The NFL season is one-third of the way done and we have an intriguing set up this year. The best records in the league thus far belong to Indianapolis and Tampa Bay at 5-1, with Pittsburgh (4-1) and Green Bay (3-1-1) being the only other teams in the NFL not to own at least two losses.
It is also fair to say few experts believe one of those teams is the best in the league, so there has been a lot of movement since the last edition of the FanSided NFL Stock Watch. Let's check in with the Week 7 edition, featuring a notable rise from a dark horse MVP candidate in Atlanta.
NFL Week 7 Stock Watch - Risers
Bijan Robinson
There were two games on Monday night this week, but the unquestioned star of the night was in Atlanta as Bijan Robinson shredded a very good Buffalo defense in the Falcons' 24-14 upset of the Bills, racking up 238 yards from scrimmage on the night, including an 81-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to set the tone for the contest.
Robinson leads the entire league with 867 yards from scrimmage, which is very impressive since Atlanta has already had its bye, meaning Robinson needed just five games to set that total. While the MVP usually goes to the best quarterback on the best team, Robinson is making a strong case to be in the conversation if he keeps stacking up huge yardage totals and can help the Falcons reach the postseason for the first time since 2017.
The Chiefs' Offense
It turns out that reports of the demise of the Kansas City offense were just a tad premature. After a sluggish start in their first three games of the season, the Chiefs have been clicking on all cylinders of late, averaging 31.7 points per game since the start of Week 4 and watching Patrick Mahomes get back to airing it out vertically as the trio of Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy, and Tyquan Thornton have opened up the middle of the field for Travis Kelce to be more effective.
The group is also set to get a big boost this week as Rashee Rice is set to make his season debut after serving a six-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Kansas City has long viewed Rice as their best pass catcher so his return will give them a big shot in the arm as they try chasing down Los Angeles and Denver in the AFC West.
New York Giants
For a regime in hot water entering the season, there may not have been a bigger result than the Giants' 34-17 throttling of the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night. While the Eagles have made the Giants their personal punching bags for the better part of a decade, New York returned the favor in spades in Week 6, using bully ball tactics with a big rushing performance headlined by three touchdowns from rookie Cam Skattebo.
While no one expects the 2-4 Giants to seriously contend for the postseason given their difficult schedule, this kind of result with two rookies leading the offense and without star receiver Malik Nabers offers confidence that Brian Daboll is the right guy to lead a turnaround. This win, at minimum, bought a lot of good will from an ownership group that was skeptical of the Daboll/Joe Schoen grouping after back-to-back awful seasons.
New England Patriots
Don't look now, but the New England Patriots are back in first place in the AFC East for the first time in years. The Patriots handled their business in a tricky road spot on Sunday, winning 25-19 against a feisty New Orleans group that has been tough to beat in the Superdome, and assumed first place after Buffalo's loss on Monday on the strength of a head-to-head tiebreaker from their win in Orchard Park in Week 5.
The talent on New England's roster is lacking in several areas, which goes to show the impact that a strong head coaching hire can have. Mike Vrabel has a tremendous ability to get the most out of his guys, and he has impressed some winning habits onto a young team, which could give the Patriots a great chance to get back to the playoffs against a relatively soft schedule the rest of the way.
Sam Darnold
Many experts didn't begrudge the Minnesota Vikings for letting Sam Darnold walk in the offseason after his poor finish to the season and awful playoff showing against the Rams, believing that his success was a product of Minnesota's infrastructure. Darnold has proven the doubters wrong, growing more confident as a passer in Seattle with the Seahawks off to a 4-2 start, while the Vikings have seen both J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz struggle to match Darnold's success.
The Seahawks' bet on Darnold has paid off as he is completing 70.8 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,541 yards in six games with an 11:3 touchdown to interception ratio. Darnold has also helped Jaxon Smith-Njigba become one of the league's best receivers, helping Seattle claim a share of first place in a tight NFC West race.
NFL Week 7 Stock Watch - Fallers
The Eagles' Offense
One of the underrated aspects of success in the NFL is having opposing teams raid your coaching staff for new head coaches. The Eagles have changed offensive coordinators in each of the past four seasons, with two (Kellen Moore and Shane Steichen) going on to become head coaches, with longtime quarterback coach Kevin Patullo being promoted to coordinator this year.
Patullo may be more in line with Brian Johnson, the Eagles' 2023 offensive coordinator who was fired after the season, as his offense has become stale with veteran lineman Lane Johnson calling the team's play calling too predictable. Saquon Barkley has yet to rush for 100 yards in the first six games of the season and A.J. Brown has been unhappy about his target volume, so things could get tense for a team that entered the year as strong favorites to win their division.
Tua Tagovailoa
Besides getting his team off to a 1-5 start, Tagovailoa has come under fire for his actions at the podium following Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Tagovailoa used his platform to air some of the organization's dirty laundry, calling out players for not taking their responsibilities seriously and either being late to meetings or skipping players-only meetings entirely.
It is unclear what the point of Tagovailoa's message was, but it reflected poorly on both the coaching staff and himself, who is part of the leadership group as one of the team's captains. Embattled head coach Mike McDaniel addressed Tagovailoa's comments at a separate press conference, indicating that he felt Tagovailoa picked the "wrong forum" to address his concerns, and he will have to regain the trust of his teammates with the Dolphins facing a must-win game against Cleveland on Sunday.
New York Jets
The NFL's only winless team appears to be on the fast track to the top pick after a hapless offensive display in London, where Justin Fields led the offense to a net of -10 yards passing and took nine sacks against Denver's strong defense. Aaron Glenn got feisty with reporters suggesting Fields should be benched after the performance, but slightly walked back his tone in media availability back in the US, saying that a look at the tape showed areas where Fields needs to improve going forward.
That improvement won't be easy as Garrett Wilson, the team's only threat at wide receiver, is out for a few weeks with a knee injury and running back Breece Hall appears to be angling for a trade, posting #Free20 on his social media accounts. There is a lot of negativity swirling around Florham Park, and New York needs a win badly to quell some of the anxious feelings in the fandom.
Buffalo Bills
What a difference two weeks makes for Buffalo, which looked set to cruise to the top seed in the AFC before they took the field against New England on a Sunday night in Orchard Park. Two losses later and Buffalo is out of first place, trailing those same Patriots on a head-to-head tiebreaker, as the Bills are dealing with their first real adversity of the season.
Injuries have hit the defense hard, but the bigger concern may be that the Bills' receiving corps simply isn't getting open enough to allow Josh Allen to make big plays. Buffalo made an in-season deal last year to land Amari Cooper, and may need to fortify their receiving corps again if they hope to achieve their lofty goals of winning the franchise's first Super Bowl.
Tennessee Titans
Any time you fire your head coach before Halloween, you end up as a faller in the Stock Watch. This is certainly true for Tennessee, which fired Brian Callahan after a bad loss to a 1-4 Raiders team on Sunday, which makes for awkward timing with Vrabel coming back to town as the head coach of the 4-2 Patriots this week.
The Titans' organization continues to be mis-aligned as owner Amy Adams Strunk insists on throwing the angry fan base a bone, having fired two GMs and two head coaches since taking over as the primary owner, with none of the firing decisions coming at the same time. This chaos can only hurt the development of rookie quarterback Cam Ward, who has now become the fourth top quarterback pick in a row to see his head coach fired during his rookie season.