I tried my best to avoid calling teams pretenders or contenders the past two weeks because it was still so early in the season.
Football pundits have made a habit of overanalyzing in the first month's worth of games, rushing to form Super Bowl contenders lists even though history tells us many teams that start off hot tend to go cold as they eagerly await their bye week.
But the surprising Indianapolis Colts haven’t faded as we get closer to the halfway point of the season. After they flexed their muscles against the Chargers to improve to 6–1, feel free to add them to your Super Bowl contenders list because they appear to be the real deal.
The Denver Broncos have shaken off a 1–2 start to take first place in the AFC West. Still, it might be better to wait a few more weeks before putting a label on Bo Nix’s Broncos.
Here are four things we learned in NFL Week 7.
Colts prove they’re the real deal in blowout win vs. Chargers
I’ve seen enough from the Colts (6–1) to say they’ll be in the mix to win the wide open AFC.
Go ahead and be skeptical about Daniel Jones, but the offensive numbers don’t lie after the Colts beat the Chargers, 38–24. This is a dominant offense, one that lit up a tough Chargers defense that got some key pieces back Sunday, including edge rusher Khalil Mack and linebacker Denzel Perryman. The Colts have scored fewer than 29 points only once this season—the Week 4 loss vs. the Rams.
It didn’t matter that the Chargers’ defense was near full strength. They had no answers for containing workhorse running back Jonathan Taylor, who had three rushing touchdowns. And don’t overlook Jones, because he also did his part, going 23-for-34 for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw a key 13-yard completion to wide receiver Alec Pierce on third-and-10 to allow Indianapolis to run out the clock.
Shane Steichen, the frontrunner for Coach of the Year, saw the holes in the Chargers’ run defense the past few weeks and quickly attacked those areas. With an early double-digit deficit, that forced Justin Herbert to drop back in the pocket, but he doesn’t have the offensive line to keep pace in a shootout. It was a well executed game plan all around from the red-hot Colts.
While we’re praising the Colts, don’t limit them by saying they’re the best team in the AFC South. This offense is good enough to win the conference. Let’s break this down a bit for the nonbelievers.
Indianapolis can certainly produce touchdowns against Buffalo’s suspect defense, possibly forcing Josh Allen to be perfect in a potential playoff matchup. The Chiefs could very well be the best team in the conference, especially after the return of Rashee Rice, but Kansas City has struggled in one-score games and aren’t winning the margins like they used to.
After those two teams, there’s the cluster of the Steelers, Patriots, Jaguars, Chargers and Broncos, with Indianapolis already having wins over the latter two teams. I would rather side with the Colts’ offense over all those teams in a potential playoff matchup.
But I get it. There’s plenty of football left in the regular season. The Colts will have more opportunities to prove the doubters wrong with upcoming games agaisnt the Steelers, Falcons and Chiefs. I’m done being one of the Colts’ doubters.
Broncos still have the look of a pretender despite comeback win
The Broncos deserve a ton of credit for climbing out of a double-digit deficit to beat the Giants in thrilling fashion, 33–32.
Still, I find myself more focused on how Denver fell behind 19–0 at home against a rookie-heavy team. While they deserve praise for improving to 5–2 and gaining first place in the AFC West, the Broncos have the look of a pretender with an inconsistent offense. Also, it wasn’t a good look for the defense that rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart managed to produce a go-ahead touchdown drive after the Broncos stormed back to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
Maybe I’m nitpicking with a Broncos defense that has proven to be one of the better units in the league for more than a year now. But we can’t just ignore how shaky Nix was as a passer just because he played hero as a runner. He’s certainly a gamer and has produced positive results running a complex Sean Payton offense. I’m just having trouble trusting Nix against the Chiefs, Bills and Colts once the playoffs roll around. Nix went 27-of-50 for 279 yards and two touchdowns.
This might not be the best time to criticize Nix after he produced four total touchdowns, including two on the ground, and delivered the game-winning drive in the final 37 seconds. I just can’t believe in this team after how much they struggled to beat the Jets, Titans and Giants.
We’ll learn whether Nix’s offense can hang with the Cowboys’ high-scoring offense in a potential track meet next week. Nix will also be tested by a stout Texans defense in Week 9. After those two games, we’ll know who the real Broncos are before facing the Chiefs twice later this season.
Rams learn valuable lessons from playing without Nacua
Obviously, the Rams are a better team with Puka Nacua on the field, but his absence forced coach Sean McVay to design more plays for Matthew Stafford’s other pass catchers during the dominant 35–7 victory over the Jaguars in London.
With Stafford spreading the ball around, 10 different players registered at least one catch against Jacksonville. Davante Adams grabbed three of Stafford’s five touchdown passes, but he only had five catches for 35 yards.
It was also a rare game in which McVay didn’t lean on his staple 11-personnel with three wide receivers on the field. Instead, opting for more 13-personnel with two tight ends. Veteran tight end Colby Parkinson had a team-high 47 receiving yards and rookie second-round tight end Terrance Ferguson had a 31-yard touchdown reception. L.A. even saw contributions from rookie seventh-round receiver Konata Mumpfield, who had a five-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. Overall, it was a very efficient performance for Stafford, completing 21-of-33 passes for 182 yards.
McVay admitted after the game that Sunday’s results were a reminder to feature more of the other playmakers once Nacua returns from his ankle injury. However, that’s a good problem to have because the Rams went 4–0 vs. AFC South opponents and improved their overall record to 5–2 before the bye week. Los Angeles could be undefeated right now if it weren’t for special teams miscues against the Eagles and 49ers.
But the Rams couldn’t do anything wrong in Week 7. Expect more teams to copy their travel plans to London after the team decided to spend the week in Baltimore and didn’t hop on a plane until less than 36 hours until kick off. The Jaguars spent most of the week in London.
Vikings’ QB issues are holding them back
It’s difficult to take the Vikings (3–3) seriously because of their murky quarterback situation.
Carson Wentz managed to move the ball upfield, but his two costly interceptions and drive-killing decisions had the Vikings playing catch-up for most of Sunday’s 28–22 loss against the Eagles. Wentz’s pick-six gave Philadelphia a 14–3 advantage in the second quarter.
But even with Wentz’s up-and-down performances, it’s not a given that coach Kevin O’Connell will quickly turn to second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy once he’s cleared from his ankle injury. McCarthy didn’t appear ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL during his rough two games to open the season. Perhaps the Vikings have already quietly benched the 2024 first-round pick because O’Connell has declined to commit to McCarthy even after the team returned from the bye week.
Minnesota might not be willing to go through the growing pains of a young quarterback with a veteran-filled roster that’s eager to win now. Despite his flaws, Wentz at least managed to give the ball to his stud playmakers, Justin Jefferson (five catches, 79 yards) and Jordan Addison (nine catches, 128 yards), during the loss to Philly.
On the other hand, going with the chaotic Wentz for the rest of the season is essentially asking for an 8–9 or 9–8 final record, so might as well let McCarthy learn on the field.
The Vikings have a tough two-game road stretch coming up against the Chargers on Thursday night and the Lions the following week.
