Following a wild, come-from-behind 24-23 win over the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell said, "Games in this league are crazy."
How true. Instead of running out the clock, Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw an interception that allowed the Lions to get a game-winning touchdown. The Chicago Bears lost their third consecutive home game, falling to Miami 27-14, and the Bears' defense made Ryan Tannehill look like a running quarterback. The Cleveland Browns' magical ride came to a crashing halt in a 24-6 loss to Jacksonville.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Kyle Orton led an 80-yard, game-winning drive in which he hit on a fourth-and-20, third-and-12 and second-and-20. He beat the Minnesota Vikings 17-16 on a touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins with one second left. And who would have predicted Colt McCoy coming off the bench to lead the Washington Redskins over Tennessee 19-17?
Here is what we learned in Week 7.
1. Defenses have gained on Saints' offense: Despite being 35 years old, Brees' game isn't dropping off much. On Sunday, he put up 342 passing yards and 23 points on a Lions team that entered Week 7 as the league's No. 1 defense.
But New Orleans suffered its fourth straight road loss of the season and league-high seventh dating to last season. The Lions won 24-23 because safeties Glover Quin and James Ihedigbo knew Brees' tendencies at the right moment.
"He likes to throw in the middle of the field," Quin said. "He throws from the numbers to the numbers and doesn't throw a lot outside the numbers."
With 5:24 left, the Saints were leading 23-10. Lions QB Matthew Stafford executed a 90-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to six, but all Brees needed to do was kill the final 3:38. Before a third-and-9 play at the Saints' 29-yard line, Quin and Ihedigbo switched positions in Detroit's Cover 1 look. Normally, Quin plays the high safety and Ihedigbo plays low in the Cover 1. They switched, but Quin stayed near his normal spot before the snap to confuse Brees.
Quin sensed the pass was coming in the middle of the field. Being only 6-feet, Brees' normally adds a yard or two to his dropback to see over the linemen, but shorter quarterbacks don't always see the middle of the field well. Earlier in the game, Brees had destroyed the Lions' two-deep zone by completing big passes in the middle of the field.
"He's hard to see when you play two-high stuff," Quin said. "But if I can't see him, he probably can't see me."
As the Lions' defensive line pressured Brees, Quin stepped in front of a pass intended for Marques Colston with 3:10 left, giving Stafford time to generate the game-winning drive. Stafford hit Corey Fuller for a 5-yard touchdown with 1:54 left.
The loss dropped the Saints to 2-4 and continued the long string of road games in which Brees has been intercepted. For the 5-2 Lions, the victory proved they can thrive in close games and be smart enough to win.
2. Seahawks not special at the moment: The Percy Harvin trade was like a tooth extraction. With Harvin reportedly fighting with teammates and not wanting to play on certain possessions, he needed to be removed from the roster like a bad tooth.
Harvin's trade to the New York Jets clearly affected Seattle's play in a 28-26 loss to St. Louis. The Seahawks fell behind 21-3 in the first half. Injuries damaged their special teams, which gave up a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown, a 75-yard kickoff return and a fake punt at the end of the game that ruined any chance of a comeback.
"As human beings, we have to admit it had an effect on us," Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin said of the Harvin trade.
At 3-3, the Seahawks, who were considered a likely No. 1 seed, will have to pick it up just to ensure a playoff spot. Thanks to players such as Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, the Seahawks can rebound, but it has to start next week on the road in Carolina.
"I think adversity is opportunity," Wilson said. "We have a great opportunity ahead of us."
After the Carolina game, the Seahawks host Oakland and the New York Giants, so they have a chance to get to 6-3. But the past week of turmoil has humbled and damaged the champs.
3. Maybe Colts are more than a No. 3 seed: Early losses to Denver and Philadelphia made the Colts look like a paper tiger. They looked like a team that could win the AFC South but would be a playoff patsy against the Broncos and New England Patriots, the AFC's top two seeds the past two seasons.
Sunday's 27-0 blowout of Cincinnati was a statement that this team might be better than the winner of the worst division in football. Luck did his usual thing. He threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns as the offense posted 506 total yards. But the defense totally shut down the Bengals, limiting them to 135 yards, zero points and one third-down conversion in 13 tries.
"We're just starting to get a glimpse of what we envisioned when we got together a couple years ago, what we wanted to build when we first got here," coach Chuck Pagano said. "Looks like the monster is starting to rear its head a little bit."
Luck already was the monster on offense, and he's loaded with weapons. The running game keeps getting better, and it was encouraging to see Trent Richardson gain 77 yards on 14 carries before injuring his hamstring. But if this defense plays like this each week, the Colts could indeed be a monster.
4. Hopeless without Hardy: Greg Hardy was the Panthers' franchise player, and the franchise isn't the same without him. Because of his domestic violence case, Hardy is on the commissioner's exempt list until he finishes a jury trial. With Hardy at defensive end last year, the Panthers arguably had the best front seven in football. Without him, the defense can't stop anyone.
Aaron Rodgers destroyed the Panthers defense Sunday in a 38-17 victory. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Eddie Lacy led a 122-yard running attack. The Panthers are 3-3-1 but are giving up 27.9 points a game, 12.8 more than last year.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Rodgers was 13-for-15 against the Panthers' four-man rush and averaged 10 yards a completion. His three touchdown passes came against the four-man rush. A year ago, the Panthers gave up only 6.74 yards an attempt with their four-man rush and had 33 sacks.
But the NFC South is aptly named because all the defenses in the division have gone south. The Atlanta Falcons are giving up 28.4 points a game. The Saints are surrendering 27.5 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34.
5. Reid, Chiefs rely on the run: In Philadelphia, it was always a struggle to persuade Andy Reid to run the ball. He's a West Coast offensive coach who loves to use screens and flat passes like running plays.
In Kansas City, the strength of his offense is the run, and it's why the Chiefs beat the Chargers 23-20 in San Diego. Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis combined for 120 yards on 32 carries. More important, the success of the run kept the ball out of the hands of Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. The Chiefs had 70 plays to the Chargers' 49 and won the time-of-possession battle by 18 minutes.
Aside from allowing the Chiefs to sneak back into the AFC West divisional race, the Chargers put themselves in a tough spot. They have to come back Thursday night and play the Denver Broncos in what becomes their most important game of the season.
"I told the team after the game we've got to move on," Chargers coach Mike McCoy said.
SHORT TAKES
So much for the Kirk Cousins' era. Cousins put the Redskins in position for what would have been his eighth consecutive loss as a starter because of turnovers. Coach Jay Gruden benched Cousins in favor of Colt McCoy, who got the game-winning touchdown in a 19-17 win over Tennessee. ... Players in Indianapolis and Carolina didn't think the ejections of Colts linebacker Erik Walden and Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly for accidentally bumping officials were justified. Wrong. Even if it's an accident, players can't make contact with an official. Officials don't have protection. Plus, to respect the game, officials must be protected. ... The Bills' offense will likely struggle in the weeks ahead, which is why their come-from-behind win over Minnesota was so important. Running back C.J. Spiller has a broken collarbone, and RB Fred Jackson suffered a groin injury. That leaves the Bills with Bryce Brown and Ahmad Dixon. ... Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is right in saying he feels the season is slipping away. The Falcons weren't really competitive in a 29-7 loss to the Ravens, who were missing starters on the left side of the offensive line. Atlanta's defense can't stop anyone, and the offense is slipping. ... Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman said he had a sick locker room. That's an understatement after a 27-14 loss to Miami. Players were upset at fans who booed. Players were yelling. Some players had to be taken out of the locker room. The Bears are 0-3 at home, 3-1 on the road. Brutal. Once again, fingers pointed to an offense that continues to make mistakes. ... Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray rushed for 128 yards on 28 carries to give him 913 yards for the season, more than any other team except Seattle, Baltimore and the Jets.