And then there was one left in the unbeaten ranks in the National Football League. It’s the…Minnesota Vikings? It is indeed. Brandon Smith makes his first NFL catches. Erick All’s bad luck continues, almost unbelievably. Let’s recap Week 7!
Brandon Smith and Noah Fant
We have to start with Smith. Smith has battled since 2021, bouncing from practice squad to practice squad. He briefly made active rosters with Dallas and the New York Jets. He also had brief stops with Arizona and New England before landing
in Pittsburgh this year. He was activated to the roster on October 24 and caught his first NFL passes this weekend. Smith caught two passes for 24 yards, as Pittsburgh beat New Orleans in Paris (??) 16-10.
Congratulations to Smith!
On the other sideline, Noah Fant caught two passes for 12 yards as the Saints fell to 2-5.
TJ Hockenson
Hockenson found himself on the scoresheet this weekend as the Vikings are now the lone unbeaten team in the NFL after a 16-10 win over Indianapolis. Hockenson’s touchdown was the score that put the Vikings ahead for good, scoring on this 5-yarder. On National Tight End Day, no less!
Sam LaPorta, Jack Campbell, Kaleb Johnson, Nick Niemann, and Lukas Van Ness
A huge reunion in Detroit as the Lions edged Green Bay, 20-17. LaPorta’s been one of the big stories in the last week after comments made about not receiving a contract offer yet and that if one doesn’t come then he’ll play elsewhere. Not a great look, really, airing the dispute in public. LaPorta finished with just 1 catch for 18 yards. On defense, Campbell led Detroit in tackles with 11.
On the Green Bay sideline, Nick Niemann logged 2 tackles. LVN had none but got in the box score with a hit on Jared Goff. Kaleb Johnson had no touches for Green Bay. With Josh Jacbos returning, it might be an uphill climb for Johnson to see much more of the ball, and that’s disappointing.
George Kittle
Kittle continued his fantastic season in the Bay Area, hauling in 6 passes for 88 yards. Unfortunately for the Niners, it wasn’t enough as they lost in Atlanta, 29-20, to give San Fran their first loss of the year. I guess it shouldn’t be a huge upset – the Niners receiver room is banged up right now, and then Christian McCaffrey missed a large chunk of the game with an injury. Power station-related, I’m sure…
Tyler Goodson and Cooper DeJean
Goodson is making a mark in Dallas. He’s been a steady back up ball carrier, and he’s making an impact on special teams. He finished Dallas’s 38-21 win over Philadelphia with 10 carries for 38 yards and chipped in 2 returns for 42 yards. He also had this return. It would have been the first return for the touchdown of the year. Alas…all that laundry on the field…
Meanwhile, DeJean collected 7 tackles for the Eagles, who are now in free fall.
Erick All
Now for the bad news of the weekend. All’s had a horrendous time with injuries, and he appears to have been lost for the season again due to yet another ACL tear. All had 3 receptions for 26 yards in Cincinnati’s 35-13 win over Baltimore, but he was moved to IR on Tuesday.
To the comments!
