Copyright The Boston Globe
It’s a race to the bottom in the AFC, which is where we begin the Week 7 review: ⋅ If we go by record, the Jets are the worst of the bunch. They are the only winless team, and 0-7 for the third time in franchise history (2020, 1996). Their offense is nonexistent, losing to the Panthers, 13-6, a week after gaining just 82 total yards against the Broncos. The Jets play at Cincinnati Sunday before their bye, and coach Aaron Glenn doesn’t know if he will start Justin Fields or Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. Neither is an attractive option. ⋅ If we go by point differential, the 1-6 Titans are the NFL’s worst team at minus-96 following Sunday’s 31-13 loss to the Patriots. Cam Ward’s Benny Hill routine with the ball slipping out of his hand and leading to a Patriots touchdown was the perfect encapsulation of the Titans’ season. Their only win came on a 1-point fluke against the Cardinals, and they face two more blowouts with upcoming games against the Colts and Chargers. ⋅ If we go by the most inept, that would be the 2-5 Raiders, who have a minus-77 point differential. They gained just three first downs in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, and one of them was by penalty. Even worse was Carroll blaming the team’s injuries after the game. “We’ve got to get our guys back,” Carroll said. “The key guys who missed the game were key guys on our football team, and we weren’t able to overcome that, and seems like there was a factor in there.” The Raiders were without Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers, and lost Maxx Crosby midway, but the coach shouldn’t offer excuses. ⋅ If we go by the team that looks like it has given up on the season, that would be the 1-6 Dolphins, who have a minus-65 point differential after Sunday’s 31-6 loss at Cleveland. The Dolphins struggled in the rain and heavy winds, turning the ball over four times and committing 11 accepted penalties for 103 yards. Coach Mike McDaniel still has a job, and here’s betting that if the Dolphins do fire him midseason, it won’t come until the Week 12 bye following their game in Madrid. More pressing, though, is that the Dolphins are stuck with their mediocre quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa, who threw three interceptions on Sunday and leads the NFL with 10, still is owed $55 million fully guaranteed on his contract next year. Good luck with that. ⋅ A heck of a win by the Broncos, overcoming a 19-0 deficit to start the fourth quarter to defeat the Giants, 33-32. Denver became the only team in NFL history to get shut out for three quarters then explode for 30-plus points in the fourth. Plus, the officials called a couple of ridiculous penalties against them to hand the Giants their last touchdown, so it was good to see the Broncos overcome it. They can’t keep playing like this and expect to keep winning, though. It’s great that they overcame a 14-point deficit to beat the Eagles and 19 points to beat the Giants, but Bo Nix needs to show up earlier in games for the Broncos to be a real contender. ⋅ Speaking of real contenders, here come the Chiefs, who are 4-3. They have won four of their last five, with their only slipup coming in a loss to the Jaguars. Even though they occupy the AFC No. 8 seed, the Chiefs have the NFL’s second-best point differential at plus-62. (Only the Colts are better at plus-92.) The offense has committed just two turnovers in seven games, Patrick Mahomes is averaging a healthy 8 yards per pass attempt, and now Rashee Rice is back, scoring twice in his season debut Sunday. It’s only a matter of time before the Chiefs are back atop the conference. Tracking former Patriots Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett: Couldn’t make the key plays down the stretch, but still had a solid game, completing 25 of 36 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-23 loss to the Packers. Hard not to notice that the Cardinals’ offense has been better the last two weeks with Brissett than it was for five weeks with Kyler Murray. 49ers QB Mac Jones: Improved to 4-1 this year with a 20-10 win over the Falcons on Sunday night, but had his shakiest game of the season, throwing for just 152 yards and an interception. Jones may have given Kyle Shanahan reason to go back to Brock Purdy next week against the Texans. 49ers WR Kendrick Bourne: After consecutive games with 142 receiving yards, Bourne caught just two passes for 14 yards against the Falcons. Chiefs WR Tyquan Thornton: Caught just one pass against the Raiders, but it went for 39 yards. Thornton has 311 yards and three touchdowns this year and is the only player with double-digit receptions averaging at least 20 yards per catch (22.2). Dolphins LB Matthew Judon: Was a healthy scratch against the Browns and has one quarterback hit and no sacks this season. A release or trade for a bag of footballs is coming soon. UNC coach Bill Belichick: Progress — only losing, 21-18, to California on Friday night. The 2-4 Tar Heels could have won it if not for a late fumble near the goal line. A tough home game against No. 16 Virginia awaits. Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia: Notched his second shutout of the season, 34-0, over Wisconsin. The Buckeyes have allowed just 41 points in seven games (5.9 average), the fewest since Florida State allowed 38 in 1993. Raiders minority owner Tom Brady: Still looking for that magic touch as an executive. He played a big part in picking the general manager, head coach, and starting quarterback for a team that’s 2-5 with four losses by double digits. Quick hits ⋅ Getting a bad feeling about Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who missed two games with a knee injury and now is questionable with a hamstring pull. The Commanders are 3-4, and everything that went right last year is going wrong this year. ⋅ Brissett said the Cardinals’ offense used a silent snap count all game — at home. Packers fans travel well. ⋅ The Bears have won four in a row, but I need to see a lot more before buying into Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson. ⋅ Carson Wentz is playing just well enough that the Vikings have an excuse not to give J.J. McCarthy the starting job back. ⋅ The three touchdown catches for Rams receiver Davante Adams totaled 4 yards. ⋅ The Colts have scored at least 30 points in five of seven games, and 29 points in another. ⋅ Don’t look now, but the Panthers are 4-3 and have won three in a row since getting crushed by the Patriots. Dave Canales is a solid coach. ⋅ Maye is the only quarterback this year with multiple touchdown passes of 50-plus air yards. ⋅ Matthew Stafford threw all five of his touchdown passes against the Jaguars’ blitz. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me five times … ⋅ The Cowboys’ Brandon Aubrey hit his fifth career field goal of 60-plus yards, most in NFL history. ⋅ Packers coach Matt LaFleur made the right call when he passed up a tying field goal to go for it on fourth and 2 late in the fourth quarter. The goal is to win the game, not tie it. “Scared money don’t make money,” LaFleur said after the gambit paid off in a 27-23 win.
