NFL: Lions, Cardinals snag wild wins

Five games were decided by three points or less during Week 7 of the NFL season

Essex Thayer, Staff Writer

This past Sunday was debatably the best Sunday of NFL football we have experienced thus far in 2020. To catch all the action in Week 7, fans indulged in Scott Hanson’s notorious “seven commercial-free hours of NFL football” on NFL Redzone.” Let’s take a look at what happened in each game on Sunday.

Browns 37 – Bengals 34

In a battle of number one overall picks, both Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield shined. Burrow tossed for 406 yards and three touchdowns with a 74.5% completion rate. Mayfield threw for five touchdowns, including a game-winning bullet to Donavan Peoples-Jones. At 5-2, the Browns are off to their best start since 1994.

Lions 23 – Falcons 22

The Falcons did it again. All Todd Gurley had to do was avoid scoring and let the clock run down for what would have been a game-winning chip shot. Instead, he stumbled into the endzone, leaving Matthew Stafford with a minute to drive down the field and win it. Pour (yet another) one out for all the Falcons fans out there.

Steelers 27 – Titans 24

Stephen Gostkowski! The Steelers held a 27-7 lead over the Titans with 10:26 left in the third quarter. Somehow, Ryan Tannehill was able to lead Tennessee roaring back. To take the game to overtime, the Titans needed Gostkowski to split the uprights from 45 yards out. He didn’t.

Saints 27 – Panthers 24

Teddy Bridgewater took a trip to his old home of New Orleans and almost left with the win. He certainly played well in the Superdome, throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Drew Brees matched his former backup’s performance with two touchdowns from 287 yards and took home a huge division win.

Bills 18 – Jets 10

Tank for Trevor is still on. The Jets kept it close in the beginning, but the Bills were able to pull out a win behind a 307-yard game from Josh Allen. Sam Darnold threw for a dismal 120 yards, including two interceptions. The Bills now have a 1.5 game lead over the Dolphins in the AFC East. 

Football Team 25 – Cowboys 3

How about the Washington Football Team? Kyle Allen threw for two touchdowns while Andy Dalton passed for a measly 75 yards before being knocked out of the game on a helmet-to-helmet hit. By the end of four quarters, the Cowboys were down to third-string QB Ben DiNucci, a rookie from James Madison.

Packers 35 – HOU 20

Aaron Rodgers threw for four touchdowns, and the Packers rolled without Aaron Jones. Truthfully, Green Bay had this game in their pocket from the opening whistle. Always fade Stu Feiner’s mortal lock, if you know you know.

Buccaneers 45 – Raiders 20

Tom Brady proved he’s still got it, throwing for four touchdowns and 369 yards in a performance that proved to the league he’s still capable. “Tompa Bay” has a .5 game lead in the division. Not bad for a team and QB that looked to be overhyped after Week 1.

Chiefs 43 – Broncos 16

It was a snow bowl in Kansas City. Pat Mahomes somehow only threw one touchdown, yet the Chiefs found a way to put up 43 points. If you kept watching this game after the half, cheers.

49ers 33 – Patriots 6

Ditto for the 49ers and the Pats. This game was not fun to watch, and Redzone basically avoided it all afternoon. My apologies to Charlie Marconi and all Patriots fans out there, but Cam Newton (98 yards, three int’s) may not be “the savior” New England and Bill Belichick hoped he was.

Chargers 39 – Jaguars 29

This was the only decent game of the late window. Justin Herbert proved he’s for real, once again, tossing three TD’s on 347 yards while also finding the endzone on foot. Keenan Allen hauled in 10 receptions for 125 yards. 

Cardinals 37 – Seahawks 34

The best game of the weekend and the season thus far. In fact, this game was so good it started on Sunday and ended on Monday. Both teams had over 500 yards of offense (Seattle 572, Arizona 519). Kyler Murray scored four total touchdowns, and Russell Wilson threw for 388 yards. But that’s not all, folks. Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez made a 44-yard field goal to take the game to overtime. Then, in OT, he pushed a 41 yarder that would have won the game. Finally, after a spectacular interception by Isaiah Simmons, Gonzalez was able to shake the demons and drill a 48-yard winner.