Boston Sports Extra

Week seven proved to be another eventful week in the football world. The outcome of Thursday’s game turned on the final play. Sunday’s schedule included seven divisional match-ups, five one-possession games, three shutouts and an overtime game. A perfect week for football fans. Like every other week during the NFL season, we saw some surprising outcomes. Quite a few teams gave their fans a big sigh of relief while other teams made it a Sunday to forget. Below are the NFL’s week 7 winners and losers.

Week 7 Winners

Oakland Raiders: 31-30 win vs Kansas City

Oakland really stepped up here in week 7 to get the win, and boy did they need it. A loss would have put the Raiders at 2-5 on the season and possibly out of the playoff race in the competitive AFC West division. Props to Derek Carr for an outstanding performance after last week’s dud. Carr threw for 417 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. Also, I can’t forget about Amari Cooper. It seemed like Cooper had been falling off. In his first six games he had three games of single-digit reception yards. On Thursday night he exploded for 11 catches, 210 yards and two touchdowns. These two clutch performances came against arguably the premiere team of the league through the first six weeks of the season. Next up for Oakland: @ Buffalo (4-2).

New England Patriots: 23-7 win vs Atlanta

Statement win here for the Pats. The defense has looked awful all year, allowing 30+ points in three of six games entering Sunday. Their pass defense ranked last in the NFL. Atlanta’s offense has not looked nearly as good as it did last year but certainly still a quality unit. The Pats defense held Atlanta to 233 passing yards, much of which came in garbage time when the game was already out of reach. More importantly, Matt Patricia’s unit surrendered just seven total points. Brady did his typical thing, throwing for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Dion Lewis had his best game of the year with 13 carries for 76 yards. That guy always seems to produce when called upon. Hopefully for New England fans, the Pats defense can build off of this effort. Next up: vs the Los Angeles Chargers who have won three straight (3-4).

Los Angeles Chargers: 21-0 win vs Denver

This may have been the biggest statement made by a team in the NFL in week 7. The Chargers suddenly look like they could be a top-12 team. After starting 0-4 in very frustrating fashion, the Chargers have suddenly won three straight. This win streak has them right back in contention in the AFC West or at least the wild card hunt. The wins during the streak were all tough games: W @ NYG, W @ OAK and W vs DEN. Rivers has stepped up in a big way for his team as he has thrown eight touchdowns and just one interception over the last four games. Real test for the Chargers next week as they are @ New England (5-2)

Honorable Mentions:

Bears, Rams, Steelers, Dolphins, Browns…?

Week 7 Losers

Carolina Panthers: 17-3 loss @ Chicago

I am putting the Panthers first on this not-so-prestigious list and deservedly so. Carolina was showing signs that they may still play like the 2015 team. Then, BOOM, week 7 smacked them right in the face. Prior to the loss, Cam and company rattled off wins at New England and Detroit and then played well in a five-point loss to the 5-1 Eagles. Week 7 was a different story for the Panthers. They managed only three points against the 17th ranked defense in the league. THREE. Yes, it was an away game and yes Chicago’s defense is actually pretty decent but still, what a lousy performance. Carolina can not seem to find consistency or an identity. Next up: @ Tampa Bay (2-4)

Indianapolis Colts: 27-0 loss vs Jacksonville:

Pathetic performance by the Colts this week. I will give credit where it is due. The Jaguars played excellently on both sides of the ball. Bortles threw for 330 yards, Yeldon ran for 122 and Hurns had 101 receiving. Nice to see production from guys other than Fournette for once. Anyways, a 27-0 loss at home is inexcusable even without your franchise QB. The Colts O-line was horrendous and they allowed Jacksonville (SACKsonville) to sack Brissett 10 times. Star receiver Hilton once again did nothing with two catches for 27 yards. It will not get easier for Indi in the near future. There next three games: @ CIN, @ HOU and VS PIT.

Tennessee Titans: 12-9 loss @ Cleveland

Some may think that putting a team that won in the losers section is odd but if you consider the opponent it makes a little more sense. The Browns are 0-7 and 4-35 since the start of 2015. They are probably undoubtedly the worst team in the four major sports. Cleveland is the only team in sports that is consistently blown out game after game. They have been the laughing stock of the league in recent years. With all that said the Titans only managed to beat them by three points and it required overtime to do it. If you ask me, the Titans are lucky to have won this game. The Browns had multiple chances to win and they probably would have if they weren’t well… the Browns. Tennessee has got to be concerned as they have not been playing well as of late. In week 4 they got blown out 57-14 at Houston, then lost to the Cutler-lead Dolphins, then barely escaped the Colts at home. Luckily for the Titans, they are still 4-3 and are tied with Jacksonville for the division lead. Next up: vs Baltimore.

*Follow me on twitter @MLBfromNH (Kevin Civiello)*

Well, here it is, my first fantasy football post. In this segment I would like to provide some of my insight for week 7 of fantasy football. You are probably thinking, “Who is this guy, and why should I listen to him?” You are probably right. I am certainly no psychic, and I do not have a crystal football, but I may know a thing or two about fantasy football. Fantasy football is the primary reason why all my friends hate me. In the five years our fantasy football league has existed, I have won the championship four times. The one time I did not win the championship, I was the runner-up.

Before you accuse me of bragging, I ask you to understand that I am no hot-shot for my fantasy football talent. It’s not my coolest attribute, I don’t glue my eyes to my iPhone screen for hours every week trying to figure out which kicker to start. Maybe it would be cool if my talent was on the field rather than behind the computer screen at the click of a mouse, but sadly it does not.

*Note: The following players are not my top options or start/sit recommendations, but rather the players whom I feel could exceed or fall short of their expectations. I want to avoid the obvious ones. For example, if Le’Veon Bell had a mouth watering match up with the lousy Browns, he would not make the “Love” section due to the transparency of the match up.*

Players I Love in Week 7

Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers RB:

I expect Melvin Gordon to have a big week. He is coming off a great performance against the Raiders in Oakland. Prior to last game, Gordon asked for more touches and he certainly got what he wanted. Gordon racked up 25 carries and 9 receptions, for a total of 150 yards in the Chargers 17-16 win. The third year back accounted for both Chargers touchdowns, earning one through the air and one on the ground. He also was targeted a career high 12 times in the passing game. Despite the tough match-up vs the Broncos elite defense, he could be due for another big game. Denver showed that their defense is vulnerable, as they surrendered 117 rushing yards to Orleans Darkwa last week. Who? Exactly. It helps Gordon that the Chargers have been playing well, while the Broncos looked really shaky last week against a win-less Giants team. I think the Chargers will use their momentum, and home-field advantage, to get the win over their division rival, and Gordon will be at the center of it all.

Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears RB:

Jordan Howard is coming off a monster week in which he logged 36 carries. THIRTY-SIX. He took those 36 carries for 167 yards, which is over 4.6 yards per carry. The Bears are not showing much faith in their young QB, Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky only threw the ball 16 times in the entire game against Baltimore. I do not expect them to throw much against Carolina’s 7th ranked pass defense either. This assures that the volume of work will be there once again this week for Jordan Howard.

Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams WR:

Robert Woods is beginning to settle in with his new team. He is quickly becoming one of Jared Goff’s favorite targets, as he leads the team with 37 targets. Woods has had at least 5 catches in three of the last four games, and has earned 261 receiving yards during that stretch. He has a juicy match up this week against the Cardinals defense that ranks 25th against the pass. With Sammy Watkins likely drawing all the attention from star corner back Patrick Peterson, Woods should be able to go to work against the less talented members of the Arizona secondary.

Other Honorable Mentions:

Dion Lewis, Jamison Crowder, Derrick Henry, Leonard Fournette

Players I Hate in Week 7

Demarco Murray, Tennessee Titans RB:

Prior to last weeks game, the Titans announced that they plan to get Derrick Henry more involved. I am not saying either guy is the better option at this point, but Henry certainly seems to be gaining ground on Demarco. Henry had 19 carries for 131 yards last week, while Murray only had 12 for 40 yards. Murray certainly is not someone who should be sat in any sized-league, in any format, but he does seem to be losing his RB1 status. I see Murray as a more of a RB2 now. I do not expect Murray to get 15-20 carries this week.

Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks WR:

Doug Baldwin is having a down year thus far. This may be a result of the entire Seahawks offense struggling as they rank 16th in the NFL in points per game. 16th is the middle of the pack, but when you have faced SF, IND and TEN, more production is expected. Seattle is going to New York to face the Giants. The Giants own a record of just 1-5, but have had a very tough schedule, and have lost a lot of close games. They are coming off a win against a good Broncos team in Denver without their top three wide receivers (Odell Beckham Jr, Brandon Marshall and Sterling shepard). The Giants will have a lot of confidence coming into the game, and Baldwin will be matched up with Janoris Jenkins. Baldwin has only found the end zone one time this year. Doug has had one productive game this year in which he had 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Aside from this performance, he is averaging about 4 receptions per game for about 45 yards. Baldwin is a low-end WR2 this week.

T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts WR:

Hilton is a tremendously talented wide receiver. However, he has been too inconsistent this year, partially due to playing with backup QB’s Jacoby Brissett and Scott Tolzien. Hilton has had two monster games this year in which he logged 7 catches for over 150 yards, those two performances came against both the 0-6 teams (Niners and Browns). In games against teams with a win, he has just 11 catches for 155 yards in 4 games, not very good. The Colts are hosting Jacksonville this week. Hilton is coming off a one-catch for 19 yards performance, and is about to face a secondary that ranks third in the NFL in pass defense–allowing just 166 passing yards per game. I see the Jags corners’ Jalen Ramsey and AJ Bouye containing Hilton and frustrating the Colts offense.