Judging the biggest overreactions to NFL Week 7 games - ESPN

Well, if one of your Week 6 takeaways was that the Texans were going to be just fine after all, you might have been overreacting.

That's the beauty of the middle of the NFL season, isn't it? Just when we think we have stuff figured out, the league still shows the ability to surprise us. The Falcons handed the 49ers their first loss of the season. The Steelers and Browns are 5-2 and tied for first place in the AFC North. J.J. McCarthy is winning road games for the Giants.

So we keep doing this weekly exercise here because it's fun, and we do it fully aware that we have no idea what the rest of the season — or even next week! — will bring.

So here's our Week 7 overreactions column, where we look at five potential takeaways from all the action and judge them as legitimate stances or irrational stretches. Plus, we hit a few fantasy football overreactions at the bottom.

Jump to:
McCarthy can lead Giants to playoffs?
49ers can't afford to be without Evans?
Bengals need to trade for a star RB?
Vikings will be the NFC's top seed?
Nix, Broncos offense are back?
Fantasy overreactions

Acquired from the Vikings in a trade almost a month ago, McCarthy got his first start for the Giants on Sunday in Houston. He threw for 243 yards in the fourth quarter the week before in a relief effort against the Saints, which was enough to earn him the No. 1 spot on the Giants' QB depth chart for Week 7. He drew a tough assignment against Houston's fearsome defense, but Giants coach John Harbaugh decided McCarthy was up for it, and he was right.

McCarthy looked extremely comfortable and confident all day, ripping throws into tight windows and operating the offense cleanly. Giants coaches wanted to see a smooth operation, and after the game Harbaugh