Here are our weekly game recaps.
The New Orleans Saints were defeated by the ArizonaCardinals on Thursday night. The Green Bay Packers lost for the third week in a row, this time to the Washington Commanders, who started Taylor Heinicke.
The Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles will come back in Week 8.
Our reporters look ahead to what's next after this week's game, as they react to the biggest revelations. It's time to get to it.
You can jump to a match.
NO-ARI | ATL-CIN | DET-DAL | IND-TEN
GB-WSH | TB-CAR | NYG-JAX | CLE-BAL
HOU-LV | KC-SF
There is a lot of life in the pass rush beyond Chris Jones. The pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo was slow by the Chiefs, but they got their rush going in key moments of the game. If they can continue this kind of pressure, it will be hard for them to defend.
Skyy Moore has been used to return punts. It was not possible for a Super Bowl contender to do that. Moore is learning new things. He had his second fumbled return of the season against the 49ers. In the third week of the season, the Chiefs lost to the Colts. The Chiefs need to give him some time to learn his craft on the practice field instead of playing in games.
The next game is against theTitans. The time has not yet been determined.
Much was made of the 49ers' addition of running back Christian McCaffrey, but general manager John Lynch warned last week that it wasn't a panacea for what ails the Niners. The defense was torched by Patrick Mahomes and the offense didn't keep up as they settled for field goals. At 3-4 the Niners are going to need a lot of improvement.
The 49ers defense is not good. The Niners defense has fallen down. Sunday was a rude awakening as the opponents got better. The Niners had a chance to get out of Kansas City's way in the second half. There were two plays where they gave up a lot of yards. There's enough talent here to prevent those types of things.
The next game is at Rams. The time has not yet been determined.
The Raiders are ready to get back to work. They were just 3-16 after the bye since 2003 and had lost their last five games by an average of 17 points, but their talent suggested they were better. It's much better. After beating Houston, the schedule lightened up considerably, with no of their next five opponents having a winning record. Las Vegas is favored to win nine of its final 11 games.
Is Josh Jacobs the best player in the team? I agree. Jacobs had his fifth-year option declined by the new regime. Davante Adams could be more dangerous, and Carr is in charge. Jacobs, who became the first player in franchise history with three straight games of 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, kept the offense going. He became the third back in franchise history to score three times in a game, joining Allen and Pete.
The next game is at the Saints. The time has not yet been determined.
The quarterback played his best game of the season. Mills completed 62.7% of his passes for five touchdown passes and four intercepts before the bye. He was a lot better against the Raiders. He threw two touchdown passes and racked up a season high 302 yards. Mills threw two touchdown passes on third downs. He threw a pick-six in the fourth quarter, which gave the game away.
What is happening with the Texans' defense? The Texans have allowed the third-most rushing yards in the NFL and their issues stopping the run cost them a potential win. Houston's run problems looked eerily similar to theWeek 3 loss to the Bears, when it allowed 281 rushing yards, as Jacobs rushed for 143 yards and three touchdown against them. The Texans need to figure it out quickly.
The next game is against theTitans. The time has not yet been determined.
The rest of the league might have declared the Carolinas (2-5) in tank mode after they traded star running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, but they aren't going there, as they promised all week. They put together their most complete game of the season, finally getting enough offense to support their defense. They moved within a game of the other two teams in the race for the South, with the Falcons next on the schedule. PJ Walker made it clear that he should remain the starter even when Baker and Sam come back. Oh, that person. The new duo of D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard ran for over 200 yards.
Should PJ Walker continue to be the starter even if Baker Mayfield comes back from an ankle injury? It's absolutely true. Walker was allowed to do what he does best, which is get the ball down the field, and he responded with two touchdown passes. He's a starter in the National Football League and has a record of 1-2 this season. This could be the end for him at Carolina. It felt like it was going to be the end even before today.
The next game is at the Falcons. The time has not yet been determined.
For the second week in a row, Tom Brady and the Bucs were favored by less than 10 points, and once again, they stunk it up, this time against a team that just fired its head coach. The offense looked terrible with a lot of dropped passes, poor play calling, and protection issues. Even though the Falcons lost, they are still in a tie for first place. They've lost four of their last five.
This time, what happened? What went wrong? On the opening drive, Mike Evans dropped what might have been the most wide open touchdown pass of his career. Leonard Fournette went nowhere on third and fourth-and-1. Brady failed to connect with Evans on three straight incomplete passes from the 8-yard line. They were unable to stop the run, giving up 173 yards, including a 60-yard run from D'Onta Foreman. The Baltimore Ravens are coming to town in four days, and they'll be without one of their best players,Antoine Winfield Jr., who left Sunday's game with a concussion.
The next game is against the Ravens. The time has not yet been determined.
D'Onta Foreman runs for 60 yards and Chuba Hubbard runs for 17 yards on the same play.
The defense will carry the Cowboys to victory if there was a doubt. The Cowboys' offense wasn't going to get going with the return of quarterback D-Press. The defense was able to hold it together. This is the second time. The defense did not allow a touchdown against the Lions after allowing two against Philadelphia. The defense changed the game in the second half with five turnovers, three of which were returned for a touchdown.
Will the Cowboys find a solution to their third-down problems? They won't be a threat if they don't. They entered the game converting just 32% of their third-down tries, and things were supposed to get better once they got Prescott back. On third down, they were 3 of 9. The quarterback was 0-for-1 with sacks in the third quarter. He was 3-of-9 with an intercept on third down in the opening game. They were stopped on third-and-1 when the Lions stopped Tony Pollard.
The next game is against the Bears. The time has not yet been determined.
The Lions were hurt by turnovers. The quarterback threw three turnovers in the fourth. One of the fumbled was at the goal line to start the fourth. Amon-Ra St. Brown was knocked out of the game in the first quarter. DJ Chark, who was recently placed on injured reserve, was one of the players the Lions were playing without. While Detroit was undermanned, those mistakes were costly.
Will the defense improve in the future? The offense and defense have not been on the same page. Entering this game, Detroit's defense was allowing a league-high 34 points per game, but during the bye, Glenn made some changes to position Hutchinson better for success. He was able to get 1.5 sacks in Dallas. Jeff Okudah played inspired football with a career-high 15 tackles. The defense was horrendous in the first four games, but the Lions can do no worse than that. They allowed a season low 24 points to the Cowboys but still lost.
The next game is against the Dolphins. The time has not yet been determined.
The Colts were swept by theTitans in order to strengthen their lead in the division. The Colts' quarterback was harassed by theTitans' defensive front for most of the day Autry had a sack against his old team. Bud Dupree had a sack. The pressure from Dupree resulted in two turnovers for the team. The touchdown was scored by Andrew Adams after he returned one of the picks. Thanks to a four-game winning streak, Tennessee is 4-2 and has four more games to play.
Is it possible for the Titans to win games in an ugly way? The victory was not pretty. A 76-yard pick-six by Andrew Adams was one of Tennessee's two picks. The time of possession for the team on Sunday was 31 minutes and they relied on long drives to get on the board. Henry has three 100 yard rushing performances. This team is able to win. The next five weeks will be difficult for theTitans, with games against the Packers, Packers, and Cincinnati.
The next game is at the Texans. The time has not yet been determined.
In Week 6 against Jacksonville, the Colts had their best showing on the offensive side. The heavy passing attack did not work as effectively against Tennessee as it did against the Colts. Ryan has 12 turnovers for the season, and one of them was returned for a touchdown. The Colts didn't change their result despite the return of running backs Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines.
Is the Colts' offense fixed? The Colts are capable of making things difficult for opponents if they have enough strength. When they don't win up front, it's easier for a defense to shut down the receiving corps. Their biggest problem is the offensive line that is playing at an unacceptable level and the quarterback who is shrinking in the face of the rush. How do you make it better?
The next game is against the Commanders. The time has not yet been determined.
Cincinnati's season was going to be defined by a three-game stretch against the Falcons, Cleveland and the Carolinas, according to the quarterback. Heading into the team's bye in Week 10, there were three opportunities to win the game. Behind a record-breaking day from Burrow, who became the first player in NFL history to have five games of 400 or more passing yards in his first three seasons, the Bengal started out with a victory.
Do you want to buy or sell his performance? Don't buy. The majority of Boyd's 155 receiving yards came in the first quarter. Even with an offense that features Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Boyd showed why he's one of the best slot receiver in the league.
The next game is at Cleveland. The time has not yet been determined.
It was an ugly day for a defense that was left short-handed by A.J. Terrell's injury. With a stretch that includes games against the Bears, Commanders, Pittsburgh and two against the Carolinas coming up, the Falcons have to hope this was a bad match up.
When Atlanta gets into a hole, can the offense continue? It is still unclear based on what we have seen this season. Sunday did not give a lot of confidence. The Falcons were behind by 18 points in the fourth quarter but stayed in their offense. It didn't work against a more potent offense in Cincinnati and the team's secondary was decimated by injury. This isn't a big deal and will be something to pay attention to in the future. It's still yet.
The next game is against the panthers. The time has not yet been determined.
Ja'Marr Chase scored a touchdown for the second time.
The Ravens still have problems in the fourth quarter, but they finally got some good fortune at the end. Baltimore was about to give away another double-digit lead after Justice Hill fumbled with 3 minutes left in the game. The field goal was blocked by Harrison. The Ravens safety forced a turnover on the final possession. The Ravens were able to avoid becoming the third team in the past decade to lose four times in the first seven weeks of the season.
Lamar Jackson is throwing the ball. Jackson has not been decisive with the ball and the defense has turned up the heat. He finished the day with 120 yards passing, his lowest total in five years. 50 of those yards were accounted for by two completions, a 31 yard pass to Duvernay and a 19 yard dump-off to Ricard. Jackson told the Ravens to stop thinking and just play. Baltimore's issues are much more than that. Jackson has thrown at least one touchdown in four of the last five games.
The next game is at the Buccaneers. The time has not yet been determined.
In Baltimore, Cleveland played its best game of the year. They lost their fourth straight game because of too many errors on the potential game winning drive. Cooper's go-ahead reception was nullified by an interference call. A false start forced York to try a 60-yard try. The field goal was turned away.
Is Cleveland able to recover from its recent losses? The victory was needed to hold onto the lead in the division. Cleveland's season is officially on life support after the team's fifth loss of the year. A loss to Cincinnati next week on "Monday Night Football" would be the end of the world for the Cleveland Indians.
The next game is against theBengals. The time has not yet been determined.
Taylor Heinicke's game won't win any beauty pageants, but he thrives on competing. He can have a terrible start, with a first-half pick-six and many incompletions, and later lead a win. Washington ran the ball for 167 yards and receiver Terry McLaurin came through with a touchdown catch and key completions on the final drive. Heinicke is able to ignore plays that could ruin other quarterbacks. The reason Washington has won two in a row is because of it.
Is the defense back to normal? In the last two games, the Commanders have faced struggling offenses. In the past five games, they have allowed only 3.67 yards per carry, which is fourth best in the league. They have been more consistent in coverage with William Jackson III out. The defense may be the reason for a resurgence.
The next game is at the Colts. The time has not yet been determined.
Imagine what the Buffalo Bills are going to do to the Packers if they can't beat the other teams. The Bills have one of the best offenses in the league. They lead the league in points and yards. They lead the league in fewest points allowed and second in yards. The Bills were on their bye this weekend and will play the Packers in a prime time game. After two straight losses, this was supposed to be a return to form. The Packers have lost three games in a row.
Is the Packers going to get another player? The same question was asked after the loss to the Jets. It's hard to see how their passing game will improve if they don't make a significant addition at the trade deadline. The return of Sammy Watkins did not help. When Rodgers threw a pass that traveled more than 10 yards in the air, Watkins was not fast enough to cover it. The flag for pass interference was picked up because the ball was un catchable. The fastest receiver missed a second game with a injury.
The next game is at the Bills. The time has not yet been determined.
Even if it's just by 1 yard, the Giants are still able to win. The Jags' offense was on the doorstep late in the game, but Lawrence's pass was stuffed at the 1-yard line. The Giants leaned for most of three quarters on the arm and legs of Daniel Jones, with Jacksonville focused on limiting Saquon Barkley. Jones threw a touchdown and ran for another one. TheJaguars defense has been strong in stopping the run. Despite five dropped passes, Jones managed the game and won it. He came back in the fourth quarter this year.
How bad is the injury? The rookies left the game in the first half with injuries. Three of them are starting. Sources say early indications are that Neal and Bredeson did not suffer serious injuries. That's a good sign. Bellinger was hospitalized for further evaluation. Entering Sunday, the Giants' offense was not very productive. It won't be able to pay for any of these injuries to be long term. The injured three have started every game this season.
The next game is at Seattle. The time has not yet been determined.
The top back has changed. He scored his first career touchdown on a 7-yard run. James Robinson, who had started the first five games this season and 32 overall, didn't have a carry or reception in a game for the first time in his career On the pass that Lawrence overthrew, he was the target.
There is a pass rush. After putting up seven sacks in the first two games, the pass rush has only managed six since and only two in the last two games. Doug Pederson said teams are scheming ways to stop Walker. Josh Allen should be trying to get to the quarterback more. He entered the week with 25 quarterback pressures, but hasn't had a sack since Week 4 and has just 3 this season. They need to be more productive.
The next game is against the Broncos. The time has not yet been determined.
The Giants were leading late in the fourth quarter when Daniel Jones scored.
The offense is still not out of the woods. Kyler Murray said that the offense still needs to work on some things after the win over the Saints. He is not incorrect. The defense was able to return two picks for a touchdown. If those were taken away, the Cards would lose. If the offense is making strides or stuck in the mud next week in Minnesota, it's time for a change. Nine days between games will give players a chance to get used to each other, as well as giving players a chance to recover from injuries.
Was Thursday night the catalyst the team needed? The win was built on false pretenses because the Saints were without their top two corners and top two receiver. If Arizona plays well and can beat the Vikings next week, it will be a sign of things to come.
The next game is at the Vikings. The time has not yet been determined.
The problem with the Saints is that they are a mess on both sides of the ball. The Saints' identity this season has been defined by turnovers, missed tackles and penalties, according to wide receiver Tre'Quan Smith. Smith said that after the game, the players were told to hold each other accountable.
The coaching staff fixes the team's problems. Dennis Allen said the problem starts with him, and when asked how the coaches make changes, he said it's about getting the right people in the right places. The health of the team is Allen's biggest concern so it's difficult to do that. There aren't many options for the Saints to turn to because of the injuries.
The next game is against the Raiders. The time has not yet been determined.
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