What We Saw Roundup – Week 7

We watched every NFL Week 7 game so you don't have to — Here's What We Saw!

Brett Ford
What We Saw 2 Days Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Patriots @ Bears
Steelers @ Saints
Bengals @ Ravens
49ers @ Falcons
Browns @ Titans
Colts @ Vikings
Dolphins @ Jets
Buccaneers @ Panthers
Giants @ Texans
Broncos @ Cardinals
Packers @ Lions
Rams @ Raiders
Chiefs @ Seahawks

San Francisco 49ers @ Atlanta Falcons

Final Score: Falcons 29, 49ers 20

Writer: Kevan Downs (kdsportsnet on Instagram)

Two Up

  • George Kittle — With basically no receivers left, Kittle got the most targets on the team in this game en route to an eight-catch, 88-yard per performance. The only blemish to his day being his late fumble as the team was trying to hurry down the field to score and have time to attempt an onside kick.
  • Michael Penix Jr. — The defense challenged Penix, and he took it head-on. He didn’t start the day great, with the offense relying on Bijan Robinson early, but when the defense started to fixate on stopping Bijan more, Penix took the reigns and churned out his second straight three-touchdown day.

Two Down

  • Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey — While Purdy didn’t have his best day, leaving it as a down day by his standards, I’m not very down on either of these guys. Purdy will bounce back, especially as he gets his weapons more healthy. And for CMC, only down as a mark to monitor his health. He left the game in the first quarter and did not come back in for a while. He did eventually return, but with the length of him he spent removed, his status will be worth monitoring.

 

San Francisco 49ers

 

Quarterback

Brock Purdy: 27/40, 288 Yards, 1 TD, 2 INT | 2 Carries, 5 Yards

Notes

  • Purdy was playing well up to the point were Christian McCaffrey had to leave the game. CMC did so much for him out of the backfield. Purdy was able to find him short quite easily, and CMC turned that into big yards after the catch. After McCaffrey left the game, the offense just didn’t have the same juice. Aside from a couple big runs, Kaelon Black was far more inefficient than McCaffrey, so the defense could focus on stopping the pass, which was already dealing with a thin receiver group. Couple that with some untimely mistakes, a fumble out of Black, and multiple bad interceptions out of Purdy, it just wasn’t a great day for the offense as a whole. Thankfully for the Niners, they are entering their bye week, where hopefully they can get some bodies back and they can regroup for another strong second half.

Missed Opportunities

  • Before McCaffrey had his rushing touchdown, he caught a pass that he just wasn’t able to take in for the receiving touchdown, ultimately being tackled at the 5.
  • Approaching the red zone, Purdy made a really poor pass on the sideline that was able to be picked off by Jessie Bates.
  • Purdy made another poor pass late in the game. The offense was rushing to try to take the lead when down 26-20 when he threw a pass intended for Jordan Watkins. Kendal Daniels spied him about perfectly and picked him off.

Running Back

Christian McCaffrey: 7 Carries, 39 Yards, 1 TD | 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 61 Yards

Notes

  • McCaffrey was getting everything for the 49ers early in the game, explosive runs, catches, scored a touchdown. Everything was going his way until late in the first quarter, when he was seen stretching out and running on the sideline. He eventually went into the medical tent and was in there for a while, coming back in the game not until the third quarter. The offense slowed greatly with McCaffrey not out there. He takes on so much offensive attention for just one guy. Obviously the team wants him healthy for a playoff run, but with Black’s woes in this game, coupled with the depleted receiver room, McCaffrey might be seeing an increase in touches compared to his early season slightly managed load.

Kaelon Black: 12 Carries, 63 Yards, 1 TD, 1 Fumble | 3 Targets, 1 Reception, -4 Yards

Notes

  • Despite the stat line, this was quite the inefficient day for Black. He recorded 52 of those 63 yards on just three plays on the team’s first drive of the second quarter. Black capped off that drive with a 30-yard touchdown run. Beyond that, he struggled mightily despite being given more opportunity in the time McCaffrey spent sidelined. He wasn’t able to come close to the passing-game impact McCaffrey has either. Black later had the ball forced out resulting in a fumble recovered by the Falcons.

Missed Opportunities

  • On the first drive of the game, after McCaffrey did near all the work to get the team down to the 5-yard line, Black was stopped at the 1 after a 4-yard gain. He was stuffed twice for no gain before the team put McCaffrey back in to score.

Kyle Juszczyk: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 11 Yards, 1 TD

Notes

  • With his varied skillset, Juszczyk will see the field a lot especially with how many injuries have piled up on this roster, but still if you’re somehow in a position where you feel you have to start him you are praying on that touchdown opportunity.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

George Kittle: 10 Targets, 8 Receptions, 88 Yards

Notes

  • What was a pretty great day ended in tragedy for Kittle as he fumbled the ball while the offense was surging in an attempt to bring it back to a one-score game late in the fourth. Like other defensive backs, Jessie Bates has been quite good at the Peanut Punch and knocked it right out as he was tackling Kittle.
  • Kittle should be expected to see the bulk of the targets while the wide receiver room is in shambles due to injury. He led the team in snaps played and routes run in this game.

Jordan Watkins: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 56 Yards

Notes

  • Watkins played the most snaps out of any receiving option not named Kittle. He made some plays and stepped in nicely for the injured receiver room. Purdy targeted him on all different lengths of passes and he could definitely be in line for productive weeks pending the health of the receivers. He should likely still be behind Kittle and possibly McCaffrey in targets, but with how good Purdy has been, there could be enough to go around for Watkins while the opportunity is available to him.

Missed Opportunities

  • Watkins just missed a touchdown reception. Initially it was ruled a touchdown before being reversed after a review.

Jacob Cowing: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 38 Yards

Notes

  • Cowing saw the field more in this game due to the plethora of injuries to the receiver group, although he played fewer than half the total offensive snaps and wasn’t targeted more until later in the game when the urgency picked up and the offense needed to move quick to score. Cowing may see more opportunities in future weeks based on the injury history of the 49ers’ receivers and team in general, but shouldn’t be expected to post huge lines.

Missed Opportunities

  • Not so much on Cowing, but he and Purdy weren’t able to connect down the sideline on an off-balance throw from Purdy after Bates was able to jump in front of Cowing and keep his toes down to complete the interception.

 

Atlanta Falcons

 

Quarterback

 

Michael Penix Jr.: 25/34, 213 Yards, 3 TD | 5 Carries, -1 Yards

Notes

  • Penix started pretty slow in this game, and the Falcons quickly found themselves down 14-3. Playing off of the defensive attention to Bijan Robinson, Penix was able to better connect with his receivers, and ended his day with three touchdowns, one to Drake London, one to Kyle Pitts and one to Nick Muse.
  • Penix kept himself clean all day, using his elusiveness and quick release to keep the ball safe. He could be better in certain situations, to just throw the ball away or into the ground as opposed to hitting his check down in situations where they’re likely to be tackled for a loss.

Missed Opportunities

  • Penix missed Jahan Dotson a couple times deep in this one. They were able to benefit off defensive penalties on the plays but it’d be nice to see those as passing yards instead of penalty yards.

 

Running Back

Bijan Robinson: 20 Carries, 63 Yards | 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 59 Yards

Notes

  • What started looking like a really strong rushing game for Bijan, turned into an overall inefficient day. The defense seemed to dial in on Bijan forcing the ball more into Penix’s hands. Despite that, the offense still used to run to set up the pass, and Bijan excelled at pass catching out and uses his incredible shiftiness and change of pace to churn out yards after the catch.

Khalil Herbert: 2 Carries, 9 yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 19 Yards

Notes

  • Random Herbert sighting. He just missed a touchdown off his 19 yard reception.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Drake London: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 66 Yards, 1 TD

Notes

  • London is such a physical receiver. A couple times, Penix threw some potentially ill-advised passes his way that ended up getting London popped pretty good by the defensive player, but, man, London absorbs contact so well he basically just bounces right off of these guys, aside from the one where it was a helmet-to-helmet resulting in an unnecessary roughness penalty on the defender.

  • The run game and London set each other up so well. When the defense is fixated on Bijan, leaving London on an island with his defender, he can win routes quick by using his big body so well. Alternatively, the attention he brings in the passing game sets up well for Bijan. One play, they ran a simple concept designed to clear out space for Bijan. Like in a dragon lion concept, London ran the quick slant while Bijan went to the flat. The defensive attention went to London, leaving Bijan with a ton of grass after the catch.

Kyle Pitts: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 22 Yards, 1 TD

Notes

  • Pitts was third amongst the receiver group in routes run in this game. Despite that, he was able to capitalize on his end-zone target for a touchdown. Penix rolled left, scanned the options he had available to him via the flood concept the Falcons ran, and was able to find his big-bodied, physical tight end for the score. While Pitts hasn’t seen elite target volume, he is now up to four touchdown in five weeks playing with Penix this season, giving him more weekly upside if you’re chasing upside in the tight end position.

 

Austin Hooper: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 21 Yards

Notes

  • Another shoutout on National Tight Ends Day. If you’re not paying close attention, you probably didn’t even realize Hooper was back on the Falcons. He rotated in as part of their wacky four-player tight end rotation in this game. With how limited his snaps and routes run are, you shouldn’t expect much more than this line out of Hooper.

Jahan Dotson: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

Notes

  • Dotson had the second-most snaps among the Falcons’ wide receiver group, but was still outsnapped by Charlie Woerner, who actually led their tight ends in snaps played, and played as many as Pitts. Depsite that, he was second on the team in routes run behind just London. While Dotson sees the field for his fair share, the offense as a whole likely has too little passing volume to expect much out of Dotson, although he does carry some boom potential.

Missed Opportunities

  • Penix and Dotson weren’t able to connect multiple times deep in this one on plays that resulted in defensive penalties. Dotson’s day looks much nicer if those penalties were receptions instead.

Nick Muse: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 2 Yards, 1 TD

Notes

  • Another recipient of the National Tight Ends Day festivities. Muse only ran five routes and saw two targets, but turned one of those into a touchdown.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Patriots @ Bears
Steelers @ Saints
Bengals @ Ravens
49ers @ Falcons
Browns @ Titans
Colts @ Vikings
Dolphins @ Jets
Buccaneers @ Panthers
Giants @ Texans
Broncos @ Cardinals
Packers @ Lions
Rams @ Raiders
Chiefs @ Seahawks

Brett Ford

Writer, Editor and Podcast host for QBList.com, Ravens fan, Cool Dad