With week seven of the NFL season basically in the books, these three teams put on abysmal performances yesterday. The Carolina Panthers were embarrassed by the Chicago Bears as their offense seems to have disappeared, while the Denver Broncos offensive woes also continued in their second straight loss of the season. On Sunday night, the Atlanta Falcons disappeared into the New England fog as they were defeated once again by the Patriots.

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers went on the road to face the Chicago Bears and dominated the game statistically but ended up losing 17-3.

Carolina managed 140 more total yards, held the ball for 17:10 longer, and had 15 more first downs. They even held quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to four completions. However, the one stat Carolina did not dominate was the turnover battle.

On their first drive, Cam Newton threw a backward pass that rookie safety Eddie Jackson returned 75 yards for a touchdown. The Bears missed a field goal to start the second quarter, but Jackson struck soon after, returning a deflected Newton pass 76 yards to give the Bears a 14-0 led.

Carolina then got on the board with a field goal, but Tarik Cohen caught a pass for 70 yards, giving the Bears a 17-3 lead at halftime. The Bears defense then held the Panthers scoreless the whole second half, managing to pick off Newton midway through the fourth quarter to end the game.

This loss is the Panthers second in a row and drops them to 4-3 with a key divisional showdown looming in Tampa next week.

Denver Broncos

Coming off of an embarrassing Sunday night loss to the previously winless New York Giants, the Denver Broncos looked to get back on track on their trip to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers.

However, Denver's offense did worse this week, failing to score a single point after only managing ten last week.

The Broncos punted eight times and turned it over on downs once in their 21-0 loss, which also included three turnovers. It was the first time the team has been shutout since 1992 and the first time the rival Chargers had shut them out since 1978.

Following the loss, embattled starting quarterback Trevor Siemian plainly stated: “I've got to play better, that's the bottom line.” Since starting the season 2-0, Denver has now lost three of their last four games. It does not get any easier for them, as they face the Eagles, Chiefs, and Patriots in the next three weeks.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons made their way into Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl LI, as they had a chance to try to bury their demons from that game.

This time around, the Falcons would not have a lead to blow, as they saw their 37-yard field goal get blocked at the end of the first quarter.

The Patriots then scored on their next three drives, as they went into halftime with a 17-0 lead. Atlanta drove down the field to start the third quarter, but missed a 36-yard field goal. New England then managed two more field goals, as they used the clock, with the Falcons turning it over on downs in between.

The Falcons finally got on the board with 4:09 left, but failed to recover the onside kick as the Patriots ran out the clock to secure a 23-7 victory. Since starting 3-0, Atlanta has lost three straight games, all to AFC East teams. They will have a chance to break both streaks next week, as they travel to New York to face the Jets.
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