contributed the few big plays Los Angeles mustered Sunday, racking up 133 yards on 5 catches
Eagles 31- Dolphins 17
-Maybe the Dolphins aren't that good? When you take away their ability to make chunk plays, they're pretty clunky offensively. We've seen it with the Patriots, Bills and now Eagles, only increasing our sample size to draw from
-Tyreek put up 88 yards on 11 catches, but was far from the game wrecker he's known to be. Perfect timing for Darius Slay to get healthy
-Take away a pick six by Jalen Hurts and this game's not even as close as the fourteen point margin of defeat implies. Miami was thoroughly unproductive with the ball
-Jalen Hurts is magnificent, but continues to make a big mistake or two each week. It was the aforementioned pick six and a lost fumble this Sunday. Luckily, the turnovers didn't come back to hurt them
-AJ Brown, that's a man's man. He bullied the inferior Fins' secondary, posting a boisterous 10/137/1 line
-Josh Sweat racked up two more sacks on the year, while rookie Nolan Smith notched the first of his exciting, young career
Vikings 22- 49ers 17
-Took him a decade in the league, but Kirk Cousins finally seems to have figured out how to play in prime time. After throwing a bad pick on his third throw of the game, Cousins would only misfire on eight more passes the rest of the game, dicing a top defense without his best receiver
-Jordan Addison soaked up some of the extra targets in Justin Jefferson's absence, catching seven passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns
-TJ Hockenson also balled out for Minnesota, snagging 11/12 targets for 86 receiving yards of his own
-Danielle Hunter added another sack to his season total, but suddenly may be off of the trade block with the Vikings now sitting at 3-4
-Kind of a concerning loss for San Francisco. It's their second in a row, Brock Purdy's looking human, the secondary gives up too many big plays. We're not code red or anything, they're still a very good team, but not a streak you want to see
-Christian McCaffery's still elite. Two more touchdowns Monday night, setting an NFL record for scoring in sixteen straight games. Special kind of talent we get to witness
-Shocking to see no sacks by this ferocious front seven against a pretty mid offensive line and the immobile Cousins. Definitely a key factor in this loss
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@Choppinglines
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