Once again, the NFL got going early on Sunday. Well, the Rams did. The Jaguars, not so much.
On Sunday morning in London, Los Angeles throttled host Jacksonville, winning 35–7, improving its record to 5–2 and moving into first place in the NFC West. The Rams have a strong case as the league’s best team. Meanwhile, the Jaguars dropped their second straight, falling to 4–3 entering their bye week.
The early slate was smaller than usual, with only six games, but there were plenty of storylines. For starters, Mike Vrabel returned to Nashville to visit his old team, with the Patriots easily handling the Mike McCoy–led Titans, 31–13. In Kansas City, the Chiefs welcomed back Rashee Rice after a six-game suspension and watched him catch two touchdowns in a 31–0 demolition of the two-win Raiders.
In the late window, the Commanders and Cowboys will renew their rivalry for the 66th consecutive season in a battle for second place in the NFC East. Finally, the Colts head to SoFi Stadium for a date with the Chargers in a battle of two division leaders.
GOOD: Patriots a legitimate threat thanks to Vrabel and Maye
It would have been a positive, meaningful step if the Patriots ended this season after 17 games while believing Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye were the answers at football’s two most-critical positions.
Instead, the Patriots are a bona fide playoff threat with the upside to make noise once there.
After beating the Bills on Sunday Night Football in Week 5, New England avoided the dreaded letdown game and handled the Saints on the road. Once again away from home on Sunday in Vrabel’s return to Tennessee, the Patriots rolled to a 31–13 win while Maye completed 21-of-23 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, running their record to 5–2 and first place in the AFC East.
New England had a balanced attack, rushing for 175 yards on 4.9 yards per carry, while seven different men caught at least two passes. Stefon Diggs didn’t go for 100 yards as he did two of the past three weeks, but accounted for 69 yards on seven receptions.
If you’re expecting New England to start faltering, you could be waiting a while. The Patriots have the two-win Browns next week before hosting the Falcons. After that, a road date with the Buccaneers before hosting the winless Jets. The Giants, Dolphins and Jets (again) remain on the slate, along with the Flacco-led Bengals. It’s a path to being very competitive to not only reach the postseason, but perhaps host a game or two once there.
BAD: Raiders are hurt, down and not getting up
How bad was the Raiders’ 31–0 to the Chiefs on Sunday? Kansas City pulled a majority of its starters in the third quarter.
Las Vegas was getting outplayed in every conceivable way. The Chiefs had 406 yards, while the Raiders had 70. Kansas City had 29 first downs, while Las Vegas had two. Additionally, the Chiefs had touchdown drives of 92, 84, 94 and 65 yards to start the game, reaching paydirt on all four of their initial possessions.
At 2–5, the Raiders will enter their bye week in last place of the AFC West, the only team below .500. They are also dealing with injuries, as edge rusher Maxx Crosby left in the second quarter of Sunday's blowout loss with a knee injury. Vegas’s All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers (knee) and receiver Jakobi Meyers (knee/ankle) also missed the game.
Pete Carroll was a much-ballyhooed hire this offseason, as was the acquisition of quarterback Geno Smith for a third-round pick. So far, it hasn’t worked out. Smith leads the league with 10 interceptions, while Carroll hasn’t turned around what has become a 20-year malaise for the Silver & Black.
UGLY: The Dolphins have no choice but to start cleaning house
Through six weeks, the Browns were the NFL’s only team without scoring at least 20 points in a game. Cleveland crossed that threshold on the first play of the second half. Trailing 17–6, Tua Tagovailoa threw a 34-yard pick-six to the newly acquired Tyson Campbell. Ultimately, the Browns won 31–6.
At 1–6, the Dolphins are careening into tire-fire territory. Not only are they trending toward a top-five pick in the 2026 draft, but the Dolphins are also dealing with Tagovailoa’s postgame comments from last week regarding people being late to players-only meetings. Tagovailoa was even worse on the field, throwing three interceptions, tying him with Geno Smith for the league-lead at 10. He was eventually replaced by Quinn Ewers.
Facing a one-win Browns team, Miami managed only 219 total yards while taking 11 penalties. The Dolphins converted 1-of-13 third downs while going 0-of-2 in the red zone. It’s a continuation of terrible football, which includes blowing a 17–0 lead to the Panthers, and losing 33–8 in the season opener against the Colts.
With the Titans firing Brian Callahan before Week 7, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross can move on from Mike McDaniel without being the first to fire a coach this season. And after the performance everyone saw in windy, rainy Cleveland, what argument is there to retain McDaniel at this juncture?
In the days ahead, general manager Chris Grier should trade edge rusher Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, and field calls on running back De’Von Achane. It’s over, in every possible way.
GOOD: The Rams could be undefeated if not for their special teams
The conversation around this year’s parity is legitimate, with no unbeaten teams remaining and few teams playing quality football every week. But if the Rams hadn’t fallen apart on special teams twice this season, they might be seen as the clear-cut favorite.
In Week 3 on the road against the Eagles, Los Angeles had a 26–7 lead and could have won the game by hitting one of two fourth-quarter field goals. Instead, Joshua Karty had both attempts blocked, including one on the game’s final play in a meltdown defeat to Philadelphia.
Two weeks later, the Rams welcomed in the injury-ravaged 49ers on Thursday night, losing on a missed extra point and field goal, albeit the latter being from 53 yards. At 71.4% for the season entering Week 7, the Rams have the worst field goal success rate in the league alongside the Falcons.
Los Angeles is atop the NFC West and only a half-game back of the Buccaneers for the conference’s top mark. Matthew Stafford entered Sunday leading the NFL with 1,684 passing yards while ranking fourth with 12 touchdown passes. He lit up Jacksonville for 182 yards and five scores, putting him firmly in the MVP conversation with Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes.
The Rams could easily be 7–0, something to consider as the year rolls on.
BAD: Jacksonville’s playoff hopes are shrinking with poor defensive play
The Jaguars are 4–3 and still firmly in the AFC playoff picture, but things are trending sharply in the wrong direction.
Jacksonville lost last weekend to the Seahawks before being blown out 35–7 by the Rams at Wembley Stadium in London. For the second consecutive game, the Jaguars took double-digit penalties, giving themselves almost no chance to win against a quality NFC West opponent.
Jacksonville’s problems were on full display against the Chiefs in Week 5, when Kansas City rolled up 476 yards and 28 points. Yet the Jaguars found a way to win, thanks to 13 penalties on the Chiefs, along with a Devin Lloyd 99-yard pick-six. While Liam Coen’s team deserves credit for winning, relying on more than a dozen flags and a 99-yard defensive score isn’t a repeatable recipe.
Over the first four weeks of the season, Jacksonville led the league with 13 takeaways. As a result, the defense allowed 18 points per game. Since then, the Jaguars have surrendered 24 points over the past three games, with only one total takeaway.
If the takeaways dry up, and the Jaguars don’t get elite play from Trevor Lawrence (who has nine touchdown passes against five interceptions thus far), the back half of the year could be ugly.
UGLY: Pittsburgh’s defense against anybody and everybody
On Thursday night, the Steelers could have gained a stranglehold on the AFC North. Instead, Pittsburgh lost 33–31 to the Bengals and, in the process, exposed why they might be frauds.
The Steelers have allowed 374.7 yards per game, 28th in the NFL coming into Sunday. The figure is bad enough, but it is made even worse when you factor in Pittsburgh’s opposing quarterbacks, including Justin Fields, Carson Wentz, Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel.
Against Cincinnati, a team on a four-game losing streak before beating the Steelers, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin had no answers for Flacco & Co. Ja’Marr Chase posted a career-high 16 receptions on 23 targets, many coming against corner Jalen Ramsey. The Bengals also ran for 142 yards on 6.2 yards per carry. This is from an offense that ranks 29th with 3.7 YPC even with that explosion.
Pittsburgh has other problems, including an offense that has been outgained in five of six games, while Aaron Rodgers ranks 34th of 34 qualifying quarterbacks with 3.7 completed air yards per completion. But if the defense can’t start playing well beyond the pass rush of Nick Herbig and T.J. Watt (8.5 sacks and 11 QB hits between them), the Steelers will struggle to become a true contender.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Good, Bad and Ugly in NFL Week 7: Patriots Have the Look of a Playoff Team.