Week 7 in the NFL was nothing short of a great week. Tons of comebacks, big performances and that one guy, Peyton Manning, passed some guy named Brett Favre, in career passing touchdowns. You might have heard of these guys, right?! Moving on from my facetiousness though, Manning passed for 4 touchdowns and now has a running total of 510 touchdowns to Favre’s career 508, after Denver’s route of San Francisco on Sunday night, 42-17. That moved the Broncos’ record to 5-1 and now a half game in front of 5-2, San Diego, who lost to Kansas City Sunday afternoon.
The Chargers and Broncos play on Thursday Night in a huge AFC West showdown, in what could be the game of the week! Though the Cardinals and Eagles might have a claim to that statement. The last time these two teams played was in the postseason, as the Chargers went into Mile High and lost to the Broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs. Prior to that though, last regular season, San Diego did deliver the only home field loss of the season to the Broncos. In a 27-20 victory, the Chargers took the lead in the last minute of the second quarter and never looked back. Controlling the clocks for close to 40 minutes, 38:49 to be exact, and keeping the touchdown king, yardage king, everything king, Peyton Manning off the field. Seems like a great gameplan, right?! However, this is a pretty high powered offense of the Chargers, when it comes to the throwing game, averaging close to 280 yards a game. The running game is not quite what it once was though, and especially not like it was in mid December of last year. The Chargers had 177 total rushing yards, and Ryan Mathews carried that load for 127 of that 177. Thing is, Mathews is banged up and the San Diego rushing offense is averaging under 100 yards a game at 90, and only 69 yards in Sunday’s loss at home versus the Chiefs. On the other side of it, Manning and the Broncos are as sharp as ever.
Thursday nights game versus San Diego is the last home game, before Denver heads on the road for three straight, including the overplayed quarterback match-up, but relevant game against the Patriots. But it’s not all just about the Broncos. Granted, Peyton Manning did accomplish an incredible feat Sunday evening. But, I think it would be boring to turn this into a “Peyton Manning love fest”, other people can do that for you. I know how great Manning is. You all know how great Manning is. So there you go! Enough said! I don’t want to undersell it, but I kind of just did. Let’s focus on Manning’s career, when Manning is retired and can have his career looked at with finality. We know this much; Manning is a sure fire, first ballet, Hall of Famer!!
How about this in Week 7… Dallas continues to show they are here for the long haul. Or one would think. 6-1, after beating rival, New York. The Giants and Cowboys are always a close meeting, splitting their last 8 meetings, going into Sunday afternoons game, but separating themselves late in this game and relying on DeMarco Murray, who is proving to be such a weapon for Dallas. Stop Murray. And you change Dallas’ offense. Thing is… no team has done it in seven straight games, as Murray has run 100 yards in each game to start the season. Now an NFL record. The Cowboys can’t be overshadowing the whole division though, as the Eagles, who were on a bye week, are 5-1 and will next be in action against the powerhouse, Cardinals.
The Patriots have had all their troubles so far in seven weeks, but when it’s all said and done, New England is still right where they need to be. First place in the AFC East, at 5-2. Though the Bills are right there, a game behind New England.
Baltimore has the best defense, in terms of least points given up, but right behind them, are the Lions, giving up only one more total point so far this season. Both teams of which are 5-2, leading their North divisions in the AFC and NFC, respectively. Both the Lions and Ravens won their game today, Baltimore in a runaway and the Lions in a come from behind win.
The Colts won their fifth straight over the weekend, crushing the Bengals, 27-0. Moving Indy’s record to 5-2, and could have a two game lead in the AFC South, depending on Houston’s Monday Night Football match-up versus Pittsburgh. Andrew Luck continues to play like he is on a mission. Luck has thrown for over 300 yards, in six of his seven games, and nearly has a 3 to 1, in the touchdowns to interceptions ratio, 19-7.
The NFC South has little to be desired right now. The leader in the division is Carolina, at 3-3-1. The Panthers were run off the field by the 5-2 Packers, 38-17 on Sunday afternoon, and have only one win in their last 5 tries. But, because the Saints and Falcons are struggling, at 2-4 and 2-5, respectively, the Panthers are still in a good spot. The defending champion Seattle Seahawks come rolling into Carolina, not on the best of terms either, losing to St. Louis, their second consecutive loss of the season. The Seahawks haven’t been quite the same on the road, going 1-2, while a return home for the Panthers seems like just what the doctor ordered, as Carolina is 2-1, with their last home victory, 31-24, against the Bears.
And in the NFC West, it’s the Arizona Cardinals proving that a stingy defense, good rushing offensively and an experienced quarterback, like Carson Palmer, is the perfect formula for being division leaders at 5-1, a game and a half up on San Francisco and Seattle. The lone loss for the Cardinals, was on the road, in week 5, at the hands of the Broncos, 41-20. The Cardinals have only had one division game thus far, though it was a home win against the 49er’s, so a good start so far. Big tests for Arizona are coming up in the next two weeks, with 5-1 Philly coming into Arizona, followed by a road contest in Dallas, before a divisional matchup with St. Louis.