NFL Week 7 grades: Falcons, Buccaneers earn solid ‘A’ grades; + Panthers fail with a resounding “F”

Welcome to week 7 classes!

We’ve somehow reached the last Sunday in October, and when you look at the NFL standings, there are definitely some surprises. On the one hand, the Cleveland Browns are in first place in their division. I repeat, the Cleveland Browns are in first place. This is not an exercise. One of the reasons the Browns’ magical run is happening is because of Deshaun Watson.

• In Cleveland’s 27-24 win over Tennessee, Watson had another fourth-quarter kill on Sunday, and he now has five on the season. This makes him the third QB since 1970 to win a game in each of his team’s first five wins during the season.

Not to be outdone, the New York Giants also sit in first place in the NFC East, AND they just won a game with JJ McCarthy as their starting quarterback. If I had told you in August that the first-place Giants were going to win a Week 7 game with JJ McCarthy under center, I would have been laughed at on the Internet. Nobody is laughing now.

• The Giants have now won a game with three different starting quarterbacks this year (McCarthy, Jameis Winston and Jaxson Dart). This makes them the first team since the 2016 Patriots to win at least three games with three different starters before November.

On the other side of the standings, the Baltimore Ravens sit in last place after suffering one of the most shocking defeats in NFL history. The Ravens led the Bengals 13-0 at halftime but ultimately lost 35-13.

• It was the third-largest loss in NFL history for a team that led by at least 13 points at halftime.
• Since 2020, the Ravens have lost 17 games in which they led by double digits at some point, the most in the NFL over that span. Their three losses this year came in games where they held double-digit leads.
• It was the second week in a row where they blanked their opponent in the first half, only to go scoreless and lose in the second half.

With that in mind, let’s get down to the notes, starting with Baltimore’s ugly loss.

Bengals (4-2) 35-13 against Ravens (4-3)

Falcons (3-4) 29-20 over 49ers (6-1)

Vikings (6-0) 16-10 vs. Colts (2-5)

Giants (4-2-1) 27-21 vs. Texans (2-5)

Buccaneers (2-5) 43-13 Panthers (3-3)

Browns (5-2) 27-24 vs. Titans (1-6)

Dolphins (1-5) 28-25 over Jets (2-5)

Steelers (5-2) 16-10 against the Saints (2-5) in Paris

Bears (5-2) 30-24 against Patriots (4-3)