There were a bunch of interesting, close matchups in Week 7 and, unfortunately, a fair amount of significant injuries yet again. At the rate we’re going, it might be more about who survives than who wins. It turned out to be a pretty good week for me as I went 12-2 overall, 7-6-1 vs the spread, and a 5-8-1 on the over/under. As we turn the corner to Week 8, my record stands at 74-30-3 overall, 59-45-2 vs the spread, and 22-30-3 on the over/under. Christen narrowly missed out on a few games but still finished 8-6 on the week, bringing her record to 62-42-1. Let’s take a look at the games from this past week.
The Steelers (6-0) remain as the only undefeated team in the NFL and affirmed their #1 spot on the Shiest Power Rankings with a narrow win over the Titans (5-1). Pittsburgh was mostly in control for the whole game but Tennessee is incredibly resilient and managed to work their way back into it at 27-24. They may have even won the game in overtime, had Stephen Gostkowski not missed the game-tying FG at the end of regulation.
Elsewhere atop the power rankings, the Seahawks (5-1) blew a 10-pt, 4th quarter lead to lose to the Cardinals (5-2) in overtime. Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett couldn’t be stopped for most of the game but the interceptions are starting to pile up in the new pass-centric offense and Kyler Murray played outstanding down the stretch. However, it was the catastrophic unsportsmanlike penalty on Benson Mayowa that essentially turned a field goal into a touchdown and allowed Arizona to tie the game with a FG on their next possession.
The Packers (5-1) rebounded as you would expect, obliterating the lowly Texans thanks in large part to a healthy Davante Adams scorching the Houston defense for 13-rec, 196-yds, and 2-TDs. The Texans are really bad so this was no surprise but what happened in Foxborough was a little surprising. The Patriots (2-4) continue to spiral as they took their worst home loss in the Belichick era at the hands of the 49ers (4-3). Jeff Wilson Jr. absolutely demolished the Patriots defense for 120-yards and 3 TDs before an ankle injury on his third score saw him carted off the field. In my breakdown for this game, I said Cam Newton hasn’t been an effective passer in a while and, low and behold, he got benched for Jared Stidham during this beatdown after going 9/15 with 3-INTs. Turns out, Tom Brady was on to something when he decided to leave town. It’s especially nice to see the Pats struggling as they head into a division clash with my Bills (5-2), who didn’t look great in their win over the winless Jets (0-7).
Baker Mayfield played the game of his career tossing 5-TDs as he led the Browns (5-2) to a win in a back-and-forth shootout against the Bengals (1-5-1) and he did it without Odell Beckham Jr., who left the game with a season-ending ACL tear. Cleveland is very much alive in the division and playoff picture but it’ll be even more of an uphill climb having now lost OBJ and Nick Chubb for the season.
Atlanta (1-6) suffered yet another last-second loss at home, this time to the Lions (3-3). It’s a sad state of affairs when Todd Gurley knows he shouldn’t score the go-ahead TD late in the game because the Falcons’ defense is so unreliable, but his momentum carried him in and he scored. A few minutes later, the Lions went down the field and scored with zeroes on the clock to win it. I picked the Lions but still feel bad for Atlanta.
The Cowboys (2-4) ship is taking on water in a hurry as they got embarrassed by Washinton (2-5) in a 25-3 loss. The game was already a lost cause when Andy Dalton took a very bad hit while sliding and was KO’ed. Jon Bostic was rightfully ejected after the dirty hit, but the Cowboys offense wasn’t doing anything at the time regardless. If I’m Dallas, I’m on the phone with the Dolphins trying to make a deal for Ryan Fitzpatrick who was in the midst of a 3-game win streak before being inexplicably benched. Fitz deserves a chance to play, he loves to throw it, and Dallas has weapons. It’s the only move that makes sense if the Boys have any hopes of saving their season.
Missing a lot of puzzle pieces, New Orleans (4-2) won an important division game over the Panthers (3-4) to keep pace with the Bucanneers (5-2) who won convincingly over a Raiders (3-3) team that looks different from week-to-week. Gronk looks to be rounding back into shape and the addition of Antonio Brown is going to make Tamba Bay formidable down the stretch. That’s if Brown can get his shit together. The Chargers (2-4) closed out the afternoon slate with a win over the lowly Jags (1-6) who have now lost six in a row. James Robinson, however, is a garbage time monster and by far the most effective member of the Jacksonville offense.
Closing out the week on Monday Night Football, the Rams (5-2) finally put the Bears (5-2) in their place with a dominant 24-10 win. The LA defense was simply too much, but this was the second nationally televised game where Nick Foles was trying to run the hurry-up offense only to have Matt Nagy pump the brakes on him and send in a different play call. Both times the Bears were driving and in the red zone. Both times the Bears didn’t score a TD and now Foles’ pre-game interview with Brian Griese, highlighting Nagy’s lack of understanding situational playcalling, has been in the spotlight.
The Steelers say on top as the top of the NFC gets complicated. Here are the new Sheist Power Rankings:
| 1. Steelers 6-0 (1=) |
| 2. Chiefs 6-1 (4⬆) |
| 3. Ravens 5-1 (5⬆) |
| 4. Titans 5-1 (3⬇) |
| 5. Packers 5-1 (7⬆) |
| 6. Seahawks 5-1 (2⬇) |
| 7. Buccaneers 5-2 (8⬆) |
| 8. Bills 5-2 (9⬆) |
| 9. Bears 5-2 (6⬇) |
| 10. Browns 5-2 (11⬆) |
| 11. Rams 5-2 (10⬇) |
| 12. Cardinals 5-2 (13⬆) |
| 13. Saints 4-2 (16⬆) |
| 14. 49ers 4-3 (18⬆) |
| 15. Colts 4-2 (14⬇) |
| 16. Dolphins 3-3 (17⬆) |
| 17. Raiders 3-3 (12⬇) |
| 18. Lions 3-3 (21⬆) |
| 19. Panthers 3-4 (15⬇) |
| 20. Eagles 2-4-1 (24⬆) |
| 21. Broncos 2-4 (19⬇) |
| 22. Chargers 2-4 (22=) |
| 23. Patriots 2-4 (20⬇) |
| 24. Washington 2-5 (30⬆) |
| 25. Cowboys 2-5 (23⬇) |
| 26. Vikings 1-5 (26=) |
| 27. Bengals 1-5-1 (25⬇) |
| 28. Texans 1-6 (27⬇) |
| 29. Falcons 1-6 (28⬇) |
| 30. Giants 1-6 (29⬇) |
| 31. Jaguars 1-6 (31=) |
| 32. Jets 0-7 (32=) |