NFL Week 7 Takeaways

Injury Roundup

QB Ryan Tannehill - Tennessee Titans

Ankle: Initially walked off after injury but returned to the game. Likely to be a game-time decision in Week 8 .

RB Breece Hall - New York Jets

Knee: Hall has torn his ACL which will end his promising rookie season.

RB Chuba Hubbard - Carolina Panthers

Ankle: Not expected to be serious, likely to play through it but may play less snaps.

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown - Detroit Lions

Head: It has been reported that Amon-Ra never had a concussion but missed the game due to the new concussion protocol. Expect him to play in Week 8.

WR DK Metcalf - Seattle Seahawks

Knee: X-rays came back negative but extent of injury is still unknown.

WR Mike Williams - Los Angeles Chargers

Ankle: Assumed to be a high-ankle sprain and likely to miss a few weeks.

WR Allen Lazard - Green Bay Packers

Shoulder: Lazard left the game early but is not expected to miss significant time.

WR Corey Davis - New York Jets

MCL: NFL Network is reporting this as an MCL sprain and that Davis should not miss much time.

TE Dalton Schultz - Dallas Cowboys

Knee: Schultz continues to have knee problems but it does not seem as though he will miss time.

TE Daniel Bellinger - New York Giants

Eye: Bellinger is likely to miss several weeks with an unfortunate eye injury.

TE David Njoku - Cleveland Browns

Ankle: Njoku was in a walking boot and crutches following the game. He is expected to miss 2-5 weeks.

Game Recaps

Saints @ Cards

Nuk Returns

Timing is everything. Cardinals WR Marquise Brown was placed on IR just last week, just as DeAndre Hopkins was set to return from serving his suspension for violating the league’s PED policy. Hopkins immediately made his presence known by reeling in 10 balls for 103 yards in the Cardinals’ Thursday night showdown. There are still issues with this Cardinals offense, though. The team may have scored 42 points but just two of those TDs came from the defense. Kyler Murray only threw 29 times for 204 yards and a TD. Something needs to start clicking in this offense.

Browns @ Ravens

Gus Bus

The Browns went into Week 7 with the worst run defense in the league and the Ravens with one of the best rushing offenses in the league. The recipe for success on Sunday was obvious. Kenyan Drake looked like he could smash in this spot but it was Gus Edwards who handled the bigger workload and made the most of it. While Drake ran 11 times for 5 yards, Edwards ran 16 times for 66 yards and 2 TDs. This performance is even more impressive since it was his first regular season game since 2020. Edwards tore his ACL before the 2021 season and finally debuted in Week 7. With J.K. Dobbins on IR, Gus Edwards is emerging as the priority waiver add this week. While Drake, or even Justice Hill, could still shine this year, there does not seem to be much ambiguity in the backfield. Edwards is their guy.

Bucs @ Panthers

Nobody Deserves This Division Title

According to TikTok, Gisele Bundchen is a witch who has ruined Tom Brady in the wake of their divorce. After his performance against the lowly Panthers, I might begin to believe that.

The Bucs may still be the team to beat in the NFC South but their offense is anemic and their supposed-to-be-amazing defense allowed 21 points to a Panthers team that just lost Christian McCaffrey. If the Saints get to full health, they may just be able to salvage this division. The odds are growing for us to see a new member of an exclusive club: Teams with a losing record that make the playoffs.

Whoever the South trots out into Wild Card Weekend is going to get exposed badly. Just end this already.

The Panthers RB to Grab

When Christian McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers last week, people began to wonder which Panthers RB they should hurry to grab from the waiver wire. Chuba Hubbard and D’Onta Foreman were the obvious choices but it wasn’t immediately clear if Carolina would only feed one back. Sunday’s win over the Bucs seemed to complicate things with both players finishing as high-end RB2s. Foreman led the backfield with 15 carries and saw two targets while Hubbard ran 9 times and was targeted 3 times. That kind of split makes it tough to trust either, though Foreman may have the upper hand now with Hubbard hurting his ankle.

Rachaad White a Sneaky Add

The Bucs are embarrassingly bad on offense. Thanks to their horrible division, they are still playoff hopefuls and will at least try to squeeze one more playoff run out of Tom Brady. The Bucs seem to preparing for the future as well though, as Rookie RB Rachaad White continues to see his opportunities rise. White saw his highest snap percentage of the season in Sunday’s loss to the Panthers in which he registered 43% of snaps. White ran 6 times and out-rushed Fournette on two fewer carries, while also carving out a small role in the passing game. Fournette hasn’t impressed on the ground since Week 1 and is nearing 28 years old. The Bucs should see what they have in White in a mostly lost season. He could be the young spark they need to help Brady get close to one last ring.

Falcons @ Bengals

The Boys are Back in Town

The Bengals offense of 2021 is back. Joe Burrow shredded the Falcons throwing for 481 yards and 3 TDs. Tyler Boyd led the team with 8 receptions for 155 yards and a TD, while Chase put together 130 yards and 2 TDs on his 8 grabs. Tee Higgins was comparably disappointing but had a respectable 5 catches for 93 yards, although he did look to have a TD taken away from him, resulting in a Joe Burrow QB sneak. This is the Cincinnati Bengals offense at their best and few teams can keep up. The Bengals are asserting themselves as the clear-cut division favorites.

Tyler Allgeier Getting Fed

Cordarelle Patterson went down in Week 4 which opened the door to a new top RB in a run-heavy offense. Rookie Tyler Allgeier was expected to take over but has split carries with Caleb Huntley in the subsequent weeks. This week, however, Allgeier carried the majority of the workload. He has now received double-digit carries in 5 of his 6 games. The big blow to his fantasy value comes from his nonexistent usage as a receiver. The Falcons are already throwing at one of the lowest rates in the league. If Kyle Pitts and Drake London can barely get consistent target shares, Allgeier is simply out of the question for now. He is a nice temporary add though, especially in standard leagues, as the Falcons will run regardless of game-script.

Giants @ Jaguars

Where in the World is James Robinson?

Travis Etienne and James Robinson were trending in opposite directions. In the Week 6 Takeaways article I broke down the split. I believed that both RBs would be relevant but that was not the case in Week 7 and the future is not very promising for Robinson either. While Etienne ran 14 times for 114 yards and a TD, Robinson didn’t get a single carry and only drew one target one just 17% of offensive snaps. We may be able to chalk this up to a flukey week but Etienne has trended upwards for weeks now. Robinson should still be rostered but another week of this will decide if he is going to be relegated to a backup role.

Colts @ Titans

A Division Leader Emerging

It is not going to be pretty but someone will win the AFC South. Like their NFC counterparts, this division has long been in shambles and has continued to look weak despite plentiful talent and recently competent coaching. There are still three legitimate teams that could win the division but the Tennessee Titans are looking like the best bet. The Jacksonville Jaguars have squandered their excellent start to the season, and while the Indianapolis Colts have been just good enough to contend, they just got swept in the season series against the division rival Titans. The Colts have already split their series with the Jaguars and tied with the Texans in Week 1. I am willing to put some money on the Titans to win the AFC South while they are still only small favorites.

The Big Engine That Could

Derrick Henry is a 6’3 freight train made of 100% steel but he is being forgotten. Perhaps the Titans are just a forgettable team that isn’t fun to watch. That shouldn’t stop people from watching in awe as Henry continues to do what he did best for years. The 2019 and 2020 rushing yards leader is now averaging just over 89 rushing yards per game after a slow start to the season. He may not be ready to take his rushing crown back just yet but he is chugging along and returning to form. 

Texans @ Raiders

Josh Jacobs Hat-Trick

ESPN

A much needed bye week led to something few could have predicted. Josh Jacobs ran all over the Houston Texans to the tune of 143 rushing yards and 3 TDs. Any dreams of a split backfield are now gone and Jacobs is emerging as a big fantasy football league winner. Jacobs is also playing a key role in the passing game. After only seeing one target in each of the first two weeks, Jacobs has been targeted at least four times in every other week this year. Jacobs is averaging 105.5 rushing yards per game, just 0.2 yards fewer than Nick Chubb. He is on pace to compete with Chubb and Saquon Barkley for the rushing crown.

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By Themi Michalakis