Week 7 Game Balls
Offense: Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins. Only the fourth player in history with back-to-back 200-yard rushing games. He's also the only player with any 200-yard rushing games in 2016.
Defense: Landon Collins, DB, New York Giants. Game-high 8 tackles, plus 2 interceptions. He returned the first for a dynamic 44-yard touchdown, and the second to the Rams' 35-yard line, setting up the Giants' other touchdown. New York scored 3 points the rest of the game.
Special Teams: Josh Lambo, K, San Diego Chargers. Made three extra points and four field goals, including the game-tying kick with :18 left and the game-winner in overtime.
Rookie: Leonard Floyd, LB, Chicago Bears. Two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Honorable Mentions: RB David Johnson, DL Cliff Avril, P Marquette King
Five Quick Hits
* I'm not trying to take sides in the kneel-through-the-national-anthem controversy, but the Beaumont Bulls — a youth team near the Texas/Louisiana border — were effectively shut down for doing it. This is a complicated issue without an obvious answer, but punishing kids for making a statement is absurd and unfair. Shame on the executive board, whose lack of perspective and compassion is colossal.
* As long as we're on the topic of injustice, Giants kicker Josh Brown shows that the NFL still does not take domestic violence seriously. Especially if the perpetrator is white.
* Washington running back Matt Jones shows potential, but he has lost six fumbles in 243 rush attempts, including this week's critical turnover in the end zone. It's already affected his playing time, and if he doesn't make progress quickly, it could threaten his career.
* Best wishes to Houston lineman Derek Newton, who tore both of his patellar tendons on Monday night. Best-case scenario, it's only a season-ending injury.
* Arian Foster announced his retirement on Monday. Foster only had four healthy seasons in the NFL, four years in which he played more than eight games. In each of those four seasons, he rushed for over 1,200 yards, gained at least 1,500 yards from scrimmage, and scored double-digit TDs. He had excellent vision and superior one-cut burst into an open lane, a great east-west runner who never lost sight of his north-south goals. It's a shame Foster couldn't stay healthy. The game will miss him.
As we proceed to the Week Seven NFL Power Rankings, brackets indicate last week's rank.
1. New England Patriots [1] —
Q: If I had told you before the game that Steelers backup Landry Jones would pass for more yards than Tom Brady, what would you have said?
A: You would have said, "Then I bet LeGarrette Blount runs for 127 yards and 2 TDs."
And that would be correct.
2. Dallas Cowboys [3] — I haven't weighed in yet on Dak Prescott and Tony Romo, but I think it's a no-brainer. You never bench the hot hand, and Prescott is red-hot. He's earned the starting role until something changes.
3. Minnesota Vikings [2] — Sam Bradford had a magnificent game, with 189 net passing yards on 47 attempts (4.0 avg) and 3 turnovers. Unfortunately, the defense, which intercepted two Carson Wentz passes and recovered a Wentz fumble, didn't do enough for Minnesota to win the game. The Vikings average 299 yards per game, 31st in the NFL. But it's definitely not the fault of Bradford, who is not only the best quarterback in the league today, but the best quarterback of all time, and probably the greatest human to ever walk on planet Earth.
That was my Terry Bradshaw impression.
4. Denver Broncos [8] — I keep reading how Devontae Booker is outplaying C.J. Anderson, but Anderson looks good to me. On Monday night, he rushed for 107 yards — the most Houston has allowed all season — and on one play, he carried three defenders 10 yards downfield.
5. Seattle Seahawks [6] — Al Michaels on Steven Hauschka's 28-yard attempt to win the game in overtime: "And he misses it! That's impossible! That is impossible! That could not have happened!"
A defensive battle that was dull for most of the first three quarters turned to high drama in the fourth quarter and overtime, with both kickers missing chip shots to win in sudden death. I don't know that I've ever seen a game quite like it.
6. Buffalo Bills [4] — Loss to Miami snapped a four-game winning streak, during which they beat the Cardinals by 15, shut out the Patriots in New England, traveled to the West Coast and beat the Rams by 11, and embarrassed the 49ers. The Dolphins game was a blip. The Bills have a good team. Their upcoming schedule is brutal, though: Patriots, then at Seattle. Even if they lose both games, the Bills might still be a top-10 team.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers [7] — Antonio Brown was on and off the field late, with a sore leg, but they have a bye next week and no one seems too concerned. Ben Roethlisberger will heal up during the bye, and while his availability for Week 9 remains uncertain, I'd guess he plays. Landry Jones was adequate, but he proved ineffective in the red zone and incompetent at clock management.
8. Atlanta Falcons [5] — Went for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 45-yard line, in overtime, and didn't make it. The Chargers drove 20 yards and kicked a game-winning field goal. I'm a big advocate of going for it on fourth down. But in a sudden-death situation, the risk of giving your opponent the ball so close to field goal range is pretty significant. I think I would have punted.
That said, I disagree with NBC analysts Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy. Harrison advised coach Dan Quinn, "Trust your defense," and Dungy agreed, "Give your defense a chance to make a play." The Falcons rank 26th in the NFL in yards allowed and 27th in points allowed. The Chargers are the fourth team this year to score at least 30 points against Atlanta. Their last two drives of regulation lasted a combined 27 plays and both produced scores. Why should Quinn trust that defense? It can't be trusted! If he gives his defense a chance to make a plays, that also means giving Philip Rivers a chance to make plays against his terrible defense. Meanwhile, the Falcons lead the NFL in points per game and yards per game. I don't blame Quinn for trusting his offense a lot more than his defense.
9. Philadelphia Eagles [12] — They've played six games, and in three of them, held their opponent to 10 points or less. Former Rams safety Rodney McLeod leads the team in tackles, plus he has a sack, a forced fumble, and 3 interceptions.
10. Arizona Cardinals [9] — Sunday night's game featured three points in the first 59 minutes, three missed field goals under 40 yards — two of which definitely would have won the game — and 16 punts. The Cardinals had a 100-yard rusher and a 300-yard passer; the Seahawks blocked two kicks. The Cardinals mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half. The Seahawks punted on their first nine possessions. It was an epic game, but in a very weird way.
11. Kansas City Chiefs [10] — Marcus Peters recovered a fumble on Sunday, his sixth takeaway of the season.
12. Oakland Raiders [13] — Brilliant performances on special teams:
* Kicker Sebastian Janikowski went 3/3 on extra points and 4/4 on field goals, including a 52-yarder.
* Marquette King averaged 50.6 net yards per punt, with four of his five kicks down inside the 20, including two inside the 10. He also rushed for 27 yards and a first down after a bad snap.
* Rookie Johnny Holton had four tackles and an assist on special teams. Andre Holmes had a solo tackle and a fumble recovery.
13. Washington [11] — Gained multiple first downs on every drive and still lost. That's remarkable.
14. San Diego Chargers [16] — Second in the NFL in points per game, 29.4. They've won two in a row after a 1-4 start.
15. Green Bay Packers [15] — Outgained the Bears 406-189 and 32 first downs to 13. They had a very good second half, but now they need to do that for 60 minutes, and against good teams.
16. Detroit Lions [17] — Three straight wins, but by a combined 7 points, and that includes back-to-back three-point wins against teams about to depart for England. They all count in the standings, but none of them make me think the Lions are truly a good team.
17. Cincinnati Bengals [19] — Tyler Eifert returned this week, at partial health, but look for Cincinnati's offense to gain momentum as Eifert gets healthy. A secondary receiving target should significantly boost the Bengals' passing game.
18. Houston Texans [14] — Jon Gruden said of the team's struggles, "A lot of it has to do with inconsistent play from their quarterback." Brock Osweiler hasn't really had a good game this season — he hasn't hit 300 yards, 3 TDs, or a 100 passer rating; he's had a turnover in every game; and the Texans have yet to score 30 points in a game — and his performance on Monday night (131 yards on 41 attempts) was historically poor.
19. Miami Dolphins [23] — O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams, Jay Ajayi. Those are the only players with back-to-back 200-yard rushing games. It's an impressive list, and it remains to be seen how Ajayi's career will play out, but he's certainly off to an impressive start.
20. Carolina Panthers [20] — They're -8 in turnovers, second-worst (Jets, -10). Last year, they were +20, best by far (Chiefs, +14).
21. New York Giants [21] — Last in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Against the Rams, they had 20 attempts for 36 yards. Safety Landon Collins provided the team's best offense.
22. Los Angeles Rams [18] — Tavon Austin caught 10 passes for 57 yards, only the 39th time in NFL history that a player with at least 10 receptions averaged under 6 yards per catch. Most of those are running backs. It's only the third time for a wide receiver. See Saints entry below for more.
23. New Orleans Saints [22] — Drew Brees completed 77% of his passes, and the Saints gained 463 yards and 27 first downs. But they scored only 21 points, and they lost. New Orleans was -2 in turnovers, and never had good starting field position, which is obviously part of the problem. But their dink-and-dunk offense was much better for Brees' stats than for the Saints trying to win a football game. Brees completed 37 passes for only 367 yards, a 9.9 average. The Chiefs' Alex Smith attempted exactly half as many passes as Brees (17-of-24), but his team scored five times and won the game.
The emasculation of wide receivers, and the horizontal nature of the modern passing game, is both a strategic problem for teams and coaches, and a larger problem for the National Football League. It's well-documented that viewership is down this year, and part of the problem is that football games are getting boring. A five-yard pass to a receiver who immediately runs out of bounds is simply not good entertainment. High-risk plays are, by definition, more exciting than low-risk plays. Rule tweaks are needed to restore viability to the deep passing game, and to discourage all those short tosses to Tavon Austin. The most exciting thing Austin did on Sunday was to deflect the pass that Landon Collins intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Brees dropped back 49 times against Kansas City, and completed a pass 15 yards or more downfield only 3 times, out of those 49. As recently as 10 years ago, that would be considered a medium-range throw. Now a medium-range throw is anything past the line of scrimmage.
24. New York Jets [27] — Geno Smith's return to the starting role lasted one quarter before another injury put Ryan Fitzpatrick back on the field. Smith tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the year. Center Nick Mangold also left the game with an injury, which is probably a bigger deal than losing either quarterback.
25. Indianapolis Colts [25] — They've scored and allowed at least 20 points in every game this season.
26. Baltimore Ravens [24] — Fourth straight loss. Injuries are a problem. Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, Marshal Yanda, and Steve Smith all missed the game, as did first-round draft pick Ronnie Stanley and their best linebacker, C.J. Mosley.
27. Tennessee Titans [26] — Threw a touchdown pass to 6-foot-7, 300-pound lineman Taylor Lewan, but it didn't make the highlight shows because the play didn't have a cool name like Hungry Pig Right.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [28] — Two wins in a row, and their next three games are all at home.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars [29] — Del Rio Bowl featured the two most penalized teams in the NFL. The Raiders had 11 accepted penalties for 117 yards, while the Jaguars had 13 for 122 yards, and both teams had players ejected.
30. Chicago Bears [30] — Brian Hoyer broke his non-throwing arm and may not play again this season. Jay Cutler has been cleared to play and is expected to start Week 8.
31. Cleveland Browns [31] — They're jinxed. Cody Kessler's injury forced rookie QB Kevin Hogan into the game. Browns passers this year include Kessler (133 attempts), Josh McCown (33), Robert Griffin III (26), Charlie Whitehurst (24), Hogan (also 24), and Terrelle Pryor (9).
32. San Francisco 49ers [32] — Allowed a 100-yard rusher for the sixth straight game. Jacquizz Rodgers rushed for 154 yards, and Peyton Barber added 84. In the last two weeks, San Francisco has allowed 562 rushing yards. That's the highest two-week total since the 2006 Colts, who allowed 219 to the Titans in Week 13 and 375 to the Jaguars in Week 14, before recovering to win Super Bowl XLI. The 49ers are not going to win Super Bowl LI.
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