There should be a rule that no one can discuss NFL yearly awards until Week 9 or whatever the halfway point is in a 17-game season.
Obviously, that won’t happen, but Week 7 seems like a good place to start having serious MVP debates, even though not everyone can agree on the true criteria for MVP. (Maybe the Associated Press can remind us after letting us know Sam Darnold can’t contend for Comeback Player of the Year.)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has built a serious case for being an MVP frontrunner because he has the stats to back it up and the wins, none bigger than Sunday’s 31–29 victory against the Minnesota Vikings.
But if we’re going based on most valuable quarterback, then Patrick Mahomes might be deserving of the award every year. It wasn’t pretty, but Mahomes guided the Kansas City Chiefs to a 6–0 start after defeating the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Jayden Daniels’s campaign for Offensive Rookie of the Year took a slight hit after the 2024 No. 2 pick had an injury scare a few minutes into the Washington Commanders’ rout of the Carolina Panthers. But it was a good sign that Daniels returned to the sideline to watch his teammates handle business and improved to 5–2. The victory said plenty about coach Dan Quinn, who might be the favorite for Coach of the Year.
Here’s more on what we learned in Week 7 about the Chiefs, Lions, Commanders, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.
49ers’ offensive issues more concerning than the Chiefs’ ugly offense
At this point, just fast forward the regular season for the Chiefs because they’re probably going to win the AFC West again and it might not matter how poorly the offense plays.
With the help of Kareem Hunt and Noah Gray, the Chiefs cruised to a 28–18 victory against the 49ers. Yes, Hunt (78 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and Gray (four catches, 66 yards) led Kansas City in rushing and receiving, respectively, during the Super Bowl rematch. Not much was different in the latest win for the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions. The defense dominated and Mahomes made it work with a banged-up offense.
For right now, the offense isn’t a concern, with the team averaging 24.6 points despite a long list of injuries and Travis Kelce not looking like his usual dominant self. But it would help if the Chiefs land a notable wide receiver before the Nov. 5 trade deadline. Then again, they had a quiet trade deadline last year and went on to defeat the 49ers in the Super Bowl, with Travis Kelce, Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice having stellar postseasons. Perhaps coach Andy Reid is waiting to fully unleash rookie Xavier Worthy until January, which could help with the loss of Rice.
As for the 49ers (3–4), they can’t exactly use the excuse of injuries against their short-handed rivals, but they have serious problems after losing Brandon Aiyuk, who was carted off the field vs. the Chiefs. San Francisco doesn’t have the defense that Kansas City has to allow the offense to overcome slow starts. Most importantly, the 49ers don’t have Mahomes, which was magnified with Brock Purdy throwing three interceptions on Sunday. Mahomes went 16-of-27 for 154 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
The 49ers have enough depth at wide receiver to withstand the loss of Aiyuk if he’s ruled out for the rest of the season—rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall made his season debut against the Chiefs. Also, running back Christian McCaffrey could be cleared to play next month. But the 49ers’ odds of making it to another Super Bowl don’t appear promising with how well the teams in the NFC North are playing. The Lions, Vikings and Green Bay Packers have all played better than San Francisco, and that doesn’t include the Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the stacked NFC.
Goff’s MVP campaign takes off with signature win in Minnesota
If Jared Goff is searching for an MVP slogan, he should consider “Impeccable 2024” because of his near-perfect performances the past three games.
Goff wasn’t quite perfect in Detroit’s 31–29 signature victory over the Vikings, but he played the quarterback position to the highest standard—or the definition of impeccable. Goff started the game 15-of-15, but more importantly, finished with critical completions to set up Jake Bates’s game-winning 44-yard field goal as time expired.
The Lions (5–1) surpassed the Vikings (5–1) for first place in the NFC North and now control the No. 1 seed in the conference. Detroit might have the best team in football and the hottest quarterback in the league as we head to the halfway point of the season.
Here are Goff’s stat lines from the past three games: 22-of-25, 280 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, 140.0 passer rating vs. Vikings; 18-of-25, 315 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, 153.8 passer rating vs. Cowboys; 18-of-18, 292 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, 155.8 passer rating vs. Seahawks.
Some might not agree with Goff being the frontrunner for MVP because he has plenty of help in Detroit, including offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who called the right plays against Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. But Goff didn’t panic when the team fell behind 10–0 and maintained his composure after David Montgomery’s fumble led to Ivan Pace Jr.’s scoop-and-score touchdown, giving the Vikings a 29–28 advantage with 5:50 in the fourth quarter.
Goff delivered whenever the Lions needed to score in a hurry, evident by the three touchdown drives in the second quarter, and whenever the Lions needed a completion to control the time of possession. (Seven players caught a pass from Goff on Sunday.) As for another reason why Goff is a frontrunner for MVP—Brock Purdy, C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love, Aaron Rodgers and Daniel Jones all struggled against the Flores-led defense earlier this season. And here are more reasons why the near-perfect Goff is a strong MVP candidate.
Detroit should also start a campaign for Brian Branch being a first-team All-Pro for the safety position. The Lions got it right when they made the decision to move the 2023 second-round pick from slot cornerback to safety because they wanted him to stay on the field at all times. Branch’s fingerprints were all over Sunday’s victory in Minnesota, with passes defended, exceptional coverage and a momentum-changing interception in the first half.
The Lions had many defensive players step up during their first game without star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who sustained a season-ending leg injury last week. The Lions sacked Sam Darnold four times to cool off the explosive Vikings’ offense.
It wasn’t the Vikings’ day, but they proved they can hang with established contenders and rally from double-digit deficits. The NFC North race is far from over with four teams over .500 in the division.
Texans should be very concerned about ongoing offensive struggles
DeMeco Ryans’s decision to sit on the ball late in the game didn’t hurt the Texans as much as C.J. Stroud’s offense did during the 24–22 loss against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
It’s tough to fault Ryans for leaning on his defense, but he played with fire when he allowed offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik to call back-to-back run plays for Joe Mixon with the intention of killing the clock and settling for a field goal. The Texans (5–2) left too much clock for Jordan Love, who made them pay in the two-minute drill to set up Brandon McManus’s game-winning 45-yard field goal.
It was a heart-breaking loss for the Texans, but they probably would have gotten blown out if it weren’t for the Packers’ three turnovers, including two interceptions from Love. Houston scored 16 points off the takeaways.
Stroud, who hasn’t played as well as last year, had a dreadful outing vs. the Packers’ stifling defense—he finished 10-of-21 for a career-low 86 yards. Tank Dell was shut out and Stefon Diggs only had five catches for 23 yards. Mixon had another stellar performance with 115 rushing yards, but Slowik continues to favor run plays and hasn’t done much to open up the passing attack, which has played without star receiver Nico Collins the past two games.
Even in the games Collins played, Stroud has failed to stretch the field much when playing against winning teams, including against the Vikings and Chicago Bears. Slowik needs a better flow as an offensive play-caller, but the Texans’ offensive issues won’t be fixed unless the offensive line plays better than it did against the Packers, who constantly pressured Stroud on dropbacks and sacked him four times.
The Packers (5–2) are now riding a three-game winning streak and again proved they have one of the most complete teams in the NFC. But their one weakness might be Love’s issues with protecting the football. Oftentimes, he’s playing at an elite level, but he has the tendency of committing head-scratching turnovers, an issue that cost them late last season. Love finished 24-of-33 for 220 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and one game-winning drive on Sunday to make up for the picks.
Cooper’s presence quickly opens up Josh Allen’s passing game
The Bills’ trade for Amari Cooper went somewhat under-the-radar because the New York Jets acquired Davante Adams on the same day earlier this week. That’s fitting for the quiet receiver who may or may not have spoken to Nick Saban during three years at Alabama.
Cooper has made a career of letting his play on the field do talking and even his quiet performances tend to help his offenses. The former standout of the Raiders, Cowboys and Browns quickly made an impact in his Bills debut, scoring a touchdown to help his new team defeat the Tennessee Titans, 34–10.
Cooper’s statline of four catches for 66 yards and one touchdown isn’t eye-popping, but it’s pretty impressive when you consider how much he helped against a quality defense five days after moving to Buffalo. It’s no coincidence that rookie Keon Coleman had a career-high 125 receiving yards with Cooper on the field. The 2015 first-round pick’s presence allowed Josh Allen to connect with seven pass catchers.
Allen finished 21-of-33 for 323 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, ending his three-game slump. Allen failed to surpass 215 passing yards in three consecutive sluggish outings against the Baltimore Ravens, Texans and Jets.
Perhaps the Bills’ get-right game against the Titans was more about the quality of the opponent than the arrival of Cooper. But it’s clear the Bills (5–2) are better with Cooper, and we’ll soon find out how much better they are when the schedule gets tougher, including next week’s road game against the Seattle Seahawks, who cruised Sunday during a 34–14 victory against the Atlanta Falcons.
Quinn’s Commanders don’t flinch after losing Daniels vs. Panthers
It could have been a disastrous Week 7 for the Commanders after Jayden Daniels exited early with a ribs injury against the Panthers.
But coach Dan Quinn had his team prepared, as Washington quickly adjusted with backup Marcus Mariota and cruised to a 40–7 victory with Daniels smiling on the sideline. It appears that the Commanders avoided a serious injury to the frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year because Daniels watched the second half with his teammates, and his mom tweeted that her son is fine.
Obviously, the Commanders would rather have Daniels on the field, but the way they adjusted without him was a testament to the exceptional work Quinn and his coaching staff have done in such a short span since taking over in Washington this year. Sure, Washington played the one-win Panthers, but it’s been a long time since this franchise could beat up bad teams. The Commanders are now playoff contenders and they acted like it with Mariota helping in relief work.
With the Commanders (5–2) leading the NFC East, Quinn should be considered one of the favorites for Coach of the Year. His defense quickly made an impact Sunday, with Dante Fowler Jr. returning an interception for a 67-yard touchdown. The rushing attack had 214 yards, and Mariota went 18-of-23 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Quinn and GM Adam Peters deserve credit for adding Mariota, not only because his skill set provides a smooth transition for the offense, but because his years of experience helped Daniels get off to a hot start in his rookie season. It was a rough start for the Commanders on Sunday, but they’re in good hands with Quinn and his coaching staff.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as What We Learned in NFL Week 7: Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff Make MVP Statements.
