D.S. Williamson
What a Week 7 in the NFL! The signature game, New England versus Pittsburgh, showcased how terrific the Patriots are this season. Oakland bounced back from a Week 6 loss in a terrific showing on the road versus Jacksonville while Buffalo came crashing back down to earth after winning 4 straight in a tough loss versus Miami. See below for the week 7 recap of this Week’s NFL action!
Editor’s Note: Check out our NFL Week 7 Picks by Matt Ross and the Week 7 Betting Preview DS Williamson
NFL Betting – Regular Season Week 7 Recap
Chicago Bears 10, Green Bay Packers 26
The Green Bay Packers finally got their offense going. It took the biggest rivalry game in the NFL for that to happen. Chicago’s D, especially its secondary, had been playing well up until the battle against the Packers. Aaron Rodgers completed 39 of 56 for 326 yards and 3 TDs. Rodgers said afterward that he imagined that’s what the Packers would have to do from “now on” since they have so many injuries at the running back position.
Chicago’s biggest issue coming out of this game was QB Brian Hoyer’s broken arm. Matt Barkley took his place only to throw 2 picks to go along with only 81 yards. It’s wait until next season for the Bears.
Cleveland Browns 17, Cincinnati Bengals 31
I truly thought the Browns were going to step it up versus the reeling Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7. QB Cody Kessler went as long as he could for Cleveland, who ended up playing Stanford rookie Kevin Hogan. For his part, Hogan completed 50% of his passes for 100 yards. He threw 2 picks. But, he also rushed for 104 yards from 7 attempts and scored a TD with his feet. Hogan’s got some talent.
Cincinnati rushed 30 times for 271 yards. They finally let Jeremy Hill loose. The much-maligned RB from LSU rumbled for 168 yards from 9 carries. He also scored a TD. We’ll see if the Bengals lean on Hill and Giovanni Bernard in Week 8.
New York Giants 17, Los Angeles Rams 10
The game in the UK this past Sunday had the Rams battling the Giants. The G-Men didn’t win this game, rather the Rams lost it. Rams’ QB Case Keenum threw 4 interceptions while Giants’ QB Eli Manning threw for just 196 yards. NYG could only turn the 4 picks into 17 points.
The Rams were easily the better team in this match up. But no team in the NFL can escape with a win after its QB throws 4 picks.
Oakland Raiders 33, Jacksonville Jaguars 16
The result of this game surprised me. Jacksonville’s defense had been playing well. I thought that the Jags, who went into the game as a -1 home favorite, were going to do enough to beat Oakland straight up. I certainly didn’t expect the Raiders to pummel the Jaguars’ D.
In a way, the Raiders didn’t. QB Derek Carr only threw for 200 yards and a TD. Jacksonville QB Blake Bortles threw 2 picks, though. The Jaguars also lost a fumble. Whichever team wins the turnover battle often is the team that wins the game in the NFL. That was the case in this matchup.
Washington Redskins 17, Detroit Lions 20
Washington was up 17 to 13 with less than 30 seconds to go in the game. What happened? Matthew Stafford threw an 18-yard pass to Anquan Boldin for the TD. What a shame for Washington fans. For Detroit fans, it shows that they have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
The big takeaway is how well both defenses played in this game. Neither defense was supposed to be that strong. That’s why the total ended up at 50 points. But both Washington and Detroit played well enough to keep the other team from scoring 3 touchdowns. When it comes to these 2 defenses, that’s a big accomplishment.
Buffalo Bills 25, Miami Dolphins 28
Buffalo doesn’t have much excuse for losing to the Miami Dolphins on the road in Week 7. Even though RB LeSean McCoy was hurt, the Bills were supposed to be better than this. The reason the loss is so significant is because Buffalo must take on the New England Patriots on the road in Week 8. Another loss sends the Bills to .500.
Miami RB Jay Ajayi rushed for over 200 yards again. Adam Gase’s offensive system revolves around a good running back. Now that he’s found Ajayi, the Dolphins should average close to 4 touchdowns a game every week.
New Orleans 21, Kansas City 27
This game could have been much closer if Saints’ RB Mark Ingram hadn’t fumbled the ball while New Orleans was driving for a touchdown. That was the key play that caused the Saints to lose yet again. New Orleans was ultra-sloppy in this one. New Orleans committed 10 penalties, which cost them 75 yards.
The Chiefs committed only 4 penalties, which cost them 30 yards. KC RB Spencer Ware was great yet again, but it was the penalties and the Ingram fumble that cost the Saints this game.
Minnesota Vikings 10, Philadelphia Eagles 21
Minnesota finally lost a game this season. The key for Philadelphia’s victory was pressure on Sam Bradford. The Eagles sacked Bradford 6 times for 35 yards lost. The Vikings’ D didn’t sack Carson Wentz once in this game. They did force him to throw 2 interceptions.
Don’t let the score fool you. The Vikings’ offense lost this game. Not only did Minnesota allow the Eagles to sack Bradford 6 times, but they also lost 3 of 5 fumbles. That wasn’t to be expected since the Vikings came into this game off a bye.
Baltimore Ravens 16, New York Jets 24
You just never know in the NFL, right? All signs pointed to the Baltimore Ravens demolishing the New York Jets in Week 7. The Jets were reeling. NYJ’s usually vaunted defense had looked like crap in recent weeks. The Jets didn’t know which one of their bad quarterbacks, Geno Smith or Ryan Fitzpatrick, would end up leading the team for the rest of the season.
What happened? Baltimore is a veteran team with a veteran, $20 million a year, QB in Joe Flacco. Veteran teams aren’t supposed to let running backs like Matt Forte rush 30 times for 100 yards and a TD. Veteran quarterbacks aren’t supposed to throw 2 interceptions against one of the worst secondary’s in the league.
San Diego Chargers 33, Atlanta Falcons 30
What a veteran QB is supposed to do is rally your team to a huge road win against an opponent that was favored to beat you by a TD. That’s what veteran QB Phillip Rivers did in Week 7. Rivers was sensational when throwing for 371 yards, a TD, and only a single interception. Melvin Gordon scored 3 TDs, 2 rushing and 1 via a Rivers’ pass, against Atlanta’s defense.
The Falcons must worry about what happened last season happening to them this season. Last season, the Falcons won their first 5 games only to lose 8 out of their next 11 to miss the playoffs. This season, Atlanta has started out going 4 and 1 straight up. Could another Atlanta swoon be in the works?
Indianapolis Colts 34, Tennessee Titans 26
I was way off on this game. I thought that the Colts were going to score. But I felt like the Titans’ rushing attack, which is one of the best in the NFL, would keep the Colts from enough possessions to outscore Tennessee. What I didn’t count on was how great Andrew Luck is. Luck threw for 353 yards and 3 TD passes.
The loss wasn’t all bad for Tennessee. QB Marcus Mariota has thrown 8 TDs to 1 INT in the last 3 Tennessee games. The Titans’ defense shut down the Colts rushing attack, holding it to 81 yards. Tennessee is on the right track.
New England Patriots 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 16
I thought the Steelers might find a way to at least cover the 7.5 spread. Man, I was wrong! New England dominated Pittsburgh in this game. But it wasn’t just the lack of QB Ben Roethlisberger under center that led to Pitt’s demise.
By dominate, I mean that New England’s defense held the Steelers’ offense, which includes RB Le’Veon Bell, to only 94 yards rushing. By dominate, I mean that Pats’ RB LeGarrette Blount rushed for 124 yards and scored 2 TDs. New England is the best team in the NFL.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34, San Francisco 49’ers 17
By the time this game kicked off on Sunday, San Francisco was a -1-home favorite over Tampa Bay. How unbelievable is that? The score says it all. San Francisco is the worst team in the NFL. They’re much worse than Cleveland.
The reason I’m confident writing that is because Cleveland has been competitive in some games while San Francisco hasn’t been competitive in any games since beating the Rams in Week 1.
Seattle Seahawks 6, Arizona Cardinals 6
Mistake after mistake happened in this game. The biggest of which was Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro missing a kick in overtime that would have ended it. Well, that was the biggest mistake until Seattle kicker Steve Hauschka missed a kick as time ran out in overtime.
This had to have been one of the worst football games I’ve ever seen between two talented teams.
Houston Texans 9, Denver Broncos 27
The Broncos ended a 2-game losing streak by beating up former QB Brock Osweiler. Denver’s defense held Osweiler to a 22 out of 41 night. He passed for 131 yards. He targeted DeAndre Hopkins 12 times. Hopkins caught 5 passes for 36 yards. Osweiler is proving to be one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Maybe, he just doesn’t have it.
The good news for Denver fans in this game is that the rushing attack is back on track. C.J. Anderson rumbled for 107 yards and scored a TD on only 16 carries. Devontae Booker carried the ball 17 times. He rushed for 83 yards and scored a TD. If Denver’s rushing attack is back, the Broncos become the second-best team in the NFL after the Patriots. That’s the entire NFL, not just the AFC.
