It’s a broken record at this point to talk about injuries being the big headline in the NFL but here we are again.
More key players have been lost for varying periods of time, leaving teams desperately short.
One thing we were not short on in Week 7 however was on field action with plenty of entertaining games making up the schedule.
We’ve got our weekly recap ready to go so check out our top five takeaways below.
1 – The Saints Breaking Point
Friday’s game between the Saints and Broncos was only going to go one way with the massive number of injuries New Orleans was dealing with.
The sheer number of names on the injury report is troubling enough, and when you consider this undermanned team was backing up from a demoralising loss against Tampa, they had next to no chance.
It got even worse during the game with more players suffering injuries during the game.
How exactly they are expected to compete with such a depleted roster going forward is anyone’s guess.
The big addition there is Paulson Adebo whose leg injury on Friday is probably going to end his season.
It’s a long way from the Saints red hot 2-0 start, that’s for sure.
Denver was not exactly going into the game at full strength but they did exactly what was required of them.
Their defence lead the way once again and made the Saints quit on the action with a dominant win as this touchdown put the icing on the cake.
2 – Detroit is on a Mission
Picture this scenario, you have just gone to Dallas and beat the snot out of the Cowboys last week, which sets the stage for a big trip to Minnesota to take on the undefeated Vikings.
However at 4-1, the Detroit Lions made sure they knew who stood where in the NFC North with a dramatic 31-29 win.
It looked like they were going to blow the game at one point when the Vikings got this defensive score towards the end of the fourth quarter.
But as he has done so many times this season, Jared Goff kept his cool and fired this dart to Amon-Ra St Brown with a minute to go.
It was another ridiculously efficient day for Goff who went 22/25 for 280 and two scores.
That set up the game winning field goal from Jake Bates to edge the Vikings in a game that could have plenty of repercussions later on this season.
Although the best Lions moment of the day did not come from the day, it came from Dan Campbell’s press conference responding to Chris Christie’s comments.
3 – Cleveland Turning to the Backups
Let’s just get the usual boilerplate out of the way, you never want to see someone get injured blah, blah, blah.
Anyway, Deshaun Watson might have suffered the most widely celebrated injury in NFL history yesterday.
It was pretty clear in the moment that it was bad and tests following the loss to Cincinnati confirmed that it was in fact an Achilles injury.
But that’s not the point of this post, on the field, Watson has been horrific this season and his massive, fully guaranteed contract was forcing the Browns to stick with him.
In fact, they are stuck with him for another couple of years even if this injury takes longer than expected to recover.
But for the sake of their 2024 season, the Browns actually have a glimmer of hope now they can turn to their backup quarterback, whoever it is.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson came in first, but he suffered an injury that knocked him out of the game and Jameis Winston got the call.
Winston at least makes them a lot more interesting to watch due solely to his ability to play on both extremes of the quarterback scale.
Chances are one week he is going to throw five touchdowns in a blowout victory and follow that up with four interceptions and a fumble in a 30 point loss.
But Winston was probably the quarterback that gave the Browns the best chance at being competitive this season and now he gets his chance.
4 – Saquon’s Revenge Game
It was an ominous warning for the New York Giants heading into this game against former running back Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Owner John Mara said this in the offseason before his star player defected down the highway.
He probably had a hard time sleeping again after Barkley tore a lot of new holes right through the Giants defence.
Meanwhile, the Giants anaemic offence struggled to do anything when in possession, producing another limp display.
You think he relished the chance to make a statement against his former team?
5 – Purdy’s Contract Audition Gets Tougher
One way or another, Brock Purdy is getting paid a lot of money this offseason, almost certainly by San Francisco.
If you listen to the 49ers fanatics he is somewhere between the next Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Peyton Manning or just an out and out deity.
According to those people, Purdy should get and will deserve every last cent of a contract that will pay him upwards of $65m per season.
He’s had his moments where he has looked like that, but that’s where the sceptics come into play.
They point out that Purdy has been surrounded by a ridiculously good team, especially at the skill positions and he is playing his part, while getting elevated by the all star talent around him.
If there is one silver lining to the 49ers injury crisis at the moment, it is that they might learn where Purdy’s level truly is.
Just to recap what the 49ers injury issues have been, here is a non-comprehensive list.
However at 3-4 they are one game back in the division and still have the pieces to go on a run.
But Purdy is going to have to use his contract year as a motivator to justify his looming payday.
Other quarterbacks have done it before so why not him?