Cowboys snap out of skid with statement win; Aaron Rodgers vaults into MVP race
A week after being on the wrong end of the biggest upset of the season so far, the Dallas Cowboys administered an embarrassment to a division rival on national television.
The Cowboys snapped a three-game losing streak by throttling the Philadelphia Eagles. The win pushes Dallas atop the NFC East.
Dallas' three-game losing streak, however, still keeps them behind the other division leaders in the NFC — the San Francisco 49ers (6-0), New Orleans Saints (6-1) and Green Bay Packers (6-1) — all of whom won Sunday.
On Monday night, the New England Patriots will look to keep the NFL's roster of unbeatens at two. Standing in the way will be the New York Jets.
Quick hits: Catch up on Sunday's best
- 32 things we learned in Week 7: As the NFL approaches its midseason point, several contenders are rounding into top form while others are getting desperate.
- Winners and losers: Aaron Rodgers' big game vaults him into the MVP race. Meanwhile in Chicago, it might be time for the Bears to reconsider Mitchell Trubisky's future.
- The NFL is facing another officiating controversy after a quick whistle negated what would've been a Deshaun Watson touchdown.
- Aaron Rodgers had himself a day on Sunday against the Raiders, and his teammates were super pumped up to find out he had a perfect passer rating.
- Falcons RB Devonta Freeman took out his frustrations on the Rams' Aaron Donald on Sunday and was subsequently ejected.
- You need to see this sky-cam view of Cordarrelle Patterson's 102-yard kick return touchdown.
- Saints players mocked Bears RB Tarik Cohen for being short during a heated argument during New Orleans' win.
- Former Bears kicker Cody Parkey doinked an extra-point attempt off the goalpost in his first game with the Titans and fans had jokes.
- The Redskins made gambling history by "winning" without scoring a point in ugly loss to 49ers.
- The 49ers' Nick Bosa had the perfect celebration after closing out a rainy game with a sack.
- Kyle Shanahan was cryptic about his relationship with his former employer, but he sent a message about how the Redskins treated his father.
- Lions QB Matthew Stafford became the fastest player ever to reach 40,000 career passing yards.
- While on TV as an analyst for "FOX NFL Sunday," Rob Gronkowski was asked to provide a comparison for Bill Belichick. It wasn’t flattering.
- Are these photos of 49ers lineman Mike Person the best ever taken of a football player?
- PHOTOS: Best of Week 7 | Cheerleaders | NFL at 100
Inside the action
- Bears are a deeply flawed team: The Bears took a step backward in an abysmal performance against New Orleans and their season might not be salvageable, Nancy Armour writes.
- Lamar Jackson's anger gave Ravens what they needed: When the Ravens planned to settle for a field goal, Lamar Jackson got mad. That anger proved to be key in the win over the Seahawks, writes Mike Jones.
- Super Bowl meltdown still haunts woeful Falcons: Nearly three years removed from their Super Bowl collapse, the Falcons are in a spiral that can be traced back to their failed opportunity, writes Dan Wolken.
- Playing 'like the wind is at his back': Kirk Cousins' surge comes at an opportune time because the Vikings have to play again Thursday against the Redskins, his former team.
Week 7 rundown
- Cowboys 37, Eagles 10: The Cowboys broke out of their three-game skid in a big way against the rival Eagles.
- Saints 36, Bears 25: The Bears ran just seven running plays, and two resulted in fumbles.
- Ravens 30, Seahawks 16: Lamar Jackson's dual-threat heroics and Baltimore's opportunistic defense earned the Ravens a big road win.
- Titans 23, Chargers 20: The Chargers continue to find new and creative ways to lose football games.
- Bills 31, Dolphins 21: Buffalo improved to 5-1, but this wasn't a particularly inspiring win.
- Cardinals 27, Giants 21: Don't look now, but the Cardinals have won three straight games.
- Jaguars 27, Bengals 17: Andy Dalton threw a season-high three interceptions as the Bengals fell to 0-7.
- Vikings 42, Lions 30: After a promising start to the season, the Lions have now lost two straight to division opponents.
- Colts 30, Texans 23: The Colts took Round 1 in the showdown for AFC South supremacy. Round 2 will be on "Thursday Night Football" in Houston on Nov. 21.
- 49ers 9, Redskins 0: It was rainy, sloppy and ugly, but the Niners managed to remain unbeaten.
- Rams 37, Falcons 10: The Rams ended a three-game skid against a Falcons team that can't get its season on track.
- Packers 42, Raiders 24: Aaron Rodgers accounted for six touchdowns as the Packers offense sprang to life.
- Chiefs 30, Broncos 6 (Thursday night): Despite Patrick Mahomes' injury, the Chiefs dump trucked the Broncos.
Eyes on the (fantasy) prize
Takeaways from a fantasy perspective for Week 7:
- With David Johnson active, but only in an emergency sense, the Arizona Cardinals gave second-year RB Chase Edmonds a full workload. He responded with the week’s top fantasy performance at the position — 150 total yards and three touchdowns. If Edmonds is still available in your fantasy league, he’ll be this week’s top waiver pickup.
- The surprise performance of the week goes to Colts WR Zach Pascal, who had six catches for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He hasn’t been very consistent, but the upside for Pascal is worth a small wager from your free agent budget.
- The Bengals had a pass-heavy approach vs. the Jaguars — giving wideout Alex Erickson nearly as many targets (14) as he previously had all season (15). He caught eight of them for 137 yards and also had a pair of rushing attempts. Erickson may only be a one-week fix with A.J. Green hoping to return after the Bengals’ Week 9 bye.
- While the Lions’ Marvin Jones (4 TDs) was lighting up the scoreboard, teammate Danny Amendola quietly saw 11 targets, catching eight for 105 yards. Even the No. 3 wide receiver in Detroit can be fantasy-relevant.
- Adam Thielen injured his hamstring making a touchdown catch and the Vikings have a quick turnaround this week to play on Thursday. If Thielen isn’t 100%, backup wideout Bisi Johnson could be a short-term fix. He caught four of his eight targets against the Lions for 40 yards and scored a touchdown.
- Fantasy football: Valuable advice to help your team dominate
Coming this week
Monday: Week 7 wraps up with an AFC East rivalry game between the New England Patriots and New York Jets at MetLife Stadium (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). While the Jets are coming off their first win of the season, the Patriots are looking to go to 7-0 for the third time since 2007.
Tuesday: Paste BN Sports' NFL experts offer their power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 7.
Thursday: The Minnesota Vikings look to keep pace with the division-leading Green Bay Packers when they host the Washington Redskins (8:25 p.m. ET, FOX and NFL Network). Before the game, make sure to check out Paste BN Sports for expert picks for every Week 8 game.
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