A few illusions might have developed from Sunday’s games. 

The 49ers are no longer undefeated after losing 29–20 to the Falcons. Was this just a trap game, or is this the start of trouble for the injury-ravaged 49ers? It might be difficult to trust this team as a Super Bowl contender moving forward.

The Steelers are on a three-game winning streak after defeating the Saints, 16–10, in Paris, but it may be wise to hold off on saying this will be the year they’ll go far in the postseason. Should Pittsburgh get credit for beating up on three two-win teams?

Then there are the Rams, who got by the Raiders, 35–21. It was an impressive rushing performance, but was this a get-right game or just a one-week anomaly in Las Vegas? 

Let’s break down a few of these potential illusions from the Week 7 schedule. 

It’s still not time to believe in the Steelers

I’ve been burned by the Steelers’ vortex of mediocrity a handful of times. It’s a cycle that can look appealing at times, but it ended the same way for nearly a decade. 

Don’t be fooled by Pittsburgh’s three-game winning streak, including Sunday’s victory over New Orleans. That shouldn’t be enough to believe this will be the year the Steelers (5–2) end their seven-game playoff losing streak. 

Yes, there’s plenty to like about Pittsburgh’s positive stretch. The defense has been outstanding the past two weeks, and that unit was enough to overcome an up-and-down outing from Aaron Rodgers and his offense in the win over the Saints. (The Steelers only generated one touchdown and averaged 5.4 yards per gain.) Rodgers was better in the wins against the Colts and Buccaneers, but that’s three victories against a trio of teams that have two wins apiece. 

It’s still tough to see the Steelers having enough firepower to hang with the AFC’s best in January. Pittsburgh prefers to slow down games because it has to with a 42-year-old Rodgers who occasionally has trouble getting the ball downfield to DK Metcalf (only two catches for 56 yards on Sunday). But they’re a well-balanced operation with underrated running back Jaylen Warren (18 carries, 101 yards). Additionally, the defense has turned a corner since the back-to-back rocky performances against divisional foes Cincinnati and Cleveland. The Steelers won a 30–27 shootout against the Bengals in Week 3, then lost 27–24 to the Browns.

If the game script goes their way, the Steelers are a tough out against most teams. However, the script hasn’t gone their way when it matters most, as evidenced by six one-and-done playoff appearances. 

Pittsburgh has Cleveland and Cincinnati coming up again for its next two games. Perhaps I’ll start falling for the Steelers again if Rodgers outpaces Joe Burrow a second time and the defense shuts down the pesky Browns after the Week 4 loss during Thursday Night Football. 

But for now, the Steelers’ three-game winning streak is misleading because they’ve faced three losing teams. Don’t trust them just yet.  

49ers’ injury crisis continues to put damper on strong first half 

It’s hard to get excited about what the 49ers have done during the first half of the season. 

On one hand, they’re 6–1 with a sizable lead in the NFC West standings. On the other hand, the injuries haven’t stopped, and they finally lost a game, falling to the Falcons on Sunday. 

It’s probably best to look at the full sample size here to not let one bad game in Atlanta diminish everything San Francisco has done for nearly two months. This is the best team in football, but this is also a team you can’t trust because of the injury waves.

Here’s a scenario we might be headed toward: the top-seeded 49ers being viewed as an underdog in a home playoff game because of several injuries to key players. 

Heading into the Falcons game, concerns arose that the 49ers might not have enough healthy players to fill up the 48 game-day roster spots. They were without Mike Evans, Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel Sr., and that doesn’t include the many players on injured reserve. On Sunday, San Francisco played for a stretch without Christian McCaffrey, who sustained a thigh injury. 

I’ve already gone back and forth on my early assessment that the 49ers possibly not being true Super Bowl contenders because of all the injuries. Maybe this season has a ceiling, like last year, when this injury-ravaged team gassed out against the Seahawks in the divisional round. 

For now, I’ll trust that the 49ers will get healthy at the right time, but that’s not a given with all the injury waves the past few seasons. San Francisco could afford to miss a few key players, but it needs Evans and McCaffrey to be true contenders in January.  

Rams’ simplistic formula leads to bounce-back win in Las Vegas

Injuries forcing the Rams to simplify their operation could be a turning point in their season. 

Coach Sean McVay called several running plays and ran the passing attack through Puka Nacua during a much-needed win over the Raiders. The Rams didn’t use flashy three-tight-end formations or forced plays to keep players involved.

The Rams (3–4) were physical and kept it simple, running the ball 38 times for a season-high 199 rushing yards against the Raiders. It was the first time since Week 1 that Matthew Stafford (23-of-29, 195 yards, 3 TDs, INT) didn’t record at least 30 passes, and the season opener doesn’t really count because Stafford didn’t finish the blowout loss against the 49ers. Stafford has already thrown over 50 passes in three games already this season. 

The heavy passing attack is partly why Los Angeles only had two victories after six games. The Rams dug themselves a sizable hole in the standings without an identity on the field or a real voice to guide them through adversity, despite having a whopping 11 captains. It was as if McVay didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings and prioritized getting everyone involved.

But wide receiver Davante Adams, edge rusher Myles Garrett, tight end Terrance Ferguson and defensive tackles Poona Ford and Kobie Turner weren’t available for Sunday’s game in Las Vegas. The Rams also nearly didn’t have Nacua after he sustained a calf injury in practice earlier this week. 

The Rams have plenty of talent, but they’re hard to beat with Nacua as the focal point of a well-balanced offense. McVay might also have finally found the formula for getting the most from his two running backs, Kyren Williams (16 carries, 99 yards, TD) and Blake Corum (17 carries, 93 yards, TD), the duo that combined for 192 rushing yards in Las Vegas.

If McVay continues to commit to the run, Williams and Corum will likely deliver more performances like that. This team might be close to finally forming an identity. 

Lions’ defense finally shows improvements

It’s not surprising that the Lions defeated the Packers, 20–17. But few expected Detroit’s defense to stifle an offense that had been rolling for a few weeks and recently got back running back Josh Jacobs.

It was the kind of performance defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard had needed for a long time. It would have been difficult for coach Dan Campbell to continue defending him as his coordinator had Jordan Love lit up this suspect secondary. But Love (27-of-45, 274 yards, two TDs, INT) struggled to connect with emerging second-year wideout Matthew Golden (12 targets, six catches, 39 yards) and probably should have been picked off two or three times if Lions’ defenders hadn’t dropped balls.

Detroit (4–2) held Green Bay (4–3) to 324 yards and only 17 first downs. Perhaps Sheppard figured out what was wrong with his defense over the bye week because the unit looked different on Sunday. It also certainly helped that the team got back versatile safety Brian Branch, who registered an interception in his season debut. 

Having a reliable defense would go a long way toward bolstering the Lions’ hopes of winning a competitive NFC North. Minnesota leads the division at 6–0, while Chicago sits in second at 5–2.