Biggest Plays of Week 7

One play can change a game; one game can change a season. That's just as true in Week 7 as it is in Week 18, so there's no reason to only start caring about close wins and losses at the end of the year. It's October now, and the haves are beginning to separate from the have-nots – and sometimes, the difference between one and the other is just a play or two.

And now we're down to just one. The Vikings may not be the best team in the league, or the most likely to win their division. But they are the last team with a 0 in their loss column, after they watched both the 49ers and Chiefs fall this weekend. It's rare, but not unprecedented, to see such a defense-focused team succeed. The Vikings would have the ninth-largest gap in history between their offensive DVOA and defensive DVOA, but they pale in comparison to, say, the 1991 Philadelphia Eagles. But whatever it takes – and so far, "what it takes" appears to just be hitting the blitz button over and over again – Minnesota keeps on winning, and keeps on denying those 1972 Dolphins their apocryphal sips of champagne.

So which Week 7 play might come back to haunt/help people when all is said and done? Let's look back.

Minnesota Vikings 16, Indianapolis Colts 10

Scootin' Kyler Murray

If Kyler Murray could be counted on to be reliable...well, he'd still be an Arizona Cardinal by now. But when Murray is on, he is capable of some truly amazing plays. Even if his running style makes him look like a child waddling at hyperspeed.

The Vikings need to be better on offense going forward. This one play was about half of Murray's value on the day, be that measure by DYAR or EPA or whatever other acronym you support. But on a day when Minnesota had yet to find the end zone, on third-and-long, being able to pull this club out of your bag? Not bad at all.

Spencer Shrader's Struggles

Shrader missed two field goals in this one, and in a game where you lost by six, that's kinda important. His first two misses of the year could not have come at less opportune times. At least the first one, a 56-yard bomb towards the end of the third quarter, was a particularly difficult kick. Maybe, with the modern K-Ball and whatnot, we expect kickers to make those kinds of things on a regular basis, but that's approaching the very edge of Shrader's range. Frankly, considering it was 4th-and-1, we should probably be talking more about the Colts deciding not to go for it and instead trusting the long kick.

This one, though? This one hurts. 48 yards, for the tie, which would force Minnesota to act with some urgency on the next drive, and he just can't do it. Some days are just like that for kickers.

Harrison Smith's Done for the Day

Minnesota only managed a field goal after Shrader's miss, so the defense still had some work to do. And then Harrison Smith did it.

Smith now has 40 interceptions and 20+ sacks for his career, joining Ronde Barber and Charles Woodson as the only players to pull that off. That's why he goes and plants the ball at the 40 on this one; celebrating that 40th interception – you've got to love a man who's aware of a big round number.

The difference between being the #1 seed and #2 seed doesn't matter much in October, though Smith's interception insured Minnesota would stay on top of that heap. But avoiding loss #1? That's always worth celebrating.

New York Giants 27, Houston Texans 21

A Cam Skattebo Day

Two big plays for Cam Skattebo, a week after getting zero touches in the loss to the Saints. Zero! A one game-quasi benching, followed up by a career high in rushing yards, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter and setting up the game-winner in overtime. Sure. That makes sense. I understand New York Giants football.

Skattebo had avoided tackles on 10 of his 17 carries, and being Skattebo, that mostly means "he ran through some guys". And those guys were the Houston Texans defense! I know Houston's defense hasn't been playing up to it's usual form so far, but that's not some no-names he's running through there on that touchdown run. That was extremely impressive – and now the Giants just have to hope that Skattebo's hamstring is OK, after he went down on the overtime run.

The Texans, who looked to be back in the race after beating the Jaguars in London last week, now find themselves at the bottom of the 2-5 pile rather than the top of the 3-4 bunch in the AFC. There may come a point where the hole they've dug themselves is just too big to recover from.

Atlanta Falcons 29, San Francisco 49ers 20

Brock Purdy's Worst Day of 2026

There is no reason for 49er fans to panic or anything. They're 7-1, they weren't going to stay undefeated forever, and they get a bye week now to rest their aching bodies. And the offense managed to gain 400 yards despite missing basically every wide receiver on the roster, and with Christian McCaffrey getting hurt in the first quarter. That's impressive stuff, even if it didn't lead to a win.

The 49ers probably do win if they don't turn the ball over four times, and that's where Brock Purdy's two picks come into play – one with the 49ers marching into scoring range, the other at about the last point the offense had the ball with a chance to win.

Both were not great throws, but I'm never getting too upset about the first pick. Should it have been a bit more out of bounds? Absolutely. But sometimes, the defense makes a brilliant play, and Jessie Bates' leaping grab is one of those times. I also think that's an INT that doesn't happen with the starting receivers out there; Jacob Cowing is just kind of...standing there, not working the field. I'm not absolving Purdy of the blame for the pick, but sometimes, things happen.

The second pick is worse. Purdy just never sees Kendal Daniels dropping back into coverage. It was a very Jimmy Garoppolo-esque interception; the invisible linebacker jumping right in the way. Daniels stands up at the line, pops back, and uses his massive height to jump into the throwing lane. Good effort by his part, but that's a ball that should never be thrown.

Flip the result, and the undefeated 49ers are sitting at first in the conference (thanks to strength of victory) as they go and rest up on their bye. They're still a solid #2 with a two-game lead in the division, but with both the Seahawks and Rams winning this week, this one could come back to haunt them at some point. The Falcons, meanwhile, are just a half-game out of the NFC South lead, so stay tuned there.

Chicago Bears 30, New England Patriots 24

...What.

Play until the clocks hit 0, kids. This amazing lapse in concentration by the Bears defense kept this game in play well into the fourth quarter. Giving up free touchdowns is bad!

Pittsburgh Steelers 16, New Orleans Saints 10

Très bien

L'interception réalisée du bout des doigts par Payton Wilson dans la « zone rouge » a constitué l'action la plus marquante pour Pittsburgh à Paris. Les Saints menaçaient de marquer, et comme les Steelers ne sont pas du genre à remporter beaucoup de duels offensifs, cet élément était crucial pour leur réussite.

Sans cette victoire, les Steelers seraient exclus de la course aux séries éliminatoires, les Patriots prenant alors leur place. La lutte est serrée dans l’AFC, et chaque victoire est précieuse.

Non, je ne parle pas français. Pourquoi demandez-vous ?

Cleveland Browns 27, Tennessee Titans 24

Number five...

The Cleveland Browns have won five games, tying last year's mark already. All five have required a game-winning drive to pull off. Something's got to break here – either the Browns are going to have to start winning more solidly, or they're going to start losing some of these close games. No one can keep things close forever.

This time, it was Harold Fannin catching the ball at midfield and running deep into Titans territory, setting up Andre Szmyt's game-winning field goal one play later. But the Browns so far can only seem to win by pulling off these last-second miracle plays. Banking wins is great for them; they'd fall from 5-2 to 4-3 and out of the playoffs entirely if you flipped the result here. It means their road from here to the postseason is much easier – but maybe try just, like, winning 30-14 or something at some point.