Week 7 of the NFL season gave us plenty to talk about, from a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that looks capable of carrying the team to an AFC North title to the Dallas Cowboys finally finding their identity on the ground. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins are becoming one of the league’s most entertaining offenses, and J.J. McCarthy may have given the New York Giants something to think about when their starting quarterback returns. After breaking down the film, here are five takeaways from Week 7 that deserve more attention.

Steelers’ defense is legit

The New Orleans Saints offense managed only 18 rushing yards against this Pittsburgh Steelers defense, and it wasn’t due to scheme or anything crazy like that. The Saints just couldn’t block the Steelers’ front. When looking at the depth of this Steelers front, it’s elite. You already know the big names like Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt, but others are starting to contribute heavily.

Fourth-year defensive tackle Keeanu Benton and second-year defensive tackle Yahya Black have been dominant when they rotate in for Pittsburgh. Benton led the league in Week 7 in stuff percentage at the defensive tackle position and was tied for second in run-stop tackles. Black wasn’t as dominant, but when he rotated in, he still made plays. He had a batted ball against Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.

The most eye-popping stat from this game is that the Saints had an 11.8 percent rushing success rate. Not to spoil anything, but that isn’t good. Injuries have started to impact this Saints offensive line, with Asim Richards starting at tackle and rookie Jeremiah Wright starting at guard. Both got worked by whoever was on them, and couldn’t get any running lanes for the Saints offense.

At the second and third levels, Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has done a great job. He ran a lot of post-snap rotations to confuse Shough, showing pre-snap single-high looks and then rotating into two-high shells. There was a rep where Shough missed Chris Olave deep down the middle because the pre-snap showed a single-high safety. But post, Steelers rotated into a Cover 2, leaving the deep middle of the field open.

Cornerback Jamel Dean has had a tremendous season for the Steelers this offseason, and he’s boosted this secondary in a big way. He and Jalen Ramsey have been having good seasons for Pittsburgh, and it’s time to talk about the Steelers winning the AFC North on the back of this defense. The biggest concern is Patrick Queen and his missed tackles; he already has eight this season.

Cowboys’ offense gets back on track

So, the Dallas Cowboys were finally able to get the ground game going. The team ran for 204 yards, with Javonte Williams having 155 yards and one touchdown. He’s the first Cowboys running back to run for over 150 yards in a single game since Ezekiel Elliot in 2018. Coming into the game, it was clear that Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer wanted to establish the ground game. The offense was missing it, so how did they do it?

Well, first let’s look at the Cowboys’ rushing offense coming into the game. Overall, Dallas had the eighth-best rushing offense in the league in terms of rushing success rate before Monday Night Football; the big issue: they don’t get explosive runs. They totaled five explosive runs all year before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, but against the Eagles, they had three, with the longest rush being 34 yards.

Dallas Guards Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker, along with tackle Tyler Guyton, all had great days. The unit manhandled the Eagles’ defensive front, keeping Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter from making an impact. Carter got his because he’s one of the league’s best, but he wasn’t a constant presence.

No matter who ran the ball for the Cowboys, there were holes. Chunks of 10, 8, and 7 yards were available all night, which is how Dallas typically operates as a rushing attack. That’s why the rushing success is top 5 in the league. They’ll open holes, but they don’t have the back to make guys miss at the second level and create explosives. On Monday, Williams did that, which is why it looked more efficient.

Something else to note is that the passing game evolved. Dallas loves to run little sit-and-slant routes to CeeDee Lamb or George Pickens. Schottenheimer dialed up some double moves to each late in the second quarter, which led to a field goal right before halftime.

Dallas still ranks 31st in explosive run rate, so they need to improve. Regardless, Week 7 was a good start.

Is Miami’s offense fun?

One of the best week-to-week watches is the Miami Dolphins offense. Quarterback Malik Willis had the best game of his career, having a QBR of 99.5, which tied for the highest total of this season, tying Brock Purdy, who, funny enough, played the Dolphins in Week 2, in which he got it.

Willis hurt the Jets through the air, with his legs having a total of 245 yards and three total touchdowns. He was going through all his reads, firing backside digs and digesting the blitzes; New York was sending, but he was getting it to his hot routes. It wasn’t just the passing game with Willis; it was the rushing attack as well.

Over the weeks, this team’s rushing attack has been solid under offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. This team is getting creative with lining up running back Ollie Gordon offset in the backfield (meaning he’s not next to the quarterback but lined out wider over the B gap). The San Francisco 49ers made this creative look popular with Christian McCaffrey, but the Dolphins have adopted it this season. They aren’t just copying; they’re running it with thought.

The offset look creates a unique rushing angle for the back. He can get to spots faster and force defenders into a weird angle to tackle. The best play was when the Dolphins ran a counter to the opposite side of the offset look with a sweep action behind the two pullers. It didn’t amount to much, but it’s fun to watch. This team won’t go on a “run” or make noise in 2026. But this Dolphins team is building right, and it’s worth a watch every week if you have the time.

Giants have a quarterback controversy?

So, is J.J. McCarthy the answer in New York? It’s way too early to have questions like that, but McCarthy looked good against this Houston Texans defense. He went 20-of-28 for 252 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. The biggest takeaway from this matchup is how fearless McCarthy was pushing the ball down the field; he was fourth among quarterbacks in Week 7 in ADOT with 9.93.

One thing McCarthy has always thrived in was pushing the ball outside the numbers, and you saw that in Week 7. 53.6 percent of his passes were outside, which ranked fourth most in the league, and they were rockets. He was hitting hole shots against Cover 2, laying the ball on corners against Cover 1, and throwing strikes on out routes against tight coverage.

Concerns remained throughout his game, especially about handling pressure and consistently hitting passes over the middle, but credit to the New York Giants offensive staff. They understood what McCarthy does well, and they leaned into it. A big reason it didn’t work out in Minnesota is they tried to turn him into something he’s not. The Giants have leaned into what he’s done best, which is a recipe for success.

New York’s rushing attack has been up and down this season, but it popped against Houston, totaling 188 yards. It’s still way too early to start a controversy, but if McCarthy leads the Giants to an NFC East title. Do the Giants start Jaxson Dart when he comes back? We may be getting too ahead of ourselves, but it’s a fun conversation to have.

49ers should lean into gap scheme runs more

It’s something the 49ers aren’t known to do, but head coach Kyle Shanahan should lean into gap runs more often. The 49ers have run 52 gap plays compared to 123 in the 2025 season.

The 49ers love to use a cheat motion with fullback Kyle Juszczyk or tight end George Kittle. Shanahan has built an entire run package out of it, with one being a counter play that sprung rookie running back Kaelon Black for a touchdown.

When it comes to gap scheme, it’s more boom-or-bust than zone. Zone will get you more positive results on average, but gap can get you more explosive plays. With San Francisco dealing with injuries at the receiver position, they should lean into the gap run game a little bit more to keep this offense afloat over the next couple of weeks.