These were the 10 most impressive and impactful individual performances from Week 7 in the NFL.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba won NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors last season, and he may be playing even better this year.
Consider this …
The top of the passing leaders list is tight and crowded with Matthew Stafford at the top with 1,989 yards, just ahead of Jordan Love (1,958) and with Kirk Cousins (1,877), C.J. Stroud (1,867) and Dak Prescott (1,851) all fairly close.
The rushing leaders list is even more bunched up at the top with Bijan Robinson (704 yards in seven games), Kenneth Walker III (701 in six games), James Cook III (627 in six games) and Jahmyr Gibbs (620 in six games).
But the receiving yards list is another story.
Smith-Njigba’s 867 yards are 206 more than anyone else with CeeDee Lamb next at 651 in the same number of games, meaning JSN has 31.6% more receiving yards than anyone else in the NFL through just seven weeks.
That’s astounding.
At 123.9 receiving yards per game, he’s well ahead of his 2025 pace (105.5 YPG) when he finished the regular season with 119 catches for 1,793 yards and 10 TDs. At his current rate, Smith-Njigba would finish with 141 catches for 2,106 yards and 19 TDs.
The NFL single-season record for receiving yards is 1,964 by Calvin Johnson in 16 games in 2021. Cooper Kupp, Smith-Njigba’s Seattle teammate now, had the most over a 17-game season with 1,947 back in 2021 with the Rams.
It may be easy to take for granted what Smith-Njigba does week to week, but put in that context it’s perhaps clearer to see how rare it is what he’s doing.
Smith-Njigba has been a regular on the Game Balls lists this season, and he of course makes it again for Week 7.
But we’ll give the top spot to another deserving standout.
Ranking The Best Performances In Week 7 Of The NFL Season
Here were the 10 best individual performances around the NFL last week.
1. Dallas Cowboys RB Javonte Williams
Dallas desperately needed a win last Sunday in Philadelphia, and after mounting criticism that head coach and offensive play-caller Brian Schottenheimer had abandoned the run game in losses the previous two weeks, he put his trust in Javonte Williams to carry the Cowboys.
And carry them he did.
After receiving 23 carries combined over the previous two games, Williams toted the ball 25 times for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown in a 38-21 win on the road.
It was just the fifth 100-yard rushing performance by Williams over his six-year career and well surpassed his previous high of 135 yards. It was also the most rushing yards by a Cowboy since 2018.
2. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow and WR Tee Higgins
The Bengals were down 13-0 at halftime to the Ravens before catching fire in the second half thanks to quarterback Joe Burrow.
Burrow finished 22-of-30 passing for 292 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs while spreading those scores around to four different receivers.
But his top target Sunday was Tee Higgins, who racked up 6 catches for 148 yards and a TD — all in the second half!
Higgins often gets overshadowed by teammate Ja’Marr Chase, but not this time. The 148 yards tied for Higgins’ third-highest single-game total — just two games after he had 11 grabs for 157 yards vs. the Jaguars.
Overall, Higgins is up to 33 receptions for 571 yards and 2 TDs through six games, putting him on pace for a career year after previously peaking at 1,091 yards way back in 2021 — his second year in the league.
3. Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
As noted, it’s easy to take Smith-Njigba’s weekly consistency for granted, but 9 catches for 150 yards and a TD is most any other wide receiver’s best game of the season. (He also had 13 rushing yards).
JSN’s performance in Week 7 was especially notable, though, as he managed his usual elite output in what was otherwise a defensive battle as the Seahawks topped the previously undefeated Chiefs, 20-3. No other player on either side had more than 44 receiving yards.
It was a 3-0 game into the final minutes of the first half before Smith-Njigba hauled in this 28-yard touchdown to put the Seahawks up 10-0.
4. Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams and WR Luther Burden III
Many experts forecasted a breakout season for second-year wideout Luther Burden III, and games last like Sunday are why expectations are so high for the playmaker.
Burden needed only 4 receptions to reach 130 yards (the second-best total of his young career) with a TD in the Bears’ 30-24 win over the Patriots, catching passes of 26, 58, 22 and 24 yards.
Burden looks to be taking off with this game coming after he had 8 catches for 95 yards against the Falcons. Overall, he’s up to 35 catches for 491 yards and 2 scores.
But he’ll have to share the Game Ball this week because his quarterback Caleb Williams was excellent as well, completing 22 of 33 passes for a season-high 308 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs.
His best throw was arguably this 21-yard missile on third-and-9 to Rome Odunze late in the fourth quarter, extending what would be a key field goal drive to make it a two-score game with just 1:34 remaining.
How many QBs in the league are making this pass?
That makes back-to-back 300-yard games for Williams since returning from his hamstring injury.
5. Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.
There’s no denying that Michael Penix Jr. has given the Falcons a major spark since returning to action in Week 3, throwing for 1,157 yards with 9 TDs and only 1 INT in five games.
He best performance yet came Sunday as the Falcons upended the previously unbeaten 49ers for a momentous 29-20 victory.
Penix completed 25 of 34 passes for 213 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs, delivering the efficiency the Falcons need to support their strong running game. That’s the formula that can push Atlanta back into the playoffs, and Penix seems to be finding his rhythm more and more by the week.
So while it wasn’t the most eye-popping stat line of the week, Penix led the way for what was absolutely the biggest win of the week around the NFL.
6. Minnesota Vikings LB Blake Cashman
The 6-0 Vikings are the NFL’s last remaining undefeated team thanks mostly to a defense that is giving up the fewest points (12.3/game) and second-fewest yards (252.8/game) in the NFL.
So it’s only fitting that it’s a defensive player making the Game Balls list for Minnesota from its 16-10 win over the Colts.
Blake Cashman was everywhere for the Vikings last Sunday with 12 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits and 4 pass breakups.
That was enough to earn Cashman NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors and his first TeamFB7 Game Ball of the season.
7. Los Angeles Rams RBs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum
The reeling Rams needed this one after a 2-4 start.
Los Angeles bounced back from its stunning loss to the Cardinals with a 35-21 win over the Raiders that looked easy, thanks to a rushing attack that had its way on the ground all game.
Kyren Williams rushed for 99 yards and a TD on 16 carries (plus 22 receiving yards) while Blake Corum piled up 93 yards and a TD on 17 carries.
8. Tennessee Titans RB Tony Pollard
It came in a losing effort, but that wasn’t Tony Pollard‘s fault.
He set season-highs across the board with 25 carries for 129 yards and 3 TDs along with 26 receiving yards in the Titans’ 27-24 loss to the Browns.
Pollard stacked Tennessee to a 14-0 lead with rushing TDs of 36 and 10 yards in the first quarter and later tied the game in the final minute on a short TD before Cleveland drove for the win.
Pollard has 478 rushing yards and 4 TDs on 4.3 yards per carry for the NFL’s worst offense.
9. New York Giants RB Cam Skattebo
A week after being phased out of the offense entirely and receiving 0 carries, punishment for a costly lost fumble in overtime the previous week, Cam Skattebo was back in the Giants’ good graces while leading the team to a 27-21 overtime win over the Texans.
Skattebo rushed 17 times for a season-high 124 yards and a TD while pushing the NFC East-leading Giants to 4-2-1.
A third of those yards came on a 42-yard scamper in overtime that helped set up New York’s game-winning touchdown.
He also did Skattebo thing like this:
10. Denver Broncos LB Alex Singleton
The AFC Defensive Player of the Week, Alex Singleton was everywhere for Denver in its 30-16 win over the Cardinals, totaling 19 tackles (12 solo stops) and a sack.
He now leads the NFL with 87 tackles — 15 more than anyone else.
Honorable Mentions
Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: St. Brown had 9 catches for 153 yards in the Lions’ pivotal 20-17 win over the Packers, leading the way for a balanced offensive attack that had a lot of stars Sunday.
Cleveland Browns RB Quinshon Judkins and WR KC Concepcion: Judkins returned from a one-game injury absence with one of the best performances of his career, rushing for 96 yards and 2 TDs on 17 carries, while Concepcion had the best game of his young career with 8 catches for 129 yards in the Browns’ 27-24 win over the Titans.
Baltimore Ravens WR Zay Flowers: Even with a backup QB throwing him passes, Flowers is hard to slow down as he tallied 8 catches for 137 yards and a TD in a loss to the Bengals.
Atlanta Falcons LB: Kendal Daniels: The rookie had 11 tackles (9 solo), recovered a fumble, made an interception and notched a pass breakup in the Falcons’ upset win over the 49ers.
Miami Dolphins RB Ollie Gordon II: The Dolphins won their first game of the season, 28-25 over the Jets, as Gordon led the way with 25 carries for 103 yards and a TD
