Assessing the biggest overreactions in Week 7's NFL games

This season's NFC North is must-see television and a great breeding ground for NFL overreactions. Only three teams in the division played in Week 7 (the Bears were on a bye), and yet the drama was as high as it gets.

The Lions and Vikings played each other in just the second game between two NFC North teams this year, meaning there's a lot more good to come. Detroit blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter at Minnesota, but won it on a last-second field goal by Jake Bates. The Lions improved to 5-1, while the Vikings fell to 5-1 with their first loss of the season. About four hours east of that game, in Green Bay, the Packers held CJ Stroud to 86 yards and beat the Texans on a late field goal by kicker Brandon McManus, who has been with the team since Wednesday.

I don't think it's an overreaction to say that the top four teams in the NFC are in the North. Three of the conference's four five-win teams play in this division (Washington beat Carolina to pick up its fifth win, and Tampa Bay will play for its fifth win on Monday night). I'm also not sure it's an overreaction to say that any coach who wins the division should also win the Coach of the Year award. But what I know for sure is that we should start this week's overreactions – where we judge a few potential findings as legitimate or irrational – in the best league in the league.

Jump to:
Lions are top team in NFC?
Giants should have signed Barkley?
Cooper trade more effective than Adams trade?
Saints' Allen on the hot seat?
Does Packers' D not get enough love?

The Lions are the best team in the NFC, even without Aidan Hutchinson

One of the big stories of the week was how Detroit would handle the loss of Hutchinson, its star edge rusher, who broke his left tibia and fibula in the Lions' Week 6 win at Dallas. Hutchinson may be the best player on one of the league's most powerful rosters, but he's also a dedicated player in Detroit's defense.

The Lions have already had discussions about potential edge rusher trades and will continue to be a team to watch ahead of the November 5th trade deadline. But in the meantime, they had to head into a hostile environment on Sunday and win a game against an undefeated division rival coming off the bye week. And they did. The Lions and Vikings share the NFC's best record, and through the early Sunday window, the Lions held the conference's highest point differential (one point ahead of the Vikings).

Verdict: NO OVERREACTION

Yes, the loss of Hutchinson presents Detroit's coaching staff with a major problem to solve. But Detroit's coaches are an elite group of problem solvers and motivators, and the reason to love the Lions remains the culture Dan Campbell and his staff have created there. This is a team with a strong foundation, a lot of confidence and an us against the world mentality. It's also a team that had a 17-point lead in the second half of the NFC Championship Game on the road in San Francisco nine months ago.

They can destroy you with their offensive line and control everything with their running game, and quarterback Jared Goff has thrown nine touchdowns and 15 incomplete passes during the Lions' current four-game winning streak. The Lions' 120 points in the last three games are the most in a three-game span since November 1997 (125), according to ESPN Research.

With the Eagles and 49ers dealing with a number of early-season issues and coming off a straight road win over the Vikings, the Lions are the NFC team to beat.

The Giants made a huge mistake and let Saquon Barkley leave and sign with the Eagles

In the easiest-to-watch revenge game of the season, former Giants running back Barkley rolled into MetLife Stadium wearing Eagles green and rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in a dominant 28-3 victory. His day consisted of individual runs of 55, 41 and 38 yards. And according to ESPN Research, his 176 rushing yards rank second in NFL history for any player in a game against his former team (Cincinnati's Cedric Benson had 189 against the Bears in 2009).

Barkley looked like a man living his best life playing against his old team, for a division rival with a better offense and supporting cast than at any time in his six seasons as a Giant. Consider: Barkley had 187 yards from scrimmage alone while the Giants combined for a total of 119 yards.

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Barkley's 55-yard burst sets up the Eagles' first touchdown against the Giants

Saquon Barkley breaks free for a 55-yard run, setting up the Eagles' first touchdown against the Giants.

Verdict: OVERREACTION

It's not that Barkley isn't good. He is one of the most exciting players in the NFL when he has the ball in his hands and room to run. But he was with the Giants for six years and they didn't win anything. The Eagles are in a very different place as a franchise than the Giants. They have two seasons left to get to the Super Bowl and believe they have a team good enough to get back there. The Giants are in rebuilding mode (for more than a decade, it seems), and giving Barkley the contract the Eagles gave him would have been a waste.

This situation worked out better for both sides, although it must have been difficult for the Giants and their fans to think that way on Sunday afternoon.

The Amari Cooper trade will have a bigger impact than the Davante Adams trade

Two high-profile wideouts were traded last week – Adams to the Jets, reuniting with his old friend Aaron Rodgers, and Cooper to the Bills, giving Josh Allen the No. 1 receiver he no longer had when Buffalo Stefon Diggs was traded to Houston in the offseason. Cooper's first catch as Bill was a touchdown, which is a really cool way to introduce himself to his new city. He had 66 yards on four catches in Buffalo's 34-10 win over the Titans. (Adams' Jets play the Steelers on Sunday night in Pittsburgh.)

Verdict: NO OVERREACTION

Adams reuniting with Rodgers is nice, but the fact is the Jets didn't do that need him. He won't help their run defense, which was terrible, or their pass defense, which was spotty at best. It's a move that makes Rodgers happy, which is the only reason the Jets need to do anything these days, and it will likely help at least somewhat.

But Cooper to the Bills is a solid Upgrade from what they had at the wide receiver position. Khalil Shakir seems to be a good receiver in possession. Keon Coleman could be the No. 1 pick at some point — he had 125 yards on Sunday — but he's a rookie and still has a long way to go. Cooper makes the Bills' passing offense scary again. And considering the Bills are already ahead of the Jets and are four-time defending AFC East champions, Cooper is far more likely to play deep into the playoffs than Adams.

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Amari Cooper scores his first TD with the Bills

Josh Allen throws one to Amari Cooper in the back of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown for the Bills.

The Saints' Dennis Allen will be the next head coach to lose his job

Week 7 began with a completely decimated Saints team being crushed at home by the Broncos and former coach Sean Payton on Thursday night. After two weeks, New Orleans was the talk of the league with a 2-0 record and an unstoppable offense. Since then, the Saints have lost five straight.

And while their offense is incredibly banged up and played this game without their starting quarterback (Derek Carr) and top two wide receivers (Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed), their defense hasn't been able to stop anyone lately. Denver had nearly 250 yards rushing in the first half and finished the game with 389, including 225 on the ground. The Saints aren't particularly good at anything right now.

Verdict: NO OVERREACTION

This is particularly true for Doug Pederson of Jacksonville, who is likely to be seated Was The league's hottest player entering Week 7 beat the Patriots in London on Sunday.

The Saints will begin the process of getting some of their stars back next week. And the next two offenses they face are the Chargers and the Panthers, so their defense has a chance to look better. But it's not like Denver's offense did this to anyone.

The Saints ownership really likes Allen and wants him to succeed. But given the roster and salary cap issues, as well as the long-term uncertainty at the quarterback position, this is absolutely a place to watch for a potential coaching change at the end of the season, if not sooner. Allen's seat is scorching hot.

Bonus: This week's underreaction

I'm trying something new here and throwing out something that people are under-reacting to at the moment – something that isn't getting the attention we think it deserves.

The Packers could finally have the defense they need to support their offense

Green Bay hired a new defensive coordinator this offseason — former Boston College coach Jeff Hafley — and instituted a new system. Defense has been a major thorn in Packers coach Matt LaFleur's side since he took over, and the team has felt that side of the ball has significantly underperformed in recent years. So they've made big changes and players seem to be responding to them so far.

The Packers led the league with 17 takeaways through the first six weeks of the season, and despite not having a Sunday, they held Stroud to 86 passing yards, sacked him four times and gave up 197 total yards to a strong Houston team. Yes, Joe Mixon ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, but the Packers stopped everything else.

“I told them I wanted to lead the league in two things – insight and effort,” Hafley told me. And he had to be happy with the latter Sunday even in the absence of the former. As good as the Packers are on offense – Jordan Love spreading everything all over the field to five or six different receivers and handing the ball off to the dynamic Josh Jacobs – they know they probably would have progressed even further in recent years if the defense would have asserted itself. The early results of the 2024 defense suggest they may finally have one that can do it. Don't sleep on the Packers' defense. Just ask CJ Stroud.