Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds has the final word on Week Seven in the NFL, picking out his five big takeaways, player of the week and more; Bill Belichick wins Coach of the Week after collecting his 300th regular-season victory, becoming just the third head coach in history to do so
Tuesday 24 October 2023 13:01, UK
Week Seven in the NFL was certainly a wild one. Lowly teams rose up and recorded much-needed victories, some fancied teams got knocked off and it leaves us wondering who is going to win, and when, in the NFL. It's all so wide open...
The Baltimore Ravens were so impressive in their 38-6 win over the Detroit Lions. Lamar Jackson was outstanding, the running game was good enough and the defense - even though they had some injuries - is a smothering, swarming, brooding unit. They had five sacks and made Jared Goff look less than ordinary. In this form you have to put the Ravens in the Super Bowl conversation and as one of the powerhouses of the AFC.
I think the Kansas City Chiefs have proven themselves to be what we've known them to be for a while now, genuine Super Bowl contenders. They will be in the mix again. This was the kind of offensive day we have been waiting for from them; Patrick Mahomes had over 400 yards passing, Travis Kelce at his very best and the connection between those two is still unstoppable. But it's Kansas City's defense that is one of the biggest stories this season. In their games this year they've allowed 21, nine, 10, 20, 20, eight and 17 points. They have still now allowed more than 21 points in a game and that is going to serve them so well down the stretch.
A couple of fancied teams got found out on Sunday. Detroit were looking to go 6-1 for the first time since 1956, they were no match for the Ravens so it's back to the drawing board for them. Jared Goff has to be better under pressure and they need more balance in their attack. Miami got manhandled by the Eagles, they kept it relatively close but that's the next step up in class for the Dolphins. Back to the drawing board for two teams who were the talk of the town in the first six weeks of the season.
It was fascinating to see how New England rose up to beat the Buffalo Bills, with Mac Jones throwing a touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds to play. While it was a good performance for the Patriots, a real worry is the form of the Buffalo Bills. Another slow start, they've lost three games now this season and at 4-3 they are one of the biggest disappointments of the season.
Take a bow, Tyson Bagent. Not massive numbers, but not a disaster either for the Division II quarterback from Shepherd University in West Virginia. Bagent is used to playing in front of 5,000 people at best and there he was at Soldier Field leading the Bears to victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. We don't know how long it will last, it might not last long at all, but they can never take away the fact Tyson Bagent has been a starting quarterback in the NFL.
I thought the numbers were excellent from Lamar Jackson. The way he threw the football was very impressive and of course he extends plays, he's a threat on the move. He turns three-yard losses into four-yard gains more than any quarterback in the league. He had 357 passing yards, three touchdowns and he rushed for a touchdown as well. This was Lamar at his best and putting him in the MVP conversation for sure.
I'm going to go with Nelson Agholor's touchdown catch against the Lions. It was a 12-yard touchdown pass, but what was notable about this was Lamar bumping into about three offensive lineman, doing a full 360 and keeping the play alive, extending it for close to 10 seconds before finding Agholor at the back of the end zone. You just can't cover for that long if you're a defensive back.
I thought Bill Belichick did a great job of nullifying Josh Allen, getting the best out of his team. And we have to note this was his 300th regular-season win - only George Halas and Don Shula, two absolute giants of the coaching game, stand ahead of Belichick now. With his team on their knees he took down a fancied division opponent, and that's classic Bill Belichick. And it marked his 300th win, very special.
This has nothing to do with the success of the play, I couldn't care less if the Philadelphia Eagles run this play every week and it leads to them winning the Super Bowl. This is not about wins and losses, this is about player safety. I just worry, and I certainly hope this never comes to pass, that when I see Jason Kelce ducking his head and driving forward with about 2,000 pounds of people on top of him, it's just a concern. I thought players were supposed to see what they hit, see what they block. I'm sure Kelce is a master technician, very strong and knows what he's doing, more qualified people than me will know if this play is safe or not but it's just on my radar. It is something that worries me when I watch it.
