So, you’re sitting there with a massive grin on your face. You’ve got on the jersey, and don’t care that it’s only a Tuesday or Wednesday. You watch all the sports shows, all the talking heads, and regardless of their opinions, you breeze through while humming the theme to Sunday Night Football. You’re in such a sunny disposition, the willingness to do anything and everything shocks your friends and family members—sure, I would love to watch your friend’s band play, you say with a carefree smile.
Yes, things are just different when your NFL team sits atop the division.
As we head into Week 7, nine teams and fan bases can claim supremacy in the land of the NFL. But—but!—I ask you this, from way up there on Cloud Nine: Are you sure your team can keep up the momentum…for another 10-plus games? Because a lot can change, you know. The grass might not be greener. It might have been artificial all along, symbolically speaking.
Glass half empty. Glass half full.
How do you and your division-leading squad see it?
NFC East: Dallas (t)
Glass Half Full:
Hey, Dallas started 3-0. Zeke is averaging 4.3 yards a carry, Pollard has been a nice changeup, and Dak has kept things in order. The defense is ranked eighth overall, and Jason Witten is still back! Sure, the team hasn’t been great lately, but the rest of the season’s schedule isn’t an epic David versus Goliath deal, either. It’s more like David versus his neighbor, Bill, who doesn’t mind being meh. Regardless of the issues, you have to like the odds against mediocrity.
Give Philly a knock on the head in Week 7 and things will be just fine!
Glass Half Empty:
Oh. My. God! If Jason Garrett claps one more time after an offensive-less disaster…
The team can only beat the Dolphins and Redskins, I guess. The Jets got their first win against the Cowboys, and the defense made Sam Darnold look like a champion on a Wheaties Box. Look, Dallas is known for two great things, and I’m beginning to think people don’t care anymore about who shot JR?!
It’s Super Bowl or bust. And Jerry, sir, the team looks like a confused tourist who yells, “Hit me!” when they already have 21.
So yeah, here we go again—again!
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles (t)
Glass Half Full:
Yeah, the Eagles are 3-3. But the team hasn’t been totally healthy, with injuries to downfield threats like DeSean Jackson, and Carson Wentz has yet to hit a comfortable stride because of it. And, hey, here’s a silver lining for your playbook: The opportunity to knock the Cowboys around for four quarters, eventually breaking all this “Tied for the NFC East lead” stuff hasn’t happened yet. That changes Week 7, in Dallas—against a team that might not have Amari Cooper to go against a shaky Eagles secondary.
Glass Half Empty:
Arguably, you could say some Eagles fans have taken this view, not even three days after the Super Bowl victory. There isn’t any Nick Foles magic left. The defense is ranked 23rd overall, and Jim Schwartz’s “Let’s go bananas and blitz, blitz, blitz!” isn’t helping. Let’s face it: This team is just one of the “least weak” in a severely weak division. Carson Wentz might be able to sneak by within the NFC East, but games against the Bears, Patriots and Seahawks could expose the team as frauds—as the Vikings did in Week 6.
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers
Glass Half Full:
The 49ers’ defense is legit! Did you see what they did against the Rams? How about against the Cleveland Browns?! Roberts Saleh might not have a collection of hoodies with the sleeves cut off or the gift of nonchalantly mumbling through press conferences, but this guy is a remarkable defensive strategist. The offense is ranked 12th overall, and the running game sits at No. 3 in the NFL! Jimmy Garoppolo simply has to maintain—you know, go 2000-2001 Trent Dilfer—and let the defense win the championship!
Glass Half Empty:
Oh, great! The 49ers are tops in the division, and yet, the Seahawks are the media darlings, with Russell this and Russell that. Russell! Russell! Russell! For the love of Pete (Carroll)!
OK, so wins over the Buccaneers, Steelers, Browns, and Rams aren’t exactly life-altering in 2019’s NFL. But a win’s a win. Right? Games against the Packers, Panthers, two against Seattle, and a road trip to Baltimore does leave a lot of unknown—like, can the 49er’s 26th-ranked passing offense do enough to allow the running game to control some of the time of possession? Can the running game continue to flourish without Justin Juszczyk?
I’m just not sure about those Seahawks—there, I said it; you happy, Seattle?!
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
Glass Half Full:
The Packers are 5-1—and no more Mike McCarthy. Olivia Munn is ancient history. The offense is ranked 12th overall, with a passing and running attack in the top half of the NFL. The defense is ranked 10th overall. Things are progressing! If the Eagles hadn’t snapped out of it for a game and went three-headed monster on the defense—thanks, Carson Wentz, Jordan Howard, and Miles Sanders—the Packers would be 6-0!
That worthy of a collective Lambeau Leap!
Glass Half Empty:
Hrmm…maybe hold off on those leaps, gang. Theses injuries on the receiving core are starting to add up. Ryan Grant was signed this week as a filler, and that’s not exactly striking fear into NFL secondaries from near and far. Perhaps he can help Jimmy Graham with his hands?
Speaking of hands…Darrius Shepard already had a critical blunder against the Lions that resulted in an interception, and a stern look from Aaron Rogers—you know, one of those looks! Thank goodness the referees felt like Wisconsin Cheeseheads, though, because the Lions were winning that game. Ironically, that makes the fan base probably want to put hands to their face!
And yes, everyone has seen what Kirk Cousins is doing in Minnesota. OK? It’s called a television set!
NFC South: New Orleans Saints
Glass Half Full:
The Saints are 5-1. After the Rams disaster in Week 2, the team hasn’t lost a game—and Drew Brees has had nothing to do with it. That’s right: Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom hill have been the duct tape holding things together while Drew is out with a thumb injury. They haven’t lost a game! Sean Peyton looks thrilled, munching on his Juicy Fruit with a subtle “Huh, we pulled this off” kind of grin. And just imagine what it will be like once Drew does come back!
Glass Half Empty:
Um, the referees stole the Saints beer, and the NFL said they would look into it. No further comment at this time, thank you.
AFC East: New England
Glass Half Full:
The Starship of the NFL, nothing’s stopping the Patriots. The team is 6-0. They have scored 190 points while only giving up 48—no team has better numbers in either category. They have Tom Brady and documentarian/wideout, Julian Edelman. The defense is ranked No. 1 overall (third-best pass defense; sixth-best against the run). Want to know how impressive the defense is? Look at Gunner Olszewski. Besides having a name fit for a Tarantino film, the Patriots’ punt returner leads the league in returns: 17. Teams don’t have a choice—punt and then go sit in envy.
The NFL doesn’t have a choice, either—get those guys fitted for their Super Bowl rings now, before the holiday season.
Glass Half Empty:
The running game hasn’t been all that great, averaging about 3.5 yards a carry. There have been a few injuries to the offensive line, too, which leaves a real possibility that Tom Brady will have to be the 42-year-old, aging QB who could forget his keys…to the passing offense. Upcoming games against the Jets ( ninth against the pass) and the Browns (11th against the pass and first in commercials on ESPN) could expose the Patriots as, ahem, deflated!
And by the time they lose to the Chiefs, it will be another Bill Belichick moment where he’s, “On to Cincinnati.”
Ugh!
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
Glass Half Full:
Patrick Mahomes is an unstoppable force at quarterback—he doesn’t even need to look where he’s throwing the ball! He’s got over 2000 yards passing; he has 14 touchdowns and only one interception! LeSean McCoy? His 5.4 yards per carry has been an excellent addition to the offense. The Chiefs lead the league in all-purpose yards! In a division where the other teams are a combined 7-10, Andy Reid and company look prime for another playoff push.
Glass Half Empty:
Oh, boy! Suddenly, the Chiefs’ run defense looks like the tourists in Pamplona, Spain—just run over us, NFL offenses! The team has lost two in a row, and regardless of who plays who, the remaining 10 games have four run offenses—Vikings’, Broncos’, Raiders’, and Packers’—in the top half of the league. Yes, we all saw that other game, too: Chiefs-Patriots.
And now, this:
AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
Glass Half Full:
Lamar Jackson is not a running back! He has 11 touchdowns to only five interceptions, leading the passing game to ninth overall in the NFL—not bad. His 65 percent completion rate isn’t bad, either. Sure, he runs a lot, but hey, you want to know what’s really bad? The AFC North! The other teams are a combined 4-14. Chances are the division could be sealed with a record of 7-9. That’s only three wins away!
Glass Half Empty:
Ugh! Lamar Jackson is a running back. What if he gets injured? There’s no way the team can win another ring if RGIII is under center!
The run defense is in the top ten, but the pass defense is in the bottom 10—which isn’t ideal considering the Seahawks, Patriots, Texans, Rams, and 49ers are still left on the schedule. And the Ravens lost to the Browns and just squeaked by the Steelers and Bengals. Not. Great. At. All.
AFC South: Houston Texans
Glass Half Full:
And here, Texans fans thought the Chiefs were supposed to be an AFC juggernaut—especially at home. What happened? Didn’t expect Watson to solve the case, huh? (Historically speaking, the Chiefs are used to Holmes leading the attack.) Anyway, the offense looks excellent, ranked seventh overall, with a running game in the top 5. The rest of the division is a combined 7-10, and the out-of-division tests left on the schedule are the Patriots (oof!), Broncos (hmm?), Raiders (maybe?), Buccaneers (ah!), and the Ravens (hee-hee: the AFC North). That’s at least 4-1…if things continue to thrive under Penn St. legend, Bill O’Brien!
Glass Half Empty:
The defense is ranked 19th overall, with the team’s MoV at 4.7—not exactly cruising, guys. Watson’s been sacked 18 times this season—8.2 percent of the time he attempts a pass—losing 102 yards. As the pressure builds down the stretch, it would be nice if the Texans didn’t have to follow last year’s protection scheme and try to win a title with the QB lying on the ground. And while the offensive line has done a decent job keeping pressure off Watson the last few games, history says they won’t sustain the effort.
