Every week this NFL season, we will break down the highs and lows—and everything in between—from the most recent slate of pro football. This week, J.J. McCarthy flashed, the 49ers finally fizzled, and the Jets, well … they’re still looking for their bottom. Welcome to Winners and Losers.
Loser: The Chiefs’ Rediscovered Aura of Invincibility
After Kansas City’s 20-3 loss to Seattle on Sunday night, I’m confident in declaring that the Chiefs are indeed back—just not in the way I imagined after how they played in the first month of the season. These are not the 2022 and 2023 Chiefs, a team that might play sloppy from time to time but always managed to find another gear nobody else could match. These 2026 Chiefs feel a bit more like the 2024 and 2025 versions, a bit too dependent on a supremely talented quarterback to do all their heavy lifting, and liable to come undone if things don’t break just right.
Running back Kenneth Walker III was Kansas City’s unstoppable force during the team’s 5-0 start, and entered Week 7 as the league’s leading rusher. He was a potential MVP candidate for doing what I previously thought impossible: becoming more important to the offense’s success than quarterback Patrick Mahomes, because of his explosive playmaking. But on Sunday night in his return to Seattle, Walker was held to just 36 yards on 14 carries. It was his first game of the season without a rush of 10 or more yards. It was jarring to see how ineffective he was against his former team; I’d become accustomed to watching Walker run into a wall up front, only to wriggle free and turn what should be a small gain into a massive gain. But none of those hidden yards were available against Seattle. By the fourth quarter, it seemed like Kansas City had given up on the run, and Andy Reid pulled Walker from the game to keep him from taking unnecessary hits when things were already out of reach.
This loss and lack of production isn’t on Walker, though. He’s actually been so good that he obscured the blocking issues Kansas City has had all season. Walker is the only running back in the NFL with more than 20 carries who averages more than 2 yards over expected on his attempts, meaning his playmaking alone is worth over one-fifth of the 10 yards needed to move the chains. That’s immense value for a running back, and Sunday night it was very clear that the Chiefs don’t have a way to pivot if Walker isn’t making something out of nothing.
Conventional wisdom tells us that the attention being paid to Walker means the passing game should be wide open for Mahomes, but that was not the case against Seattle. It felt like none of the Chiefs receivers could get open downfield, while the offensive line struggled to create a comfortable pocket for Mahomes. He was only sacked once, but was clearly under duress and out of rhythm. Kansas City clearly missed the speed and run-after-catch ability of receivers Rashee Rice (who missed his third game with hamstring and knee issues) and Tyquan Thornton (on injured reserve). It was just an all-around miserable offensive performance. Their three points were the fewest they’ve scored in any game started by Mahomes. (And even if Harrison Butker had made the two field goal attempts he missed, it still would have been the lowest total for a Mahomes team.)
Rice could be back as soon as next week’s matchup against Denver, which would be a big help in the event Walker can’t generate explosive plays in future games. And the good news for Kansas City is that they won’t have to play any defensive fronts as strong as Seattle’s the rest of the way.
But Sunday did serve as a major reality check. Kansas City is pretty damn good, but the rest of the NFL doesn’t have to fear them the way they did at the apex of the Mahomes era. The days of the Chiefs being inevitable—no matter how tough the opponent or how big the stage—are more than likely over. —Diante Lee
Winner: J.J. McCarthy, Giants Savior
One month after the Vikings gave up on the no. 10 pick in the 2024 draft by trading him to another NFC team for a future fifth-rounder, J.J. McCarthy has the Giants in the driver’s seat to win their division. The quarterback made his first start for New York as a double-digit road underdog against the Texans, and he pulled off the upset in a 27-21 overtime victory that’s the highlight of the Giants’ season so far.
McCarthy’s stat line wasn’t flashy. He completed 20-of-28 passes for 252 yards. But he played a clean game and pushed the ball downfield, making several dazzling throws and opening up space for an unbenched Cam Skattebo and the rest of the Giants’ running game. New York’s game-winner in overtime was a 30-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary, set up by a 42-yard carry by Skattebo. That’s a very good formula for this team, especially if McCarthy keeps defenses from selling out to stop it.
McCarthy got Giants fans excited with his decisiveness in garbage time of Week 6 against the Saints, but many doubted whether he’d be able to play as aggressively and accurately against a Texans defense with a full week to prepare for him. He was up to the challenge. McCarthy looked confident and capable as he spread the ball around the field.
No matter who wins Monday’s Cowboys-Eagles game, it’s the Giants—who’ve started three quarterbacks in seven games to this point—who will finish the week with two fewer losses than any other team in the NFC East. (The least annoying way to describe the standings of a division in which two teams have tied.) New York’s coming bye week comes at a good time, too, as McCarthy continues to learn the offense.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell once said that “organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations.” It’s a thought worth revisiting with McCarthy playing well so soon after his turbulent tenure in Minnesota came to an end. While a strained relationship with the Vikings’ coaching staff didn’t help, injuries were McCarthy’s biggest issue during his first few years in the league. If he can stay healthy, the Giants might have found something here—and it’s worth noting that Sunday marked only his 11th professional start.—Nora Princiotti
Loser: Aaron Glenn’s Employment Outlook (Again)
I’ve written that Jets head coach Aaron Glenn’s job was on the line a handful of times over the last two seasons. I don’t feel an ounce of shame about it. Some things simply can’t be excused by inexperience or a flawed roster, and losing to the Dolphins is no. 1 on that list.
If Sunday’s 28-25 result wasn’t embarrassing enough, the way it happened makes things so much worse. The Jets let the Dolphins offense feel like kings for a week. Quarterback Malik Willis had his first career game with two passing touchdowns and posted the second-best passer rating he’s ever had in a start (130.7). Running back Ollie Gordon had his second game with 100-plus rushing yards, and tight end Greg Dulcich had his third game with 80-plus receiving yards. If you missed the first six weeks of the NFL season and just started tuning in this week, Sunday’s game would give you the impression that Miami has one of the league’s most dynamic offenses!
The unfortunate truth is the opposite: The Jets are really just that bad. By expected points added, New York has a bottom-10 defense, and defense is supposed to be Glenn’s specialty. His game management has been abysmal throughout his tenure—something that’s already cost his team games this season and came up again this week. The best things going for the Jets are the performances of quarterback Geno Smith (which reflects more on Smith and offensive coordinator Frank Reich) and rookie edge rusher David Bailey (who has 5.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss this season). If a good QB and a good pass rush can’t win games against the likes of the Dolphins, though, it’s natural to question whether the head coach is cut out for the job.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Glenn were let go by the time you’re reading this, because keeping him around is delaying the inevitable. It felt pretty clear that we were hitting rock bottom in Glenn’s tenure after the Dolphins raced out to a 21-7 first-half lead. And it’s probably for the best that New York wasn’t able to complete its comeback, lest that blind fans from reality or prevent ownership from hitting the reset button. Glenn hasn’t been the right fit in New York, if for no other reason than his tenure feels far too reminiscent of every other era of Jets football. —Lee
Winners: Bo-lievers
It turns out that all Bo Nix needed was a game against the Cardinals defense. The maligned third-year quarterback, in the midst of a serious slump and fresh off one of the worst performances of his career in Week 6, sprinted almost completely untouched for a 62-yard touchdown to ignite Denver’s offense en route to a 30-16 win over Arizona. Nix went airborne just before the goal line and flipped into the end zone, showing confidence in his legs—and especially in his surgically repaired ankle—that’s been noticeably absent for most of the season.
Nix didn’t have a great passing day, completing 15-of-29 attempts for 222 yards, but he and the Broncos still have to be encouraged. He registered his highest expected points added per dropback of the season, and he clocked his second-highest average yards per dropback of the year, at 9.0. (That’s nearly triple the 3.2 he averaged against the Seahawks last week.) Nix also had his highest scramble rate of the year, a reminder of what the threat of him as a runner can do to unlock the rest of Denver’s offense.
During Nix’s tenure, the Broncos offense has been at its best when Sean Payton finds ways to get Nix out of the pocket and throwing on the run. Those bootlegs and throws from outside the pocket weren’t connecting much against Arizona, but the design and flow of the offense looked much more like the Broncos from 2025. Including Nix’s touchdown run, Denver had eight explosive plays against Arizona, after recording just eight such plays in the three previous games combined. So while Nix remains ranked near the bottom of the league by most traditional and advanced passing metrics, Sunday’s performance should be considered major progress for a quarterback who desperately needed a confidence boost. –Lindsay Jones
Loser: Brock Purdy’s MVP Momentum
Let me start by saying that if I had to submit my MVP ballot today, Brock Purdy would almost certainly be my pick. I give him a slight edge over Josh Allen through seven weeks, with Caleb Williams rapidly climbing my list and Jared Goff making a push. But performances like Sunday’s in Atlanta, when Purdy threw two second-half interceptions in the Niners’ 29-20 loss to the Falcons, make me wonder about Purdy’s long-term MVP candidacy.
The question about Purdy has always been a matter of credit: How much is he responsible for elevating the 49ers offense, and how much of San Francisco’s success is because of Kyle Shanahan’s scheme and play-calling savvy and the elite skill-position players surrounding Purdy? With wide receivers Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel inactive in Week 7 because of injuries, and with running back Christian McCaffrey going out in the first quarter with a thigh injury, Sunday was a day in which the 49ers needed Purdy to be special. They had little choice but to put the game on his shoulders.
He didn’t deliver. Purdy had a season-high 40 pass attempts (only the second time in his career he’s hit 40), 30 of which came in the second half as the 49ers coughed up a 14-3 lead. Purdy’s third-quarter interception helped Atlanta take control of the game, and it came on a throw he never should have attempted.
The Falcons’ interior pressure flushed Purdy from the pocket, forcing him to scramble to his right. As he approached the sideline, he fired the ball in the direction of receiver Jacob Cowling, who appeared to have stopped his route during Purdy’s scramble. Atlanta safety Jessie Bates III made a diving catch toward the sideline, just keeping both feet in bounds at the Falcons’ 10-yard line. It was second down and the 49ers were nearly in the red zone. Purdy simply should have thrown this ball away.
Atlanta drove 90 yards to take a 26-14 lead after that pick, and the 12-point fourth-quarter deficit put pressure on Purdy to be aggressive. At times, he came through; take a 35-yard dime from Purdy to receiver Jordan Watkins, or Purdy’s throw to Watkins that was initially ruled a touchdown after the receiver fought through multiple defenders to get both feet down in the end zone. Following a long replay review, though, officials determined that Watkins did not maintain control of the ball as he went to the ground. The points were wiped off the board, and San Francisco sputtered to end that drive with zero points.
The Niners cut the Falcons’ lead to 26-20 after a Purdy touchdown pass to Kyle Juszczyk with about four and a half minutes to go, but Purdy made another costly mistake on his final chance to lead a go-ahead drive. He didn’t see linebacker Kendal Daniels drop into coverage, and the resulting pick set up a field goal that all but sealed the win for Atlanta. It was Purdy’s first multi-interception game of the season.
Purdy is certainly not solely to blame for this loss, especially considering the 49ers outgained the Falcons, 400 yards to 295. The depleted 49ers lost two fumbles (one each from running back Kaelon Black and tight end George Kittle) and were penalized seven times—and five times in the second half alone. But these are the types of adverse situations where an MVP needs to shine. Instead, Purdy was part of the problem. –Jones
Winner: The NFC North’s Claim as the Best Division in Football
As of Sunday afternoon, six NFC teams had winning records: the 49ers, the Giants, and the entirety of the NFC North.
The Vikings beat the Colts 16-10, bringing their record to 6-0, the only perfect mark in the conference. The Bears are 5-2 after stopping a surging Patriots squad on Thursday Night Football. The Lions moved to 4-2 by beating the Packers 20-17 on a game-winning kick from Jake Bates—on a day when Green Bay rookie kicker Trey Smack missed two kicks from inside 40 yards—while Green Bay is still in the black at 4-3. The way this division is going, any in-division loss could prove critical. It’s something for the Bears to mind, in particular. Both of their losses came against division opponents, as they fell to the Packers in Week 5 and Vikings in Week 2.
Outside of division play, the North is a combined 15-3; the Lions’ losses to the Bills and Panthers and the Packers’ loss to the Falcons are the only NFC North defeats to opponents from other divisions. If the season ended today, all four North teams would make the playoffs.
Heading into this fall, the NFC West looked like the scariest divisional gauntlet in the NFL. Now San Francisco is running away with the division, the Seahawks and Rams have been roller coasters, and the Cardinals are, well, the Cardinals. But the North seems to want a word.—Princiotti
Loser: The Saints’ Five-Year Plan
Saints owner Gayle Benson, who took sole control of the team after her husband, Tom Benson, died in 2018, watched head coach Sean Payton and Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees gut out a 1-2 playoff record in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, the final act of the 15-year partnership that changed the fate of the franchise. Payton wanted out a year later, and Benson and general manager Mickey Loomis—who has been with the Bensons in the New Orleans front office since 2000—are on their second coach in five years since. They have zero playoff berths to show for it.
Benson said the Saints’ standard wasn’t acceptable two weeks ago, and things don’t exactly look better after an ugly 16-10 loss to the zombie Steelers in the NFL’s first-ever game in Paris, the designated territory for Benson’s Saints as the league continues to expand internationally.
The list of problems is extensive. Head coach Kellen Moore and his staff aren’t maximizing the few bright spots on the team. The defense under Brandon Staley continues to get burned. The bulk of the roster is laughably bad because Loomis has wasted resources by trading up for draft busts and by constricting cap maneuverability with contracts fat on void years. And worst of all, the Saints seem to be in denial about it: Loomis, for instance, is adamant that the lows they’re experiencing are growing pains often associated with young players and coaches.
“We have to make sure that the processes are right and that the development is correct, and then we’ll get the outcomes that we want and expect,” Loomis said last week. “But we’re a young team, a young developing team, and we have to recognize that. I recognize that. We’ve got a young coach, 23 games into his career, and that’s where we're at."
What’s odd is the Saints actually have one of the oldest rosters in the league (by snap-weighted age). Second-year quarterback Tyler Shough is going to be 30 on his next NFL contract. And while Moore did enter this week with only 23 games coached in the top job, he’s been a coordinator at the NFL level dating back to 2019. He isn’t that new.
Benson recently made it known that she isn’t happy with the Saints’ standard of play, and Loomis publicly dealt out blame pie to his coaches and players before the team dropped a dud in Paris. Moore and Staley certainly deserve fault, but they can only coach the players they’re dealt. Loomis is responsible for this staff and roster. If change is going to happen, it has to start with him. —Austin Gayle
Winner: Everyone Hoping for a Colts Fire Sale
In last Thursday’s Take-O-Meter, I ranked every valuable non-Tyler Warren player on the Colts roster with the expectation that there would be a fire sale in the not-so-distant future. On Saturday, The Ringer’s own Tom Pelissero reported that no Indianapolis player “is expected to be off-limits” if owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon decides to sell off former GM Chris Ballard’s roster before the November 10 trade deadline. And now, with the Colts losing ugly again Sunday—this time 16-10 on the road against the Vikings—I’d expect the deals to start coming. Indy is 2-5 with the Jaguars on the road next and the Cowboys at home after that. Nothing suggests an imminent turnaround.
Quarterback Daniel Jones, who Ballard signed to a two-year, $88 million extension seven months ago, looks like a shell of the bad quarterback he was before he and head coach Shane Steichen got hot for a couple months at the start of last season. Steichen isn’t considering a QB change because he says he has “a ton of faith in Daniel,” but Jones can’t save Steichen after the opening script, and the Colts overall are a three-phase failure. Irsay-Gordon doesn’t need to be on the sideline to see that.
Is your team in the market for Jonathan Taylor? Quenton Nelson? DeForest Buckner? Stay tuned. All signs point to Indianapolis cleaning house soon, and Week 7 brought us one step closer to making it happen.—Gayle
Loser: The Second-Half Ravens
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Ravens go into halftime with a multi-possession lead, and just need their defense to hold its ground for a few key possessions to assume full control of a game. You know how this ends, don’t you? It took just two Bengals possessions on Sunday to turn a 13-0 halftime deficit into a 14-13 lead, and just four possessions for Cincinnati to be ahead 28-13 and running away with the game.
What I thought might be the nadir for Bengals head coach Zac Taylor turned into me muttering “same ol’ Ravens” at my TV. But that actually undersells how spectacularly Baltimore’s defense was run off the field in the final 30 minutes. The 35 points Baltimore allowed in Week 7’s second half are tied for the most the franchise has given up in the last decade. (The other game being a blown 28-7 halftime lead to the Dolphins in 2022.) Their 298 yards allowed are fifth-most over the same span.
I understand that Cincinnati’s offense is loaded with stars and capable of reaching top gear against any defense in the league. But the ease with which the Bengals played after halftime was concerning, as they took command 5 to 10 yards at a time, breaking Baltimore down in pieces before hitting on huge passes to receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals especially found success attacking cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who said earlier in the week that he wished he didn’t have to match up with Chase so often. After watching Sunday’s contest, I completely agree with him.
Ravens head coach Jesse Minter was hired in large part to address and fix this issue, because it’s exactly what’s cost this team in seasons past. In Minter’s two years as the Chargers defensive coordinator, Los Angeles ranked seventh in defensive expected points added in the second half—and the gap between L.A. and eighth-place New England was as big as the gap between New England and 14th-place Kansas City over that span. But Minter’s magic hasn’t transferred: Baltimore ranks bottom-five in the same metric through the first seven weeks of this season.
Safety Kyle Hamilton said after the Ravens’ overtime win against the Falcons that this year will be different. Maybe it will be later in the season, especially once quarterback Lamar Jackson is healthy again to give his defense more margin for error. But right now, Baltimore is doing what it always does. It’s a team that’s just as frustrating as it is talented. —Lee
