The Week 7 NFL afternoon slate was a bit... odd. A lot of backup QBs, a lot of strange cross-conference matchups, and a couple of "high-stakes" games that probably don't get half the football fandom out of bed in the morning.
"Dude, get up! Desmond Ridder and the Atlanta Falcons are playing Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South!"
How many folks got out of bed? That's what I thought.
The evening slate features a few heavy-hitters, but as always, we start the winners and losers columns with the afternoon slate. And, of course, it was quite an entertaining batch of games — the late sleepers missed out.
Atlanta-Tampa came down to the wire. The Patriots beat the Bills? The Bears blew out the Raiders? The Browns won at the buzzer (with a dash of controversy).
Let's dive into the week's winners and losers.
Winner: Desmond Ridder
If he's not careful, Desmond Ridder is going to put together just enough of these competent games to keep his job. The Falcons advanced to 4-3 with a narrow victory over the Bucs, claiming first place in the NFC South.
Despite a tepid offense, Atlanta continues to win in the trenches and slog its way to ugly victories. Ridder has also been pleasantly surprising in two of the last three weeks (let's not talk about Week 6). He completed 19-of-25 passes for 250 yards and, most importantly, zero interceptions.
When he's smartly balancing the simple pass with the occasional downfield hurl, Ridder starts to look like a competent NFL starter. He still relies on his receivers to clean up bad passes, but hey, Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson are there to do that... except for Sunday, when Robinson was not there to do that.
When Ridder gets sped up and tries to do too much, it generally leads to disaster. But, he operated with poise and relative precision on Sunday and the result was first place in the division. That's the recipe for the Falcons with Tampa and New Orleans both showing major flaws. The NFC South is there for the taking.
Loser: Bijan Robinson fantasy managers
Speaking from experience...
Bijan Robinson totaled one carry for three yards on Sunday. After the game, Arthur Smith said the No. 8 pick "didn't feel well," so the Falcons instead went to Tyler Allgeier and Cordarelle Patterson in the backfield.
Of note, Patterson almost doubled Allgeier in yards per carry. Maybe it's something, maybe it's not.
That said, it was a strange day for Robinson. He is ostensibly the foundational building block of this Atlanta offense. His usage has been mostly consistent, if not as extensive as fans (and fantasy owners) might like. He's far from a workhorse with Allgeier in the mix, but the Falcons are wise to handle his health with the utmost care. It's also a good sign for Atlanta to get a win without Robinson in the mix.
Winner: Tyson Bagent
(Read: Loser, Justin Fields).
The Bears whooped the Raiders, 30-12, in what can only be described as the team's most complete game of the season. The offense clicked early and often — headlined by D'Onta Foreman and his three touchdowns — and the defense kept Brian Hoyer at bay (a real challenge, I know).
Naturally, the main takeaway was Tyson Bagent's success at QB in the absence of Justin Fields. The rookie didn't light up the scoreboard individually (21-of-29 passes complete for 162 yards and one touchdown), but he was a rock-solid game manager for a team that has too often fallen victim to errant throws and crippling mistakes from its QB1.
Is Bagent better than Fields? No. Is it a bit concerning for the Fields camp that Chicago's best game of the season coincides with his first missed game? Yeah, a little bit. It's the kind of outcome, coincidental or not, that will get a lot of media folks riled up.
Loser: Josh Allen
We might have to shelve the Josh Allen MVP campaign for another year. The Bills lost 29-25 to their division rivals from Foxboro. It's a bit maddening how inconsistent the Bills have been this season. One week, they're ripping the first-place Dolphins to shreds. Another week, they're losing to the Jaguars, or the Jets, or the Patriots.
It's hard to buy Buffalo as a contender in its current state. The ceiling is as high as any team, but it takes consistency and winning habits to get to the Super Bowl. The Bengals are out of the mix in the AFC this season, but the Chiefs, the Dolphins (I know), the Ravens — these teams aren't pushovers.
Would Buffalo be favored in any of those series right now? Probably not.
Josh Allen completed 27-of-41 passes for 265 yards, two TDs, and one interception. His QBR was 90.0, compared to Mac Jones' 126.7 for the Patriots. If you're getting out-gunned by Mac Jones, there's a problem.
Winner: Mac Jones
Speak of the devil.
Mac Jones saved his job. Actually. The Patriots have been not-so-subtly flaunting the presence of Bailey Zappe, Will Grier, and Malik Cunningham the last couple of weeks — almost as if to fan the flames beneath Jones' seat. The Alabama product simply has not been up to snuff this season, and he was genuinely at risk of ceding starting duties with a stinker in Week 7.
But, he didn't stink. He actually smelled great, I'm sure. The Patriots toppled a very good (?) Bills team, 29-25, with Jones completing an efficient 25-of-30 passes for 272 yards, two touchdowns, and zero picks. He operated with a level of poise and precision we have seldom seen since his breakthrough rookie season.
New England is still outside the contenders circle at 2-5, but this is a faint glimmer of hope for Jones and the offense.
Loser: Colts, by way of refs
The Colts led the Browns and their No. 1 defense 38-33 with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter Sunday night. Cleveland managed a productive drive, but the Colts appeared to stop the Browns short — twice.
Unfortunately, the Ref Show was in town and Cleveland won the game on a last-second touchdown run by Kareem Hunt, set up by a questionable illegal contact call and a bogus pass interference to land the ball on the one-yard line.
Moral victories don't count in the standings, especially for an Indy team quickly losing ground in the AFC South. But, this is a game the Colts should have won and it's extremely promising to see a Gardner Minshew-led offense put up 38 points on the NFL's top defensive unit.
Winner: Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson reminded folks of his MVP ceiling in Sunday's dominant 38-6 victory over the Lions. There is credit to go around, of course — Baltimore's defense stymied a very productive offense — but this was a Jackson masterclass all the way through. It has been a while since we got a proper superstar night from Jackson, so this was refreshing.
He completed 21-of-27 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns. He spread the wealth evenly between nine different receivers. He also added 36 yards and another touchdown on the ground, for good measure.
Finally, Todd Monken's preachings of a more explosive, balanced offense were realized. He broke out exciting new wrinkles (how about an 80-yard TD screen pass to Gus Edwards) and Jackson executed to perfection. He's one of the best in the business and the Ravens are very much the real deal. Don't forget it.