On Monday night Week 7 of the 2020 NFL season concluded. From this point on, the NFL season will start to shape out into contenders and pretenders. Playoff races are going to start to come into focus a little bit more. While there’s still got a ton of football left this season, it never hurts to see where teams are at this point in the season. Below is a look at the NFL Week 7 takeaways from the week that was.
NFL Week 7 Takeaways
Who Wants To Win the NFC East?
Despite the number of jokes that can be made at the expense of the NFC East because of its laughably bad record one of the four teams will win the division. As of now it is looking like the Philadelphia Eagles will take that crown. Even with a record of just 2-4-1, Philadelphia has the most upside out of the four teams involved. Carson Wentz may take a beating on every snap, but he has put Philly in winnable games throughout the season.
Plus, it just may come down to whoever’s healthiest when Week 17 comes around. The Dallas Cowboys will be without Dak Prescott in 2020, the New York Giants still don’t know what they have in Daniel Jones and Washington may figure finally figure out their quarterback situation when it’s too late.
At this rate, it may just take five or six wins to reach the playoffs this season. The smart money is probably on Philadelphia, especially since they could get back some key players in time to make a run.
Bounce Back Win For Green Bay Packers
One of the more impressive things Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has done in his first two seasons in Green Bay is not to let losses snowball out of control. In his rookie season in 2019 LaFleur helped lead the Packers to a 13-3 record and never lost back-to-back games and in 2020 that consistency has continued.
Green Bay got embarrassed in Week 6 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and suffered their first loss of the season and faced the Houston Texans on Sunday. And when Aaron Rodgers is angry, defenses usually don’t stand a chance. Houston had a problem containing Rodgers and Davante Adams on Sunday as the two went off for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
Green Bay remains a favorite in the NFC to make it to the Super Bowl this year and they have proven how well they can respond after a bad game. If they can stay healthy and focused like they have so far, they will be a scary bunch, especially as the weather gets colder.
The Battle For Ohio
The Cleveland Browns are 5-2 this season. When’s the last time Cleveland had a winning record and an offense that was capable of scoring in bunches? It’s been a while but Baker Mayfield and company have been lighting up the scoreboard this season. Cleveland will now have to go the rest of the season without Odell Beckham Jr. who tore his ACL on Sunday and they are still missing Nick Chubb to compliment Kareem Hunt.
However, on the other side is Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow who has played considerably well.
The battle for Ohio on Sunday saw two young quarterbacks battle it out and that may happen for the next decade or so. There were lead changes aplenty in this one as both quarterbacks delivered haymaker after haymaker, but it was Mayfield who ended up with the last laugh.
Mahomes Not Needed
The reigning Super Bowl champions have been led by Patrick Mahomes this season, but it turns out the defense can take over as well. The Kansas City Chiefs got plenty of support from its defense against the Denver Broncos as that unit came up with two interceptions, one was a pick-six, and two fumble recoveries.
The reason many have the Chiefs repeating and hoisting another Lombardi Trophy is that they have a high-powered offense have their defense is creating havoc of its own. Denver hung around for a little bit but succumbed to Kansas City’s constant pressure on Drew Lock and Kansas City was able to pull away.
With the addition of Le’Veon Bell to an already stacked offense, Kansas City has the tools on both sides to go and win another Super Bowl this season. They’ve already dismantled the Baltimore Ravens and it may take the likes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, or even perhaps, a secondary team like the Buffalo Bills to upset Kansas City.
Those are some NFL Week 7 takeaways. It will interesting to see what happens in Week 8 and beyond.
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