Trending 📉 📈 after NFL's Week 7, and the debuts of Amari Cooper, Davante Adams

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In today’s newsletter, we cover: team trajectories, star WRs debuting with new teams and what’s next in Cleveland after players scolded fans who cheered Deshaun Watson’s injury.

Week 7 Risers

Let’s start with Saquon Barkley‘s resounding return to MetLife Stadium, where the former Giant averaged 10.4 yards per carry and totalled 176 rushing yards (just 13 short of his single-game career high). He’s on pace to rush for 1,864 yards, which would be the Eagles’ franchise record.\

Yet as the 2-5 Giants’ 28-3 loss illustrates (and The Athletic’s Week 7 takeaways explains), it still made sense for them to let him walk — just anywhere but Philly (4-2).

Other risers:

📈 Chiefs. After a convincing 28-18 win over the injury-plagued 49ers, the NFL’s only undefeated team resides in Kansas City. If their passing game can keep up with their run game and defense (weird, right?), their upcoming schedule screams winnable. But Patrick Mahomes had just 154 passing yards and two interceptions without Rashee Rice (and JuJu Smith-Schuster, who exited early with a hamstring injury), making it a surprisingly big if.

📈 Drake Maye. Sadly, the 1-6 Patriots have done nothing to put their potential franchise quarterback in a position to succeed. Their run game, behind a different starting offensive line each week, is non-existent (Maye was again a leading rusher). Yet somehow, the rookie completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 276 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 32-16 loss to the Jaguars. As Steve Buckley writes, New England has their guy 
 but little else.

📈 Packers defense. While the story was newly signed Brandon McManus hitting the game-winning kick to beat the Texans 24-22, defense is why Green Bay is 5-2. Entering Sunday as the league’s leader in takeaways, their relentless pressure on C.J. Stroud held him to a career-low 86 passing yards.

📈 Laying the BOOM. Specifically, hits involving 49ers safety Malik Mustapha. In the first quarter, he came from the secondary to whack RB Kareem Hunt. In the second, he did the same to Xavier Worthy. But in the fourth quarter, Patruck Mahomes returned the favor.

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📈 Jared Goff on MVP watch? One week after losing All-World DE Aidan Hutchinson, Goff and the Lions cemented their status as contenders with a 31-29 road victory over the Vikings. Facing the league’s best defense, Goff was nearly perfect, finishing with 280 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-25 passing. After Sunday, Goff became just the second QB to throw for 1,000 yards in a four-game span while completing 80 percent of their passes. The first? 2008 MVP Peyton Manning.

📈 Commanders offense. No Jayden Daniels, no problem. The record-breaking rookie played just one drive (rib injury, should be OK) before Marcus Mariota replaced him. The veteran finished 18 of 23 for 205 yards and two touchdown passes in a 40-7 win, proving either (A) Kliff Kingsbury’s offense is historically good or (B) the Panthers are historically bad. Probably both.

📉 Those injury-riddled 49ers. If there’s anything worse than a loss to the Chiefs, it’s a loss and a devastating injury. With Christian McCaffrey’s timetable still uncertain, Kyle Shanahan’s group (now 3-4) could not afford to have Brandon Aiyuk tear his ACL. That’s likely what happened yesterday, and as Matt Barrows writes, the 49ers desperately need first-round WR Ricky Pearsall to emerge.

📉 Anthony Richardson. How much time do you give a 22-year-old quarterback to develop? The sophomore’s career completion percentage (53.5) ranks 244th of 274 quarterbacks to attempt 100 passes since 2000. His 2024 average (48.5) — barely above Tim Tebow’s career mark (47.9) — would be the 14th worst season-long mark since 2000 (out of 1,076), behind the JaMarcus Russell’s final season.

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Yes, Eli Manning’s rookie year (age 23) offers a glimmer of hope.

Oh, and one more 📈: Robert Saleh’s sleep score. The Jets are 0-2 since Saleh’s firing, with last night’s total collapse leading to a 37-15 loss to the Steelers. The irony: Aaron Rodgers admitting the pre-game energy was a little flat after they fired Mr. “All-Gas No Brakes.” At least they taught Haason Reddick a lesson? Nope, as Dianna explains below.

What Dianna’s Hearing: Reddick reports to Jets this morning (if he still wants to)

Yesterday started out with good news for the New York Jets: According to agent Drew Rosenhaus and team sources, Haason Reddick, acquired by the team in March but holding out for a new contract since the spring, agreed to a restructured deal. He’s set to report to the team facility Monday morning.

One clarification: Under the current CBA, the Jets aren’t allowed to waive the more than $12 million in fines Reddick piled up during his holdout. However, the new contract is structured to allow the Pro Bowl edge rusher to offset those fines through performance bonuses.

The question, though: Should Reddick even want to report considering the current state of the Jets? New York is 2-5 and in the midst of a four-game losing streak, suffering a humiliating Sunday night loss in Pittsburgh. One recurring issue for their defense in 2024: stopping the run. They allowed 149 rushing yards each of the past two games — and Reddick’s strength has always been as more of a pass-rusher than a run-stopper.

Back to you, Jacob.

Old Faces, New Places: Cooper and Adams debut

In Buffalo, all smiles. Amari Cooper played just 35.7 percent of snaps but still finished with four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. When Cooper didn’t know an audible (you can see him look to Keon Coleman for help), the brilliant route-runner still got open for a touchdown.

And when he didn’t touch the ball, his presence was felt: “When Cooper was on the field, and the Bills dropped back to pass, the team averaged 10.4 yards per play,” noted beat reporter Joe Buscaglia. The Bills have (again) given Josh Allen the No. 1 receiver he’d lacked.

For New York, the usual frowns. A flying, touchdown-saving tackle was the most notable play by Davante Adams, who dropped his first of nine targets and finished with three catches for 30 yards. “We just didn’t execute,” Adams said after his debut. “That’s been the underlying thing for this team this year.”

All that’s left for Rodgers is to lure Jordy Nelson away from his family farm.

Deshaun Watson’s final snap

Even if there had never been any sexual assault allegations against Watson (now at 27), the idea of trading three first-round picks for the right to pay a record-setting, fully guaranteed, five-year contract to a quarterback who had torn his ACL twice was always a terrible one.

Well, it’s over now. Watson’s ruptured Achilles should be confirmed today, ending his time as a Brown. Right? As Jim Trotter writes, it’s not that simple: His cap hit in each of the next two years is nearly $73 million.

The Athletic’s Mike Sando’s Pick Six column goes beyond the complicated reactions — from fans cheering the injury to third-string QB Jameis Winston casting Watson as a victim — to evaluate the implications for this football team, including the role injury insurance will play.

As for the Week 8 starter, that’s still TBD for the most expensive roster in NFL history. At 1-6, does it really matter?

MNF Doubleheader

Tonight’s schedule includes four decent-to-great quarterbacks, starting with Lamar Jackson & Co. in Tampa Bay as 3.5-point favorites over Baker Mayfield’s Bucs.

Meanwhile, Justin Herbert and the Chargers league-leading defense are 1.5-point favorites against Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr., who will play tonight in Arizona.

Enjoy the games!

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(Photo:
Timothy T Ludwig / Getty Images)





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Ronda Baker is a news writer who specializes in arts, automotive, travel, and fashion. She has been writing since she was a child, and her passion for the written word has only grown since then.

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