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Week 7 in the NFL was wild. The Steelers survived a late comeback attempt from the Titans to move to 6-0 on the season. The Browns edged by the Bengals on a huge go-ahead TD with 11 seconds remaining — Baker Mayfield‘s fifth of the game. A Panthers tying field goal attempt from 65 yards came up just short, helping the Saints get a big division win. The Lions beat the Falcons with a touchdown pass on the final play of the game after an eight-play, 75-yard drive in the final 64 seconds. Washington kept the Cowboys to three points, and Green Bay dropped 35 on Houston thanks to another strong day from Aaron Rodgers.
All that and more in Week 7‘s biggest takeaways from NFL Nation.
Jump to a matchup:
PIT-TEN | CAR-NO | GB-HOU
DET-ATL | BUF-NYJ | CLE-CIN
DAL-WSH | NYG-PHI
Standout performer for PIT-TEN: Diontae Johnson, 9 catches, 80 receiving yards, 2 TDs
Thanks to a fast start and scores on their first four possessions, the Steelers outlasted a Titans fourth-quarter comeback to remain undefeated and set up a huge AFC North showdown next week in Baltimore. But even with an unblemished record, the Steelers have glaring things to fix after the late-game meltdown, beginning with limiting splash plays by the opponent. “We have goals so high for ourselves because we know what we can do when we feel like we can be a truly special defense,” linebacker T.J. Watt said. “And that’s why no one’s really satisfied after today. We need to do a lot better job, especially in the second half. But it starts with the run. And even though we did a good job in the first half, we got to continue and roll it over into the second half.” — Brooke Pryor
Next game: at Ravens (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
The Titans made a valiant effort in the fourth quarter to make the game close, but their inability to stop the Steelers early in the game was too much to overcome. Tennessee couldn’t force the Steelers to punt in the first half. It gave up seven first downs on all seven of Pittsburgh’s third-down opportunities in the first two quarters. Now the Titans sit at 5-1, which is still best in their division, but they need drastic improvement on third downs — starting with the Bengals next week — before they get into the tougher part of the schedule. — Turron Davenport
Next game: at Bengals (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for CAR-NO: Alvin Kamara, 83 rushing yards, 65 receiving yards
No Michael Thomas. No Emmanuel Sanders. No problem for the Saints’ offense — which had its prettiest performance of the season from start to finish. New Orleans’ defense still has major problems preventing big plays and stopping teams in the red zone, but this was an awfully nice way for the Saints (4-2) to reboot their offense after the bye, something they’ll need to carry over into an even stiffer test next week at Chicago. — Mike Triplett
Next game: at Bears (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Another amazing day from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was spoiled by the defense’s inability to make plays on third down. The Saints started 8-of-8 on third down, and at one point, they were 11-of-12 before finishing 12-of-14 in the victory. That’s inexcusable, even with a secondary depleted by injuries. The worst was a third-and-14 pass to running back Alvin Kamara that should have been stopped for a short gain. The Panthers entered the day ranked 29th on third-down defense, and if they can’t solve this problem, there’s no way they can keep pace with New Orleans and Tampa Bay in the NFC South. — David Newton
Next game: vs. Falcons (8:20 p.m. ET, Thursday)
Standout performer for GB-HOU: Davante Adams, 13 catches, 196 receiving yards, 2 TDs
It wasn’t the criticism the Packers faced after their blowout loss to the Buccaneers last week that drove them to their win Sunday at the Texans. “It was more so we felt like we owed it to ourselves,” said receiver Davante Adams, who had a career-high 196 yards receiving. Yes, it came against a one-win team and a bad defense that Aaron Rodgers picked apart. And next week they face another one-win team in the Vikings. But Sunday’s game got the Packers (5-1) back to doing what they did on the way to their 4-0 start and gave them confidence they can win without the likes of star running back Aaron Jones and All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari. — Rob Demovsky
Next game: vs. Vikings (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
With another loss that dropped the Texans to 1-6, the team is likely in sell-now mode headed into the bye with trade deadline on Nov. 3. While Houston’s front office is not interested in a firesale without getting the proper value in return, it is at the point where this team needs to look toward the future, even after just signing quarterback Deshaun Watson to a lengthy contract extension. — Sarah Barshop
Next game: at Jaguars (1 p.m. ET, Sunday Nov. 8)
Standout performer for DET-ATL: Matthew Stafford, 340 passing yards, 1 TD
For years, Matthew Stafford had been building the reputation as a comeback king, among the quarterbacks you wanted to face least with him holding the ball and time winding down. It had gotten away from him a bit the past two-plus seasons, with Detroit struggling to win games and too often losing leads in the fourth quarter instead of pulling off improbable comebacks. Then came Sunday, when Stafford drove Detroit 75 yards in 64 seconds, capping it with an 11-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Hockenson with no time remaining to set up the extra point that gave Detroit the win. The comeback king, picking up fourth-quarter comeback No. 30 and game-winning drive No. 36, pulled it off at a time when Detroit needed it the most, to get back to 3-3 and keep his team relevant toward midseason. — Michael Rothstein
Next game: vs. Colts (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Is it bad luck, poor decision-making or execution that has hurt the Falcons the most this season? Regardless, the Falcons are now the only team with three losses in a season — over the past 20 seasons — after having a win probability of at least 98%, according to ESPN Stats and Information. Atlanta could have won its second consecutive game if Todd Gurley II would have gone down before scoring an ill-fated touchdown that left the Lions enough time to come back and win the game. And Gurley realized it after running 10 yards to the end zone. “Ah f— it, I shouldn’t have scored,” Gurley said postgame. The Falcons had a 98.7% chance to win after Stafford’s incompletion with 57 seconds left, per ESPN’s win probability model, and still managed to lose. — Courtney Cronin
Next game: at Panthers (8:20 p.m. ET, Thursday)
Standout performer for BUF-NYJ: Cole Beasley, 11 catches, 112 receiving yards
This may have been Buffalo’s most impressive defensive performance to date. After a shaky first half, the Bills allowed just four yards of total offense, holding the Jets scoreless while their own offense continued to score, three points at a time. Factor in five sacks and two takeaways, and for the first time this season, the Bills’ defense carried the load — a burden that had fallen on their offense through the first six games. It’s a positive sign that both sides of the ball are capable of winning games. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Next game: vs. Patriots (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
New playcaller, same result. Coach Adam Gase handed the playcalling to offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, but the Jets managed only 25 yards on 23 plays after taking a 10-0 lead. They made no adjustments, resulting in six total sacks. It will get worse for the Jets (0-7), who face the Super Bowl champion Chiefs on the road next week. — Rich Cimini
Next game: at Chiefs (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for CLE-CIN: Baker Mayfield, 297 passing yards, 5 TDs
After throwing an interception on his first passing attempt for a second consecutive game, Baker Mayfield rebounded with one of the finest QB performances in Browns history. Mayfield broke a franchise record with 21 consecutive completions and threw three touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone, lifting Cleveland to a comeback victory. This version of Mayfield is what could elevate the Browns into more than just a fringe playoff contender. And Cleveland will need more of this from him — especially if wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s knee injury proves serious. — Jake Trotter
Next game: vs. Raiders (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Even though the Bengals failed to pick up the victory, Sunday was another reminder that Cincinnati has its quarterback of the future. With three offensive starters sidelined with injury, Joe Burrow was still able to post a career-high 406 yards on 35-of-46 passing, three touchdowns and one interception. He also had a rushing touchdown in the Bengals’ third consecutive defeat. Entering the game, the Bengals were without injured running back Joe Mixon (foot). Throughout the day, left tackle Jonah Williams (neck), center Trey Hopkins (concussion) and right tackle Bobby Hart (undisclosed) also went down at various points of Sunday’s contest. That didn’t stop Burrow from nearly pulling off the first comeback win of his career. — Ben Baby
Next game: vs. Titans (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for DAL-WSH: Antonio Gibson, 128 rushing yards, 1 TD
Washington still has a lot of issues that won’t be resolved any time soon, but it can feel good about one thing: It’s a lot better than Dallas right now. Washington played its best all-around game. And the more running back Antonio Gibson matures, the more Washington can start to develop a consistent ground game, which it will need. But Sunday’s game also showed the kind of mindset coach Ron Rivera wanted to see. After five consecutive losses — four by 14 points or more — and a crushing one-point defeat a week ago, the team responded well. For Washington to truly generate momentum, it must come out the same way after the bye week. This was a good win, but if it’s just a one-game blip, then it won’t mean a whole lot. — John Keim
Next game: vs. Giants (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 8)
The Cowboys are 2-5. Forget about how bad the NFC East is. Where do the Cowboys start to fix their problems? Is it on defense, which has been terrible since Week 1 and has been shredded on the ground? Or the offense, which has scored one touchdown in two games without Dak Prescott and can’t play a game without a turnover? Quarterback Andy Dalton was knocked out of the game in the third quarter because of a concussion, but he was not given much help by an offensive line that looked like a preseason group. This has turned into a nightmare scenario Mike McCarthy never envisioned when he was named coach last January. — Todd Archer
Next game: at Eagles (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for NYG-PHI: Carson Wentz, 359 passing yards, 2 TDs (and 1 rushing TD)
The Eagles aren’t a good football team, no matter their odds to win the NFC East, but the positive signs they’re getting from quarterback Carson Wentz hold significance. He has turned it on over the past three games after a sluggish start, and again showed a penchant for late-game heroics with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown throws to save Philadelphia from an embarrassing loss to the Giants. The Eagles now have a 61% chance to win the division, per the ESPN Football Power Index. That’s nice, but what’s really important is that their franchise quarterback is once again beginning to play like one. — Tim McManus
Next game: vs. Cowboys (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday)
The Giants still can’t beat the Eagles or Cowboys. And they still can’t compete in a division that appears destined to be historically bad. The Giants (1-6) lost their eighth straight to the Eagles and have now dropped 15 consecutive games combined to Dallas and Philadelphia. It’s hard to compete in the NFC East if you continually lose to those two teams. The Giants blew an 11-point lead in the final five minutes, committing three penalties on the game-winning drive. Had tight end Evan Engram not dropped what could’ve been the clinching pass with just more than two minutes remaining, the Giants win. But it all proves the Giants are still not good enough. — Jordan Raanan
Next game: vs. Buccaneers (8:15 p.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 2)