NFL Week 7: Five things we liked and didn't like, including Jalen Hurts' career day, Giants' collapse

It's already been a long season for the Cardinals, and it's not even the end of October. A 2-0 start feels like ages ago. They've lost five straight games by a combined total of 13 points. They lost on walk-off scores on the final play of the game three straight weeks.

Two weeks ago, they blew a 21-6 lead against the lowly Titans thanks to Emari Demercado dropping the ball inches before scoring a touchdown (Jonathan Gannon then got fined for his sideline interaction with Demercado) and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson fumbling on an interception return and gifting the Titans a touchdown. Last week, a potential go-ahead drive ended with a turnover on downs at the Indianapolis 9-yard line. This week, another potential game-winning drive petered out at the Green Bay 27.

Kyler Murray hasn't played in the last two contests due to a foot injury. And this is where things take an even stranger twist: Jacoby Brissett has looked very good in those games. Significantly better than Murray, even. Brissett is averaging 7.4 yards per attempt compared to Murray's 6.0. Brissett's 4-1 touchdown to interception ratio clears Murray's 6-3 ratio. In more advanced stats, Brissett has a better expected points added per play and a lower off-target rate.

Perhaps most importantly, Brissett has an 11.7% explosive play rate, vastly superior to Murray's 3.6%. Why? Because Brissett is actually comfortable running the offense Drew Petzing wants: Brissett has been under center for 43% of his dropbacks compared to 20.9%. Brissett is averaging 8.8 air yards per attempt, one of the highest averages in the NFL. Murray is at 5.8, the lowest in the NFL.

Petzing coached under Kevin Stefanski, who similarly wants to use under-center play action passing, before becoming the Cardinals' offensive coordinator. Fake the handoff, drop back, and let it rip. Brissett does that. Murray doesn't. The partnership between Petzing and Murray has been an inconsistent one, in part because of some basic limitations in Murray's game.

I didn't know where to put this trend. That's why it ended up here. Was Brissett's performance something we liked in Week 7? Sure. But was it also a frustrating reminder that the offense actually looks better when Murray, the franchise quarterback, isn't playing? Absolutely.

Much like the Cardinals as a whole, even the good comes with negative feelings. That's what a 2-5 record does.

Here's what else stuck out from the week that was.

Five things we liked in Week 7

Jalen Hurts has one of his best games when it was needed most

After losing to the Broncos and Giants -- and managing just 17 points in both games -- the Eagles had big questions.

Jalen Hurts answered them perfectly. Like, perfect passer rating perfectly: 19 for 23, 326 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Those numbers speak for themselves, but how Hurts got there was also very encouraging. Hurts completed a career-high five passes 20 or more yards downfield; he had averaged just 1.8 such completions per game this season prior to that.

Three of those five went for touchdowns. The final one put the game on ice.

Now that is some highlight reel.

A couple of other things to note:

• Hurts went 5-for-7 for 69 passing yards when pressured Sunday. The 9.9 yards per attempt were his best in those situations this season.
• Hurts' touchdown to Smith came from under center. Overall, he went 4-for-4 for 121 yards on throws from under center. Both the completions and the yards on those throws were career highs.

Micah Parsons dominates

After one of the wildest offseasons in recent memory, Micah Parsons had been relatively quiet early in his Packers career. He was still ramping up from a back injury and the fact that he had missed all of the preseason, and he wasn't bad per se. In fact, his 18.2% pressure rate was seventh-highest of more than 100 players who had at least 100 pass-rush snaps. The sack output (2.5) just wasn't matching.

Then Sunday happened: three sacks, eight pressures, one game plan destroyed. He had one sack as the right defensive end and two as the left defensive end, and his sack with under a minute left may very well have saved the game.

He's now top 10 in sacks and top five in pressure rate. That's more like it.

No Puka, no problem for the Rams

Sean McVay is one of the NFL's best offensive minds, and on Sunday in London, he showed that's not just because of his ability to play to his strengths, but his ability to improvise.

With Puka Nacua out, the Rams ran 24 plays in "13" personnel (one running back, three tight ends), the most by any team in a game since 2021 and tied for the Rams' most in a game since tracking began in 2007. On those 24 plays, the Rams averaged 0.29 expected points added. For comparison's sake, the Colts lead the entire NFL this year with 0.21 expected points added per play overall.

All this came from an offense that had used the most "11" personnel (one running back, one tight end) in the NFL. It also came after the Rams spent most of the week in Baltimore before playing abroad. For McVay and co. to be able to incorporate this game plan is remarkable. For them to do it in those circumstances is amazing.

Colby Parkinson led the team with 47 receiving yards. Terrance Ferguson had a 31-yard touchdown catch, Tyler Higbee had three catches, and Davis Allen had one.

"When we've got four legitimate NFL tight ends and you got them all up and active, let's take advantage of that," McVay said postgame. "... As the season goes, you might have an idea of what you think you're going to be, but it's about utilizing all the personnel that you do have, and I think this is an exciting thing for us to be able to build on."

Patriots' defensive front is much improved

The Titans have made a lot of defenses look good this year, and the Patriots were the latest. New England sacked Cameron Ward five times and picked him off once and limited Tennessee to 39 yards rushing.

Often, we focus on teams upgrading their roster from OK to good or great, but sometimes, going from bad to just OK or even good is even more important. The Patriots have done just that on defense. Milton Williams and Harold Landry, the team's two top defensive free agents, have 3.5 and 5.5 sacks, respectively. K'Lavon Chaisson, a former first-round pick who didn't live up to that billing in Jacksonville, has 4.5. Robert Spillane has tied things together nicely at linebacker.

Last year, New England was 31st in pressure rate and 32nd in sack rate. This year, it is 19th and 12th, respectively. No, those aren't elite numbers. But they're viable ones. The Patriots are 5-2 and face the NFL's easiest schedule (by far) the rest of the season. Times are good again in Foxborough.

Dan Campbell's Lions

It's been 51 games since the Lions lost back-to-back contests, and they're 12-0 following a loss over that span.

Monday night, they did it with a bunch of guys you probably have never heard of.

• Arthur Maulet joined the practice squad two weeks ago. He had five tackles and an interception.
• Erick Hallett had never played a defensive snap in the NFL. He tied for the team lead with eight tackles.
• Tyrus Wheat, claimed in late August after being cut by the Cowboys, had a half-sack in his entire career. He had 1.5 Monday.
• Nick Whiteside II signed with the practice squad Oct. 1. He had never played a defensive snap for Detroit. He had three pass breakups.

They're playing because eight(!) members of their defensive secondary did not play due to injury. A ninth, Brian Branch, was suspended, and a 10th, Rock Ya-Sin, got hurt during the game.

Yes, the Buccaneers offense was down a ton of players, but that shouldn't take away from the effort from Campbell, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, the rest of the defensive staff and the players put in.

(P.S. I want to apologize to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for not having him in this section yet this year. He is a superstar.)

Five things we didn't like in Week 7

Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins

A week after calling out team leadership for the Dolphins' internal dysfunction (comments he later apologized to his teammates for), Tagovailoa threw three interceptions in a miserable 31-6 loss to the Browns.

At least he owned up to that performance.

There's not a ton left for me to say about Tagovailoa or the Dolphins, who seem to be a rudderless, sinking ship going down together. But for him to give this performance -- yet another awful one in poor weather conditions -- is a brutal look on top of several awful looks.

Listen, the Dolphins are a bad team, and as we progress further into the season, they won't make this column much more, if at all. Miami may be holding steady with coach Mike McDaniel for now, but if they hold steady with their roster at the trade deadline when they have tons of desirable pieces and a need to offload money, they'll make their way back in here.

Pete Carroll's Raiders have a long way to go

It's one thing to lose in the NFL. It's another thing to be embarrassed. The Raiders fell, 31-0, to the Chiefs in a game that seems almost too lopsided to be real.

• The Chiefs had 30 first downs. The Raiders ran 30 plays, the second-fewest in the Super Bowl era.
• The Raiders were out-gained 434 yards to 95.
• The Chiefs' first five drives: touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, field goal.
• Patrick Mahomes pretended to show frustration that he couldn't get opponents to jump offsides on fourth and 1 ... only for the Chiefs to run the play and pick up a first down.
• The Chiefs started kneeling out the clock before they could technically run all the time off.

Geno Smith is just not playing at an NFL level, and he's playing behind an overmatched offensive line. Kenny Pickett came in late and fumbled away the first snap he took. Ashton Jeanty can't get anything going; Las Vegas is averaging just 0.52 yards before contact per rush, which is on pace to be the worst number by any team since 2012 (when it was, fittingly, the Raiders).

Unlike McDaniel, who has had time to try to turn the Dolphins around (and briefly succeeded), Pete Carroll has basically all of his work ahead. Quarterback, Offensive line. Wide receiver. Pretty much everything on the defense outside Maxx Crosby (who got hurt). Even Andy Reid said he felt bad for Carroll.

How do we get here? Look at the draft history. Since 2019, the Raiders have had seven first-round picks. All were in the top 20, and four were in the top dozen. Of those seven, just three are even on the team, and just one -- Jeanty -- was in Sunday's starting lineup. Brock Bowers was out. Tyree Wilson, the seventh overall pick in 2023, is yet to have more than 4.5 sacks in a season and is playing under half of the defensive snaps this season. Alex Leatherwood, Henry Ruggs III, Damon Arnette and Clelin Ferrell are not only not on the team, but none of them have been on the team since 2023.

Carroll is the most energetic 74-year-old in NFL history, and he has built teams up before, but this rebuild would look daunting for anyone, regardless of any age.

Why can't the Giants find a kicker?

The Giants blew a 19-0 lead in the fourth quarter, ultimately losing 33-32 to the Broncos. Allowing 33 fourth-quarter points got most of the attention, as it should.

But the Giants' kicking struggles are simply unacceptable and downright bizarre. Jude McAtamney, playing for an injured Graham Gano, missed two extra points. Obviously that looms large in a one-point loss.

This is somehow the fourth time in the last three seasons the Giants have had kicking issues.

• In Week 3, Gano suffered a groin injury in warmups and could not kick from any significant distance. Punter Jamie Gillan had to kick an extra point (he missed) in a 22-9 loss to the Chiefs.
  
• Last year, Gano was questionable with a groin injury entering the game. The Giants did not add or elevate a kicker to its gameday roster, and Gano hurt his hamstring on the opening kickoff and was done for the day. The Giants lost to the Commanders 21-18.
• An injured Gano missed two field goals in a 13-10 overtime loss to the Jets in 2023.

This latest episode has to be especially frustrating because replacement kickers are thriving elsewhere. Lucas Havrisik made two field goals, including a franchise-record 61-yarder, for the Packers this past weekend. The 49ers brought in Eddy Pineiro after Jake Moody's struggles, and Pineiro is 17 for 17 this season. Even Moody is 8 for 9 since landing with the Bears. How is it the Giants who always have so much trouble at this position?

Texans' short-yardage woes

Teams that had forced four turnovers and scored a defensive touchdown had won 44 straight games before the Texans lost 27-19 to the Seahawks on "Monday Night Football." That's right, despite four takeaways and Will Anderson Jr.'s amazing defensive touchdown, Houston lost.

Houston's abysmal short-yardage performance was a massive factor. The Texans had five plays on third or fourth down with 2 or fewer yards to go. Here's how they went:

• Woody Marks -1 yard run on third and 1
• C.J. Stroud 4-yard pass to Nico Collins on third and 1
• Marks 0 yard run on third and 1 ...
• ... Immediately followed by Marks -2 yard run on fourth and 1
• Stroud incomplete pass on third and goal from the 1

After that last play, the Texans false started to set up fourth and goal from the 6, and Stroud threw incomplete again.

The Texans are converting just 48% of their third-/fourth-down plays with 2 or fewer yards to go into first downs. That's the third-worst rate in the NFL. The run blocking got no push. The pass concepts were uncreative, though when the offensive line has no chance of holding up, it's hard to draw up anything too creative.

This offense is an eyesore. Speaking of eyesores ...

Chargers' uniforms

These are awful. I've seen Savannah Bananas and Minions comparisons, neither complimentary.

The Chargers already have great uniforms. They should have never worn these, and after a 38-24 loss, they should never wear them again.