NFL Week 7 Takeaways: Josh Jacobs Can Revive Raiders' Playoff Hopes

Even though we're only seven weeks into the NFL season, a couple of 2021 playoff teams must show some urgency while avoiding the urge to hit the panic button.

The Green Bay Packers and the Buccaneers used to be powerhouses in theNFC, but both teams have struggled this season and were knocked out of the playoffs on Sunday.

There is a problem in Green Bay. Will either club recover?

When some of us thought the Cincinnati Bengals would fall off, we were wrong. It isn't happening. The titleholders are on the right path.

Geno Smith used clever retorts to his doubters. He's still in New York.

One running back continued to run like he was on a mission in the second wave of the game.

Now, let’s break down the biggest takeaways from Sunday's Week 7 games.

Josh Jacobs has outrun the backfield committee chatter in Las Vegas.

After the Raiders hired a general manager and a head coach, they selected a player in the fourth round of the next draft.

All signs pointed to a backfield committee with the additions of three notable running backs.

The quarterback has 14 rush attempts.

The Raiders and Texans battled through three quarters before Jacobs put the Silver and Black over the top with two fourth-quarter touchdown runs.

Jacobs has rushed for at least 142 yards in each of the last three games. He is in a contract year, which may make him more motivated to run through opposing defenses.

The Raiders offense has performed at a higher level due to Jacobs being the workhorse. He's carried the ball at least 20 times in each of the last three outings.

The Raiders need the offense to perform at a high level in order to bounce back from a slow start to the season. Jacobs can raise that unit with his angry runs.

T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick weren't with the team for the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They went further into a tailspin.

The game was won by the panthers. Carolina traded its best offensive player, running back Christian McCaffrey, to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday in order to get an interim head coach.

Tom Brady failed to throw a touchdown pass against the 17th-ranked pass defense that didn't feature starting CB Jaycee Horn.

Moreover, the Buccaneers offense turned the ball over on downs deep in Panthers territory.

The fifth ranked scoring defense allowed 6.9 yards per play. D'Onta and Chris ran for 181 yards and a touchdown. PJ Walker threw two touchdown passes.

High-level concerns should be raised by the fact that the panthers led from start to finish.

The Baltimore Ravens are coming to town in Week 8 and the Buccaneers have issues on both sides of the ball and have a short week to fix it.

The Atlanta Falcons lost their biggest loss of the year when the Cincinnati Bengal jumped on them early and went up 28-7.

The Falcons covered the spread in all six of their previous games, but they couldn't overcome a double-digit deficit.

Joe Burrow had his best game of the season, completing 34 of 42 passes for 481 yards and three touchdown and even added a score on the ground. Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd both had over 100 yards with three scores.

The defense shut out another opponent in the second half and that was after the game had ended. The unit has not allowed a touchdown after the half.

The Super Bowl in Cincinnati didn't last long. The Bengals have won four of their last five games and seem to be in good shape for the second half of the season.

The Green Bay Packers have two running backs who can control games and wear down opponents. They lost the time of possession battle 37:07 to 22:53, which was a big factor in their third consecutive loss.

Jones and Dillon rushed for 12 carries and 38 yards combined.

The Packers went 0-of-7 in third and fourth downs and had a longer distance to move the chains. The rookies had some brutal drops.

The Commanders were able to match up well against an uninspired offensive attack because of the amount of responsibility on Rodgers.

The Packers defense didn't perform well for most of the game. Taylor Heinicke took just one sack and Washington went 7-of-16 on third downs.

Jones hauled in nine out of 10 targets for 53 yards and two touchdown. He's rushed for less than 50 yards in four of the seven games he's played this season. In five contests, he did not reach that threshold.

Left tackle David Bakhtiari missed Sunday’s game with a knee injury, which prevented the team from moving Elgton Jenkins to left guard, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The Packers have an inconsistent offense, which is a problem because of an underachieving defense.

You may have seen Daniel Jones as a potential replacement for Brian Daboll in his second year. Do you think again?

The Giants' coaching staff is able to use Jones' athletic ability to rack up yards and score a touchdown. The dual-threat quarterback ran for a career-high 107 yards and threw for 202 yards and a touchdown.

After throwing for 24 touchdown and 12 interceptions in his first season as a starter, the fourth-year signal-caller has been hit with the right buttons by the coaching staff.

Jones is not expected to throw for 300 yards. The Giants get a lot out of his mobility, which is an important part of the team's top-five rushing offense. He has 343 yards and three touchdown for the year.

The Giants defeated the Jags. We should focus on Jones' chance to remain the lead quarterback in New York beyond his contract year since Big Blue's quick rise is old news.

The San Francisco 49ers couldn't keep up with the high-powered offense of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 49ers got a new player a few days ago. He ran 62 yards from scrimmage.

The Chiefs offense grabbed the headlines in the Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs tied their season-high point total in a 44-23 victory over the Buffalo Bills. JuJu Smith-Schuster had seven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown, while Mecole Hardman had three catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.

He threw for 423 yards and three scores as the leader of the offense. The defense was second in points allowed before the game. The 49ers welcomed back defensive end Nick Bosa, who missed the previous game, and Charvarius Ward, who left the previous game with a groin injury.

The 49ers shouldn't panic despite their recent losses. They lost to a team that scored a lot of points.

The 49ers will play the Los Angeles Rams next week, who beat the 49ers 24-9 in Week 4. Arik Armstead might come back from foot and ankle injuries as well.

The Los Angeles Clippers have a winning record and are in second place in the NBA. Their resume is mediocre.

The Las Vegas Raiders had a 24-19 win over the Bolts. The Houston Texans battled back from a 21-point deficit and cut the lead to three points in the fourth quarter of their 34-24 loss to the Packers.

TheJaguars dominated theChargers at home 38-17 Los Angeles lost to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at So Fi Stadium.

First and foremost, give credit to the Seahawks for their 37-23 win, but they racked up points without one of their best players, wide receiver Tyler Lockett, who missed the entire week of practice because of a hammy.

The rookies running back Kenneth Walker III ran for 168 yards and two scores and highlighted a glaring problem with the defense.

The Chargers can't stop a ground attack. They've surrendered at least 131 rushing yards in four games this season, which allows physical teams to run all over them and keep quarterbackJustin Herbert on the sideline.

The club doesn't have the makeup to go on the road and beat teams that run the ball because of its defense.

J.C. Jackson left the game with a knee injury. He was benched last week. They can cover in the secondary.

While edge-rusher Joey Bosa recuperates from groin surgery, general manager Tom Telesco needs to add more manpower.

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.