Panthers Comeback Highlights Week 7 Takeaways
Outside of Derek Anderson and Blake Bortles, it was a fine day to try eating a chicken sandwich and watching football at the same time (just stay away from those two guys).
We saw the sensational, the unforgivable and the unexpected in Week 7. From Cordarrelle Patterson going from goat to hero in the same quarter to Justin Tucker missing his first extra point attempt of his career, we got a treat from a slate that on paper was mediocre at best.
Want to boost the viewership ratings for the NFL? Tell them that a coach who’s team just got shutout 21-0 the week before would make a decision to go for the win over overtime.
Be sure to also tell them that New England came within a yard from allowing ‘Mitch’ Trubisky’s Hail Mary to Kevin White to tie the game with time expired to be a thing.
With so much to talk about, we’ll jump into my takeaways from a great day of action in the NFL.
Let’s get started!
Panthers Rally In Fourth Quarter To Upend Eagles
Cam Newton and the Panthers left their offense in Carolina for the first three quarters at Lincoln Financial Field.
When the fourth quarter came around, a team looking like they had also lost their will to fight back did.
The Carolina Panthers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 21-17 on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.
Led by Cam Newton, the Panthers overcame a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to upend the defending champs.
Greg Olsen’s late touchdown reception from Cam Newton capped a 21-point fourth quarter as the defense held on for the win against the struggling Eagles.
Cam Newton led the way with 269 passing yards and two touchdown passes. He rushed for 49 rushing yards on the ground in addition to his performance throwing the ball.
The Panthers couldn’t block for Cam Newton in the first three quarters. Newton — flustered for much of the day — was mostly inaccurate and off his game because of it. Newton was hurried or hit on most of his dropbacks as Philadelphia mostly limited Carolina’s rushing attack that saw Christian McCaffrey rush for 29 yards on seven carries.
Carson Wentz (310 passing yards, 2 TDs) and the Eagles grinded their way to a 17-0 lead after three quarters, but Newton and the Panthers flipped the switch when it mattered most.
After 145 total yards and zero points in the first 45 minutes of the game on a brisk day in Philadelphia, Carolina’s offense used three touchdown drives that covered 237 total yards to hand Philadelphia its fourth loss of the season.
Carolina (4-2) solved their road woes to begin the season as they picked up an important victory having already dropped two conference games.
For tiebreaker purposes, beating Philadelphia could be the difference in a playoff spot or missing the playoffs if the Panthers are unable to win the NFC South.
Sloppy Patriots Use Special Teams To Win Fourth Straight
Bill Belichick will have a lot to stew about in the film room following the Patriots mostly bewildering performance on both sides of the ball at Soldier Field.
For the New England Patriots, they were aided by an unlikely unit to help them to a fourth consecutive win on Sunday.
The New England Patriots hung on to beat the Chicago Bears 38-31 on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field thanks to a pair of special teams touchdowns.
From drive extending penalties, dropped interceptions in the endzone, losing containment on scrambles by Mitchell Trubisky and turnovers that led to points, there’s plenty to take away New England’s ugly performance (Did I mention the Hail Mary at the end of the game?).
Doing so though would be ignoring the fact that in four straight games now New England has scored 38+ points.
It would also ignore that wide receiver Josh Gordon, who’s becoming more and more apart of New England’s offensive attack, recorded four receptions for 100 receiving yards on a day where New England played on without Rob Gronkowski and lost running back Sony Michel to a knee injury in the second quarter.
New England (5-2) has issues along the defensive side of the ball for certain as their speed at linebacker as well as on the defensive line made the susceptible to giving up 81 rushing yards on six carries by Mitchell Trubisky.
The fact of the matter is though, New England, who saw all three of their AFC East foes fall on Sunday, are the clear front runner in a division they’ve dominated for nearly two decades.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots will have a chance to clear another hurdle in winning their 10th consecutive division title when they visit New Era Field next Monday night to face the Buffalo Bills.
Redskins Win NFC East Duel Over Cowboys
The Washington Redskins like their chances to win the NFC East this season and in their first division showdown of the season with another hopeful foe, made a statement.
The Washington Redskins held on to beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 on Sunday afternoon at FedEx Field.
In what was mostly a defensive struggle with explosive plays sprinkled in, Alex Smith and the Washington Redskins did just enough as a late touchdown by the defense proved to be the difference.
Redskins’ linebacker Ryan Kerrigan would force a huge strip sack of Dak Prescott near the Cowboys own endzone late in the fourth quarter that would be recovered by linebacker Preston Smith for a touchdown.
That would prove critical after a late flurry by the Dallas Cowboys allowed Dallas an opportunity to tie the game and send this NFC East battle into overtime.
Dallas would have a critical snap infraction penalty called on them before an 47-yard field goal attempt by Brett Maher. Now a 52-yard field goal attempt, the Cowboys kicker would miss off the left uprights as the Redskins escaped with the win.
The Redskins have not necessarily dominated when they win, but having a quarterback in Alex Smith (178 passing yards, 1 TD) who does not turn the football over, a rushing attack led by the ageless Adrian Peterson (24 carries, 99 rushing yards), and a defense that outside of a bad Week 5 loss to the Saints has proven to be formidable, Jay Gruden has a team that the rest of the NFC East should take notice of.
Chiefs Dominate Bengals At Arrowhead
Following their first loss of the season, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill promised the Chiefs would be at their best when the team returned home to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
He may just be a prophet.
The Kansas City Chiefs bounced back with a 45-10 blowout victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium.
Patrick Mahomes led the attack with 358 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception as the Chiefs offense put up 551 total yards of offense vs the Cincinnati Bengals, a season-high to this point.
While Mahomes — who broke Kurt Warner’s touchdown record through the first eight games of a career — will get the fanfare, it was Kareem Hunt who stole the show for what may be the run of the year to this point.
With Kansas City driving on their first possession, Kareem Hunt would take a 2nd and 10 carry and create a highlight reel to remember at season’s end. The second-year running back who’s tough to tackle in open space broke free from a crowd of Bengals before hurdling a defender and carrying four more with him for a 21-yard gain down to the Bengals 6-yard line.
Kareem Hunt finished the game with 141 yards from scrimmage while scoring three touchdowns on his electrifying night in front of all of Chiefs Kingdom.
Much maligned to begin this season, Kansas City’s defense limited Cincinnati to 239 total yards on the night. Chiefs safety Ron Parker intercepted Andy Dalton early in the third quarter and returned the interception for a 33-yard return.
Kansas City (6-1) flexed its muscles on a night where the only negative to come out of it was a ill advised throw by Patrick Mahomes down the field into triple coverage that got intercepted.
The Chiefs offensive firepower is something that teams are scrambling to adjust to. Through seven weeks there has not been much of an answer as Kansas City has scored 30 or more points in six of their seven games to begin the season.
They’ll take aim at the Denver Broncos next Sunday when they welcome Denver to Arrowhead Stadium.
Gurley, Rams Pound 49ers To Improve To 7-0
If not for Patrick Mahomes, Todd Gurley may be running away with the NFL MVP Award.
While that’s not the case, it didn’t stop Gurley from running over the San Francisco 49ers as the Rams have yet to taste defeat.
In a dominant display, the Los Angeles Rams capped a three-game West coast road trip with a 39-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium to improve to 7-0 this season.
Todd Gurley followed a career-high 208 rushing yards vs the Denver Broncos with three touchdowns vs the San Francisco 49ers defense. It was a modest day for Gurley rushing the ball, who had only 15 attempts while rushing for 64 rushing yards.
Showing their depth at running back to help spell Gurley when needed, running back Malcom Brown rushed for a team-high 65 rushing yards on Sunday afternoon.
Jared Goff bounced back from a rough game vs the Denver Broncos with 202 passing yards and two touchdown passes against San Francisco, who fell to 1-6 on the season.
Defensively, the Rams turned in a much needed performance as they forced C.J. Beathard and the 49ers into four turnovers on the day while limiting them to 228 total yards.
Sean McVay and the Rams figure to get more of a challenge next week at home vs the Green Bay Packers, who are coming off a bye week.
No matter, the Los Angeles Rams continue to look like the best team in the NFL as it’s only unbeaten team remaining.
What are your thoughts on the NFL Week 7 action from Sunday? Leave your comments below!
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