NFL’s Week 7 was very on brand for October and all of the Halloween hoopla! It started with a scary moment for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs and ended with a frightening moment for Sam Darnold and the ghosts he’s apparently seeing.
The Saints were magical against the Bears. Jacoby Brissett was a real treat for Indy and that fan base (the “trick” was giving up those season tickets, hey Colts collective?). And holy moly, Bill Belichick sort of smiled on national television.
Now that’s scary, Bill!
There were also some impressive efforts from the offensive lines around the NFL. Through the rain in DC to #BillsMafia in Buffalo, here are the top 5 from a spooky Week 7.
5. San Francisco
The game against the Redskins was every little football fan’s dream—rain, mud, and sliding around the rain and mud. For watching purposes, though, it teetered on drool-worthy with an occasional nodding off.
But, give credit to the 49ers. They came into Washington labeled as fair-weather folk, who would have to battle the time difference—the old “Why does it feel like 9 a.m. when it’s noon?!—and prove they could handle business on the road…even if that means playing the Redskins.
And, they did just that.
The running game, as expected, helped keep the offense moving (somewhat) forward in the soggy conditions. Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t top-tier, especially in the first half, but he did enough to control the momentum and at least hit on one big play—that had perfect protection:
Laken Tomlinson, Weston Richburg, Justin Skule, Michael Person, and Daniel Brunkskill: Solid effort in the monsoon, guys. Congrats!
4. Los Angeles Rams
Sure, sure—this ranking requires some handicapping because the dominant performance by the Rams came against the Falcons. Still, the team arrived in Atlanta at 3-3, with tons of questions and people squinting at the stats: “18th ranked scoring offense? Sixth in passing, OK. But 21st on the run? Huh?”
And there were indeed questions about the offensive line, too.
But Goff was given time, though, facing minimal pressure on his way to 22-of-37 for 268 yards and two touchdowns. The running attack wasn’t groundbreaking, but the Todd Gurley-Darrell Henderson combo did manage 90 yards and one touchdown. The O-line’s improvement in getting to blocks during running plays was noticeable, too.
So, without Joseph Noteboom—which is not a small loss—you have to give the Rams’ front some credit. Rob Havenstein, David Edwards, Brian Allen, and Austin Blythe: It might not have been the best film of the year, but it wasn’t an homage to Gigli, either.
3. Miami Dolphins
Like the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, the Dolphins’ O-line deserves some serious credit—regardless if the team wasn’t victorious.
The winless squad rolled into Buffalo, facing a Bills defense that’s one of the best in the league—third-best passing defense, fifth-best against the run and 3rd overall. Considering those numbers, what the Dolphins almost pulled off on Sunday was even more impressive.
True, there was no FitzMagic. But a day where the Harvard grad went 23-of-35 for 282, with one touchdown and one pick, while the running game was solid, totaling 109 yards on the ground with another two touchdowns? And, again, this is the Dolphins…
Shaq Calhoun, Evan Boehm, Jesse Davis, J’Marcus Webb, and Michael Deiter: This group demonstrated that being labeled a Dolphins tank can also mean controlling the O-line!
2. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings rolled into Detroit for one of those games some might have forecasted as a “revenge” situation for the Lions—making up for last week’s loss to the referees. But Kirk Cousins and the offense didn’t allow that to happen.
Cousins was an impressive 24-of-34 for 337 yards and four touchdowns. He wasn’t sacked once and was hit only three times the entire game. Dalvin Cook kept the defense honest (and confused), gaining 142 yards with two touchdowns on 25 carries.
Detroit has a defense ranked 20th overall—not excellent, by any means, but that proverbial chip on the shoulder entering another divisional game was an intangible nightmare scenario for the Vikings.
Garret Bradbury, Brian O’Neill, Riley Reiff, Pat Elflein, and Josh Kline: If this were the 1880s, you’d all be famous lion tamers, fellas.
1. New Orleans Saints
One of the most incredible stories of the past few NFL Weeks, the Saints are defying science and winning without their starting quarterback.
They breezed into Chicago and handled the Bears’ highly respected defense (ranked fourth overall) with little trouble.
Latavius Murray ran for 119 yards on 27 carries—leading a running attack that totaled 151 yards and two touchdowns. Teddy Bridgewater continued his impressive fill-in campaign, going 23-for-38 with 281 yards and two touchdowns. Like in past games, he was neither sacked nor pressured all that much. While some credit goes to Sean Payton’s game plan, some of it also needs to go to the O-line.
Andrus Peat, Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk, Larry Warford, Erik McCoy, and (hello) Will Clapp: Way to bear down on the road, men. You are the champions of the choppy steps.
