NFL Week 7: Winners & Losers

Unpredictability has been the common theme of the 2022 NFL season so far. And that trend continued in Week 7. From Tom Brady and the Bucs losing to a one-win Panthers team to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers teetering to their first three-game losing streak in four years, there was plenty of wild action across the league on Sunday. Here are my three winners and losers from Sunday's games:

Winner: Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals offence hasn't been performing at a bad level (23 points per game throughout the first six weeks), but they clearly weren't performing at the level that we know they're certainly capable of heading into a home game against the Atlanta Falcons. But for some reason, the Falcons (without their best cover corner A.J. Terrell) decided to play a lot of single high coverage against Cincy and safe to say, it didn't go very well for the Dirty Birds, as Joe Burrow carved up the Falcons defence for 481 yards and 3 touchdowns. The offence also got monster performances from their wide receivers as Tyler Boyd (155 yards, one TD) and Ja'Marr Chase (130 yards, 2 TDs) were unstoppable. Sure, the Falcons aren't exactly the greatest measuring stick. But the Bengals reminded us just how dangerous they can be and why they're still undoubtedly a threat in the AFC.

Loser: Green Bay Packers

The Packers had already dropped two straight games for the first time ever in the Matt Lafleur era. But dropping your third straight game, this time against a backup QB in Taylor Heinicke? Yeah, the team from Titletown certainly has a lot of issues. From Aaron Rodgers playing at a mediocre level, all the way to a defence that's playing well below their talent level, the NFC's number one seed from the past two seasons has their work cut out for them with a very tough schedule ahead, starting with a trip to Buffalo this week on Sunday Night Football. Good luck, Green Bay.

 Winner: Patrick Mahomes/Chiefs offence

A week after losing a close game to the mighty Bills, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs had an excellent chance to bounce back against an elite San Francisco 49ers defence. And they did that and then some as Mahomes threw for 423 yards, and 3 touchdowns while compiling 12.4 yards per attempt and an eye-popping 132.4 passer rating. They clearly don't miss Tyreek Hill either, as JuJu Smith Schuster (124 yards, TD), Marquez Valdes Scantling (111 yards), and Mecole Hardman (60 total yards, 3 total TDs) have done a great job of complementing Travis Kelce (98 yards) thus far. This is a deadly offence that's only going to get better as Mahomes gains more chemistry with his new aforementioned weapons.

Loser: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers suffered the most embarrassing loss of any team so far this season with a 21-3 loss to a Panthers team that just fired their head coach and traded their best player in Christian McCaffrey. The biggest problem with this team right now is that they can't run the football (46 rushing yards vs Carolina, 2.9 yards per rush attempt), which is putting all of the pressure on Tom Brady and the passing attack. And simply put, this offensive line isn't good enough right now for Brady to just drop back 50 times and lead an effective offence. Luckily for the Bucs, they're still somehow in first place in a horrible NFC South division so they still can't be counted out.

Winner: Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings didn't even play on Sunday as they enjoyed their bye week. But with the Packers losing to the Commanders, Minnesota (who is currently 5-1) essentially have a three-game lead over the Packers in the NFC North. And the Vikings' next two games are against the 3-4 Cardinals at home and the 3-4 Commanders in Washington. There's a very solid chance that the Vikes could be 7-1 heading into a Week 10 matchup with Buffalo while having a chance to put the division away before December. Kevin O'Connell's team is sitting quite pretty right now.

Loser: Indianapolis Colts

The Colts have already played 5 division games so far this season. And their combined record in those games is 1-3-1. That right there explains why the Colts haven't been able to win the AFC South since 2014. You can't win the division if you can't beat the teams in your division. And now, you decide to bench Matt Ryan? I know he's not playing well, but why would you replace him with an unproven quarterback in Sam Ehlinger when you're still just one game behind the Titans in the division race?  At some point, the Colts have to stop trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and draft a young quarterback to get back to championship contention.