We are nearing the halfway point of the NFL season and we are down to one undefeated team. One season after winning only two games, the Kansas City Chiefs are the league’s lone 7-0 team. But does that mean Andy Reid’s club is the best in football? We won’t know that until early February.
Of course, if you're looking to "the best" from Week 7 of 2013, you have come to the right place as usual.
Devin Hester, Matt Ryan And Monte Kiffin Headline The NFL's Week 7 Honor Roll Slideshow
QB Matt Ryan
Yes, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton threw for 372 yards and three scores in a road win over the Lions. But the hungry Falcons managed to snap a three-game losing streak minus the services of wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White while running back Steven Jackson remains sidelined. Ryan completed 20-of-26 passes for 273 yards and three scores and wasn’t sacked in a 31-23 win over the Buccaneers.
RB Ryan Mathews
The former first-round draft choice has had his ups and downs. But on Sunday against Jacksonville, Mathews helped the Chargers control the clock for 37:30 during a 24-6 road victory. San Diego ran for 158 yards on 40 carries, and Mathews had the bulk of that, rushing 21 times for 110 yards and a touchdown as Mike McCoy's team won its second game in six days and raised its record to 4-3.
WR A.J. Green
Talk about split ends? In a meeting of feline powers in the Motor City on Sunday, Green rolled up 155 yards and a score on six catches in his team's 27-24 win over the Lions. Meanwhile, Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson also totaled 155 receiving yards but did it on nine receptions and scored twice in the losing effort. Green went to Georgia and Johnson went to Georgia Tech. Green wears No. 18 and Johnson wears No. 81. Shall I stop now?
TE Jordan Reed
The third-round pick from Florida suddenly ranks second on his team with 26 catches for 298 yards and two touchdowns this season. And Reed came up huge for the Redskins on Sunday in their come-from-behind win over the visiting Chicago Bears. The rookie tight end was targeted nine times by Robert Griffin III and caught all nine passes, totaling 134 yards and a score in Washington's 45-41 victory.
Offensive Line: Jets
When Rex Ryan's team met the Patriots back in Week 2 on a Thursday night at Foxborough, New York ran for 129 yards on 32 carries in a 13-10 loss. And that was with defensive tackle Vince Wilfork and linebacker Jerod Mayo in the New England lineup. So imagine the Jets game plan on Sunday with the two Patriots defenders sidelined? Ryan’s team rushed for 177 yards on 52 carries, 104 of those on 34 attempts by running back Chris Ivory, in New York's 30-27 overtime win over the Pats.
DT Justin Smith
The defending NFC champion 49ers have been on a roll as of late and their 31-17 victory at Tennessee was the team's fourth straight following a 1-2 start. The Niners have outscored their past four opponents by a combined 132-51 score, this after giving up 84 points in their first three games. Smith totaled three tackles and a pair of sacks as the Titans ran for only 70 yards.
LB Lawrence Timmons
Colts outside linebacker Robert Mathis had quite a night against his former teammate Peyton Manning on Sunday night. But Timmons (No. 94, above) gets the nod here after he racked up 17 tackles (two solo) in the Steelers' important 19-16 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens on Sunday. Baltimore ran for just 82 yards on 26 carries versus Timmons and company.
CB Captain Munnerlyn
It didn’t take long for Ron Rivera's team to strike on Sunday as the Panthers evened their record this season (3-3) with a 30-15 victory over the visiting St. Louis Rams. Munnerlyn returned a Sam Bradford interception 45 yards for a score just 21 seconds into the game. Add in five tackles, two passes defensed and a fumble recovery and the Carolina cornerback was more like a five-start general than a captain on Sunday.
KR Devin Hester
Easy call to go with Hester, who returned a punt 81 yards for a score in the team's wild 45-41 loss to the Washington Redskins. The Bears specialist upped his NFL record totals to 13 punt returns for scores and 18 total kickoff returns for touchdowns. And that doesn't count returning a missed field goal for a score or his touchdown returning on the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI.
Coach: Monte Kiffin
Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles were eventually down to their third-string quarterback but did anyone notice who started on the defensive line for the Cowboys? Defensive end DeMarcus Ware was among this missing. But the Birds ran 75 plays and gained on 278 yards in a 17-3 loss. Kiffin's defensive unit sacked Nick Foles three times and picked off rookie quarterback Matt Barkley three times.
-- Read more of Russell S. Baxter at ProFootballGuru.com. Follow him on Twitter @BaxFootballGuru.
