NFL Game Recaps: Week 7, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Broncos 33, Saints 10

Anyone watching football for the first time this year could have guessed that this was a battle between two rookie quarterbacks, given the number of mistakes made by both signal-callers throughout the evening. Denver won in a blowout, but this game featured a comedy of errors by the two passers.

Bo Nix began the absurdity by overthrowing tight end Lucas Krull by a mile. Spencer Rattler then took over and had a potential interception that was dropped. Denver was able to capitalize later by recovering a fumble on a strip-sack. Nix had a chance to take advantage of this take-away, but he short-hopped a pass to a wide-open Adam Trautman. Following that, Rattler lost another fumble on a strip-sack that was returned for a touchdown, but that was negated by Denver being offside. Nix also had a negated give-away when a sure interception of his was dropped by Tyrann Mathieu. And the cherry on top was Rattler losing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Cody Barton, who had a monster night.

Between all the mistakes, the Broncos were able to destroy the Saints by dominating in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The Saints were just far too banged up to protect for Rattler and to stop the run. Denver rushed for 221 yards in the first three quarters alone.

The Broncos improved to 4-3. Some of their previous wins were misleading, but they’ve gotten some talented players back from injury, including right tackle Mike McGlinchey, so they’ll be competitive against middle- and low-tier teams.

New Orleans has dropped five in a row after starting 2-0. They suffered even more injuries tonight, losing their top two cornerbacks. Rattler also got injured on the final offensive drive.

Jaguars 32, Patriots 16

The Jaguars had a colossal advantage heading into this game with their body clocks already adjusted to London time. That didn’t appear to be the case in the early going, however. It initially appeared as though Jacksonville quit on Doug Pederson. The defense showed zero willingness to tackle. Josh Hines-Allen, in particular, whiffed on a New England touchdown and was whistled for a lazy penalty.

Jacksonville fell behind 10-0, and all indications were that Pederson’s fate was sealed. This result was so embarrassing that Jacksonville ownership wasn’t going to allow him onto the plane. And yet, a half hour later, the Jaguars had complete domination of this game. They scored 25 unanswered points, with six coming on a punt return touchdown. Their offense became unstoppable after a poor opening possession. The defense also began playing better.

The Jaguars coasted to an easy victory to save their season. The Patriots, meanwhile, were down nine late after Jacksonville squandered a first-and-goal opportunity with some questionable play-calling. The Jaguars shut the door on New England with a sack of Drake Maye, who had a very uneven game. Jacksonville scored a late touchdown to make the final result look more lopsided.

Jacksonville not only saved its season, but Pederson’s job. Pederson was almost certain to be fired if the Jaguars lost to the worst team in the NFL on an international stage. Still, it’s difficult to take away anything from this win because of the low level of competition, plus the body-clock advantage the Jaguars possessed.

The Patriots dropped to 1-6, but they saw some positive glimpses from Maye. The rookie quarterback was impressive at times, but also made some mistakes. The box score doesn’t show it, but Maye had two very possible interceptions that were dropped. Maye was also betrayed by Ja’Lynn Polk, who dropped several passes and fell down on a route. It didn’t help Maye that Demario “Pop” Douglas suffered an injury and didn’t play very much as a consequence.

Seahawks 34, Falcons 14

The Seahawks were coming off a blowout loss to the 49ers with extended rest. They had plenty of time to think about that ugly defeat, while the Falcons had achieved multiple consecutive victories ahead of this contest. The Seahawks, as a result, had more energy against Atlanta, which was apparent from start to finish.

The Falcons had no answer for what Seattle was doing the entire afternoon. Kenneth Walker, who was questionable with an illness ahead of this game, picked up some big gains and made life easy for Geno Smith, who misfired on just 10 occasions while also throwing two touchdowns. The Seahawks were up 10-7 just prior to the half, an advantage that would have been greater had a Walker touchdown not been negated by a hold. Smith was stuck in a third-and-long, and it seemed as though it would settle for a field goal heading into intermission. Instead, Smith fired deep downfield and connected with D.K. Metcalf for a touchdown.

Seattle continued to dominate in the second half. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier picked up some nice gains here and there, but Kirk Cousins was constantly under siege and was forced into multiple turnovers as a result. One give-away was a fumble returned for a touchdown. It was all positive for the Seahawks until the fourth quarter when Metcalf suffered a knee injury. He tried to work through it, but was ultimately carted into the locker room.

The Seahawks did well to stop their three-game skid. They’re now 4-3, temporarily taking over first place in the NFC West. However, Metcalf’s injury casts a large shadow over this victory.

The Falcons lost, but this game was rather inconsequential for them. They play against the Buccaneers next week. If they win that game, they’ll have a very comfortable lead in the NFC South.

Bills 34, Titans 10

Believe it or not, there was some serious doubt that the Bills would win this game. The Titans ran the ball down Buffalo’s throat with Tony Pollard. They established a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. This looked like the latest shocking upset of the many we’ve seen this year.

The Bills, to their credit, stepped up and played much better following the 10-0 deficit. They scored a touchdown with James Cook running into the end zone, and then they took the lead in the third quarter when Josh Allen found Amari Cooper for a touchdown. Cooper had a quality performance, but Keon Coleman was the star. Perhaps it was because he was able to benefit from Cooper’s presence, but Coleman was able to get open against a Tennessee secondary for some big gains.

Buffalo’s defense also amped up their play following the 10-0 deficit. The unit temporarily knocked Pollard out of the game and then didn’t allow anything to the talented running back after he returned to action. Mason Rudolph, meanwhile, was forced into multiple turnovers. He threw an interception and lost a fumble by botching the snap. He was also fortunate to get away with other potential picks.

Evan Daniel, our Tuesday co-host on the WalterFootball.com After Dark Show, called the Bills “bullies,” and that was an accurate description for them in this game. They had a sleepy start to the afternoon, but they eventually got their act together and completely sat on the inept Titans.

The Titans played hard for a while, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The Bills bullied them into a loss. Still, it was for the best, as Tennessee is now one defeat closer to securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Bengals 21, Browns 14

The Browns made a very curious decision prior to this game. They decided to make Jameis Winston inactive, promoting Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the No. 2 role. Many predicted that this meant Winston would be traded, but what it meant in the short term was that Thompson-Robinson would have to step in for an injured Deshaun Watson, and that’s exactly what happened. Watson suffered an Achilles injury and had to be carted into the locker room just prior to halftime. Thompson-Robinson led the Browns to a touchdown drive right away. The Browns trailed by one heading into the break.

Thompson-Robinson could not sustain this success, however. He failed to complete half of his passes and threw a couple of ghastly interceptions. The Browns couldn’t stay on the field as a consequence, while the defense seemingly gave up.

Cleveland’s stop unit was stellar in the opening half. The Bengals did not score a single offensive point, as their seven came on an opening kickoff return touchdown. In fact, this wasn’t the only instance of special-teams misfortune from the Browns, as Dustin Hopkins missed a 49-yard field goal and a whiffed extra point. Cleveland looked like it was going to overcome that, but Thompson-Robinson’s incompetence seemingly drained the energy from the defense, which finally allowed some big plays to Joe Burrow in the second half.

The Bengals have won two in a row to save their season. They’re now 3-4, but they haven’t won convincingly the past two weeks, barely beating the Giants and then needing special-teams gaffes and a quarterback injury by the Browns.

Watson’s injury is season-ending, given that he tore his Achilles. Thompson-Robinson should be started the rest of the way because he gives the Browns the best chance of losing, which would give them the top pick in the 2025 NFL Mock Draft. Check out my 2025 NFL Mock Draft for more.

Packers 24, Texans 22

The Packers had major kicking woes this year. Luckily for them, kickers are very easily replaceable. Green Bay learned that in this game when new kicker Brandon McManus drilled a 45-yard attempt to win the game at the very end.

This game should not have come down to McManus’ leg, however. The Packers spent the entire opening half shooting themselves in the foot. Jordan Love had an interception on the opening drive as a result of a tipped pass, which set up an easy field goal for Houston. Green Bay responded with a touchdown and a defensive stop, but the team muffed a punt, which set up another easy score for the Texans. This time, it was a Joe Mixon score, which put Houston up 10-7. This wasn’t even the end of the turnover parade, as Love was intercepted yet again shortly later.

The Packers dug themselves into a hole as a result of all of these give-aways, but their talent allowed them to stay in the game and eventually take the lead. They allowed some big runs to Mixon, but they limited C.J. Stroud to only 10 completions and a sub-50 completion rate. Love, meanwhile, was able to throw all over the Texans, bouncing back well from his two interceptions.

Trailing 22-21, Love received possession with 1:44 remaining. He completed passes to Tucker Kraft, Dontayvion Wicks, and Romeo Doubs to put McManus into position for the aforementioned decisive kick.

Green Bay prevailed, but failed to cover the three-point spread. There was an odd moment where the team eschewed a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter, and it nearly cost them the victory.

The Texans are still in good shape at 5-2, but Stroud played a very poor game, albeit against a defense ranked sixth in adjusted EPA heading into the weekend. Stroud will need to do much better against elite competition for Houston to be considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Lions 31, Vikings 29

The Vikings looked like they were going to win this battle for first place in the NFC North in blowout fashion. Detroit stalled on the opening drive, prompting Dan Campbell to attempt a fake punt. Minnesota shut the play down and then scored easily via an Aaron Jones touchdown run. The Vikings then added another field goal after an ensuing Detroit drive was ruined by a David Montgomery injury. Montgomery couldn’t put any pressure on one of his legs as he was helped off the field.

The Lions, however, never quit. Jared Goff completed all 12 of his passes in the opening half, while Jahmyr Gibbs hit some big plays. He scored on a 44-yard touchdown in which he broke the ankles of Camryn Bynum. Even Montgomery returned from injury to have some nice runs. The Lions answered Minnesota’s 10-0 start with 21 unanswered to lead by double digits entering halftime.

The Vikings trailed by double digits on two separate occasions in this game, but they didn’t give up either. Sam Darnold hit a 51-yard bomb to Jordan Addison from his own end zone to set up a score. Minnesota’s defense stood up after that with a strip of Montgomery. Ivan Pace scooped and scored to give Minnesota a 29-28 lead.

Detroit, however, was able to force a Minnesota stop when the Vikings couldn’t quite pick up a first down. This gave the Lions one more chance, and they took full advantage of it. Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown made big plays to move into field goal range, setting up a game-winning field goal by Jake Bates, who drilled the kick from 44 yards to give Detroit the win and control of first place in the division.

The Lions were able to shake off their slow start to this season and now look like the best team in the NFC despite the absence of Aidan Hutchinson. Goff should be considered an MVP candidate. He went 18-of-18 in a recent Monday night game, and he was 22-of-25 in this contest.

The Vikings lost their first game of the year, but they shouldn’t be ashamed of how they performed. They had the lead in the final minute, so they easily could have won. However, we still haven’t seen Darnold put the team on his back and win a close game. The Vikings have prevailed in tight margins, but all of those scores were the result of the opposition mounting a comeback from a huge deficit.

Eagles 28, Giants 3

Saquon Barkley claimed he wasn’t out for revenge in this game, but it’s hard to believe that. The Giants gave Daniel Jones a massive contract, opting to go with him over Barkley. Given how horrible Jones has been at times, Barkley had to take that personally.

Barkley made his presence known immediately against his former team when he broke free for a 55-yard run to set up his own touchdown, giving Philadelphia a 7-0 lead. Barkley broke free for several other big gains throughout the afternoon, generating nearly 200 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts was able to capitalize off Barkley’s great runs with some easy throws. He hit A.J. Brown for a 41-yard touchdown off of his back foot on a fourth-down play to put the Eagles up 14-0. He also scored twice on Tush Push plays.

Philadelphia’s defense also dominated. It seemed like Jones was getting sacked every time he dropped back to throw. Jones was sacked on eight occasions. He had no chance with Andrew Thomas out of the lineup. He was eventually removed from the game in favor of Drew Lock.

The Eagles had a shaky victory over the Browns last week. This drew lots of criticism from the media and fans, but everyone will be quiet following this lopsided victory.

There was insult added to injury with this game for the Giants. In addition to suffering a blowout loss, they had to feel stupid for picking Jones over Barkley. New York may decide to tank for this April’s draft, but they could be looking ahead to 2026 when Arch Manning will be available. Go here for my 2026 NFL Mock Draft.

Colts 16, Dolphins 10
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m going to refer to Mike McDaniel as “McDaniel the Moron” from now on. His decision-making is so insanely stupid on every level. I don’t understand how he can’t script plays for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle against a horrible defense, and I don’t get why he insists on having Tim Boyle on his active roster.

As expected, this was a defensive battle with each team having a struggling passing offense. Anthony Richardson returned to the field for Indianapolis, replacing the more effective Joe Flacco, and Richardson struggled to pass the ball, completing only 10-of-24 passes for 129 yards.

Of course, Miami performed poorly without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but head coach and offensive play-caller Mike McDaniel did an awful job of utilizing his playmakers. The Dolphin’s offense had some success on the ground (188 yards rushing) and using tight end Jonnu Smith (7-96-1), but Miami’s passing offense was horrific. McDaniel inexplicably had zero targets for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in the first half. Waddle (1-11) and Hill (1-8) did not register their only catches of the game until the fourth quarter was half over. McDaniel would be firmly on the hot seat over this ineptitude if he did not have a recent contract extension. At 4-3, the Colts are in the AFC playoff race, and the 2-4 Dolphins are on the fast track to elimination.

The Dolphins offense struck first on a drive with some key completions to Jonnu Smith, including a 10-yard touchdown strike. Indianapolis responded with a good drive into the Miami 10-yard line, but Richardson fumbled a shotgun snap, and the Dolphins’ Zach Sieler recovered. Another drive with completions to Smith led to a field goal for Miami. Late in the second quarter, Richardson connected with Michael Pittman Jr. for a 33-yard completion, and that set up a Matt Gay field goal to make it 10-3 at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, the Colts put together a game-tying drive with Tyler Goodson darting into the end zone. With Tyler Huntley out with a shoulder injury, Tim Boyle went into the game for Miami. The Dolphins had a good run and completion to Smith to get inside the 20, but Alec Ingold fumbled the ball.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Colts ground offense went to work and pounded the ball down the field to get inside the five, but they had to settle for a field goal. Miami got in position to tie the game, but Jason Sanders missed a 54-yard field goal. Indianapolis tacked on another field goal to make it 16-10 with two minutes remaining, and the Colts defense slammed the door to get their fourth win of the season.

Rams 20, Raiders 15
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Thank goodness Delmar Glaze false started because there was no way the Raiders were scoring a touchdown. Gardner Minshew was a disaster in this game. All 20 of the Rams’ points came off his turnovers!

Both the Raiders and the Rams are unlikely to get in the postseason, but Los Angeles got a win that keeps them within striking distance of first-place Seattle.

In the first quarter, Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell was hammered by a hit from Kam Curl, and that knocked O’Connell out of the game with a thumb injury. Gardner Minshew came into the game and produced a field goal drive through a 25-yard completion to Brock Bowers. After both teams gave their punters some work, Kobie Durant intercepted Minshew to set up Stafford just past midfield. A few plays later, the Rams took the lead with a 13-yard touchdown run from Kyren Williams. With just over a minute remaining, Durant had a strip-sack of Minshew, and Curl scooped up the fumble and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. Minshew led a field goal drive to cut the Rams lead to 14-6 at halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, Minshew had an inaccurate pass deflect off a receiver, and Jaylen McCollough intercepted the tipped ball. A few plays later, Williams scored again. A missed extra point kept the Rams lead to 20-6. The Raiders added a field goal, and then Nate Hobbs intercepted a tipped pass with a return to the Rams’ 14-yard line. Once again, the Raiders settled for a Daniel Carlson field goal to make it 20-12 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Stafford connected with Tyler Johnson for a 37-yard completion, but the Rams missed a short field goal to keep it a one-score game. Las Vegas moved down the field using Brock Bowers, but once again, they settled for a field goal. At 20-15, Las Vegas’ defense got the ball back for Minshew with over a minute remaining, but a desperation pass was intercepted by McCollough to clinch the win for Los Angeles.

Redskins 40, Panthers 7

Jayden Daniels has been so fantastic as a rookie that he drew MVP consideration. The Redskins were dreadful without Daniels last year, so the fans were dreading the day in which he’d inevitably suffer an injury. Little did they know that this would be the day, and that it wouldn’t affect Washington at all.

Daniels threw just two passes in this contest before leaving with a rib injury. He eventually walked onto the field without pads, but told everyone he was OK. He wasn’t even needed because Washington had a 27-0 lead by intermission. The defense did most of the work, pick-sixing Andy Dalton to begin the game and then intercepting him again. The defensive front swarmed Dalton and prevented the Panthers from sustaining any drives until garbage time. Washington limited Carolina to just 10 first downs and 180 net yards of offense.

This doesn’t mean that Marcus Mariota didn’t play well. On the contrary, Mariota did a great job of moving the chains throughout the afternoon. He misfired on just five occasions and was able to pick up 34 rushing yards in the process. Of course, Mariota was battling the worst defense in the NFL, but he still should be praised for doing well in relief of the Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite.

It remains to be seen if Daniels will be able to play next week. All indications are that he’s fine, but there’s a chance he could still miss a week or two. Daniels will be needed against a terrific Chicago defense in a matchup between the top two picks from the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Panthers might as well turn back to Bryce Young. Dalton was supposed to be the careful game manager, but he’s been a turnover machine in the past two weeks. If he’s going to continue to commit errors like this, Carolina might as well see if Young has learned anything from watching on the sideline the past month.

Chiefs 28, 49ers 18

Anyone expecting another thriller between the Chiefs and 49ers, mirroring what we saw in Super Bowl LVIII, was greatly disappointed. This game featured just 40 points prior to garbage time, as both teams committed multiple sloppy turnovers. Kansas City and San Francisco lost some offensive talent to injury as well.

Kansas City didn’t have JuJu Smith-Schuster, but the 49ers were greater victims of the injury bug. Deebo Samuel had to leave the game in the second quarter, and Brandn Aiyuk followed shortly later. With Christian McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings already sidelined, Brock Purdy didn’t have any viable receiving threats at his disposal beyond George Kittle.

Purdy had a poor showing, as he struggled even before he lost Samuel and Aiyuk. He threw an early interception when he didn’t see Justin Reid in Kansas City territory. He later heaved an interception into the end zone. He launched his pass right into double coverage, prompting heavy criticism from FOX color analyst Tom Brady. Mahomes also committed multiple interceptions. One was the result of a deflection, but the second was a poor deep shot when his team was up 14-6. This allowed Purdy to decrease the margin to 14-12 via a sneak touchdown, but that was the last time the 49ers had a chance in this game. Mahomes did a great job of moving the chains after that and keeping San Francisco off the field. The big difference in this game was that Mahomes was 8-of-14 on third down, while Purdy was 2-of-11 on third down.

The Chiefs are now 6-0 despite losing offensive play-maker after offensive play-maker. Their defense has been absolutely stellar. Kansas City will be very difficult to beat if the stop unit continues to perform this way, and Mahomes keeps the opposition off the field by being clutch in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers can rebound from this loss because they’ve done so after suffering defeats to Kansas City. However, San Francisco just can’t beat the Chiefs. It also remains to be seen if the offensive play-makers they lost will return from injury next week. Luckily for the 49ers, they get to battle Dallas.

Steelers 37, Jets 15

It’s hard to believe based on the score, but the Jets were well in control of this game. They led 15-6, as Pittsburgh’s offense was floundering. Russell Wilson had issues completing basic throws, prompting the crowd to boo him and the announcers to question Mike Tomlin’s decision to bench Justin Fields in favor of Wilson.
,br> Everything turned when Rodgers fired an interception just prior to halftime. Sauce Gardner was hurt on the play, which allowed George Pickens to score a touchdown on the ensuing possession. The Steelers still trailed 15-13, but not for long. Early in the third quarter, Rodgers connected on a perfect, downfield pass to Garrett Wilson, but the ball popped out of Wilson’s hands and into the arms of a Steeler defender. The turnover was returned to the Jets 1-yard line, setting up another score.

Pittsburgh’s scoring flurry didn’t stop after that. The Steelers scored another touchdown after that, while the Jets stalled in the red zone and had a chip-shot field goal blocked. Pittsburgh closed out the game with 37 unanswered points.

Tomlin was heavily criticized for benching Fields, but he looks like a genius now. Wilson began poorly, but lofted so many perfect balls downfield to his receivers. Fields scrambled well to start the year, but wasn’t capable of this sort of performance.

The Jets traded for Davante Adams, but he had a pedestrian stat line despite seeing nine targets. Time is running out for the Jets, who are now 2-5.

Ravens 41, Buccaneers 31

The Buccaneers were blown out in this game – they trailed 41-18 at one point – but they got off to a great start. They marched down the field on their opening drive with a touchdown pass to Mike Evans. Everything changed on an ensuing drive. Baker Mayfield appeared to throw another score to Evans, but the star receiver dropped the ball in the end zone. Adding injury to insult, Evans suffered a hamstring injury and was permanently knocked out of the game.

Tampa Bay settled for a field goal without being able to reach the end zone on the possession. The Ravens then scored a touchdown, and Mayfield followed that up with an interception that he threw into double coverage. The Buccaneers, once in control, suddenly lost it after this horrible sequence.

Things only got worse for the Buccaneers after that. Mayfield couldn’t move the chains until garbage time without Evans, as Tampa Bay lost its primary mismatch weapon against Baltimore’s shaky secondary. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s defense couldn’t get off the field. The Ravens did whatever they wanted, whether it was via Derrick Henry’s runs, or Lamar Jackson’s deep throws to Rashod Bateman or Mark Andrews.

Adding more injury to more insult, Chris Godwin suffered an injury in the final two minutes during complete garbage time. He was carted off the field.

The Ravens have won five in a row after starting 0-2. It looked like some of their weaknesses would be exposed in this game, but Evans’ injury prevented that from happening.

The Buccaneers can’t properly be evaluated in the wake of this loss. We can at least know that their defense is atrocious, but their offense would have done much better if Evans remained healthy. It also remains to be seen how severe Godwin’s injury is.

Cardinals 17, Chargers 15

The pre-Jim Harbaugh Chargers always found ways to lose games. They’d be competitive, and they would be fun, but they would somehow suffer a defeat at the very end. They hadn’t done that this year – though they reverted their old MO in this contest.

The Chargers had a great chance to take the lead early when Justin Herbert found Jalen Reagor deep downfield. Reagor caught the pass, but fumbled into the end zone, which allowed the Cardinals to take over at their own 20. This play detailed why the Chargers struggled so much offensively in this game, as low-level talents like Reagor, Will Dissly, and Simi Fehoko had to be heavily involved because of multiple injuries at receiver.

This wasn’t the only situation in which the Chargers bungled a chance to establish control of this game. They moved the ball well in between the 20s, but constantly were stranded in Arizona territory. They resorted to kicking way too many field goals, which allowed the Cardinals one more chance to win the game. The Chargers made another blunder here, as a defender was flagged for unnecessary roughness to give Arizona 15 free yards. James Conner, who had a big night, broke free for a 33-yard gain on the following play to set up the decisive kick for Chad Ryland, who connected to give Arizona the victory.

The Chargers have to be kicking themelves for blowing this game, but it’s quite apparent that they are starved for receiving talent. They should consider a temporary solution like trading a late-round pick for DeAndre Hopkins.

The Cardinals are now 3-4. They’ve beaten the 49ers, so they have the tie-breaker should both teams keep advancing in the standings.