Week 7 Recaps

New England's newest players wasted no time finding the end zone. Josh Jacobs and Tucker Kraft combined for 17 points in their Patriots debuts, part of a 24-point contribution from the four players acquired from Tennessee. The resulting 58–35 win was New England's highest score of the season and second straight victory. Tez Johnson added a touchdown replacing Emeka Egbuka, while Trevor Lawrence supplied 13 average points on his NFL bye. Luther Burden's 130 receiving yards and touchdown gave Chicago 13, but the Bears lost their fourth straight. Some assembly required; apparently very little.

CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens spent Monday catching passes for the same NFL offense and pulling this matchup in opposite directions. Pittsburgh briefly led 39–38 before Lamb's yardage restored New Orleans' advantage; his second touchdown then gave the Saints breathing room in a 46–42 escape. Lamb finished with 15 points, ahead of Deshaun Watson's 11 and Puka Nacua's nine. Blake Corum supplied 10 for Pittsburgh, which had three scoreless receiving spots. New Orleans ended a two-game slide, while the Steelers came away with another loss after making the finish uncomfortable.

Two catches, two touchdowns: Caleb Douglas made efficiency look rather unfair. His 15 points joined Jameson Williams' 16 in Baltimore's 53–44 division win, with the pair accounting for four touchdown receptions. Williams now has 35 points across his three played games since arriving from Denver, separate from his NFL-bye credit. Cincinnati got 12 from Kirk Cousins and 10 from Rhamondre Stevenson, but new reserve replacement Tyrone Tracy Jr. left with a hamstring injury after scoring six. Baltimore's third straight victory lifted it to 4–3 after a 1–3 start.

For the first time since Week 1, Cleveland could enjoy the final whistle. J.K. Dobbins' touchdown broke a 28–28 tie Sunday afternoon, and the Browns finished off Tennessee 38–28 to end a five-game losing streak. The Atlanta kicker supplied 11 points, while J.J. McCarthy's passing and Jameis Winston's rushing touchdown combined for 10 from the Giants' quarterbacks. Tennessee received seven from Jaylen Warren's 137 scrimmage yards and four from newcomer Greg Dulcich, but three scoreless spots limited its response. Cleveland's second win also left the Titans at 1–6.

Minnesota finished at 44 and had to sit through Indianapolis' final push. RJ Harvey's touchdown catch and Brock Bowers' receiving yardage trimmed an 18-point deficit to four, but the Colts ran out of scoring in a 44–40 loss. Zay Flowers had done the heavy lifting for Minnesota with 137 receiving yards and a touchdown, worth 13 points. Ollie Gordon added 12 in De'Von Achane's IR spot, his third straight played game in double figures. The Vikings survived four zeroes, including Daniel Jones', and returned from their bye with a third consecutive win.

Joe Burrow needed only 292 passing yards to do four touchdowns' worth of damage. His 20 points carried Miami past the Jets 46–32, with the Dallas kicker adding 12 on Monday after New York had finished just one point behind. The Dolphins returned from their bye with a second consecutive win and a 3–3 record that still understates their 51-point scoring average. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 116 yards but went without a touchdown, finishing with seven. New York's season-low 32 brought a second straight defeat after four consecutive wins.

Houston had 63 points and nobody left. The Giants had 61 and Dameon Pierce, whose Monday touchdown in Tank Bigsby's replacement spot decided Week 7's Game of the Week. Pierce finished with seven in New York's 68–63 win, completing a week-leading total built on Malik Willis' 18 and the Tampa Bay defense's season-best 17. Tony Pollard's three rushing touchdowns gave Houston 26, the highest running-back score of the season and more than his first six games combined. Even that couldn't protect the Texans' three-game winning streak. A terrific performance met terrible scheduling.

Emanuel Wilson turned an injury replacement into San Francisco's turning point. Filling in for Zach Charbonnet, he rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown; that Sunday-night score flipped a 32–31 Atlanta lead. Dak Prescott took over Monday, throwing three touchdown passes and adding a two-point run to finish with 17 points in the 49ers' 57–41 win. KC Concepcion's 129 receiving yards supplied another seven. Atlanta's Makai Lemon answered with nine, but Aaron Jones left with a knee injury after one point. San Francisco ended its two-game skid and matched its season high.

Carolina doubled last week's output and cut Tampa Bay's usual production nearly in half. Quinshon Judkins ran for two touchdowns and 96 yards, providing 16 points in a 54–28 division win that put the Panthers at 5–1. The Chicago kicker contributed 12. Tampa Bay entered averaging 57.2 points but finished with its season low; Amon-Ra St. Brown's 153 receiving yards were its brightest spot. The Buccaneers slipped to 5–2, alongside New Orleans and behind Carolina in the NFC South.

Bucky Irving's one-point Week 6 proved a short interruption. He rebounded with 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns, leading Arizona with 18 points in a 65–29 rout of Denver. Trey McBride and Tre Tucker each topped 100 receiving yards, caught a touchdown and supplied 12; Tucker has now produced 28 across two games. Arizona's fourth straight victory also set its season scoring high. Denver's three receivers combined for zero, and the Broncos remain winless through seven games.

Detroit finally found an opponent willing to stay under 50. After five losses against teams averaging 67.2 points, the Lions beat Green Bay 44–35 for their first win. They still had to wait for Javonte Williams: trailing 35–30 with only him left Monday, Detroit moved ahead on his rushing yardage before his late touchdown settled matters. Williams finished with 155 rushing yards and 14 points, complementing Geno Smith's 16. Jonathan Taylor and Jordan Love combined for 21 for Green Bay, but the Packers' three receivers managed five between them in a third straight defeat.

Drake Maye scored 20 points. The rest of Las Vegas managed nine. That imbalance left the Raiders on the wrong end of a 48–29 result despite Maye's two touchdown throws and rushing score. The Rams had more places to turn: Bo Nix contributed 16, Kyren Williams supplied 10, and the Pittsburgh kicker matched him. Kenneth Walker fell from last week's 19 to one for Las Vegas. Los Angeles stopped a two-game slide, while the Raiders posted their lowest total of the season.

Seattle keeps making narrow margins count. A week after winning by six, the Seahawks squeezed past Kansas City 50–48 to reach 6–1. Tee Higgins' 148 receiving yards and touchdown supplied 13 points, Braelon Allen added seven from 134 scrimmage yards, and Josh Allen's NFL bye brought 19 average points. Cam Skattebo's 124 rushing yards and touchdown gave the Chiefs 12, with C.J. Stroud and the Tampa Bay kicker adding 11 apiece. Kansas City's final two scoring spots produced only three, leaving the Chiefs two short and Seattle alone atop the NFC West.

Dallas spent Monday hoping 32 would hold. Philadelphia started the night at 12 and climbed to 28, but couldn't finish the chase in a four-point division loss. Saquon Barkley contributed nine points before leaving with a back injury, while Tanner McKee supplied six. The Cowboys had built their total around Caleb Williams' 308 passing yards and two touchdowns, worth 14, plus D'Andre Swift's 10. Those two accounted for three-quarters of Dallas's scoring, enough to survive four zeroes. Philadelphia followed its win over unbeaten Carolina with its lowest score of the season.