This article is part of our NFL Reactions series.
-Baker Mayfield was off to a rough start early against the Bengals, and matters looked to turn for worse yet after Odell Beckham left with what looks like a serious knee injury. By the end of the game Mayfield rallied to throw five touchdowns, completing 22-of-28 for 297 yards otherwise. Part of that was thanks to the continued reemergence of Rashard Higgins, who caught all six of his targets for 110 yards. Rookie sixth-round pick Donovan Peoples-Jones was promising as well, catching his three targets for 56 yards, including the game-winning touchdown. Fellow rookie Harrison Bryant was productive at tight end, catching four of five targets for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
-Following his Week 6 disaster against Tampa Bay there was a renewed sense of uneasiness toward Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense, and those anxieties weren't eased any when Aaron Jones and David Bakhtiari were declared out for Week 7. Rodgers (23-of-34 for 283 yards and four touchdowns) and a reignited Davante Adams (13 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns on 16 targets) were excellent against the Texans on Sunday, though, seemingly answering whatever questions might have mounted following the Buccaneers game loss. Jamaal Williams (19 carries for 77 yards and one touchdown) took almost all of the running back work, leaving AJ Dillon with only five carries.
-Deshaun Watson ended up with good enough numbers for his fantasy investors (29-of-39 for 309 yards and two touchdowns, seven carries for 38 yards), but
-Baker Mayfield was off to a rough start early against the Bengals, and matters looked to turn for worse yet after Odell Beckham left with what looks like a serious knee injury. By the end of the game Mayfield rallied to throw five touchdowns, completing 22-of-28 for 297 yards otherwise. Part of that was thanks to the continued reemergence of Rashard Higgins, who caught all six of his targets for 110 yards. Rookie sixth-round pick Donovan Peoples-Jones was promising as well, catching his three targets for 56 yards, including the game-winning touchdown. Fellow rookie Harrison Bryant was productive at tight end, catching four of five targets for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
-Following his Week 6 disaster against Tampa Bay there was a renewed sense of uneasiness toward Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense, and those anxieties weren't eased any when Aaron Jones and David Bakhtiari were declared out for Week 7. Rodgers (23-of-34 for 283 yards and four touchdowns) and a reignited Davante Adams (13 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns on 16 targets) were excellent against the Texans on Sunday, though, seemingly answering whatever questions might have mounted following the Buccaneers game loss. Jamaal Williams (19 carries for 77 yards and one touchdown) took almost all of the running back work, leaving AJ Dillon with only five carries.
-Deshaun Watson ended up with good enough numbers for his fantasy investors (29-of-39 for 309 yards and two touchdowns, seven carries for 38 yards), but as usual he struggled early in the game, even with the Packers down two starters in the secondary. Will Fuller caught a touchdown to make up for an otherwise quiet day against Jaire Alexander, who held Fuller to three catches for 35 yards on six targets.
-The Lions still wasted 11 carries on Adrian Peterson (29 yards) against Atlanta, but D'Andre Swift stayed featured for the second week in a row, taking nine carries for 27 yards and one touchdown while catching four of five targets for 21 yards. Marvin Jones finally showed some life (five catches for 80 yards on six targets), but it took an especially sharp day from Matthew Stafford (25-of-36 for 340 yards and one touchdown).
-Todd Gurley can't really run away from anyone anymore, but he continues to be a touchdown machine in the Atlanta offense. He took 23 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns against the Lions, giving him seven rushing touchdowns on the year. As long as Julio Jones (eight catches for 97 yards on nine targets) and Calvin Ridley (five catches for 69 yards and one touchdown on seven targets) continue to move the ball into scoring range for the Falcons, Gurley should keep getting chances to punch it in.
-Joe Burrow was superb for his fantasy investors Sunday, offsetting an interception and lost fumble by throwing for 406 yards and three touchdowns while running for 34 yards and a fourth score. Tyler Boyd (11 catches for 101 yards and one touchdown on 13 targets) and Tee Higgins (five catches for 71 yards and one touchdown on five targets) were both really humming.
-Ben Roethlisberger played poorly against the Titans, completing 32-of-49 passes for 268 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. JuJu Smith-Schuster was busy but inefficient (nine catches for 85 yards on 14 targets), while Diontae Johnson was busier yet (nine catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 15 targets). Roethlisberger loves checking down to Johnson, but it's hard to see how the offense can function if his efficiency doesn't improve – 24 catches for 227 yards on 41 targets is brutal (58.5 percent catch rate, 5.5 YPT).
-Ryan Tannehill was understandably spooked at times against the Steelers but managed to keep it together well enough for the Titans to get within a field goal of sending the game to overtime, though the 46-yard kick was missed. A.J. Brown did most of the lifting for Tannehill, though, taking a short catch over the middle for a 73-yard touchdown, finishing with six catches for 153 yards on eight targets.
-DJ Moore (four catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns on five targets) and Curtis Samuel (six catches for 48 yards on six targets) were both super efficient and Robby Anderson was quite good again too (six catches for 74 yards on eight targets), but the Panthers couldn't quite keep up with the Saints in a game where the Carolina offense was limited to 42 snaps.
-Even without Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Drew Brees played well against the Panthers, completing 29-of-36 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns while running for a third score. Undrafted Tennessee rookie Marquez Callaway was the unlikely workhorse wideout in the absence of Thomas and Sanders, finishing with eight catches for 75 yards on 10 targets. Callaway was more of a downfield receiver in college, so his usage against the Panthers was an interesting look. He wasn't great – his 80 percent catch rate and 7.5 YPT average were actually below Brees' baseline – but for a high-pressure, short-notice assignment the rookie could have done much worse.
-Josh Allen struggled a bit against an inspired Jets defense, finishing with 61 yards on 11 carries while completing 30-of-43 passes for 307 yards, but the Bills were able to sneak out with an eight-point road victory all the same. That was thanks in large part to a Herculean effort from Cole Beasley, who caught 11 of 12 targets for 112 yards. Zack Moss arguably (47 yards on seven carries, three catches for 25 yards on three targets) outplayed Devin Singletary (29 yards on eight carries, two catches for 18 yards on five targets).
-Playing the hapless Cowboys gave Washington a stress-free environment for Antonio Gibson to rack up reps on the ground, and the rookie third-round pick continued to show promise. Gibson took 20 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown, giving a glimpse of his rushing upside in addition to his obvious upside as a pass catcher.
-Tom Brady was huge for his fantasy investors against the Raiders on Sunday, accounting for five touchdowns (one rushing) and throwing for 369 yards. The backfield seesaw tipped in Leonard Fournette's favor, with him finishing with 50 yards on 11 carries and six catches for 47 yards on seven targets while Ronald Jones took 13 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown. Mike Evans was quiet, but Chris Godwin was dominant (nine catches for 88 yards and one touchdown on nine targets) while Scotty Miller torched the Raiders for 109 yards and one touchdown on six catches (nine targets). It's hard to see how Antonio Brown could improve this team's receiver production, frankly.
-It's tough to tell how the workload will split in a more competitive setting, but with the Broncos looking harmless most of the day the Chiefs opted to give Clyde Edwards-Helaire eight carries (48 yards and one touchdown) to Le'Veon Bell's six carries (39 yards). Bell didn't get any targets, where CEH was unfortunately inefficient yet again (one catch for 17 yards on four targets).
-It was likely something of a fluke, but it's interesting that Albert Okwuegbunam caught all seven of his targets for 60 yards against the Chiefs while Noah Fant caught three of seven targets for 38 yards.
-Cam Newton was a wreck against the 49ers, completing only 9-of-15 passes for 98 yards and three interceptions. Jarrett Stidham replaced him (6-of-10 for 64 yards and one interception) but likely only because the game was out of hand by then. If the Patriots build anything on offense going forward, they might want to see if Damien Harris (58 yards on 10 carries) can have something to do with it.
-Maybe the Gardner Minshew era is winding down, but James Robinson has all but proven he's the real deal for the Jaguars at running back. Not only did Robinson turn 22 carries into 119 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers, but he caught four of six targets for 18 yards and a second touchdown.
-It's early, but Justin Herbert continues to be highly impressive. Weak defense or not, it's encouraging that Herbert completed 27-of-43 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns against the Jaguars, adding another 66 yards and a fourth touchdown on the ground. Most of Herbert's starts to this point in his rookie season look like peak 2020 Josh Allen box scores. Keenan Allen works great with him (10 catches for 125 yards on 13 targets), and the same is so far true of deep route specialist Jalen Guyton (two catches for 84 yards and one touchdown on three targets).
