Best: Another week, another dominating performance by the Bucs as they routed the Bears to an easy 38-3 victory. Tom Brady looked like he was half his age as he carved through the Bear’s defense for 211 yards and 4 touchdowns. Brady only needed 2 touchdowns to become the first QB ever to reach 600 in his career and the Bears defense stood no chance against the 7 time Super Bowl Champion. Brady did it in the 1st quarter with a 2-yard pass to Mike Evans, who was unaware of the milestone and gave the ball to a fan in the stands. That fan ultimately decided to give the ball back to Brady after a promise of a bunch of memorabilia but the fan stated on NFL Network that he would return the ball in the hopes of simply playing a round of golf with Brady.
Worst: The Bears offense. They were outmatched in nearly every aspect of the game. The offensive line couldn’t block, the receivers dropped balls and couldn’t get any separation, and Justin Fields is still a rookie learning the speed of the game. Fields threw three picks and fumbled three times losing two of them. He had pressure around him all game. There are many analysts who look at Fields’ stats and immediately boast about how they were right about Justin Fields not being ready to play in the NFL, and while Fields has not played well, he is by no means the reason for this Bears team stinks. The Bear’s offensive line has been struck with injury after injury. Rookie 2nd round pick TevenJenkins has missed all season with a back injury, rookie 5th round pick Larry Borom has been out with an ankle injury since week 2, veteran Germaine Ifedi is also out with a knee injury, and Elijah Wilkinson was abruptly put on the Reserve/Covid-19 list the morning of the game. The Bears 2020 7th round pick LachaviousSimmons was thrust into an impossible situation. The 5th string RT had to go against Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett 1-on-1. He gave up 2 strip-sacks in the first quarter and he was replaced by Alex Bars. Why not help out your unprepared lineman by having your RB chip him or give him extra help from a TE? Matt Nagy can’t adapt his offense on the fly. His offense has talent. Allen Robinson still remains a solid number one target and Darnell Mooney has the speed and quickness to be the perfect slot receiver. Rookie Khalil Herbert proved last week that he can carry the rock in place of the injured David Montgomery. Yet the offense is constantly underprepared every week and it all starts with Nagy. He fails to produce anything close to an NFL-caliber offense. His offense has scored 7 points or fewer in a game seven times since 2019. They have passed for less than 200 yards 26 times since 2018. They have yet to pass for over 200 yards this year. How much hotter can Nagy’s seat get?
Best: Derrick Henry can finally enter the MVP race after THROWING a touchdown pass to TE MyCole Pruitt. It’s always a quarterback who wins MVP, but maybe first-year offensive coordinator Todd Downing has unlocked Henry’s throwing ability and the NFL will finally give the award to a running back for the first time since Lamar Jackson. Ok, for the first time since Adrian Peterson in 2012. It’s long overdue and the MVP should’ve gone to Henry last year had the Green Bay front office not pissed Aaron Rodgers off so much that he decided to have one of the best statistical seasons from a QB, EVER. It just goes to show you that even if the best running back runs for over 2,000 yards in a season, it doesn’t matter because everyone loves the quarterbacks. Let’s see a wide receiver win the MVP, or how about a linebacker? QB’s aren’t the only players who play great football! But in all seriousness, Derrick Henry is on pace for 2,218 rushing yards, 2,609 scrimmage yards, and 28 touchdowns. All record breakers. Now he may not keep this pace, but this is a 17-game season. That one extra game may be all he needs to not only break the record single-season rushing record but shatter it entirely. The record is 2,105 set by Eric Dickerson in 1984. I don’t care if we have a QB throw for 6,000 yards and 50 TD’s. The King needs his MVP award.
Worst: Patrick Mahomes is now tied with Zach Wilson for the most interceptions in the NFL with 9. Now it is worth noting that not all of them are squarely on Mahomes, but something is definitely off with the offense and it all starts with the half a billion-dollar quarterback. The Chief’s offense seems to have lost its big-play ability that they displayed multiple times a game. The Chiefs entered the game with the #2 ranked offense and they were shut out in the 1sthalf, only amassing 67 total yards to Tennessee’s 277 total yards. The offense only scored 3 points the rest of the game. Kansas City drops to 3-4 on the year. Their only wins have been against Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Washington, with Browns being the only team above .500. Their losses have come from the Ravens, Chargers, Bills, and now the Titans, all legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Can Kansas City still compete with the top of the AFC?
Best: Maybe we were all wrong in mocking the Bengals for taking Ja’Marr Chase over Penei Sewell. The LSU connection between Chase and Joe Burrow is working better than anyone expected, faster than anyone expected. Burrow connected with his old college teammate eight times for 201 yards including an 82-yard touchdown pass. That puts Chase at 754 yards already through 7 games. The most ever for a receiver in his first 7 starts! Oh, and also he can block pretty well too. Maybe Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor value a great QB-WR combo over a solid O-Line prospect. It seems to be paying off, as the Bengals, whom most analysts had picked in the top 5 of the 2022 draft, now sit atop one of the best divisions in football, at 5-2.
Worst: Oh, the Jets. I predict you will be on this list more than any other team this year. A rookie head coach, rookie QB, rookie Offensive Coordinator, and rookie Defensive Coordinator. No veteran quarterback presence to help Zach Wilson. Who else saw this coming? After somehow stealing a win against Tennessee two weeks ago, some may have thought, “OK, this is where they start to turn it around.” But then came Bill Belichick, notorious for his record against rookie quarterbacks, going into Sunday at 21-6. After suffering a loss at the hands of the Patriots already this year, the Jets looked to finally come out on top for once, against their most hated rival. Well, the Jets are still the Jets, and the Patriots are still the Patriots. The Patriots jumped out to a fast start with a 4 play, 65-yard drive that ended with WR Kendrick Bourne throwing a touchdown pass to WR Nelson Agholor, which only took 2:17. The Jets went three and out. The Patriots then went 53 yards in 3:25, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run by Damien Harris. Two Jets drives later, Wilson left the game after suffering a knee injury on back-to-back plays. The Patriots dominated the game, with a final score of 54-13, winning their 12th straight game against the Jets. Then as if it couldn’t get any worse for jets fans, news broke that Wilson’s knee injury would keep him out for the next several games. According to Ian Rappaport, Wilson suffered a PCL sprain that will put him out at least 2 weeks. Good news for the Jets as it isn’t a season-ending ACL injury, but it will still be a long season for the fans.
Best: The Lions may have the worst record, but they are by far not the worst team. This team lacks playmakers in nearly every position, but they sure as hell don’t play like it. This team is a couple of missed kicks and dropped passes away from being 3-3, which isn’t much but it’s a lot better than 0-6. This team desperately needs a win, and they were determined to get it this week, in a revenge game for Jared Goff. After being cast away from one of the best teams in football after leading them (or riding along with) to a Super Bowl, the Lions wanted to make a statement. That they weren’t the worst team, they weren’t a laughing stock, they should be taken seriously, and if you value your kneecaps, you were going to take them seriously. The Lions pulled out every trick play in the book, an onside kick, and TWO fake punts. They were playing Madden-style football against the Rams. This is what you like to see from teams like Detroit. In order to win games against superior opponents, you have to steal possessions. Playing regular football when you are outmatched in every aspect is overrated. Fake the punts, run trick plays, go for it on fourth down, do whatever it takes to win. With all the trickery the Lions actually had a 19-17 lead going into the fourth. Buuuuuttttt…
Worst: Yes, the Lions are also on the Worst of Week 7, too. After all the tricks, Detroit had the chance to take the lead with 5 minutes left in the game, down 25-19. They could see the end zone, it’s only 12 yards away. They have a chance to beat the Rams. The Rams! But the Lions are the Lions, and the Lions are cursed to lose games in heartbreaking fashion. Goff gets picked off in the end zone by Jalen Ramsey. The Rams ended up getting a field goal out of the turnover, making it a 28-19 game with 51 seconds left in the game, ultimately putting it out of reach. The Lions are still without a win and if you look at their schedule, it is very possible they don’t put a check in the win column at all this year. Maybe they can squeak one out against the Eagles next week or steal a win from the Bears or Falcons? Lions fans may have to wait until next season to celebrate a victory.
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