Andy Benoit takes a quick tour of all the Week 7 games. Did he miss something? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Jets 27, Chargers 21
Now THAT’S what the Jets thought they were getting when they signed Plaxico Burress. Few are better equipped to thrive in the red zone, where spacing is tight, than a man who’s that tall and sinewy. Burress beat Antoine Cason, San Diego’s most talented cover artist, for all three of his red zone touchdowns Sunday. Twice he did it with physicality and once with elusiveness.
One reason expectations are high for Burress is, being a Jet, he’s assured of never having to face Darrelle Revis. A week after punishing Brandon Marshall and the Dolphins for attacking him, Revis stifled Vincent Jackson, one of the toughest covers in the league. According to ESPN, “Jackson was targeted four times on passes of more than 15 yards, and he finished with one reception for 15 yards and an interception.” Revis is clearly the league’s most valuable player on defense. The question is whether he’s the most valuable player, period.
As for the Chargers, what do we make of them? They’re not posting the huge numbers of recent years, and their four victories have come against hapless opponents (Minnesota, Kansas City, Miami and Denver). That said, 4-2 is 4-2. And it’s difficult to fault a West Coast team for losing an early window game on the East Coast – especially when that early window game is against a quality opponent.
Broncos 18, Dolphins 15
If it’s Tim Tebow worship you’re looking for, wrong place. Being a winner and having fourth-quarter moxie and all that other Hollywood stuff is great…but not sustainable.
Neither is Tony Sparano’s career in Miami – unfortunately for Sparano. The Sun Sentinel reports that though the Dolphins just gave away what would have been their first win of the season, Sparano is unlikely to be fired…for now. That means he gets to continue working for an owner who tried to replace him during the off-season and who gladly traded a few extra tickets sold for honoring the opposing team’s quarterback at halftime of this week’s game.
To end this bit on a positive note, the Dolphins’ stagnant pass rush finally came alive. Miami entered with eight sacks on the season and exited with 15.*
*If you think this “positive note” is just a veiled attempt at mentioning that Tebow was slow in his reads and release on Sunday, you would not necessarily be wrong.
Browns 6, Seahawks 3
Might as well have been the Indians and Mariners out there. This marked the second time this season that the Browns have run 80-plus plays. The first time – a loss against the Titans – involved a slew of late pass attempts out of the hurry-up offense. This 80-plus-play effort was more run-oriented, with Montario Hardesty getting 33 carries. Also helping matters was that the Browns were a whopping 12 for 24 on third down.
Falcons 23, Lions 16
In seemingly related but actually unrelated news, the Lions were just 1 for 12 on third down. Two straight home losses are a bit concerning but nothing to sound the alarms about. Moving forward, though, this will prove to be a different offense with Jahvid Best out of the lineup. The Lions are not a good running team with or without Best, but his speed and agility are perfect for the short-passing game and draw plays. Those elements are a key because they make the Lions two-dimensional out of their frequently used shotgun sets.
We’ve been following the Falcons’ search for an identity all season. For the second straight week, with Julio Jones out of the lineup, they stuck to their ground-and-pound recipe (Michael Turner, 122 yards on 27 carries). However, in the process, they appeared to lose one of their most important ingredients, fullback Ovie Mughelli, to a knee injury. That could prove to be one of the most expensive losses for any team this season.
Perhaps it will lead to even more receiving opportunities for Tony Gonzalez. Can you believe he’s now caught more passes than anyone other than Jerry Rice? What an interesting debate it’ll be when the Hall of Fame voters discuss him in (presumably) six years. The man is the most productive tight end in league history but has never won a playoff game. That’s not his fault, of course. But it may delay his enshrinement. The second-most productive tight end, Shannon Sharpe, was a key contributor on three Super Bowl champions, yet did not get in until his third year of eligibility.
Texans 41, Titans 7
We could wow you with all sorts of lopsided stats here – Texans, 296 passing yards, Titans, 95; Texans, 222 rushing yards, Titans, 53; Texans, 29 first downs, Titans 11 – or talk about Chris Johnson’s continued efforts to break the single-season record for “tarnished fantasy teams.”
But more interesting is the emergence of Arian Foster as a receiver. Maybe the best runner in the A.F.C., he has posted 287 yards receiving the past three weeks, including 119 (all in the first half) against Tennessee. It’s not just backfield screens and dumpoffs that Foster is catching, either. Lately, the Texans have split him out wide for bubble screens and underneath pass patterns. We knew he had good hands (66 receptions in 2010) and solid open-field instincts. We didn’t know he could merge the two traits so seamlessly.
Bears 24, Bucs 18
So much for all the “Mike Martz needs to run the ball more” talk. The Bears have pounded the rock 25-plus times in each of their past four outings. They’ve gone 3-1 while averaging 160 rush yards per game in that stretch, and Matt Forte has only added to the negotiating leverage that everyone but General Manager Jerry Angelo seems to realize he has. Forte has been the most valuable running back in the N.F.C. this season. Most impressive is his improved lateral agility – highlighted in his 32-yard touchdown against the Bucs – which is augmented by his outstanding patience.
One final note (and hopefully this comment will soon prove to have been unnecessary…it’s a shame it’s even come up): the N.F.L. would be beyond foolish to expand to 33 or 34 teams just to put a franchise in London. Relocating an existing team? Yes. Expanding? Lord, no. Let’s hope this idea is nothing more than the usual week-of-London-game diplomacy that we get from Roger Goodell each year.
Panthers 33, Redskins 20
It’s not often that a last-place N.F.C. South team beats a second-place N.F.C. East team and no one comes away surprised. Cam Newton has already tied Vince Young’s rookie record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (seven). Unlike Young, Newton is not running at the expense of his offense’s passing game. The Panthers remain sharp through the air, even with Steve Smith (seven receptions for 143 yards Sunday) being the only quality wideout on the roster.
Steelers 32, Cardinals 20
It was somewhat of a throwback day for the Cardinals, playing at home in front of a crowd that was nearly 50 percent in favor of the visiting team. Felt like Sun Devil Stadium again. The split crowd at University of Phoenix Stadium would have had a 2008 Super Bowl rematch feel except that Florida Super Bowl crowd was about 90 percent pro-Steeler.
The Cardinals fans who were on hand Sunday grew frustrated at times with their 1-5 team’s new franchise quarterback. What’s interesting about Kevin Kolb is that he’s had the financial success of a big-time quarterback without the starts.
Kolb has made over $35 million guaranteed in his career strictly on potential. (Safe to assume he’s the only second-round draft pick ever to do that.) The Eagles signed Kolb to a four-year, $4.3 million contract as a rookie. In the last year of that deal, he was extended for one year at $12.25 million (franchise tag). After seven career starts, he was traded to Arizona, where he immediately signed a contract worth $21.5 million guaranteed. All the while, no one has ever seen the guy actually play for any extended period. Until now.
Cowboys 34, Rams 7
DeMarco Murray looked great – much more fluid than in his first few outings – and the Cowboys took care of business. More interesting, though, were the two World Series participants being on the field for the coin toss. Lance Berkman (representing the St. Louis Cardinals) and Josh Hamilton (representing the Texas Rangers) walked out with the captains for the game’s opening ceremony. Both were in full uniform, which looked weird. The question is, with Game 4 of the World Series a little more than four hours away, do you think Berkman and Hamilton stayed in their uniforms from coin toss until game time? Or, given that baseball players are so routine-oriented, do you think they changed once they got back to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington?
Packers 33, Vikings 27
These days an average game for Aaron Rodgers is anything with less than 350 yards passing and four touchdowns. He’s now posted a passer rating over 110 in each of his past six outings. That’s what an amazing arm, an innovative system and a terrific array of weapons will generate for a smart quarterback.
Viking fans have reason to be excited. Their team’s season is all but officially over, but Christian Ponder at least looks compelling. The Viking offense has more rhythm with him under center than with Donovan McNabb, and not just because Ponder is quicker and more consistently accurate. From afar, the first-round rookie quarterback seems to have a better grasp of the system.
Chiefs 28, Raiders 0
Don’t look now but the Kansas City Chiefs are suddenly back at .500 and just a game out in the A.F.C. West. All it took was a schedule that gave them three straight games against backup quarterbacks: Week 4 against the now-benched Donovan McNabb, Week 5 against Curtis Painter and Week 7 against Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer.
Boller and Palmer each threw three interceptions in two quarters, including a pick-six on outside routes that were undercut by the cornerback. Seems hard to blame the Raiders for any Palmer move they made, though. The alternative to inserting him in this game after halftime was going with Boller. And the alternative to trading for him was also going with Boller.
Saints 62, Colts 7
When does flex scheduling begin?
Andy Benoit is an N.F.L. analyst for CBSSports.com and founder of NFLTouchdown.com. He can be reached at andy.benoit@NFLTouchdown.com or @Andy_Benoit.
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