NFL Week 7 Recap

Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action has passed us by. The week that featured another OT game for the 7th straight week, a game that was a yard short of a possible OT, and a few blowouts. In this column, I'll rank the divisions from top to bottom through seven weeks. Of course the recap as well. Let's get to work.

Divisions: Worst to Best

The NFL is a parity league, one year there's a division with at least 2-3 teams with winning records, the next, only one team. This is fairly true this year with one example being the NFC West, considered to be one of the best, is having a slump of a season. One of the better divisions in football this year, in my opinion, is the AFC North. While yes the Browns and Steelers do have a tie, three teams have a record above .500, and the Browns having 2 wins (though they were close to getting #3). Here's my worst to best division rankings:

1. NFC West
2. AFC South
3. NFC East
4. AFC East
5. NFC South
6.  AFC West
7. AFC North
8. NFC North

Recap

Denver 45, Arizona 10: TW: Broncos, CV: Broncos
It was a game that most people were expecting to see. The game was really a slaughter. The Cardinals offense was inept but it was also the Cardinals defense that really let the Broncos offense walk all over them. As expected the combined running attack of Phillip Lindsey and Royce Freeman really took over the game. Josh Rosen is a quarterback in learning and hopefully will learn from his three-interception performance. Poor roommate, his team is awful.

Next week: Denver: @ Kansas City; Arizona: vs San Francisco

TW: 1-0, CV: 1-0

Tennessee 19, LA Chargers 20: TW: Chargers, CV: Chargers
Both teams really played well, it spoke more for the Titans, however. The Titans ran the ball better, threw the ball better, and gave the Chargers more than what they could handle. The game came down to a decision by Mike Vrabel to go for the win with a 2-point conversion. Which they failed to capitalize. Chargers looking good as a potential contender in the AFC.

Next week: Tennessee: Bye week; LA Chargers: Bye week

TW: 2-0, CV: 2-0

Buffalo 5, Indianapolis 37: TW: Colts, CV: Colts
The game was all Indianapolis the 2nd quarter on. Andrew Luck had a heck of a game for 156 yards passing for four touchdowns. The Derek Anderson play for the Bills didn't quite work out well. Ultimately the game came down to points off of turnovers as the Bills turned the ball over five times. Not much else to say, the Colts get a good win.

Next week: Buffalo: vs New England (Monday night); Indianapolis: @ Oakland

TW: 3-0, CV: 3-0

Carolina 21, Philadelphia 17: TW: Eagles, CV: Panthers
The game was a story of two things: the 17 points unanswered by the Eagles during the three-quarters of the game, and the 21 points unanswered by the Panthers. The Eagles forgot to play after the 3rd quarter and it showed. Could there possibly be a Super Bowl hangover still left in Philly? Perhaps but you have to still play the whole game and keep to it.

Next week: Carolina: vs Baltimore; Philadelphia: @ Jacksonville (Wembley, London)

TW: 3-1, CV: 4-0

Cleveland 23, Tampa Bay 26: TW: Browns, CV: Buccaneers
Same old story for the Browns. The Browns were once again in an overtime game and unfortunately didn't quite get the W. Offensively, the Browns were sluggish at first but got started getting momentum after halftime. For the Buccaneers, it was redemption for Chandler Cantanzaro who was 2/3 for both extra points and field goals in the game. Rough game for the Dawg Pound.

Next week: Cleveland: @ Pittsburgh; Tampa: @ Cincinnati

TW: 3-2, CV: 5-0

Detroit 32, Miami 21: TW: Lions, CV: Lions
The game was a showcase of the Lions running attack of Kerryon Johnson who had 158 rushing yards on 19 carries. He outgained the entire running game of the Dolphins. Matthew Stafford and Brock Osweiler had good games but it would ultimately be the Lions who made the more plays and more yardage in this one. Scorcher down in Miami though.

Next week: Detroit: vs Seattle; Miami: @ Houston (Thursday night)

TW: 4-2, CV: 6-0

Houston 20, Jacksonville 7: TW: Jaguars, CV: Jaguars
It was a defensive battle between the two. The Texans defense would dominate the game though. In the picks column I thought the Jags would get back to winning ways, well they didn't. Blake Bortles was benched during the game for Cody Kessler who did provide a spark in the Jaguars offense. Deshaun Watson played the game through injury and did alright. He even rode on a private bus due to the fact that air pressure can affect on lungs and ribs. Lamar Miller did have a 100-yard rushing game. Time to jump off the Jaguars bandwagon.

Next week: Houston: vs Miami (Thursday night); Jacksonville: vs Philadelphia (Wembley, London)

TW: 4-3, CV: 6-1

Minnesota 37, NY Jets 17: TW: Vikings, CV: Vikings
The Vikings offense was off the chains with Kirk Cousins and Latavius Murray carrying the load on offense while the Vikings defense was doing Vikings defense things. The Jets were a different story, the Sam Darnold era again continued with him throwing three interceptions. There was also a lost fumble as well. The young QB is still learning.

Next week: Minnesota: vs New Orleans; NY Jets: @ Chicago

TW: 5-3, CV: 7-1

New England 38, Chicago 31: TW: Patriots, CV: Patriots
A game that literally came down to a yard short from being a possible overtime game. The Patriots offense was really good, the Patriots defense was not. Sony Michel will be a huge loss if he misses time. Mitchell Trubisky is still a work in progress as he did throw two interceptions but did provide the Bears the help that they need from him. He was the one that almost got the Bears to a possible OT game, heartbreaker.

Next week: New England: @ Buffalo (Monday night); Chicago: vs NY Jets

TW: 6-3, CV: 8-1

New Orleans 24, Baltimore 23: TW: Ravens, CV: Saints
Drew Brees had yet to beat the Baltimore Ravens in his career, after the game he would get a win against each of the 32 teams in the league. The game came down to Drew Brees and the Saints offense taking control of the game, using the clock to their advantage going 4 for 5 on 4th down. The Ravens defense, who had a great game last week, would be on the field for 33 minutes of game time. The Ravens offense was good but ultimately came down to a missed extra point by Justin Tucker. Sadly that would be the final result of the game. Hard way to go.

Next week: New Orleans: @ Minnesota; Baltimore: @ Carolina

TW: 6-4, CV: 9-1

Dallas 17, Washington 20: TW: Redskins, CV: Cowboys
Much like the Saints-Ravens game, the game came down to the kicker. Brett Maher had to kick a 52-yard field goal and would miss it. If it wasn't for a false start by the Cowboys it would've been a 47-yarder, maybe a different result. The Redskins offense did alright but it would be Ryan Kerrigan, the Redskins linebacker, who would score a touchdown off of a Dak Prescott fumble. The Cowboys offense was good despite the turnover. Classic Cowboys-Redskins game.

Next week: Dallas: Bye week; Washington: @ NY Giants

TW: 7-4, CV: 9-2

LA Rams 39, San Francisco 10: TW: Rams, CV: Rams
The game was pretty much what the final score says. A Rams dominated effort. The Rams still continuing on with their unbeaten streak. It is hard to say that they can still continue with this unbeaten streak. Jared Goff had two passing touchdowns, Todd Gurley had three touchdowns (2 rushing, one receiving). The Niners had four turnovers with CJ Beathard getting hit with seven sacks. It's a tough road for them.

Next week: LA Rams: vs Green Bay; San Francisco: @ Arizona

TW: 8-4, CV: 10-2

Cincinnati 10, Kansas City 45: TW: Chiefs, CV: Chiefs
Not really a lot to say in this one. The offensive train that is Kansas City rolled over the Bengals in the game. Chiefs did well on both sides of the ball, Bengals not so much. Here's a little tidbit, on the Monday night game before Thanksgiving, there's the Rams-Chiefs game. If that game doesn't get flexed out (I'm sure it won't) and it stays as hyped as possible as a possible Super Bowl matchup, it will be quite the highly rated game on ESPN in a while.

Next week: Cincinnati: vs Tampa Bay; Kansas City: vs Denver

TW: 9-4, CV: 11-2

NY Giants 20, Atlanta 23: TW: Falcons, CV: Falcons
The game came down to some very questionable playcalling from the Giants in the game. To get a touchdown and a 2-point conversion with five seconds left in the game, it just seems weird to me. The Giants are now 1-6 and the Falcons are still alive.

Next week: NY Giants: vs Washington; Atlanta: Bye week

TW: 10-4, CV: 12-2

2018:
Week 1: 10-5-1
Week 2: 6-9-1
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 12-3
Week 5: 6-9
Week 6: 10-5
Week 7: 10-4
Overall: 62-43-2

Cardinal Viking
2018:
Week 1: 8-7-1
Week 2: 9-6-1
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 9-6
Week 5: 9-6
Week 6: 6-9
Week 7: 12-2
Overall: 58-47-2