Woah. After a quiet couple of weeks, Week 7 saw some real highlights from former Hawks. Noah Fant on the scoreboard again. George Kittle’s back. T.J. Hockenson is mad, while Cooper DeJean is tangling with
Justin Jefferson and winning that battle. Then there is Riley Moss and the gonzo ending in Denver. Let’s go!
Tight Ends
This group is fully healthy again and it feels GREAT. Let’s start with Noah Fant, who suited up last Thursday for the Bengals. I joked last week that adding Joe Flacco to that team was a great idea given their offensive line woes. An older quarterback that can’t move. Well it actually worked, as the Bengals beat the Steelers, 33-31, and Flacco had 342 yards passing, 3 touchdowns, and was only sacked twice. One of those touchdowns was to Fant, his second touchdown of the year in a 4-catch, 44-yard outing that broke the standard 3 catches for 26-28 yard line Fant seems to have in abundance.
Back after his Week 1 injury in Seattle was George Kittle. It was a quiet return for Kittle – he was targeted by Brock Purdy Mac Jones twice but didn’t get the reception on either attempt. Whatever – Kittle is back and San Francisco found themselves in the win column again with a 20-10 win over Atlanta. The bigger story from this game was Connor Colby making another start for the Niners at left guard. Colby actually caught a deflected pass – no joke – for -1 yard. He was also helpful in getting Christian McCaffrey over the goal line for one of his two touchdowns.
In the earlier games, we had the Vikings hosting the Eagles. The two talking points of the day were T.J. Hockenson and Cooper DeJean. Hockenson finished with 6 receptions for 43 yards. He looked to get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, but this diving effort – ruled a touchdown on the field – was reviewed and overturned by New York.
The Vikings had to settle for a field goal instead of pulling within two in a 28-22 loss.
On the other side was DeJean, who had one of the plays of the day in a one-on-one with Justin Jefferson. You know, one of the best receivers in the league.
Coop finished with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and the above incredible pass defended/breakup. What a day. That play was all over my Twitter feed, plus I had friends randomly texting about it Sunday afternoon.
To wrap up our tight end crew, Sam LaPorta finished Detroit’s 24-9 win over Tampa with 3 receptions for 15 yards. Of course we can’t forget Jack Campbell, who finished with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack. Ho hum. Campbell’s doing that every week.
Riley Moss
Ok this game was bonkers. Denver trailed 19-0 entering the fourth quarter, thanks to a touchdown from former Hawk Tyrone Tracy, Jr. The teams traded touchdowns early in the fourth quarter on two drunk deflections, so the Giants led 26-8 going into the final 6 minutes of the fourth. NFL teams had won 1,602 straight games when leading by 18 or more in the final six minutes of a game.
Then all hell broke loose. Denver scored with 5:13 left, then immediately forced a pick from Jaxson Dart. The Broncos scored again, their second touchdown in 1:22. Denver forced a punt, then scored again to take a 30-26 lead. Surely a Denver win now.
Or maybe not. And that’s where Moss enters the chat in perhaps one of the worst calls of the year that set off a mini-rumble. Moss made what looked like a clear pass breakup in the end zone on a last-gasp drive from the Giants, but a late flag came out for defensive pass interference, despite the pass being underthrown, Moss making a play on the ball, and both players tangling with each other. It’s the exact kind of penalty you hate seeing, rewarding the offense on a poorly-thrown ball. You could let guys play and compete instead of throwing it. Despite how crap the throw was, Moss turned and made a play on it while also being mugged!
You could call nothing, or offsetting, but it’s only a flag on Moss? Poor officiating. The late flag had Sean Payton on the field, earning him a flag too. Former NFL great Richard Sherman didn’t hold back his thoughts on the call.
New York scored, but the Broncos drove in the final 37 seconds to kick a winning field goal (New York missed multiple PATs in the game.) Players got into it with officials post-game – Dre Greenlaw is suspended next week for a run-in with the officials in the celebrations. Truly one of the most bizarre games the league has seen in a long time. Let’s get a sped up version of the final 17-ish minutes.
Moss is quietly having a really good season – he’s allowing a 39.1 completion percentage in coverage this year, and on Sunday, he and Pat Surtain II (Defensive Player of the Year) allowed zero receptions between them. Really strong year for Moss.
