NFL Week 7 Hangover
By the110report
Big Winners
-The Arizona Cardinals (4-2) won their final regular season game at Giants Stadium, where they’d been 2-15 in history, and now sit alone atop the NFC West thanks to San Francisco’s loss.
-Odd-on favorites went 11-2 (the Giants and Panthers lost), and covered the spread in 10 of 13 games (Houston won but didn’t cover the spread).
-Fans of blowouts must have been thrilled in Week 7 as only two games were decided by under 10 points, and six were decided by 28 or more!
-The Steelers’ defense held the previously undefeated Vikings to just 17 points, scored two touchdowns, and held NFL rushing leader Adrian Peterson under 70 yards.
-NFL fans have not had to see or hear much from Terrell Owens since he was banished to Buffalo. Owens had three catches for 27 yaaaawwwn.
-All teams with higher draft picks than the Panthers can expect some trade offers before Draft Day as Carolina will likely want to trade up and get a quarterback. The Panthers current quarterback, Jake Delhomme, has thrown 4 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on the season.
-Bengals runningback Cedric Benson felt that the Bears had mistreated him during his time in Chicago. So he took it out on them by out-rushing Chicago’s new star runningback by 165 yards (Carson Palmer‘s 5 touchdowns didn’t hurt either).
-The New Orleans Saints were down 21 points on the road in a city where they’ve never won. But that just gave Drew Brees an excuse to stop pretending to want to use the running game. New Orleans won thanks in part to a 22-0 fourth quarter.
Big Losers
-The Oakland Raiders (2-5) followed up a shocking upset of Philadelphia by getting shut out at home by a team that had been struggling to stay afloat for their last three games (the Jets).
-Top Fantasy Runningbacks have generally been a disappointment this season, and that held true in Week 7. The top 8 in most drafts this year averaged 3.6 yards per carry and combined for only three touchdowns and one concussion (Peterson, Turner, Jones-Drew, Forte, Westbrook, Williams, Tomlinson, and Gore).
-49ers quarterback Shaun Hill lost his starting job after starting out 6 for 11 and guiding the 49ers to a 21-0 halftime deficit. Backup and former #1 over all pick Alex Smith then entered the game and led the team to three touchdowns in four possessions.
-Chiefs runningback Larry Johnson has another dismal performance on the field (16 carries for 49 yards), and then followed it up by badmouthing his coach and using a homosexual slur to refer to a fan on Twitter. Johnson apologized Monday afternoon, but not before referring to members of the media with the same slur Monday morning. But I’m sure the apology was sincere.
-The State of Missouri is 1-13 on the season and has been outscored by 16.2 points per game (KC and St. Louis).
-The United Kingdom had to endure watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers up close in the NFL’s misguided third annual trip to Wembley Stadium.
Week 7 Scores
Arizona Cardinals 24 – New York Giants 17
Houston Texans 24 – San Francisco 49ers 21
Green Bay Packers 31 – Cleveland Browns 3
San Diego Chargers 37 – Kansas City Chiefs 7
Indianapolis Colts 42 – St. Louis Rams 6
Pittsburgh Steelers 27 – Minnesota Vikings 17
New England Patriots 35 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7
New York Jets 38 – Oakland Raiders 0
Buffalo Bills 20 – Carolina Panthers 9
Cincinnati Bengals 45 – Chicago Bears 10
Dallas Cowboys 37 – Atlanta Falcons 21
New Orleans Saints 46 – Miami Dolphins 34
Philadelphia Eagles 27 – Washington Redskins 17
Fantasy Studs – The 10 Most Valuable Players of Week 7
1 – Miles Austin (WR-Dal) 171 yards recieving, 2 touchdowns, and was probably still available last week
2 – Vernon Davis (TE-SF) 93 yards receiving, 3 touchdowns
3 – Ricky Williams (RB-Mia) 80 yards rushing, 3 touchdowns, and was probably still available as well
4 – Shonn Greene (RB-NYJ) 144 yard rushing, 2 touchdowns, and was definately still available
5 – DeSean Jackson (WR-Phi) 67 yards rushing, 1 touchdown, 69 yards receiving, 1 touchdown)
6 – Carson Palmer (QB-Cin) 233 yards passing, 5 touchdowns
7 – Cedric Benson (RB-Cin) 189 yards rushing, 1 touchdown
8 – Chad Ochocinco (WR-Cin) 118 yards, 2 touchdowns
9 – Tony Romo (QB-Dal) 311 yards passing, 3 touchdowns, 31 yards rushing
10 – Ryan Grant (RB-GB) 148 yards rushing, 1 touchdown
Fantasy Thuds – High Expectations…Dismal Results
1 – Frank Gore (RB-SF) 32 yards rushing, 15 yards receiving
2 – Pierre Thomas (RB-NO) 30 yards rushing, 14 yards receiving
3 – Jonathan Stewart (RB-Car) 25 yards rushing, 20 yards receiving
4 – Marion Barber (RB-Dal) 47 yards rushing, 1 yard receiving
5 – Matt Forte (RB-Chi) 24 yards rushing, 25 yards receiving
6 – Tony Gonzalez (TE-Atl) 37 yards receiving
7 – Brett Favre (QB-Min) 334 yards passing, 1 interception, 1 fumble
8 – Donovan McNabb (QB-Phi) 156 yards passing, 1 touchdown
9 – Andre Johnson (WR-Hou) 62 yards receiving
10 – Eli Manning (QB-NYG) 243 yards passing, 1 touchdown, 3 interceptions
The Front Seven – The NFL’s 7 best teams through Week 7
1 – New Orleans Saints (6-0, 1st NFC South) Total Offense: 1st (427.3), Total Defense: 11th (306.7), +18.5 ppg
2 – Indianapolis Colts (6-0, 1st AFC South) Total Offense 4th (402.5), Total Defense: 9th (291.7), +17.0 ppg
3 – New England Patriots (5-2, 1st AFC East) Total Offense: 3rd (406.0), Total Defense: 6th (285.7), +14.3 ppg
4 – Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2, T-1st AFC North) Total Offense: 7th (383.0), Total Defense: 8th (291.0), +5.4 ppg
5 – Denver Broncos (6-0, 1st AFC West) Total Offense: 9th (368.7), Total Defense: 2nd (262.5), +11.2 ppg
6 – Minnesota Vikings (6-1, 1st NFC North) Total Offense: 12th (353.6), Total Defense: 17th (330.0), +8.3 ppg
7 – New York Giants (5-2, 1st NFC East) Total Offense: 6th (391.3), Total Defense: 1st (262.0), +7.4 ppg
Check back Friday for a look ahead at Week 8.