Honesty at the podium is always refreshing. It isn’t welcomed by all, of course.

In Miami, Tua Tagovailoa’s comments about the state of the Dolphins, which the quarterback apologized for this week, were not received well. In Pittsburgh, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin took aim at GM Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns for the in-division Joe Flacco trade (which, based on Thursday night’s result, Tomlin might have a right to be miffed about). Our NFL writers Jeff Howe, Zak Keefer and Mike Sando discuss the back-and-forth leading up to Week 7’s action.

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Elsewhere in Week 7, our writers ponder over the hot Patriots’ chances to win the AFC East, the Indianapolis Colts going back out west to face the Los Angeles Chargers and the NFC North’s turnabout from last season.

Read more below.

The red-hot Patriots are in Nashville to face the struggling Titans, who just fired Brian Callahan. Is winning the AFC East realistic for New England – and former Titans coach Mike Vrabel – this season?

Sando: Yes, the Patriots can win the AFC East. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write this season. Buffalo would still be my pick, but the Bills have at least temporarily lost their mojo. The Athletic’s projection model favors Buffalo over New England by a 50-49 percent margin. That’s a toss-up.

Howe: It’s absolutely realistic, but I’m not ready to predict it will actually happen. The Patriots are playing better on both sides of the ball, and Drake Maye is producing at a level right now that will give them a chance in every game. Their schedule is extremely manageable, too, to the point where their floor is 11 wins. If they take care of the bad teams on their remaining slate and split games with the Falcons, Bucs, Bills and Ravens, t