The NFL Roundup 2017: Week 7 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Boy, if I had to use a word to describe Week 7 in the NFL, it would have to be; brutal. Because not only did we bear witness to some ugly and devastating losses this past weekend, we also saw plenty of big names succumb to painful injuries, and while I'm sure that no doubt the sport and their respective teams will go on, that kind of brutality is just wild to see and it just goes to show that you never know what surprises the game will hold come Sunday. Either way, these incredible surprises made for some amazing stories and here is what we learned from one rollercoaster of a week in the NFL. 

The Kansas City Chiefs are far from invincible. 
Sure the best teams lose a game here and there, since it would seem that only the 1972 Miami Dolphins will ever understand football perfection. But to see a powerhouse team like the Kansas City Chiefs drop two in a row is stunning to say the least, but at least they did it in thrilling fashion by way of one of the finest Thursday Night Football games to date. But, once we get past that incredible finish, these past two games have in essence exposed the Chiefs secondary and all of its weaknesses and if Kansas City wants to get back to its winning ways, they have to get their corners and safeties to improve and fast. But either way, it is nice to know that after a 5-0 start that the Chiefs are still human after all, and even at their worst, they sure put on one hell of a show. 

The Denver Broncos are in need of an offensive makeover. 
The Broncos are making a nasty habit of losing to teams that they should beat or at least compete with and while there are a bevy of reasons as to why Denver has endured back to back embarrassments, it really comes down to one glaring issue...the offense is downright terrible. Which means that if the Broncos want to enjoy any measure of success, the front office needs to make some drastic changes to the offensive unit. First and foremost, the time has come to bench QB Trevor Siemian. Yes, I know Head Coach Vance Joseph said the team isn't making a change, but they need to regardless. He's simply not the right guy for the job in Denver and hopefully Vance starts to see this, and soon. Second, it's time to shake up the O line as well. LG Max Garcia is quite the liability and needs to sit, and RG Ron Leary should move back to the left side to fill that void and the team needs to promote Connor McGovern to start at Right Guard since he has shown that he can play at a high level. Last, the team needs to go all in on a big time trade for a RT until they can find a long term solution there and really...they need to make all of this happen as soon as possible, because with the Chiefs and the Eagles on the horizon, they can ill afford another loss as they try to head back to the Playoffs. 

The Bears defense is the biggest surprise of Week 7. 
The Chicago Bears don't have a lot to celebrate this year. They're playing from behind when it comes to their record, and the quarterback position has been an utter disaster any way you slice it. But all of that aside, holy cow, their defense is out of this world. This plucky unit utterly dismantled the offensive powerhouse that is the Carolina Panthers, only allowing three points on the board from the Panthers and the D carried the Bears to a win by scoring twice on defense with a single player since Eddie Jackson took a fumble and an interception to the house and made it look easy in doing so. Either way, the future looks incredibly bright for this defensive unit and I cannot wait to see what they accomplish in the coming weeks as they gain more confidence.

It may be time to hit the panic button in Green Bay. 
I think it's safe to assume that football fans everywhere expected Brett Hundley to perform at a decent level when he took the field on Sunday. After all, he had a full week to prepare with the first team offense, allowing for him to get into a rhythm and shake the nerves out when it comes to taking over the reins for a normally prolific offense and boy...was that assumption wrong. Hundley wasn't awful but he was far from impressive with a whopping 48% completion rate on the field and a late interception that stalled a comeback attempt and I hate to say it, but if this what the Packers are going to get from Hundley after him spending two years on the bench learning from one of the best...there's definitely just cause to hit the panic button because the season may now be in jeopardy for the Green Bay Packers. 

The Philadelphia Eagles are clearly the team to beat in the NFC. 
After having a full night to digest the Philadelphia Eagles' win over the Washington Redskins, the more I like what I see from Philly. Not only are they able to score at will on offense thanks to QB Carson Wentz and the bevy of weapons he has at his disposal, they're a tough team all around. They saw their star Right Tackle go down with what looks to be a nasty injury and they didn't miss a beat in his absence and to top it off, they weren't phased in the slightest by Washington's attempts to get into their head and when you mix quality play with that kind of mental toughness, you become the best team in your conference and that's precisely what they are and they have become the team to beat and their resolve will be tested from here on out as their opponents try to dethrone them and well...I wish them all the best of luck because this is a damn good football team. 

---