This week in the NFL provided some thrillers as the early slate in Week 7 lived up to the hype. The Detroit Lions handed the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the season with a field goal in the final minute while the Green Bay Packers also won with a walk-off field goal over the Houston Texans.
While the NFC North flexed its muscle, the Kansas City Chiefs became the final unbeaten team with their win over the San Francisco 49ers. The Washington Commanders also maintained control of the NFC East with their blowout win over the Carolina Panthers.
This is the first week this season in which four or more teams came back to win after trailing by at least 10 points.
With all the comeback victories and statement wins, this is a great week for overreactions. Which are overreactions and which are reality?
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Watson’s season appears to be over after getting carted off the field in the second quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Bengals. The Browns fear Watson tore his Achilles, which would take nearly a year to fully recover. Does this mean Watson has played his final game in a Browns uniform?
Watson has two years and a guaranteed $92 million remaining on his contract, which the Browns still have to pay out. Cleveland wouldn’t even bench Watson when he was performing as one of the worst quarterbacks in the league, so the Browns will try to get a return on their investment (unless injury provisions allow the Browns to get out of the deal).
For now, Watson is likely going to play another game in a Browns uniform. This may not be the end of one of the worst contracts in sports history.
Josh Allen is the best QB in the NFL this season
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Allen hasn’t thrown an interception through seven games this season, while having 12 touchdown passes. He’s the first player since Alex Smith in 2017 to throw 12 touchdown passes with zero interceptions after the first seven games. Allen has just two giveaways all season, both of which are fumbles lost.
Keep in mind Allen doesn’t have Stefon Diggs at wide receiver anymore. Amari Cooper just arrived in Buffalo (did have a touchdown on his first target Sunday), but Allen has been this efficient without a No. 1 wide receiver throughout the year. Allen is seventh in the NFL in yards per attempt (7.8), tied for fourth in touchdown passes (12) and tied for fourth in passer rating (108.4). He also has 179 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground as well.
Allen may not be the MVP front-runner, but he’s not turning the football over and hurting his team while playing at a high level. He’s been the best quarterback through seven weeks (Lamar Jackson does play Monday).
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
The Chiefs are 6-0 this season, with Mahomes throwing more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (6) through six games. Mahomes has a career worst in pass yards per game (231.5), pass touchdowns (6), interceptions (8), and passer rating (82.5) through seven games — yet his team is still the last remaining unbeaten in the league.
The Chiefs are perfect, while losing Rashee Rice for the season and Travis Kelce finally starting to show his age. The left tackle position is a weakness and the top pass catcher on the outside is a rookie speedster in Xavier Worthy. Yes Kansas City is unbeaten — due to the Chiefs defense being one of the best in football. Mahomes has done enough offensively (12th in NFL in offensive points per game with 22.3), yet the turnovers continue to rear their ugly head.
Kansas City is winning games in spite of Mahomes turning the ball over. What’s going to happen when Mahomes fixes the turnover woes? The Chiefs will keep winning, and the margin of victory will be greater.
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Love was a huge reason the Packers beat the Texans on Sunday, showcasing he’s — at the very least — ahead of Stroud on the quarterback totem pole. The Packers quarterback had his ninth straight game with 2+ passing touchdowns, notching a season high in completion rate (72.7%), while recording 3+ touchdowns for the third time this season.
Love has a low completion rate (61.5%) and has thrown eight interceptions, but is an aggressive thrower and his big plays have benefitted the Packers offense.
Stroud, on the other hand, struggled on Sunday. He completed just 10 of 21 passes for 86 yards, finishing with a season low in completion rate (47.6%) and yards per attempt (4.1). The Texans were only in the game because of Love’s two interceptions.
Love was also 5 of 5 in the red zone with two touchdowns and a 136.3 passer rating while Stroud was 0 of 3 and a 39.6 rating. Neither of these quarterbacks are in the top five yet, but Love gets the edge over Stroud if one were to rank them after Sunday.
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Jones was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter when the Giants were trailing 28-3 to the Eagles, a performance which he finished 14 of 21 for 99 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 77.3 rating. Through seven games this season, Jones has completed 62.5% of his passes for 1,442 yards with six touchdowns to four interceptions and an 80.6 rating (6.0 yards per attempt).
The struggles at home for Jones and the Giants offense are real. Jones is the first starting quarterback with zero passing touchdowns in six straight home games since Trent Dilfer (1995-1996). Jones hasn’t actually thrown a passing touchdown at MetLife Stadium since signing his $160 million contract.
The Giants are averaging just 7.8 points per game in four home games, not scoring an offensive touchdown in three of them. Jones isn’t actually helping this Giants offense right now, but it may be too early to give up on him at this point in the season (even with the team at 2-5). Expect the Giants to stick with Jones for the time being, but he’s on borrowed time.
The NFC North will get three playoff teams
Overreaction or reality: Reality
After watching the Lions and Vikings duke it out for four quarters, followed by a statement win by the Packers over the Texans — the NFC North appears destined to get three teams into the playoffs. The Lions and Vikings are both 5-1 and on top of the division, while the Packers sit at 5-2 — a half-game out of first place.
Let’s not forget the Bears, who were on the bye, but sit at 4-2 and are currently the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff race. That’s four NFC North teams in the playoffs, as the season nears its midway point.
Even with the division games starting to take shape, the NFC North clearly has three teams good enough to play in January. With how the NFC West and NFC South are shaping up, there’s a good chance the NFC North gets three teams in based on how the early portion of the season has played out.
Patriots are the worst team in the NFL
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
The Panthers do exist, which may take the Patriots out of the running. New England does belong in the conversation, thanks to its sixth straight loss after winning the season opener — its longest losing streak in the Robert Kraft era (Kraft bought the team in 1994).
New England’s defense has taken a southern turn, allowing 36.5 points per game over the last two games and allowing 5.4 yards per carry. The Patriots have issues tackling and can’t stop the run, a poor formula to win with an offense that averages just 14.1 points per game (bottom five in NFL).
Drake Maye is the bright spot on this team, which takes New England out of the running. Maye is the second rookie quarterback since the merger with 500+ passing yards and 5+ passing touchdowns in his first two career starts (Dan Marino is the other). The offensive points per game has improved to 18.5 in Maye’s two starts. If it wasn’t for Maye’s early success, the Patriots would be the worst team in the league.
The Patriots may have a franchise quarterback. The Panthers — as it stands — do not.
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Author: Jeff Kerr
October 20, 2024 | 10:00 pm
