Bleacherreport
NFL Week 7 Takeaways: Top Takeaways for Every Game
M.Cooper41 min ago
- Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via We didn't even have to wait for the games to start in Week 7 for the drama to begin—the blockbuster trades that sent wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills and Davante Adams to the New York Jets sent shockwaves through the NFL. And that was just the appetizer for what promises to be anotherwild week of NFL action. The week kicked off in New Orleans, where an injury-ravagedSaints team attempted to stop a four-game skid against the Denver Broncos. That? The weekend promises to be equal parts exciting and unpredictable. There's a third straight London game, this time featuring two tomato cans in the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars. There's a showdown between two contenders in Titletown, with the Houston Texans coming to Lambeau Field to face the Packers. The surging Detroit Lions are in Minnesota, battling the undefeated Vikings for first place in the NFC North. The hits keep coming. The Kansas City Chiefs head to San Francisco to take on the49ers in a rematch of Super Bowl LVIII. Sunday afternoon. A new quarterback willbe leading the Pittsburgh Steelers when they host the aforementioned JetsSunday night. And a Monday night doubleheader featuring a potential Super Bowlpreview between the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers promises to endWeek 7 with a bang. With so many big games, Week 7 will shake up the NFL in amajor way. And Bleacher Report NFL Analysts Gary Davenport , Kristopher Knox , Maurice Moton and Brent Sobleski will be here to break down what it all means, withthe biggest takeaways from every game.
- AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post Had you asked Denver Broncos fans how they would feel about being 4-3 seven games into the season, the answers would have ranged somewhere between "elated" and "come on, man." But here the Broncos sit after dismantling an admittedly overmatched, injury-ravaged New Orleans Saints team 33-10 in head coach Sean Payton's return to the Big Easy Thursday night. It's been an odd ride. Denver has won mostly with defense—the Broncos entered Week 7 fourth in total defense, fourth in scoring defense and second in sacks. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix has been—a rookie quarterback. He's made some plays, but also some mistakes—including five interceptions. One thing that hasn't been working is running back Javonte Williams and the ground game. Entering Thursday's contest, Williams was averaging 3.6 yards per carry and the Broncos were 23rd in rushing at 107.3 yards per game. Against the Saints, that changed—and we got a glimpse of what the Broncos could be. Williams had far and away his best game of the season, sailing past 100 total yards and finding the end zone twice. The entire team ran roughshod over New Orleans, Nix included—all told Denver ran for 226 yards and gained a gaudy 6.6 yards per carry. When Denver can grind away on the ground like that, the Broncos can control the tempo of the game. Play-action opens up for Nix. The pressure on Denver's first-year signal-caller is reduced. Wide receiver Courtland Sutton spent this game on a milk carton (which was admittedly odd), and Denver still had arguably its best all-around performance of the season. The Broncos are going to need their No. 1 receiver. Nix will still have to make plays. But if you combine this Denver ground game with the team's stout defense... The Broncos could be a tough out.
- Jonathan Bachman/ Remember when the New Orleans Saints were 2-0, had scored 91 points and people were legitimately asking if they were a Super Bowl contender? That was this year. But it feels like it was a decade ago. To be fair, tonight's loss to the Denver Broncos carries a caveat. Injuries have brutalized New Orleans on both sides of the ball. The team was down its top two wideouts and whatever Taysom Hill is Thursday and were rolling out a Day 3 rookie at quarterback. Things weren't going to end well, even against an inconsistent Denver Broncos team. But there's a difference between losing and getting embarrassed at home, injuries or no. Entering Week 7, the Broncos were a bottom-10 rushing offense averaging less than 110 yards per game. They more than doubled that against New Orleans. On the opposite side of the ball, Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler was sacked half a dozen times then benched. The Saints were dominated in every facet of the game—by an "OK" team. Before Thursday's immolation, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said the organization didn't view the team's four-game losing streak as indicative of Dennis Allen's capabilities as a head coach. "Results matter. They do," Loomis told WWL Radio . "But I think one of the things that good organizations do, is man, you look beyond the results. What's the reasons for the result? How do you fix the reasons that keep you from winning?" Now it's five games. There are several things keeping the Saints from winning. And after that dog of a performance, it's clear Allen is one of them.
Read the full article:https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10139808-nfl-week-7-takeaways-top-takeaways-for-every-game
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