Week 7 of the NFL season featured a wacky finish in London, a historic comeback in Washington, a blowout in Miami and big divisional wins in New England and New York. Sunday’s action provided a little bit of everything, regardless of your geographical location.
Here is the best and worst from Week 7:
Best
QB Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins
Cousins threw three second-half touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to tight end Jordan Reed with 24 seconds left to finish off Washington’s franchise record 24-point comeback against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He completed 33 of 40 passes for 316 yards, and he also rushed for a touchdown in the first half. The win might have saved the Redskins’ season. You like that? Cousins sure did.
Miami Dolphins offense
A day after the University of Miami went into half time down 42-0 to Clemson, the Dolphins redeemed South Florida by taking a 41-0 lead into the half against the Houston Texans. Miami was dominant on offense, scoring six times in the first half and gaining 503 total yards against Romeo Crennel’s overmatched Houston defense.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill exited the contest with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. He completed his first 18 passes and finished with 282 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. Running back Lamar Miller rushed for 175 yards, including a season-long run of 85 yards, and he also caught a 54-yard touchdown. Receiver Jarvis Landry scored twice. Miami is now 2-0 under interim head coach Dan Campbell.
WR Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings
It might be time to start seriously considering Diggs this year’s version of Odell Beckham, Jr. The Vikings’ fifth-round pick caught six passes for 106 yards during Minnesota’s win over the Lions on Sunday, giving him three straight games with at least six catches and 80 yards to start his NFL career.
Diggs’ first professional touchdown was a tiny taste of his playmaking ability, as the rookie put a double move on veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis before making a diving catch in the end zone. Over his last three games, Diggs has 19 catches and 324 yards. He’s a special talent, with receiving skills beyond his years and the production to match.
NFL running backs
Sunday was a good day to be a running back. Fourteen players at the position rushed for at least 85 yards, with five going over 125. Lamar Miller paced all players with 175 rushing yards, but he didn’t overshadow big days from Darren McFadden (152 yards), Mark Ingram (143), Doug Martin (136) and Todd Gurley (128).
Miller had a 85-yard touchdown during Miami’s route, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson had a season-long run of 75 yards against the Lions and Ryan Mathews galloped 63 yards for a score. A total of 12 running backs had at least one carry gaining over 25 yards. And who says running backs can’t win games? The teams possessing a rusher with at least 85 yards finished 10-4 in Week 7.
Worst
QB EJ Manuel, Buffalo Bills
The Bills with Manuel under center have now lost in the United States, Canada and England. It was a early disaster in London for the former first-round pick and now international loser. Seven seconds after Manuel had a lost fumble returned for a touchdown, he threw an ugly pick-six to Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith. The Bills eventually dug out of the 27-3 hole created by Manuel’s three first-half turnovers, but the game ended much like it started. Manuel’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete on Buffalo’s final drive, and the lowly Jaguars left Wembley Stadium with a 34-31 win over the Bills.
WR Brandon LaFell, New England Patriots
LaFell’s return from the PUP list was a forgettable one. The veteran receiver dropped six of Tom Brady’s passes, while catching only two for 25 yards. The drops just seemed to snowball on LaFell, who was playing his first game of the 2015 season. It got so bad that the Patriots briefly benched him in favor of Aaron Dobson. LaFell gave himself a ‘F’ grade for the performance. We agree with the assessment.
QB Matt Cassel, Dallas Cowboys
Hopefully the Cowboys didn’t expect one replacement-level quarterback to relieve another and fix everything for the Dallas offense. Cassel started over Brandon Weeden but was far from an improvement, as the 33-year-old quarterback threw three interceptions in a 27-20 loss to the New York Giants. Including Sunday, Cassel now has 28 interceptions against just 21 touchdowns since 2012.
Remember, the Bills decided to keep EJ Manuel (see above) over Cassel to start this season. The 11th-year quarterback just isn’t any good. Now losers of four straight games, the Cowboys probably won’t be competitive until Tony Romo returns from his fractured collarbone.
The AFC South
It was another ugly day for the worst division in football. The AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts lost at home to the New Orleans Saints, dropping to 3-4. The 1-5 Tennessee Titans managed only a single touchdown in a 10-7 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Houston Texans were blown out in Miami, trailing 41-0 at the half before falling by a 44-26 final. Now 2-5, the Texans will likely be without running back Arian Foster for the rest of the season to a torn Achilles’ tendon.
Only the Jaguars were able to win on Sunday. And even Jacksonville wanted to throw it away, as the Bills came back from a 27-3 deficit to take a late fourth-quarter lead.
The Colts are as broken a football team as there is in the NFL right now, but they still look like heavy favorites in a division brimming with dysfunction. It wouldn’t be surprising if the AFC South produced a repeat of 2014, when the Carolina Panthers won the NFC South with just seven wins. Sunday showed how bad the division still is.