The New York Jets fear rookie running back Breece Hall could miss the remainder of the season after he suffered a suspected torn ACL on Sunday.
Hall was taken off in the second quarter of the Jets' 16-9 win over the Denver Broncos, and coach Robert Saleh said: "The initial diagnosis is not good," before confirming it was likely to be an ACL injury.
It puts a dampener on an excellent start to the season for the 5-2 Jets and for Hall, who has totalled 681 scrimmage yards and scored five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving) in seven games.
That included a 62-yard TD run in the first quarter against Denver, making the 21-year-old the first Jets player since 2009 to have a rushing touchdown in four straight games.
However, just two carries later he was tackled near the sideline and appeared to land awkwardly, before being carted off the field for the remainder of the contest.
"He's a heck of a football player," Saleh said. "When you lose great football players, it's not good."
There were further injury concerns for Saleh as right tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker (elbow) and wide receiver Corey Davis (knee) were also unable to finish the game, with quarterback Zach Wilson saying afterwards: "I didn't even know what was going on, but I'm just in the huddle like, 'Where they at?'
"It's tough because all of those guys are great players. They're all balling. But unfortunately, it's part of the NFL, right?"
Tua Tagovailoa returned as the Miami Dolphins snapped their three-game skid with a 16-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday night.
Tagovailoa had not played since suffering a concussion in Week 4, but threw a first-quarter touchdown for Raheem Mostert as the Dolphins raced to a 13-0 lead.
The Steelers rallied with 10 second-quarter points with rookie George Pickers pulling down a spectacular catch from a Kenny Pickett TD pass to make it 16-10 at half-time.
Miami's defense held firm to thwart two fourth-quarter Steelers' drives with interceptions, firstly by Jevon Holland and then Noah Igbinoghene, the latter settling a game where no points were scored in the second half. The win improved Miami's record to 4-3, sitting third in the AFC East, while the Steelers are 2-5 and last in the AFC North.
In the Steelers' last drive, Pickett had connected with tight end Pat Freiermuth and wide receiver Diontae Johnson for major gains in the final minute, before Igbinoghene's pick.
Miami's defense had only one interception all season but notched three in this game alone from Pickett's throwing with the Steelers QB completing 32 of 44 passes for 257 yards.
Tagovailoa made it four wins from four starts, with 21-of-35 passing for 261 yards with no interceptions, running four times for 15 yards.
Jaylen Waddle had four catches for 88 yards including a brilliant flying catch, while Tyreek Hill was a regular target with seven receptions for 72 yards. Touchdown scorer Mostert had four receptions for 30 yards along with 16 carries for 79 yards.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the highest scoring team in the NFL through Week 7 after a convincing 44-23 road win against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
San Francisco were in the headlines this week after pulling the trigger on a big trade for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey, but it was Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes controlling the contest.
Mahomes threw an interception on the Chiefs' first drive, but turned things around quickly and ended up completing 25 of his 34 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns.
He tossed second-half touchdown passes to Justin Watson and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and his first touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman was the beginning of a memorable day for the speedy receiver.
After getting on the end of an eight-yard score from Mahomes in the first quarter, Hardman then took a jet-sweep 25 yards down the sideline in the second quarter for the first rushing touchdown of his career.
Not done yet, Hardman added his second rushing touchdown and third overall score for the game with a three-yard run in the fourth period. He finished with two carries for 28 yards and two rushing TDs, with four catches for 32 yards and a receiving TD.
For the 49ers, Jimmy Garropolo was not to blame for the loss as he finished 25-of-37 for 303 yards, two touchdowns and an interception – with touchdown passes to George Kittle and Ray-Ray McCloud III.
McCaffrey carried the ball eight times for 38 yards, and caught both of his targets for 24 yards through the air.
Seahawks move above .500 with upset in Los Angeles
The Seattle Seahawks rode a spectacular performance from rookie running back Kenneth Walker III to a 37-23 upset win on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Walker rushed 23 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns, capped by a 74-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game to bed.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was solid, completing 20-of-27 passes for 210 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Marquise Goodwin as he assumed a major role following a knee injury to key wide receiver D.K. Metcalf.
Chargers star Austin Ekeler remains the top running back in fantasy football, rushing for 31 yards and a touchdown, as well as catching all 12 of his targets for 96 yards and a second score.
Dak Prescott made a slow start on his return to the Dallas Cowboys team, but "a win's a win", the quarterback says.
Prescott had been out of action since fracturing his thumb in the Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Cowboys had improved to 4-2 in his absence, led by Cooper Rush, and their fifth win followed in a 24-6 defeat of the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Prescott was back in the team, although he was far from the star of the show.
The Dallas defense produced five sacks and two interceptions, while Ezekiel Elliott ran in for two touchdowns.
Prescott did not throw a TD pass until the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, finishing with 207 yards on 19-of-25 passing.
The QB was never concerned about his own performance, though, suggesting he might have enjoyed overseeing a comfortable victory without contributing with a TD of his own.
"A win's a win," Prescott said. "I really don't care how it gets done; a win's a win.
"I thought it was going to be pretty cool to leave this game without a touchdown, honestly. That's kind of where my head is right now.
"I know how talented this team is. I know what we can be. It's not about me. It's about all of us, and I'm just trying to make sure I play my part and make sure I put this team in the right situation each and every play."
Crucially, he added: "The thumb feels pretty good."
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said of his QB's display: "I thought Dak performed better as the game went on. It's his first time he's been out there in quite some time.
"Start with the command of the huddle, the whole operation, I thought he was really on point there. He handled the adjustments that were going during the course of the game.
"Those are the big things that don't show up in the stat column."
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' dismal season plumbed new depths as they remarkably lost 21-3 to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Tom Brady's Bucs had slipped to 3-3 with last week's unexpected defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the team now have a losing record for the first time since the legendary quarterback lost his 2020 debut. Only in 2002, when he missed the playoffs, had Brady previously had a losing record at the end of Week 7.
This reverse was perhaps even more surprising than the Steelers upset, as P.J. Walker, Carolina's third-choice QB, led a Panthers team who had traded away star running back Christian McCaffrey this week.
Following that trade with the San Francisco 49ers, Steve Wilks, the interim head coach since Matt Rhule's October 10 firing, insisted: "There's no such thing as tanking when it comes to myself and the guys in that locker room."
The Panthers backed up that statement by dominating Brady and the Bucs, who were held to three points or fewer for the third time in their three seasons together. A Brady offense had three points or fewer only twice in his entire New England Patriots career.
The Bucs were scoreless through three quarters, in which time Carolina scored two touchdowns – Walker with a 20-yard completion to DJ Moore, before Chuba Hubbard, with just six carries through six weeks alongside McCaffrey, ran in from 17 yards.
Ryan Succop's field goal at the start of the fourth quarter was not to set the stage for a dramatic turnaround, as Walker's 29-yard pass to Tommy Tremble completed the job.
Rodgers also loses once more
Brady's fellow veteran Aaron Rodgers also dropped to 3-4 as the Green Bay Packers lost for the third week running, beaten 23-21 by the Washington Commanders.
The Packers have suffered three straight defeats for the first time since 2018, with Rodgers unable to rally late on after a first half in which he had only 47 passing yards – his second-lowest career mark after 15 or more attempts before halftime.
Dak back but defense dominates
Dak Prescott returned from injury as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions 24-6, although the victory owed more to running back Ezekiel Elliott and the team's defense than their QB. Prescott threw for 207 yards and a TD, as Elliott ran in for a pair of scores while Jared Goff was sacked five times and picked off twice.
Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals' QB, was far more influential as he threw for 481 yards and three TDs in a 35-17 win against the Atlanta Falcons. That yardage ranks third in a regular season Bengals game all-time, although the 525-yard record already belongs to Burrow (v Ravens, 2021).
The Tennessee Titans' Derrick Henry enjoyed a record-setting performance in victory over AFC South rivals the Indianapolis Colts, rushing for 128 yards. He has 1287 career rushing yards versus the Colts, the most of any Titan against any one team.
Christian McCaffrey is expected to make his debut for the San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Former All-Pro running back McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday for second, third and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in 2024.
The tight turnaround initially made it look unlikely McCaffrey would be overly involved in a rematch of Super Bowl LIV from the 2019 season.
However, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, McCaffrey will play and the 49ers will have a package of plays ready for him.
The Chiefs will have a new lead runner in their backfield, with rookie Isaiah Pacheco set to get the bulk of the carries over 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Kansas City's closest rivals in the AFC West, the 4-2 Los Angeles Chargers, face NFC West opponents themselves in the form of the Seattle Seahawks.
They had hoped to have wide receiver Keenan Allen back from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since Week 1, but his status was still up in the air heading into Sunday.
Star Seahawks wideout Tyler Lockett is set to play having been listed as questionable with a hamstring injury of his own.
The Baltimore Ravens, another prospective AFC contender, have been boosted with tight end Mark Andrews (ankle) and Rashod Bateman (knee) both active for their meeting with the Cleveland Browns.
The Dallas Cowboys will not have to defend D'Andre Swift in Dak Prescott's return to action. Detroit Lions running back Swift is once again inactive because of ankle and shoulder injuries.
Detroit's division rivals the Green Bay Packers are looking to end a two-game losing run and get their offense back on track against the Washington Commanders.
Yet they will be without oft-injured left tackle David Bakhtiari because of a flare-up in his knee. The Packers have remodelled a struggling offensive line, shifting Elgton Jenkins from right tackle to left guard. Yosh Nijman takes over at right tackle, with rookie Zac Tom filling in for Bakhtiari.
Wide receiver Sammy Watkins will return from a knee injury as Aaron Rodgers desperately searches for targets he can trust.
Russell Wilson has been ruled out of the Denver Broncos' plans for Sunday's Week 7 clash with the New York Jets.
The quarterback suffered a hamstring injury in the 19-16 overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.
He played through the pain barrier in the late stages of that game but will not be risked this weekend, the Broncos confirmed.
It means Brett Rypien will play against the 4-2 Jets, making just his second start in the NFL. Coincidentally, his first also came against the Jets, with Rypien throwing two touchdown passes for the Broncos in a 37-28 win in October 2020.
On Friday, the Broncos listed Wilson as questionable for the clash with the Jets, while head coach Nathaniel Hackett said the team would make a "game-time decision" on his involvement.
That situation has now progressed, with Wilson unavailable as the Broncos look to improve on their 2-4 start to the season.
Nine-time Pro Bowl QB Wilson has completed just 58.6 per cent of his passes since arriving in a March trade with the Seattle Seahawks, landing a five-year, $245million contract.
Against the Chargers, Wilson finished the first quarter with a perfect 10 completions, including a touchdown, but he completed just five of his subsequent 18 passes.
The Washington Commanders placed starting quarterback Carson Wentz on injured reserve Saturday, ensuring he will miss at least four games as he recovers from a broken finger on his throwing hand.
Wentz suffered the injury during Washington's 12-7 win over the Chicago Bears on October 13 and underwent surgery to repair the broken finger earlier this week.
The 29-year-old will be eligible to return from IR on November 20, but his prognosis after surgery indicated he could miss up to six weeks.
The Commanders (2-4) will start Taylor Heinicke under center on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, with rookie fifth-round draft pick Sam Howell serving as his back-up.
In his first year with Washington, Wentz opened the season by throwing seven touchdowns in the first two games but has followed with three touchdowns and three interceptions over his past four games.
Heinicke started 15 games for Washington last season, throwing for 3,419 yards and 20 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.
With the Commanders sitting in last place of a competitive NFC East, some fans are already clamouring to see Howell as the starter.
The San Francisco 49ers' running game hasn't quite performed at the standard they would have hoped so far in 2022, but they made a blockbuster move to address that on Thursday by trading for two-time All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey
San Francisco traded a second, third and fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft as well as a fifth-rounder in 2024 to prise McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers.
At his best, McCaffrey can be one of the most devastating playmakers in the NFL. Back in 2019, he became only the third player after former 49ers great Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk to rack up 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.
In the two subsequent seasons, however, McCaffrey played only 10 games because of injury and will carry a cap hit of at least $12million in each of the next three seasons.
While he has played every game so far in 2022, giving up that level of draft capital and committing to pay that contract -- though it could be restructured in the offseason -- for a player with McCaffrey's durability problems represents a significant risk.
The 49ers' average of 4.43 yards per carry is 14th in the NFL, though they rank ninth in Efficiency versus Expected -- which compares the projected yards to the actual yards gained or prevented in specific situations -- on run plays.
San Francisco's run game has not produced at an elite level so far in 2022, but it is among the most efficient in the NFL.
The level of compensation paid to land McCaffrey suggests the 49ers believe he can lift their rushing attack to the very top of the league, but can he do enough to justify the outlay spent on him?
Still a potent running threat
Despite playing behind an offensive line in Carolina that ranks 30th in run block win rate, McCaffrey has, through the first six weeks, produced a compelling argument that he is one of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL.
While his 393 rushing yards are only good enough for 14th in the NFL, his advanced numbers illustrate his value running the ball.
His yards before contact average of 2.29 yards is below the league average of 2.5, with that figure a reflection of the disappointing blocking of the offensive line in Carolina.
However, McCaffrey did an impressive job of overcoming the Panthers' futility in the trenches, putting up 2.44 yards after contact per attempt, above the average of 2.05.
Additionally, he is also averaging 3.36 yards per carry on runs where there is a disruption by a defender, again above the league-wide mark of 3.05 and just below that of Saquon Barkley (3.37), who is second in the NFL in rushing yards with 616.
Though the Niners, who possess a young interior offensive line, are just 16th in run block win rate, that still represents a marked improvement on Carolina's performance in that area, indicating McCaffrey will benefit from blocking that will enable him to rack up more yardage in the backfield, rather than having to limit the negative impact of defenders taking advantage of blown blocks to break into the backfield.
Yet his rushing production is just part of the appeal with McCaffrey, with the potential added dimension offered by his significant receiving upside surely a huge factor in the 49ers' decision to part with such a substantial package of draft picks.
The receiving gold standard
Despite battling injuries for each of the past two seasons, McCaffrey still has an extremely strong claim for being considered the premier receiving running back in the NFL.
Since 2017, when he was drafted eighth overall by the Panthers, only the New Orleans Saints' Alvin Kamara (3,454) has racked up more receiving yards among running backs than McCaffrey (3,292).
However, Kamara has played 78 games to McCaffrey's 64 in that time and the per game numbers skew heavily in the latter's favour. McCaffrey has averaged 51.4 receiving yards per game across his career, the most among running backs since 2017, compared to 44.3 for Kamara in second. No running back has more receptions for first downs than McCaffrey (174) in that span while only Austin Ekeler (26) and Kamara (20) have more receptions for touchdowns than his 18.
This season, though the Panthers targeted him 43 times in the passing game -- only Ekeler (48) has more among backs -- McCaffrey's production through the air has not been efficient.
He has produced a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 17 of his 43 targets. His burn rate of 39.6 per cent is below the league average at his position of 47.6, and he has delivered a big play on 11 per cent of targets (the average this season for backs is 12.7).
Yet his final weeks in Carolina were ones with a team clearly ill-equipped to maximise his talents.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan should have no such problems, with McCaffrey likely to benefit from his new play-caller's ingenuity and from playing alongside another of the league's most versatile offensive weapons.
Doubling up on wide backs
McCaffrey may be the NFL's best pass-catching running back, and he is joining the league's top ball-carrying wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, on the San Francisco offense.
Last season, Samuel set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver in a single season, eight of his 14 touchdowns coming on the ground.
When lined up as a running back for a downhill carry in 2021, Samuel averaged 6.58 yards per rush. He recorded 4.11 yards before contact per attempt, 2.67 yards after contact and averaged 4.77 yards per attempt on carries where there was a run disruption by a defender, his remarkable proficiency in the self-termed 'wide back' role fuelling San Francisco's surge to the NFC Championship Game.
This season, Samuel has 19 carries from the running back spot and is averaging 6.53 yards per rush and 4.61 yards after contact per attempt.
Not every NFL week is going to be filled with great games. The law of averages says there will be some clunkers.
But it only takes one game to spice up a Sunday, and Week 7 has such a contest in the form of a Super Bowl rematch.
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV three seasons ago, the Niners failing to finish the job in Miami having led 20-10 with seven minutes remaining.
San Francisco's first chance for a measure of revenge comes on Sunday, when the 49ers host the Chiefs in a game SmartRatings sees as the best of the week.
SmartRatings is a Stats Perform AI-based platform that provides excitement ratings for sporting events, teams and players. The excitement scale, ranging from 0-100, is powered by complex algorithms that are predicated upon six primary variables: pace, parity, novelty, momentum, context and social buzz.
The weight of each variable is dynamic and adapts as a season progresses. The excitement scale translates to the following general sub-ranges: 0-39 (Dull Game), 40-64 (OK Game), 65-84 (Good Game), 85-100 (Great Game).
Here, we take a look at Chiefs-49ers clash in the Bay Area and two other games viewed as the most exciting of Week 7 and the key matchups that could decide them.
Green Bay Packers @ Washington Commanders
SmartRating: 54
Win Probability: Packers 74.2%
Key Matchup: Allen Lazard vs. Washington cornerbacks
Randall Cobb's injury means Aaron Rodgers has even fewer receivers he can trust, so Lazard can expect plenty of targets to come his way as the Packers look to end a two-game losing run.
The numbers suggest Lazard will be able to find joy against a vulnerable Washington secondary.
Lazard has won his matchup with a defender, which Stats Perform labels as a 'burn', on 21 of his 32 targets. His burn rate of 65.6 per cent is above the league average of 60.6 for receivers with a minimum of 20 targets.
He has produced a big play on 12 of those targets, good for a big play rate of 37.2 that is 10th among wideouts (min. 20 targets).
Washington's starting corners, Benjamin St. Juste and Kendall Fuller, have allowed 12.27 and 13.15 burn yards per target respectively -- the average for corners with at least 20 targets is 10.05.
Both have given up a big play on over 30 per cent of their targets -- St. Juste (31.3%), Fuller (36%) -- at a position where the average is 25.5. In other words, Rodgers and Lazard should theoretically be able to thrive against both starting corners. If they do, the Packers' passing game might finally get on track and boost Green Bay's hopes of a deep playoff push many anticipated before their underwhelming start.
Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans
SmartRating: 60
Win Probability: Colts 54.4%
Key Matchup: Jeffery Simmons vs. Quenton Nelson
The AFC South is turning into a dogfight, with the 3-2 Titans leading the 3-2-1 Colts by half a game going into this divisional clash.
For the Colts to make sure the tie with the Houston Texans that separates them and the Titans does not prove costly down the stretch, they need to knock off Tennessee.
Doing that will involve stopping Jeffery Simmons, who has been a force on the interior of the Tennessee defense.
Simmons has beaten a pass protector on 18 of his 23 pressures this season. Only four interior defensive linemen have defeated a blocker on a pressure more often.
However, the Colts have a left guard in Quenton Nelson who has once again been one of the NFL's elite at his position in 2022.
Nelson has allowed a pressure on just 3.1 per cent of his pass protection snaps, giving him the sixth-best pressure rate among guards with at least 100 snaps this season.
The Colts will at least need to slow down Simmons for their passing game to prosper as it did against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the heavyweight battle between two former first-round picks in the heart of the trenches could well decide who takes command of the division.
Kansas City Chiefs @ San Francisco 49ers
SmartRating: 71
Win Probability: Chiefs 50.7
Key Matchup: Fred Warner vs. Chiefs offense
A Super Bowl rematch between two teams coming off losses was made spicier with the news of San Francisco's blockbuster trade for running back Christian McCaffrey on Thursday.
But McCaffrey is unlikely to have much of an impact if he does play on Sunday given the limited time he has had to absorb the 49er playbook.
More key to the 49ers' hopes of at least partially avenging their Super Bowl collapse is the performance of a player who intercepted Mahomes in that game, Fred Warner.
The 2020 first-team All-Pro is the organisational heartbeat of the 49er defense, the man who plays a pivotal role in ensuring DeMeco Ryans' group is ultra-disciplined and consistently in the right position to make plays.
That discipline fell down in Week 6 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons, in which an extremely banged-up defense struggled to handle the Falcons' array of motions and zone-read runs involving quarterback Marcus Mariota.
San Francisco will get back a host of players from injury this weekend and the defense must do a better job of handling motion against an offense that heavily relies on it and will have to be alert to Mahomes' running threat, which for defenses is a frustrating complement to the wondrous things he can do throwing the ball.
Still, with no Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs' avenues to explosive plays are not as plentiful as they once were, and the 49ers will likely approach Kansas City in a similar way to the Buffalo Bills defense last week, leaning on two-high safety zone coverages in an attempt to force Mahomes to attack underneath.
Warner has allowed receivers to get open in zone coverage on just 10.87 per cent of his zone plays, his zone open rate the best in the NFL among linebackers. With his acumen in that area of the game and the athleticism he possesses to run downfield with Mahomes' primary target Travis Kelce, a bounce-back effort from Warner will be crucial to San Francisco's hopes of overturning odds that are slightly in Kansas City's favour.
The Denver Broncos have listed quarterback Russell Wilson as questionable for their Week 7 meeting with the New York Jets.
Wilson injured his hamstring during the Broncos' 19-16 overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday, a game in which the 33-year-old started brightly before Denver collapsed.
Wilson finished the first quarter with a perfect 10 completions, including a touchdown, but completed just five of his subsequent 18 passes as the Chargers fought back.
Things then went from bad to worse for the Broncos as Wilson confirmed he had played through the pain barrier after straining his hamstring in the latter stages of the game.
On Friday, the Broncos listed Wilson as questionable for the clash with the Jets, while head coach Nathaniel Hackett said the team will make a "game-time decision" on his involvement.
Wilson was already managing a shoulder injury sustained in the Week 5 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, and has been seen wearing a wrap under his pads in recent outings.
The Broncos enter their meeting with the Jets with a 2-4 record for the season, with nine-time Pro Bowl QB Wilson completing just 58.6 per cent of his passes since arriving in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.
Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins will miss up to six weeks of action following knee surgery.
The 23-year-old, who was the 55th overall pick for the Ravens in the 2020 draft, missed the whole of the 2021 season after suffering a knee injury in his team's final preseason game.
Dobbins returned to action in Week 3 of the 2022 campaign against the New England Patriots, and has played four games in all, scoring a touchdown in the 23-20 defeat to the Buffalo Bills in Week 4.
However, he did not practice all week after not playing in the second half of the 24-20 defeat at the New York Giants in Week 6.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Dobbins will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the next few days that will keep him out for "four to six weeks".
The 3-3 Ravens, who face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, will have to turn to Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill over the next few weeks to maintain their impressive running game, spearheaded by quarterback Lamar Jackson, who himself has rushed for 451 yards in six games this season.
Baltimore rank seventh in the NFL for rushing yards (934) but are first for average yards (5.95).
Christian McCaffrey officially joined the San Francisco 49ers on Friday and expressed excitement about joining the Kyle Shanahan-led offense.
Acquired from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday for a haul of draft picks, McCaffrey met with the media after taking part in his first practice with the 49ers.
"In my opinion, the best run game and one of the most explosive offenses in the league. How could you not want to play here as an offensive weapon," McCaffrey said. "I couldn’t be more fired up to be here. Obviously, I have a little bit of a history with coach Shanahan. I can’t express how happy I am to be here."
The trade sends McCaffrey back to the Bay Area where he starred in college at Stanford.
McCaffrey’s father, former NFL wild receiver Ed McCaffrey, won a Super with the 49ers in 1994 and won two more titles in Denver with Shanahan’s father, Mike, as his head coach.
"I don’t think there’s anybody better at putting guys in position to have success and tailoring to what they’re good at," McCaffrey said of Kyle Shanahan. "I’ve watched him to do some unbelievable things with some great running backs, even the guys in the room right now. I’m just excited to learn from them."
The 49ers will add McCaffrey to a group of playmakers that includes versatile receiver Deebo Samuel, star tight end George Kittle and receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Samuel has thrived under Shanahan in becoming one of the league’s most productive players and McCaffrey should be able to do many of the similar things, whether lining up in the backfield or in the slot as a receiver.
"It’s an honour to be compared to him [Samuel]," McCaffrey said. "I’m happy to share the locker room with him and I think we can do some exciting things."
While clearly one of the best running backs in the league, McCaffrey has had trouble staying healthy in recent seasons. He missed 23 games over the previous two seasons due to injuries but has played in all six games in 2022.
"I think you’re always adapting every offseason," McCaffrey said regarding injuries. "It’s a constant change in figuring out what’s the best thing to do, so I made some tweaks here and there, talked to some different guys. Every year I’ve made certain changes and at the end of the day, it’s an ongoing process. Just take it day by day."
McCaffrey ranks fourth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (607) despite playing for the league’s 32nd-ranked offense. He and Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb are the only players in the league to have five games this year with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.
The New York Jets travel to face the Denver Broncos on the back of a three-game winning streak on Sunday, though their recent record in this contest suggests it could be a struggle for their offense.
Denver's defense has recorded a shutout in each of the Broncos' last two home games with the Jets.
The Broncos might have expected to enter this Week 7 contest with a winning record, but it is the Jets who are in much better shape in the AFC after six weeks.
Having started the season 1-2, the Jets have claimed three wins in a row since Zach Wilson returned from injury and face a Broncos team now 2-4 after two consecutive overtime defeats and with questions lingering over the performances of Russell Wilson.
The Broncos' blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks for the nine-time Pro Bowl QB has not worked out as intended so far. Wilson has a completion percentage of 58.6 this season. In 10 seasons with the Seahawks, his lowest single-season completion percentage was 61.3 in 2017.
His Week 6 performance in overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers was particularly poor as Wilson completed just 15 of his 28 passes (53.6 per cent), with Wilson's former Seahawks team-mate Michael Robinson warning there could be a 'mutiny' in the locker room due to his 'robot' approach.
A yards per game average of 240.3 is only enough to rank 14th in the NFL and Wilson's well-thrown rate, a Stats Perform metric that measures how often a pass is accurate and well-thrown, stands at 72.6 per cent. Of players with over 100 passing attempts this season, only the Chicago Bears' Justin Fields has a lower percentage (72.1).
In contrast to the Broncos' woes, the Jets come into the matchup on a high after securing their first three-game win streak since 2019, with last week's victory at the Green Bay Packers also marking their first three-game road winning run in a single season since 2010.
That year, the Jets season ended with a trip to the AFC Championship game. They have not been back to the playoffs since and recorded a winning record just once in that time (10-6 in 2015).
Only once since 2018 have the Jets had more wins in a single season (seven in 2019) than the four they have amassed so far yet, while the feeling is positive, it is no secret Zach Wilson still has work to do.
In his three games since returning from injury, all of which have been victories, he has thrown 572 yards with a completion percentage of 56. He has thrown only one touchdown completion while tossing two interceptions.
The No.2 pick from the 2021 draft has seen general manager Joe Douglas vastly improving Wilson's supporting cast, but their recent surge has been in spite of Wilson rather than because of him.
A well-thrown rate of 72.5 is a concern on its own but is especially concerning given 82.6 percent of his throws have been to an open target, the fifth-highest rate among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts.
No player in the NFL with at least 50 pass attempts this season has a higher pickable pass percentage than Wilson's 10.14, while he is continuing to hold the ball for far too long.
Indeed, his average time of 2.94 seconds from the snap of the ball to the throw is the longest of any player to have a passing attempt in 2022.
Clearly, both Wilsons have significant strides to make, but the difference is Denver is locked into Russell Wilson for the long-term on an extremely lucrative contract. Zach Wilson is still on his rookie deal and the Jets could soon start to have conversations about whether to activate his fifth-year option or look to move on to a new potential answer at the game's most important position. Breaking their scoreless streak in Denver against a vaunted Bronco defense will at least improve the case of the player the Jets hope will blossom into their franchise quarterback.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury have played down their heated exchange during a win over the New Orleans Saints.
The Cardinals snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a 42-34 victory on Thursday, as the visitors' stand-in QB Andy Dalton threw three interceptions.
For Arizona, Murray completed 20 of his 29 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, but he also made headlines through his second-quarter row with Kingsbury.
Murray appeared to shout, "calm the f*** down" at his coach on two occasions, but insisted there was no ill feeling between the pair after the win.
"The clock was running down and we couldn't get off the play that we were trying to run," Murray said. "So, it was... I guess it's my fault. I'll take it.
"We're good. We're going to make it right. We ended up scoring so that was good. But, yes, that's all I was saying, just chill out.
"It doesn't faze me, and I don't think it fazes him. We're just trying to win. [It was an] in the moment type of thing. After that, we're good."
Kingsbury shared Murray's view of the incident, adding he liked to see such levels of competitiveness from his QB.
"I mean, it's good," Kingsbury said. "I think we are working through, as an offense, where we want to be and what we want to do.
"When you have competitors that have a level of intensity like that, I think it will keep pushing us forward."
The Cardinals' win represented their first 40-plus-point game since January 1, 2017, breaking the longest streak in the NFL of 87 games, and took them to 3-0-4 for the season.
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