There was plenty of consternation about the Seahawks' 3-3 start to the season. The offense couldn't stop turning the ball over. The running game had no juice. The defense wasn't quite back to last year's elite level. These guys were really the reigning champions? With Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III coming to town, all those issues would be on display under the bright "Sunday Night Football" lights.

The Seahawks answered them and then some in a 20-3 shellacking. The Chiefs didn't reach the red zone once, the first time that's ever happened in a Patrick Mahomes start. Walker, the league's leading rusher, had just been 36 yards on the ground. Seattle looked very much like the dominant unit it was at the end of last year, and no one was more dominant than Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

He leads off our six lessons learned from Week 7.

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba's quest for a second straight OPOY award is on track

On a field full of stars, and with Walker's return taking up most of the spotlight pregame, Jaxon Smith-Njigba took the spotlight back: nine catches, 150 yards, one touchdown. He roasted anyone lined up against him. 

Smith-Njigba is too quick to jam at the line and an absurdly smooth route runner. Once he's past you, he's gone. And once he has the ball in his hands, he's hard to bring down, with a mix of jukes, vision, craftiness and strength to get past the defender guarding him.

And Smith-Njigba is doing it while carrying an immense load. He has 50.2% of Seattle's receiving yards this year. Only one player-- Ken Burrough in 1975 -- has had more than half of his team's receiving yards since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger.

We already knew Smith-Njigba was excellent. But Sunday night, he truly went to another level. This was a defense that hadn't allowed more than 72 yards to an opposing wide receiver. Smith-Njigba more than doubled that.

He's now up to +450 odds to win Offensive Player of the Year, according to DraftKings, only behind Jahmyr Gibbs (+250) and Kenneth Walker III (+280). No wide receiver has ever gone back-to-back for the award, but as Nick Emmanwori said after the game, "He's one of one."

Speaking of Emmanwori ...

2. Nick Emmanwori changes everything for the Seahawks defense.

Sticking with the champs, Emmanwori is now fully back to wreaking havoc. Sunday night, he played defensive snaps at 11 different positions, including at least five snaps at ...

• right slot cornerback
• left outside linebacker
• right linebacker
• left linebacker
• right outside linebacker

The Seahawks didn't play a single snap of base personnel, according to Sumer Sports, and Emmanwori is the key that unlocks that versatility.

He also provided the pressure on Mahomes' interception while playing right linebacker. But he's not just an absurd athlete; he's also a really high-IQ player. Look at him somehow defend three players at once here: He occupies Noah Gray as blocker on the edge and, when he sees Mahomes rolling out and getting pressured, turns and finds Walker for a pass breakup.

The numbers with Emmanwori on the field this season are absurd.

Seahawks with Emmanwori on field this season		Would rank ...
Defensive success rate	63%	1st
Defensive EPA per play	0.14	2nd
First down rate	21.3%	1st
Pressure rate	49.7%	1st

What a weapon. 

3. It really can be that easy for the Bengals.

The Bengals trailed the Ravens 13-0 at halftime.

The Bengals beat the Ravens 35-13.

It was the third-largest win ever by a team trailing by 13+ at halftime, and my goodness did it serve as a great reminder of how much firepower the trio of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins has. In the second half alone ...

• Burrow: 16 for 18. 249 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
• Higgins: 6 receptions, 148 yards, 1 touchdown
• Chase: 3 receptions, 39 yards, 1 touchdown

The highlights from Higgins are as good as it gets.

Higgins has gotten so, so much better in one crucial area: the middle of the field. He has always been an exquisite talent on the perimeter, but this year, he has 24 catches between the numbers. That's 11 shy of his career high ... and it's only been six games!

Oh yeah, and then there's Chase, who can do this:

The Bengals entered this season wanting to do more under center and play action, an attempt to expand the playbook, make things harder on the defense and give Burrow more easy answers. It was a worthwhile attempt, but it just wasn't a fit; Burrow has never liked turning his back to the defense.

In the second half, Burrow was out of the shotgun on 17 of his 18 pass attempts. Sometimes, it can be as easy as "our players are better than yours."

4. The Rams found a new way to win, even if it was by necessity.

The Rams got back on track with a 35-21 win over the Raiders, a much-needed victory after a rough Week 6 loss to the Cardinals, followed by even rougher injury news.

With no Davante Adams, Los Angeles ran the ball 38 times, or on 55.9% of its offensive plays -- its highest rate of any game in the past two seasons. Yes, playing from the lead helps, but the Rams' 44% rushing rate in the first half was their highest since Week 1 and powered the Rams to a 28-3 halftime lead.

Not only did the Rams run a lot, but they did so with a season-high 63.2% success rate. Kyren Williams ran 16 times for 99 yards, and Blake Corum ran 17 times for 93 times. Both scored a touchdown.

From an outside perspective, it always made sense for this to be a run-first game for Los Angeles, and without Adams for the foreseeable future, it could stay that way. The Rams ran 13 personnel (one running back, three tight ends) on half of their snaps, their highest rate since Week 2, when Puka Nacua was out.

They had a 68% rushing success rate with 13 personnel, and for the year, they have a 57.4% rushing success rate out of 13 personnel. In fact, they have a 55.4% rushing success rate overall, second only to the 49ers.

All of this is to say the Rams finally leaned on the run. Williams gives them down-to-down consistency, while Corum gives them some explosiveness. The Rams have a manageable stretch of game -- Chargers, at Commanders, at Cardinals -- to continue to lean into it, especially with heavy personnel. It will do lots of good with Adams out and add a weapon to the repertoire if/when he returns.

5. The Texans' defense has major issues, no matter who's calling plays.

The Texans' 27-21 loss to the Giants was disappointing for a variety of reasons. It undid all the good work they had done over the previous two weeks, when they went from 0-4 to 2-4. The offense had all-too-familiar struggles with short yardage and penalties.

But nothing was more disappointing than the defense. J.J. McCarthy threw for 252 yards, and the Giants ran for 188 yards -- their most in any game in the last three seasons. New York had four explosive runs, including two in a row to end the game: Cam Skattebo's 42-yarder followed by Devin Singletary's 30-yard walkoff touchdown. Neither runner was touched until they were well into the secondary.

This has happened far too often this year. The Texans are 25th in defensive rushing success rate this year. They were seventh last year. This has become a major issue not just because stopping the run is important (duh), but also because it limits Houston's chances to attack the quarterback when opponents get behind the sticks. Last year, the Texans had the second-highest rate of opponent plays that went for 0 or negative yards. This year, they are 22nd.

And then there's the secondary, which has completely fallen off. No one epitomizes that more than Kamari Lassiter -- the cornerback opposite Derek Stingley Jr. -- who was so good last year.

Kamari Lassiter as Primary Defender	2025 (16 games)	2026 (6 games)
Yards per attempt allowed	6.0	8.0
Opponent passer rating	72.4	102.6
Completions of 20+ yards	7	6
Coverage penalties	1	4

There have just been far, far too many explosive plays. The Texans are tied with the Lions for most passes of 20+ yards allowed (29). They only allowed 47 all of last year. They're on pace for 70 this year. Yes, big plays are part of the deal when you play as aggressively as Houston's secondary does, but they can't be this big a deal.

DeMeco Ryans took over defensive play calling from Matt Burke after the 0-4 start, and though it helped against the Titans, it hasn't helped against the Jaguars or the Giants. There are too many missed tackles and too many missed assignments.

"It's definitely a new year, and it's a new team," Ryans said.

That much is clear and obvious.

6. The contenders' clear flaws should make this a fun trade deadline.

With Cam Jurgens to the Ravens and Joey Porter Jr. to the Cowboys, there's already been significant action in the trade department this year. Now two weeks away, it should heat up even more.

Week 7 helped. Two of the three undefeated teams, the 49ers and the Chiefs, lost. Several more contenders saw their flaws exposed. Considering 1.) there were huge names moved at the deadline last year and 2.) there are more big names in the rumor mill this year, we could see plenty of action. Here are the weaknesses we noticed from some top teams and the steps they could take to address them

• Chiefs: Mahomes has not completed a pass 20+ yards downfield since Week 4, which is when Tyquan Thornton got hurt. The Chiefs also started backups at both tackle spots in Week 7. A wide receiver and some offensive line depth should be the focus for Kansas City.
• 49ers: They could use some more disruptors up front. Could a DeForest Buckner reunion be in the offing?
• Vikings: The offense cannot score touchdowns: 10 this year, fewest during a 6-0 start since the 1934 Lions. You know who scores a lot of touchdowns? Jonathan Taylor. Coincidentally, he just scored one against the Vikings on Sunday!
• Everyone in the NFC North not named the Vikings: More defensive additions couldn't hurt.
• Bills: Can they win it all with this defense?
• Patriots: Does anyone have a spare healthy offensive lineman?

I played matchmaker for a bunch of contenders.