Admin October 22, 2024
Lions hand Vikings first loss, Russell Wilson cooks in Steelers debut
Mackenzie Salmon breaks down the top storylines from Week 7 in the NFL.
Sports Seriously
Chris Godwin’s left ankle injury was brutal, devastating, hard to watch and disappointing. And it leaves the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to navigate their season without one of their best players.
While Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles was questioned for leaving Godwin in the game down 10 points against the Baltimore Ravens with 1:34 left, all parties involved thought Tampa Bay would run a couple plays and see if they could make something more out of the 23-point deficit they faced.
“Our prayers go out to him,” Bowles said of Godwin after the 41-31 loss. “Chris is a hell of a player and a hell of a human being. Not much you can say. You feel bad for him, and unfortunately, they’re not going to cancel the games. We got to step up and move on. But our hearts are heavy.”
USA TODAY’s NFL overreactions from Week 7 begin with the Buccaneers, who had a chance to contend in the NFC this season.
Bucs’ chances of winning NFC South are next to nil
Now, the NFC South title is out of question for Tampa Bay if Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons can get their season together. The Buccaneers will be fighting for a wildcard playoff spot at season’s end.
Tampa Bay must bear the loss of Godwin, who was leading the NFL with 50 receptions and second with 576 yards and five touchdowns in a resurgent year. They’ll also have to deal with Mike Evans’ hamstring injury for at least the next 2-4 weeks.
Tampa Bay may not have been as strong as Detroit, Minnesota or Green Bay since Packers quarterback Jordan Love returned to action. But they certainly had a chance at full strength.
It’s going to be Chiefs-Ravens in AFC title game again, isn’t it?
First of all, this isn’t a complaint. Who would complain about Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson on the biggest playoff stage if they can play against each other again?
Kansas City Chief coach Andy Reid has shown he’s so creative offensively, it doesn’t matter which players he loses to injury. As long as he has Mahomes to orchestrate his offense and some reliable playmakers, the 6-0 Chiefs can rely on their standout defense to contend for their third consecutive Super Bowl as they showed in another win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Meanwhile, the Ravens offense continues to become more refined every week. It was far from a finished product in Week 1. It will likely evolve some more. But the Ravens (5-2) have figured out how to use their weapons, evident from Jackson’s five touchdowns against the Buccaneers. And that’s bad news for the rest of the NFL.
Lions are the best team in the NFC, and it’s not close
Jared Goff, Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions are on a roll with their fourth consecutive victory after a 31-29 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Goff torched the best defense in the NFL, led by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Goff was 10 of 11 for 164 yards with two touchdowns, when he was under pressure for a season-high 51.7% of his dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats.
With Jahmyr Gibbs running wild, David Montgomery overcoming a serious injury, and passing targets like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta, Goff is leading one of the most potent offenses in the NFL with chemistry from last season’s NFC title game run propelling this season’s start.
Jameson Williams’ two-game PED suspension will be a hiccup they’ll overcome because they’ve mostly played without him more than they have with him since he was drafted.
The Lions have taken the torch as the best team in the NFC this season, and it isn’t close.
Niners’ Super Bowl window hasn’t slammed shut just yet
It would be so easy to write off the San Francisco 49ers after another loss to the Chiefs, and their fourth loss of the season – especially considering their injury situation. But San Francisco’s Super Bowl window isn’t completely shut just yet.
Christian McCaffrey is going to return sometime in November. Deebo Samuel will recover from pneumonia. Jauan Jennings will heal from his hip injury. George Kittle will gut out his sprained foot. Dre Greenlaw will make return from last year’s Achilles injury. The list goes on.
The 49ers didn’t lose their fourth game until Week 16 when they reached the Super Bowl last season, but they’ve been here before. They lost their fourth game in Week 7 in 2021 and 2022, and still reached the NFC title game.
All San Francisco must do is ride this wave out. They’re still talented enough to be a playoff contender by season’s end.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.