Sports Fountain’s NFL Week 7: 10 Claims, Where We Stand
The Minnesota Vikings might be the most fraudulent 6-0 team in NFL history. Patrick Mahomes is a bottom-10 quarterback, at least when he throws to wide receivers. Nick Sirianni is about to lose his job. And the Dallas Cowboys’ season was supposedly on the line in Philadelphia on Monday night.
Those are some of the louder things said about the NFL this week, by people with large audiences and very firm opinions. Some of them are sharp. Some of them needed another week of evidence. One of them was settled the same night it was made.
Every week, Sports Fountain will take 10 of the biggest claims from the people paid to make them, check them against what we actually know and tell you where we stand. These are Week 7’s.
Editor's Picks
1. Jacob Infante, Pro Football Network: The Vikings could be the most fraudulent 6-0 team ever
Infante asked the question after Minnesota beat the Indianapolis Colts 16-10, then attached a condition to it.
“I won’t crown them until we see that happen,” Infante wrote, referring to wins over top competition.
Fair enough on the condition. The word is the problem. A fraud is a team whose record hides how ordinary it is. Minnesota’s record hides nothing. Everybody can see the offense, which has scored 125 points in six games. Everybody can also see the defense, which has allowed 74 points, the fewest in the NFL.
The Vikings also already own wins over the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. That is not nothing in a division where every team is at least 4-3.
Where we stand: Not a fraud. A lopsided team, which is a different thing. The trip to face the Detroit Lions on Sunday is exactly the kind of test Infante wants to see, and so do we.
2. Dan Orlovsky, ESPN’s Get Up: Patrick Mahomes is a bottom-10 quarterback throwing to wide receivers
Orlovsky made the point the morning after the Kansas City Chiefs’ 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. When the throw is to a wide receiver, he said, “right now, Patrick’s a bottom-10 quarterback.” He was clear that the receivers share the blame.
The crew debates how the Kansas City Chiefs should move forward with the trade deadline approaching ⬇️ https://t.co/KBTdSnaNh6
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 26, 2026
Sunday actually supports the narrow version. Mahomes averaged 5.0 yards per attempt, the fifth-lowest mark of his career. Kansas City’s 11 first downs were the fewest in 153 Mahomes starts, according to ESPN’s Ben Solak, who also points out that Rashee Rice has missed 27 of 43 possible games since 2024.
The broad version is harder to accept. The Chiefs are 5-1, and their offense has leaned on Kenneth Walker III for most of the season. That is a design choice as much as a verdict on the quarterback.
Where we stand: Too strong as a judgment on Mahomes. Fair as a judgment on what Kansas City is giving him at receiver. The fix is a roster move, not a different quarterback.
3. Adam Schefter, ESPN’s Get Up: The Giants can win the division with J.J. McCarthy
“They have a chance to win the division and set up the franchise,” Schefter said on Get Up, before McCarthy had even made his first start for the New York Giants.
“If [J.J. McCarthy] plays the way he did in the 4th [quarter], [the Giants are] the favorites in the division.”
@Hawk and @AdamSchefter make bold predictions for the NFC East following the Giants’ change in QB 🔥 https://t.co/ijvn9Dj7IC
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 22, 2026
As we can see, Sunday helped his case. McCarthy completed 20 of 28 passes for 252 yards without an interception, and New York won 27-21 in overtime against the Houston Texans as roughly a 10-point underdog. The Giants are 4-2-1 and lead the NFC East.
McCarthy did not throw a touchdown pass, though. The Giants won it on the ground, with Cam Skattebo’s 42-yard run setting up Devin Singletary’s 30-yard touchdown in overtime. One start is a promising start, not yet a quarterback carrying a team.
Where we stand: Agree, and it is less bold than it sounds. Nobody else in the division is above .500. “A chance” is exactly the right phrase, without sugarcoating it.
4. Marcus Hayes, The Philadelphia Inquirer: Nick Sirianni is likely to lose his job soon
In Week 4, we said Philadelphia’s 2-2 start did not justify predicting Sirianni’s dismissal. Five straight losses later, that position needs revisiting.
The Philadelphia Eagles lost 38-21 to Dallas on Monday night and are 2-5. Hayes noted it is the franchise’s first five-game losing streak since 2016.
Jalen Hurts is likely out for the season with blood clots in his lungs.
Two things can be true at once. The Eagles are badly coached right now. They are also without their quarterback, which makes any midseason change hard to judge, because the next coach would inherit the same injury report.
Where we stand: Gone by the end of the season? More likely than not now. Gone “soon,” meaning during the season? We have not seen anything from ownership to suggest it, though it may happen, but there is no clear indication whatsoever.
5. Michael Irvin, ESPN’s First Take: Cowboys at Eagles was “do-or-die”
“It’s do-or-die here at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia,” Irvin said on Monday morning. Stephen A. Smith mocked him for it on the same show, arguing that a weak NFC East still gave Dallas a path even with a loss.
Dallas made the argument unnecessary. Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes, and the Cowboys won by 17. They are 3-4, a game and a half behind the Giants.
Where we stand: Right about the urgency, wrong about the stakes. In a division where the leader has already lost twice and tied once, nothing in October is do-or-die. Smith had the better of this one, although Irvin will happily take the result.
6. Ben Solak, ESPN: Jared Goff is the sleeper MVP nobody is talking about
Solak made the case in his weekly column on Tuesday. Through six games, he notes, Goff has 14 touchdown passes and no interceptions, which ties Russell Wilson’s record for an interception-free six-game start. His 112.5 passer rating trails only Lamar Jackson’s.
Sunday added to the pile. Goff threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns in the 20-17 win over Green Bay.
The problem is the other side of the ball. Detroit has allowed 27.5 points per game and sits third in its own division. MVP voters tend to reward quarterbacks whose teams are near the top, and Solak himself still prefers Joe Burrow as the likelier winner.
Where we stand: Agree on the sleeper part. The MVP part runs through Detroit’s defense, and Sunday’s game against the Vikings is a good place to start.
7. Rob Gronkowski, The Gronk and Jules Show: There is no reason to panic about the 49ers
“I don’t think there’s a panic meter at all for the San Francisco 49ers,” Gronkowski said after the 29-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He also said the 49ers beat themselves, and he asked why they always seem to be injured.
Both halves of that hold up
San Francisco lost the turnover battle 4-0 and gave up 23 straight points. It still has the best point differential in the league at plus-58. The health question is the real one. Christian McCaffrey said his leg “just died” on him during the game.
Where we stand: Agree. The loss is not a reason to panic. The injury list might be, and Gronkowski asked the right question about it.
8. Mike Tomlin, NBC: Dan Campbell was right to go for it on fourth-and-1
With the Lions and Packers tied 17-17 and 4:53 left, Campbell went for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 24. Jahmyr Gibbs was stopped for a loss. Green Bay drove to the Detroit 17 and missed the field goal, and Detroit won on the last play.
Asked about it on NBC on Sunday night, Tomlin said the decision “centers around elite quarterback play.” His point was that a punt would likely have let Jordan Love drive for the win anyway, so keeping the ball made sense.
That logic works better near midfield. From your own 24, a failed attempt hands the opponent a field goal try before it has run a play. Detroit needed a miss to survive this one.
Where we stand: Respect the reasoning, disagree with the spot on the field. Campbell got away with it. That is different from being right.
9. Scott Petrak, BrownsZone: The Cleveland Browns are a wild-card team, and the AFC North is on the table
Petrak wrote that four more wins in the last 10 games could be enough for a wild card, and that Cleveland’s first-ever AFC North title looks attainable.
It is hard to argue with 5-2 and first place. Deshaun Watson has now led five fourth-quarter game-winning drives this season. Petrak also points out that a win in Pittsburgh on Sunday would be Cleveland’s first regular-season win there since 2003.
The Browns have been outscored by 13 points this season, the only teamin our top 10 with a negative point differential. Winning this many close games takes skill, and it also takes things going your way.
Where we stand: Agree on the wild card. The division title is a bigger ask, and Sunday in Pittsburgh will tell us a lot about it.
10. Ben Solak, ESPN: Riley Leonard will be the Colts’ starter by Week 10
In the same column, Solak predicted Indianapolis will move on from Daniel Jones, and he leans toward Leonard over Anthony Richardson Sr. as the replacement.
Jones finished Sunday’s loss in Minnesota with 108 passing yards and a late interception, and the Colts are 2-5 after three straight losses. Head coach Shane Steichen, for now, says he is not considering a change.
Where we stand: Agree that a change is coming if the losses keep piling up. Naming the replacement is a step further than the evidence goes. The Colts play at Jacksonville on Sunday, and another performance like Minnesota’s would make Steichen’s position much harder to hold.
We will be back next week with 10 more, and we will keep checking on these ones as well. The Vikings and Sirianni claims, in particular, should not take long to settle.
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