Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Every Tuesday, Williamson will look at four major developments from the previous weekend of NFL action.
Which team made the biggest statement in Week 7?
Some of the league’s big dogs - like the Patriots, Steelers, and Seahawks - showed they're not going away anytime soon. A talented team with big expectations, the Raiders also showed they shouldn't be buried after their thrilling Thursday night win over Kansas City. The Bills, Jaguars, Saints, Rams, and Dolphins won’t go away.
But it was the Chargers who made the biggest statement by shutting out the Denver Broncos.
All of a sudden, Los Angeles is right in the middle of the AFC West playoff race. And you know what? They might be atop the standings if they just had a reliable kicker for the first portion of the season. The Chargers have won three in a row and, while they have a difficult upcoming schedule, they made a statement to the NFL that they're not dead quite yet.
Are the Patriots back to being the AFC's best team?
Maybe, but that's selling the Steelers short. We know Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and New England have a Rock-Paper-Scissors relationship in the AFC with the Steelers as the team the Chiefs don’t want to see, the Chiefs as the team the Patriots don’t want to see, and the Patriots as the team the Steelers don’t want to see.
Tom Brady is playing at an elite level right now, and New England’s offense remains incredibly strong. The Patriots dismantled Atlanta on Sunday night, including when the Falcons had the ball. But the Falcons' offense isn’t what it was a year ago and we can’t forget New England has allowed over 300 passing yards to every other offense it's faced.
It's safe to say, though, that the mental mistakes on the back end of the Patriots' defense that led to so many big plays weren't going to continue, but let's not go calling New England’s defense “fixed” quite yet.
While the Chiefs have lost two tough games in a row - against the Steelers and then on the road for a Thursday game in Oakland - they're still very much a contender. But the Steelers, on the back of their running game and defense, is the AFC team playing the best right now.
Is it time for the Bengals to give Joe Mixon the lead role?
Absolutely!
Since Bill Lazor took over as the Bengals' offensive coordinator, the team has acknowledged it's Mixon’s backfield. There's still a role for Giovanni Bernard, especially in passing situations as Mixon was overrun Sunday in a glaring instance. However, protection has never been Bernard’s strong suit, and Mixon is the bigger and stronger player for such duties.
But here's the crime: Mixon didn’t have one carry in the second half in Pittsburgh. Sure, the Steelers were leading, but Cincinnati was actually having success handing it to Mixon in the first half even though the Bengals were overmatched in the trenches.
Therein lies the problem: The Bengals' offensive line just isn’t good enough and, since they've done little to address it over the past two years, there's little reason to believe it'll improve during the season's second half. Mixon is a fantastic talent who deserves tons of touches, but his rookie year projects to be a rocky one because of his blocking.
Which NFC South contender is most likely to fall short?
Well, I guess it depends on how you look at this division.
First off, when previewing the season, I thought the NFC South was the best division in football and projected the Panthers to win it, followed by Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and New Orleans, who I expected to however around .500. The Saints have been the only pleasant surprise of the group, though, and as it stands right now, is the top contender from the division.
New Orleans is the only NFC South team that's scored more points than they've allowed. I still think Carolina could rebound, but it's hard to swallow that it just lost to a team that attempted seven passes.
Atlanta is in third place at 3-3 after getting abused in New England, but the reality is the team very well could be 1-5 after barely beating Detroit and Chicago. The Falcons did beat Green Bay, but the Packers were dealing with a multitude of significant injuries.
As for the Bucs, they're amongst the NFL's most disappointing teams. They could rebound for sure and are talented, but their defense is really worrisome, particularly the pass rush. To answer the question: Tampa Bay is the team in the NFC South most likely to fall short, but it's Atlanta that's least likely to live up to most people’s preseason expectations.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
