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NFL Week 7 Sunday review: Chiefs win Super Bowl rematch to become last undefeated team, Saquon Barkley has huge revenge game against Giants

Vaseline October 21, 2024

CNN
—

It was a week of huge games between winning teams and week 7 did not disappoint in terms of drama.

One franchise lost for the first time, another maintained its undefeated record and there were also some huge injuries.

The day’s action started with the Jacksonville Jaguars earning a crucial win against the New England Patriots in the final game of the season in London.

Here are the key storylines from Sunday’s action:

It was billed as the game of the week and didn’t disappoint in terms of drama.

In what was a rematch of Super Bowl LVIII, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers again, this time 28-18.

It certainly wasn’t an offensive classic, as both teams are dealing with mounting injuries — the 49ers lost both wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk in Sunday’s game — but as they’ve shown all season, the Chiefs are just in stands to find a way to win.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 16 of 27 passes for 154 yards with no touchdown passes and two interceptions. Yet he ran for a goal.

Mahomes was saved by a dynamic running attack, with Kansas City totaling 184 rushing yards, including 78 yards and two touchdowns from Kareem Hunt and another score from Mecole Hardman Jr.

With the offense struggling, it was left to the defense to step up again as they intercepted 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy three times.

Afterward, Mahomes said that despite the win, there is plenty of room for improvement for the Chiefs, the only team yet to be beaten in the NFL.

“You get the best of the best and that prepares you for the play-offs. I think that’s the most important thing,” he told reporters. “Of course it’s nice to win and score a lot of points, but when you play in these exciting moments against the great teams in the NFL, you see where you stand.

Mahomes threw two interceptions but ran for a touchdown in the win over the 49ers.

“And we’re able to find a way to win today, our defense continues to play extremely fair and offensively we’re able to run the ball and find a way to get into the end zone, but I think we can. gets so much better. So we’ll keep working on that and keep trying to get better as the season goes on.”

The Niners drop to 3-4 as injuries continue to pile up for San Francisco. For an offense already missing Christian McCaffrey, the loss of Samuel and Aiyuk midway through Sunday’s game meant Purdy was working with a cast of skill players he wasn’t used to.

And it clearly showed, as he often erred with his throws and struggled to find his receivers.

After the game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he was “concerned” that Aiyuk had suffered an ACL injury when he was tackled midway through the second quarter.

According to the NFL, the 49ers are 0-40 when down eight or more points in the fourth quarter in games under Shanahan and are the only team without a win in that scenario.

Purdy threw three interceptions as injuries to his pass catchers occurred.

All eyes were on Saquon Barkley as the Philadelphia Eagles made the short trip north to take on the New York Giants in East Rutherford.

After being bitterly traded from New York in the offseason after being the face of the Giants for so long, it was the running back’s first time playing against his former team.

Barkley was welcomed back to MetLife Stadium by Giants fans to boos, as he now wears the jersey of one of the team’s biggest rivals. Some fans burned his jersey when he arrived at the stadium.

“That was crazy,” Barkley said after the Eagles won 28-3. “I’ve seen my jersey burned before on social media, but the timing of it. I’m locked up, I’m listening to my music, and I see the fans, and all I see are fans just pointing, and I look and I think, what are they pointing at? I see smoke and I just think, ‘Where’s my sweater?’

“That was definitely different. I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced anything like that in my life and hopefully I won’t experience it again, but at that moment I was ready for third and one. I’ll just say that.”

Barkley ran for 176 yards and a touchdown against his former team.

Despite all the animosity, Barkley thrived upon his return to New York and showed the team that drafted him second overall in 2018 what it was missing.

The 27-year-old rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in the three quarters he played. With the Eagles leading by 25 points, Barkley was removed from the game.

The running back continually sliced through the Giants’ porous run defense, ripping off runs of 55, 38 and 41 yards as he looked increasingly fired up, even exchanging words with some of his former New York teammates.

According to the NFL, his 176 rushing yards are the second-most in NFL history by a player against their former team, after Cincinnati Bengals RB Cedric Benson rushed for 189 against the Chicago Bears in Week 7 of the 2009 season.

His return to East Rutherford to face the Giants was the dominant storyline leading up to the game, but now Barkley says he is ready to move on.

“Honestly, I’m so happy this game is over,” he said. “As I’ve always said, I’m grateful for the (Giants) organization. They are the team that drafted me. I still have nothing but love and respect for the guys there.

“I’m happy to be an Eagle and, most importantly, we got a win in the division today. It’s a division rival, and now it’s time for the next one.”

Barkley excelled in his return to the Giants.

On the other sideline, it was a disappointing performance for the Giants, with starting QB Daniel Jones benched in the fourth quarter after throwing for just 99 yards.

But head coach Brian Daboll said after the game that the move was intended to generate a “spark” and that Jones is still the team’s starter.

“Daniel will be the quarterback in the future. But obviously we didn’t do enough offensively. Barely had any meters. No points.”

Late field goals allow Packers to win Houston and sink Vikings for first time

Two of the big games on Sunday involved NFC North teams and both came down to the wire.

In Minneapolis, the Detroit Lions capped off the Minnesota Vikings’ undefeated start to the season with a 31-29 win after Jake Bates’ 44-yard field goal gave them a two-point lead with just 15 seconds left.

It came after a chaotic match that saw moments of brilliance in both attack and defense between two play-off hopefuls.

The Vikings raced to a 10-point lead thanks to turnovers from the Detroit offense, but the Lions came roaring back, racing to a 28-17 lead with just under six minutes left in the third quarter with running back Jahmyr Gibbs and receivers Amon. -Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond all provide big scoring plays.

But Minnesota clawed its way back into the game on two Will Reichard field goals and a fumbled 36-yard return touchdown from Ivan Pace Jr. Vikings QB Sam Darnold’s two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the door open for Detroit.

And the Lions were not to be denied by driving into Minnesota territory and allowing Bates to win the game with his leg; the team moved to 5-1 and handed the Vikings their first loss of the year.

Bates made a field goal with 15 seconds left to give the Lions a win over the Vikings.

“We’ve had five NFL games with him and when you see him every day in practice and you give him the crowd noise and move the spot, I’m yelling at him and you’re just applying pressure and you’re watching him and he If he keeps making these kicks, you feel pretty good when he gets pushed into the shift (late shift),” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of Bates afterward.

At the same time, the Green Bay Packers picked up their own dramatic win thanks to their kicker’s last-second heroics.

Brandon McManus, who the Packers signed earlier in the week, made a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give Green Bay a hard-fought 24-22 victory over the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field.

McManus scored the game-winning field goal as time expired in his Packers debut.

It was a game where both quarterbacks struggled, with Green Bay’s Jordan Love throwing two interceptions and Houston’s CJ Stroud passing for just 86 yards as both defenses reigned supreme.

There was one notable moment, however, when Love connected with running back Josh Jacobs for an eight-yard score early in the third quarter. It was Jacobs’ first career touchdown, ending a streak of 211 receptions without a TD, with only Thomas Jones having a longer streak in NFL history.

Jacobs’ opposing running back Joe Mixon also had an impressive outing, rushing for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries as the Texans stayed in the game.

But in the end, after Houston took a one-point lead with a minute, 44 seconds left, it was McManus who was the game-winner on just his fifth day in Wisconsin.