NFL Weeks 6-7 Recap

NFL weeks six and seven contained more exciting finishes and season-ending injuries, adding to an already captivating and exciting football season.

In week six, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone after getting sacked by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr in a game Minnesota won 23-10. Rodgers is expected to miss the rest of the season, with Brett Hundley now taking control of the Green Bay offense.

That same week, the Falcons held a 17-0 halftime lead over the Dolphins, but as we learned from Super Bowl LI, Atlanta isn’t exactly the best at hanging on to leads. Miami was able to come back with a pair of touchdown passes from Jay Cutler and a couple of field goals by Cody Parkey en route to a 20-17 victory.

The Chiefs ended up being the last team in the NFL to lose a game as Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers came into Arrowhead and won 19-13 behind 252 passing yards and one touchdown from Big Ben, 179 rushing yards and one TD on 32 carries from Le’Veon Bell, and eight catches for 155 yards, and a score from Antonio Brown.

In a battle of two 3-2 AFC East teams, the Patriots led the Jets 24-14 in the fourth quarter, but New York attempted to make it a one-score game when tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins took a short pass from quarterback Josh McCown and reached over the goal line for a four-yard TD. However, the officials reversed the call because the video replay showed that Sefarian-Jenkins slightly lost control of the ball when New England CB Malcolm Butler nudged it loose as the Jets tight end was crossing the plane of the goal line. Sefarian-Jenkins regained control of the ball after stepping out of bounds – resulting in a touchback. The Patriots won the game 24-17.

The Giants won for the first time this season as they took care of the Broncos 23-10. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins got a pick-six off Denver QB Trevor Siemian while Eli Manning passed for 128 yards and a score despite missing four of his receivers.

In week seven, the Chiefs hoped to get back on track at Oakland against their AFC West rival, the Raiders. In the final 10 seconds, with Oakland deep inside the red zone and Kansas City up 30-24, the Chiefs had the game won with zeroes on the clock, but two defensive penalties kept the game going. With no time left, Raiders QB Derek Carr found his target Michael Crabtree in the end zone for the game-tying two-yard touchdown, with Giorgio Tavecchio kicking the game-winning extra point to give Oakland a 31-30 victory, ending their four-game losing streak and dropping Kansas City’s record to 5-2.

In the Bears’ 17-3 win over the Panthers, Chicago rookie safety Eddie Jackson became the first NFL player to score multiple defensive touchdowns of 75 yards or more in a game. Jackson, fourth-rounder from Alabama, had a fumble returned for a touchdown in the first quarter and an interception returned for a TD in the second.

In a Super Bowl rematch, the Patriots beat the Falcons once again by the score of 23-7. There were no blown leads in this game, but there was some foggy weather that took place at Gilette Stadium.

Finally, the Eagles look like the real deal at the moment with the best record in the NFL (6-1). On Monday night, Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz looked mobile in the pocket, going 17-25 and passing for 268 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in a 34-24 win over the Redskins. At the same time, they lost Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters for the season with a knee injury. Despite the loss, Washington QB Kirk Cousins threw for 303 yards and three TDs.

The two teams that remain win-less are the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns.