Five Wide: 2026 Week Seven

By Thomas Willoughby

This weekend is probably my favourite in the NFLs regular season calendar. That one week where the clocks here and the clocks in the US are out of step. Ours went back on Sunday morning, and theirs will go back this coming Sunday. For you and I, that means NFL football an hour earlier than usual.

Football from 1.30pm! What a treat that is. Equally as important is that the slate of fixtures ended an hour earlier, too! Imagine being in bed on a Sunday at like 11pm. You simply can’t ask for a better scenario.

Now, was the slate good? Eh, sort of. You can’t have it all. I enjoyed my team, for a change, though, and really, isn’t that what matters? A win and a semi-early night. It’s the little things.

Vive la révolution

The NFL’s international expansion marched on this weekend, with the Stade de France hosting the first ever NFL game played in France. The New Orleans Saints hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers who, for a second season in a row, christened the NFL’s newest site with a victory (they won in Dublin last season, for those keeping score).

Look, I know the weekend was never going to be defined by what happened on the field. In the minds of plenty of US-based commentators, the sheer suggestion of a French protest was enough for them to decide it was a severe risk to the safety of players, staff, fans, and the health of the game, location and context of this weeks French protests be damned.

The silliest opinion came from Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk who, the day before the game, published a piece demanding the NFL move the game to London, on the basis that the Steelers’ designated pub was not going to go ahead because it was on the route of the planned protest. Ignore the fact that the Stade de France isn’t even in Paris, and the protests took place in a very small section of a very big city. Enough is enough, it’s time to inconvenience tens of thousands to satisfy the want of someone who’s not even in the country.

Of course, the game went off without a hitch. It was always going to. For all their faults, the French are used to protests and everything that comes with them at this point. They happen frequently enough. The word from fans in Paris, as far as I can see, is nothing but nothing but positive. The NFL has already committed to returning again in the future, so I guess common sense has won this weekend, in addition to the Steelers.

Just as an aside, did the Saints put on anything in the city of Orléans? It’s only about 70 miles from Paris, and there are trains that run direct that can get there in about an hour and a half. It’s closer to Paris than Swindon is to London. Feels like the easiest crossover in the world; the people of New Orleans visiting old Orléans. Missed opportunity if not. If anyone works for York City or the New York Red Bulls, hit me up. I’ve got some great ideas for a marketing opportunity.

Brick Wall

And then there was one. A disaster weekend for two thirds of the leagues top top sides meant that the Minnesota Vikings, shockingly, are the last remaining undefeated team. And it is a shock, because, of the three without defeat going into this weekend, they were the ones I looked at with the most suspicion.

Not because they aren’t good. They are clearly very well coached, and have the offensive weapons to concern most when they click. But it’s that mindset, from me, that always makes me pause. Because the Vikings offense isn’t the reason they’re unbeaten. They’re almost unbeaten in spite of their offense; only the Chargers, Titans, and Dolphins have scored fewer points than they have. It’s that defense. Brian Flores has assembled and is coaching an utterly insane unit there.

The Vikings are the last remaining team in the league to have conceded fewer than 100 points this season. They’ve not even conceded 75. 74 points conceded, across 6 games. They conceded more than 20 points once this season, against the Packers in week one. I believe it was Michael Owen who said “If you don’t score, you hardly ever win”, and the Vikings just don’t let teams score against them.

Is it sustainable? The Lions, Bills, and Packers over the next 3 weeks are as good a test as any as to the legitimacy of this defense. If they come through those games in the same sort of shape they’re in currently, I think I need to adjust how I feel about them.

Comeback of the month

THE story of the week came from, you guessed it, Atlanta. I know you get sick of me talking about this team, but my God this one is worth it. This story begins last week. As the Atlanta Falcons were getting battered about by the Chicago Bears, rookie linebacker, Kendal Daniels, suffered a neck injury that resulted in him being carted off the field and taken directly to hospital. The early images weren’t good. The fact that he was tied to the cart to keep him still. It felt for certain the worst was happening.

Amazingly, however, Daniels the worst did not happen. He had feeling and motion in all his extremities on arrival at the hospital, and was discharged soon after. He would greet his teammates in the locker room at the end of the game. He cleared concussion protocol, and had no lingering issues in his neck area, meaning that he would play against the 49ers on Sunday.

With Divine Deablo missing the game through injury himself, Daniels was given a green dot, making him the player Jeff Ulbrich would call the plays to. And he thrived. Daniels led the Falcons in tackles (11). Daniels intercepted MVP candidate, Brock Purdy, late in the 4th quarter as momentum was swinging the 49ers way, setting up a field goal to extend the Falcons lead to 29-20. And, with less than a minute to play, Daniels recovered a George Kittle fumble to end the game, and the 49ers unbeaten streak. He was given a game ball by Kevin Stefanski at after the game.

Everything about it feels ridiculous, to me. He shook off a broken neck to inject a bit of hope into the Falcons bizarre season, man, how does that happen? Good player, great story. I think we’ve got a good one.

The Good Life

The NFC South is the leagues meme division, and it has been for years. The regularity in which everyone is bad, in a league that is designed for everyone to have a stint at being good fairly regularly, should be studied. It would appear that 2026 is going to be another season of this nonsense. Instead of moaning about it, embrace it. The nonsense here is so impressive, and it reared its head again this weekend. The one team who is close to being good, the Carolina Panthers, hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a side with 1 win all season, and the return of a quarterback playing with a reinforced glove to protect his still healing thumb.

They got battered.

Not only did they get battered, the Panthers were battered to such a degree that they pulled their starters to save them from further embarrassment/possibility of injury. The worst thing for Carolina, score aside, was how the Buccaneers beat them. It wasn’t a case of Tampa Bay keeping them guessing offensively. They didn’t. They just ran the ball. And when that didn’t work, they brought someone else in and ran some more. Bucky Irving had 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns, Kenneth Gainwell had 88 rushing yards, and Sean Tucker had 52 yards and a touchdown. The Buccaneers scored 43 points total. Baker Mayfield threw for 64 yards off 7 completed passes.

That result threw the division open. The Panthers lead the way with a 3-3 record, followed by the Falcons (3-4), the Buccaneers (2-5), and the Saints (2-5). To add to the silliness, the NFC South has a combined 2-13 record at home. A blockbuster division for those willing to give it their time.

Kitwatch 2026: Part VII

Uniform match up of the week belongs to the 49ers @ Falcons. The home side donned the best throwback uniform in the league, treating to a field design straight out of the ’70s to meet the occasion. The 49ers wardrobe is up there, for me, so pairing their classes gold/white/gold away set up with the Falcons’ red/black/white throwbacks is a real treat for the eyes. We’ll see them don these again in December vs the Lions, so put that on your calendars.

The Seahawks took their own throwbacks back home in their 20-3 win over Kansas City in a very close second for best match up of the week. The Chiefs haven’t updated their threads for a while, so everything they wear feels classic. Pairing them with the Seahawks’ throwback look was a stroke of genius. Lovely.

The New York Jets donned their own throwbacks; all white with block green sleeves and their old logo on the helmets. It’s a nice look, really, though not a million miles from their primary white jerseys. It’s a shame the Dolphins didn’t match the Jets with their own throwbacks, but they’ll take the win over a nice look every day of the week.

The Lions came out in their black alternates for the first time this season, which I’m still not in on. It takes a lot for me to not be big on a black jersey, and I really wonder if it’s the shade of blue on the numbering. It might even be the decision to wear black pants with it. It just…clashes, a bit. Not for me.

Speaking of clashes, that Houston Texans “Battle Red” effort isn’t for me. There really isn’t an excuse for Stroud missing any of his passes on Sunday, what with how bright his team mates shine on the field. I wonder if this combination would work better for me with a blue helmet. As it is, it’s garish. The last thing you want to be in the NFL.

Features Image Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER

Rated 5 out of 5