NFL Week 7 Winners and Losers: 49ers undefeated no more, as injuries finally too much to overcome in loss to Falcons
The San Francisco 49ers’ injuries finally caught up to them.
The 49ers battled the Atlanta Falcons, which was commendable given their long injury report. But trailing 26-20 late, Brock Purdy threw an interception to linebacker Kendal Daniels. That was it for the 49ers and their undefeated streak to start the season. They are 6-1 after the Falcons won 29-20.
@AtlantaFalcons rookie Kendal Daniels gets his first career interception in the clutch
SFvsATL on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/9BtAUNZQLm— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
Losing a road game that was an early start in the Eastern Time Zone isn’t a big deal for a team that was 6-0 and up multiple games in the division. Nobody expected the 49ers to go 17-0. The problem isn’t a single loss. It’s the injuries.
Most other teams dealing with the 49ers’ list of injuries would be closer to winless than undefeated. They overcame numerous injuries last season to make the playoffs and then were dealt the same hand this season. Last season and through six games this season, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan found a way to get his team to rise above it.
Sunday brought a new challenge, and that was playing without wide receivers. San Francisco had six receivers either inactive or on injured reserve. Mike Evans is dealing with an Achilles injury and left the team’s Week 6 game early due to it. In Week 7 Evans was inactive so he can start to get healthy. That mean Brandin Cooks, who is 33 and hasn’t posted a 1,000-yard season since 2021, and Jordan Watkins, who had five career catches before Sunday, started at receiver against the Falcons. It wasn’t just receiver injuries. Defensive end Nick Bosa missed another game. Christian McCaffrey had to manage a thigh injury during the game.
If it was a normal team, even injuries wouldn’t be a big deal. Players like Evans and Bosa should be back soon. Every team dealls with it. But the 49ers have been the most injured team in the NFL over the past few seasons, and while that seems like terrible luck, it’s not turning around. It’s also an older team, especially among the elite stars, so more injuries and wearing down over a long season are concerns.
And there’s a dropoff to their second team. Without Evans, Deebo Samuel Sr. and other receivers the 49ers got very little out of their receivers. With McCaffrey banged up, rookie Kaelon Black fumbled on back-to-back plays, losing the second one. That lost fumble changed the momentum of the game.
The 49ers are off to a great start and one loss doesn’t change that. They’re still in good shape in the NFC West even with a loss. But it was the first time the 49ers couldn’t overcome their injuries. And now they just have to hope that, somehow, the bad injury luck doesn’t continue.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 7 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
Harrison Smith and the Vikings defense: Smith is one of the more popular Minnesota Vikings players in recent years, and he was celebrated as he appeared to retire at the end of last season.
But Harrison’s retirement didn’t last long, as he came back before the season. Then on Sunday he sealed a win with his 40th career interception. The 16-10 win for the Vikings wasn’t pretty, and the Indianapolis Colts had a shot to win it at the end on the final drive. But Daniel Jones was pressured and threw downfield, where Smith stepped in front of the receiver for an interception to win the game.
HARRISON SMITH GETS THE INT! VIKINGS ARE 6-0 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/stul8J8hWe
— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
The Vikings are playing great defense this season. They allowed only 218 yards on Sunday. After falling behind early they shut out the Colts in the second half. The Vikings are 6-0 and while there are things to correct after Sunday, particularly on offense, it was a good day to cheer for a franchise legend.
Todd Monken: Monken is getting his first chance to be an NFL head coach at age 60. He’s showing that maybe he should have gotten that shot earlier.
The Cleveland Browns are 5-2 and one of the best stories in the NFL. They had another dramatic win Sunday, driving down for a field goal after the Tennessee Titans tied it with 58 seconds left. Andre Szmyt hit the game-winning field goal as time expired and the Browns won 27-24.
Harold Fannin Jr. with the big catch and run to put the Browns into field goal range!
CLEvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/x27nZZqjK0— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
Monken took over a situation that seemed terrible due to questions at quarterback. But Deshaun Watson has played well enough, especially with multiple game-winning drives, and the Browns keep winning. That has to be a satisfying start for the rookie head coach.
Aaron Rodgers: Rodgers used to typically make a few plays a game with his scrambling ability. That was a long time ago.
Quarterbacks who are creeping up on their 43rd birthday aren’t supposed to be effective anymore, unless you’re Tom Brady, and they surely shouldn’t be scrambling for first downs to clinch wins. But Rodgers’ 8-yard scramble on third-and-6 gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a key first down in a 16-10 win over the New Orleans Saints in the first-ever NFL game in Paris.
Still making moves at 42.
PITvsNO on NFL Network
Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/NjktENol48— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
More than the play itself, that scramble epitomized how much juice Rodgers still has left in what he has said is his final season. The Steelers are 5-2, putting them in great position to make the playoffs. Rodgers had 212 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. While his numbers are a bit down from his fantastic career level, he’s still far better than anyone other than Brady has been at his age. If this is it for Rodgers, he’s having a pretty good sendoff.
LOSERS
Aaron Glenn: It was questionable that Glenn got a second season coaching the New York Jets, because his first season was terrible. After Sunday, his time with that job seems to be very close to running out.
The Jets lost 28-25 at home to the Miami Dolphins, who were 0-5 coming in. It was a good win for the Dolphins, and the first for Jeff Hafley as an NFL head coach. Miami won’t get any 0-17 questions. The Dolphins played like a team that knew it had a shot to beat a poor opponent. And that played out. The Jets didn’t play well in any phase. The Jets won their opener against the Titans but have won just once since. The Jets trailed by 11 late, got a to
Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.