week 7 recap - Bucs, Packers continue to slide, Seahawks impressive

Week seven brought us yet another week of unexpected wins and losses as we near the halfway point of the NFL season. From key returns at quarterback to key quarterbacks struggling, we take a look at week seven.

Saints @ Cardinals

Final: Cardinals 42 Saints 34

Takeaway: The main takeaway from this game is the Saints are done. Coming in this was kind of a must win for both teams with the losing team falling to 2-5 and the winning staying alive at 3-4. The Cards looked almost like a playoff contender, the addition of Deandre Hopkins cannot be understated, and the defense finally came alive with TWO pick sixes to end the first half. At 3-4 the Cards are just one game back from first in the NFC West.

Up Next: Saints vs Raiders / Cardinals @ Vikings

Falcons @ Bengals

Final: Bengals 35 Falcons 17

Takeaway: The Bengals are still a threat in the AFC with Burrow and the offense they bring. With tons of firepower on the offense, it was a matter of time before we saw them breakout. It was against a Falcons team that isn’t the greatest year but who have been competitive in every game thus far. The AFC North looks to be a two-man race between the Bengals and the Ravens. For the Falcons, they aren’t dead yet by any means with NFC South struggles. They have a team that has proven to be able to hang around for the most part this year. A huge game next week will play a major role in how their season unfolds

Up Next: Bengals @ Browns (MNF) / Falcons vs Panthers

Lions @ Cowboys

Final: Cowboys 24 Lions 6

Takeaway: The Lions are not ready to compete yet and don’t look to be much better than the team we saw last year. The Cowboys got their head man back in Dak Prescott. Dak didn’t play bad by any means, but it was the defense again that lead the way. Tony Pollard looked explosive with the ball in his hands and Zeke was the beneficiary of two goal line touchdowns. Dak had some rust in his return but didn’t do anything to make us think he isn’t the quarterback we have been accustomed to. If him and the offense can get clicking, the Cowboys are serious contenders in the NFC.

Up Next: Lions vs Dolphins / Cowboys vs Bears

Colts @ Titans

Final: Titans 19 Colts 10

Takeaway: The Titans offense struggled heavily in this one. It looks like a very one-dimensional offense that doesn't trust Tannehill with the ball. King Henry looks as good as ever though and will likely see around 20-30 touches a game. The Colts had the same story they’ve had the entire season. The offense looked terrible for the most part. After a game where Matt Ryan shined, he accounted for the Titans only touchdown of the game with a pick six. The good news for the Colts is they are firmly in second place in the division and their defense is only going to get better with the return of Shaq Leonard. They’ll need the offense to get going if they have any playoff hopes.

Up Next: Titans @ Texans / Colts vs Commanders

Packers @ Commanders

Final: Commanders 23 Packers 21

Takeaway: The Commanders showed some fight to get the win but being 3-4 in a division with first, second, and third having zero, one and two losses respectively, the hill might be too tough to climb. The Packers struggled and dropped their third straight after a 3-1 start. Rodgers and Jones look to be a two-man show on offense, and of the Packers don’t fix their issues at receiver, they could be staring at a long offseason. They aren’t totally dead yet as they have Rodgers at the helm, but they need to figure it out quick as they head to Buffalo next week.

Up Next: Commanders @ Colts / Packers @ Bills (SNF)

Buccaneers @ Panthers

Final: Panthers 21 Buccaneers 3

Takeaway: After firing their coach, losing their starting quarterback and trading away their franchise corner piece, the Panthers turned in their best performance of the season Sunday. Sitting at 2-5 with no real identity, I don’t see the Panthers making much noise. The Bucs looked awful and there is no way around it. The defense didn’t look like the defense that took them to back-to-back NFC championship games, and the offense looks even worse. Brady looks like a man who should’ve stayed retired at this point. Evans, Godwin, and Fournette have looked good thus far in the season, but Brady hasn’t looked the same. Thankfully for the Bucs, they play in a division where at 3-4 they are sitting in first. You can never count Brady totally out, but this does not look like a contending team.

Up Next: Buccaneers vs Ravens (TNF) / Panthers @ Falcons

Giants @ Jags

Final: Giants 23 Jags 17

Takeaway: The jags look like they have cooled off after their very hyped up start to the season. After impressive wins versus the Colts and Chargers, they have hit a skid and now sit at 2-5 on the season. The Giants are the surprise team of the year right now after a 6-1 start. After using a couple comeback wins to get here, they were almost on the wrong end as they stopped the Jags at the one-yard line as the clock expired. The Giants are sitting pretty right now, and with an easy schedule coming up, they have a shot to be 9-1 ten weeks in. The only concern for me when it comes to the Giants is they have beat teams with a combined record of 17-23 this season and have yet to have a 100 yard receiver. The good news is they have the Seahawks, Texans, and Lions up next.

Up Next: Giants @ Seahawks / Jags vs Broncos (London)

Browns @ Ravens

Final: Ravens 23 Browns 20

Takeaway: The Browns team overall hasn’t looked great and now at 2-5 that could too much to ask if they can’t string together a few more wins for Deshaun Watson. With a tough stretch coming up, their season might be over early. The Ravens finally won a close one this time and are now 4-3 and tied for first. The addition of Gus Edwards could prove to be huge for the Ravens as he looked really good in his return from injury. Lamar will do Lamar things the rest of the way, life would be easier if he and Mark Andrews had some help in the receiving core. They have a quick turnaround this week as they head to struggling Tampa Thursday night.

Up Next: Browns @ Bengals (MNF) / Ravens @ Buccaneers (TNF)

Jets @ Broncos

Final: Jets 16 Broncos 9

Takeaway: The Jets young core is special as they have looked great to start the year. Sauce Gardner is living up to the hype thus far and has the Jets defense looking surprisingly well. Losing Breece Hall for what looks like the rest of the season will hurt as they have three straight division games coming up. The Broncos drop to 2-5 after failing to score more than one touchdown in their third consecutive game. The Broncos defense deserves better, and they look to get it and a turnaround on the season when Russ returns. They have a good chance to get back on track next week against a struggling Jags squad.

Up Next: Jets vs Pats / Broncos @ Jags (London)

Texans @ Raiders

Final: Raiders 38 Texans 20

Takeaway: The Texans are one of the worst teams in football and that’s no secret. They have a lot of issues that need fixed this offseason. The Raiders are now 2-4 but could very easily be 4-2 if the ball would have rolled their way a few times. I don’t think this team is as bad as the record shows and with the offense going through Josh Jacobs and opening the field to Adams and Waller, they could very well find themselves in the playoff come late in the season. With back-to-back games against two-win teams the next two weeks, they could easily find themselves at .500.

Up Next: Texans vs Titans / Raiders @ Saints

Seahawks @ Chargers

Final: Seahawks 37 Chargers 23

Takeaway: The Seahawks are maybe the surprise team of the year thus far as they sit at 4-3 after a convincing win LA over the Chargers. The Seahawks have gotten pretty good play from Geno Smith so far and have gotten stellar play from rookie running back Kenneth Walker. Are the Seahawks going to be able to keep this up the whole season? There’s no telling, but so far they have been an intriguing team to watch. For the Chargers, something just seems off. They don’t have that firepower most people were looking to see. They still sit at 4-3 and have the ability to make some noise in the AFC.

Up Next: Seahawks vs Giants / Chargers (BYE)

Chiefs @ 49ers

Final: Chiefs 44 49ers 23

Takeaway: Man do the Chiefs look good. Mahomes looks like he’s gotten even better, and the offense looks unstoppable at this point in the season. The defense doesn’t look like the liability most thought they would be. The chiefs seem to be on a collision course to the AFC championship game yet again. The niner didn’t look great in this way. They have now dropped two in a row and below .500 at 3-4. The offense looks to be struggling with Jimmy G (not that it was setting the world on fire with Trey Lance). Deebo Samuel and CMC is a more than capable duo to propel this snoozing offense. Once CMC gets familiar and the defense gets healthy, expect the niners name to be mentioned in playoff talks.

Up Next Chiefs (BYE) / 49ers @ Rams

Steelers @ Dolphins

Final: Dolphins 16 Steelers 10

Takeaway: Tua came back and started out hot with a touchdown pass to Raheem Mostert to open that game. After that the offense sputtered only putting together three field goals. This Dolphins team has the weapons on offense to be great and it seems like the coach to help them reach that greatness. It comes down to if Tua can play well enough to get Hill and Waddle the ball in space. The Steelers look to be done as far as their playoff hopes go. The rest of the season will probably be based around getting Kenny Pickett comfortable and experienced. If Kenny Pickett can make the big leap, they could be right back in playoff talk come next season.

Up Next: Steelers @ Eagles / Dolphins @ Lions

Bears @ Patriots

Final: Bears 33 Patriots 14

Takeaway: The Patriots seem to have a QB problem going on. Mac Jones came back from injury this game and it didn’t go as planned. He threw only six passes, one being intercepted, before he was benched in the first half for Bailey Zappe. Zappe came in right away and led the Pats to two straight scores, but that was it. The Pats failed to score again, and now looks like they have some questions to answer at the QB position moving forward. The Bears looked like a complete football team Monday night as they routed the Pats. Fields looked like the dual threat QB they have been waiting on and the defense played solidly. The Bears are now 3-4 and tied for second in the NFC North. They’ll be put to the test next week as they travel to Dallas to face Dak and the staunch Cowboy’s defense.

Up Next: Bears @ Cowboys / Patriots @ Jets