Well, Week 6 in the NFL finally started to look like something I recognize. Even with two massive upsets. While there are no longer any unbeaten teams left in the league, the relative power structure didn’t really shift that much.
I had a strong week in overall picks, going 11-4 which was good enough to win the week in my pool and get me a game back in the right direction. Unfortunately, I had to balance that out with going 7-8 ATS and back in the sewer at 5-9 against the over/under. Christen had a respectably strong week at 10-5 and continues to hold the season lead in our house, but it was actually Ridley who won the household by coming in with a mark of 12-3 after missing a couple of weeks.
| Nick W | Nick L | Nick T | ATS W | ATS L | ATS P | O/U W | O/U L | O/U P | Christen W | Christen L | Christen T | Rids W | Rids L | Rids T | ||||
| 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | ||||
| 46 | 32 | 0 | 43 | 31 | 3 | 29 | 32 | 1 | 50 | 28 | 0 | 22 | 26 | 0 | ||||
| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | ||||
| 57 | 36 | 0 | 50 | 39 | 3 | 34 | 41 | 2 | 60 | 33 | 0 | 34 | 29 | 0 |
Cowboys vs. Chargers didn’t produce the kind of fireworks that the over/under suggested, but it was still a solid competitive game with a decent amount of excitement. Dallas emerged with a 20-17 win, but this game was officiated horrendously with the two teams combining for 20 penalties. These are two of the most talented teams in the league that can’t seem to get out of their own way. A lot of that is coaching but, as a fan of neither team, there were a lot of flags that influenced moments in the game that never should have come out.
I don’t know if this will end up being the catalyst for Brandin Cooks to finally get more involved in the Cowboys’ offense, but I have had him stashed on my bench all season and told myself if he can’t produce against this Chargers’ defense then it’s time to go. He made the most of his opportunities, including a huge 3rd & long conversion that he elevated to make a leaping contested catch on and the big TD catch. Keep an eye on him moving forward with Michael Gallup and Dak Prescott seemingly on different pages.
The Buffalo Bills found a way to win against the tough-luck Giants, 14-9, but this was not the kind of performance I wanted to see as a Bills fan. The pass breakup that officially ended the game should have been flagged for pass interference, but the one before that probably shouldn’t have. So, it was an ugly, dissatisfying end to the game. I know “ugly wins count the same as pretty ones”…or at least that’s the rationale, but at what point does playing ugly become more of a concern for a team with as much talent and potential as the Bills?
Yes, it was Brian Daboll and Tyrod Taylor’s returns to Buffalo after their time with the Bills, so I know the team wanted to go into Orchard Park and fight to get that win. However, similar to the London game last week, it just looked like many guys on the Buffalo roster were not playing at full speed. It was nice to hear that Damien Harris left the hospital with just a neck sprain after a scary moment.
I don’t know if the Lions and Bucs game was officially America’s Game of the Week, but it was the most intriguing matchup on paper for Sunday afternoon. Detroit continued to show that they’re not messing around this season as they went into Tampa to beat a solid Bucs team 20-6. Seeing Baker Mayfield’s success with Bucs has been a really nice story this season and I think they still have a good shot to win the NFC South. The Lions’ win means Detroit is tied for the best record in the league and they have the best win of all those teams at the top. Watch out.
If the Jets beating the Eagles wasn’t the biggest surprise of the week, then it’s the second biggest! I knew the Jets’ defense was good enough to keep them in the game and I talked about the Eagles’ record not exactly being indicative of how good they actually are and all of those things sorta came together in this one. Don’t get me wrong, I still picked the Eagles but I didn’t expect dominance. Philly was still up 14-9 at the half but the New York defense really ratcheted up the pressure and put the clamps on in the second half, not allowing any second-half points en route to a 20-14 win. The Eags also missed a 37-yard FG and Jalen Hurt threw a terrible interception that set up the game-winning score for New York.
The Raiders haven’t been very good this season, but the Patriots have been worse. Even with Jimmy G leaving due to injury again for Vegas, they still found a way to win, 21-17, thanks to long-time vet and former Patriot, Brian Hoyer. There was not much to write home about on either side of the ball, but Josh Jacobs is starting to round into form and if Maxx Crosby and the Raiders’ defense can keep improving over the course of the season, they may have a shot at that Wild Card spot.
If you didn’t know Cooper Kupp was back from injury last week, you certainly got the memo this week as he had 7 catches for 148 yards and 1 TD in the Rams’ 26-9 win over the Cardinals. With James Conner out for Arizona, it was a running attack by committee. And folks like me who bought in on Emari Demarcado are very sad about him being non-existent in the offense. One guy who wasn’t non-existent was Kyren Williams who looked like Todd Gurley in this Rams’ offense putting up 158 yards on 20 carries with a TD. The Rams could certainly find themselves fighting for Wild Card contention if they play up to their full potential.
Right when I thought the Saints had righted the ship with Derek Carr back under center they went into Houston and not just ost but struggled with a pesky Texans squad. Houston’s rookie QB C.J. Stroud has certainly looked like the best in class so far and his poise under pressure has been a key part of his success so far. This wasn’t a great game for either side but when in the transitional phase, winning scrappy effort games is important.
The Colts had not won in Jacksonville since 2014 and any sliver of hope in changing that got buried in a 2nd-quarter Jaguars avalanche. Indy jumped out to a 3-0 lead and then it was all Jags after that. Jacksonville is striding right now and executing on both sides of the ball. I’d say the AFC South is pretty much theirs to lose right now and they look like the team that made the playoff push last season and then some. Minshew Mania has led to all the Colts’ wins so far but it’ll be easier for Indy to go back to their rookie QB, assuming he can stay healthy.
For a brief moment early in the Panthers/Dolphins game, it looked like we were due for another unlikely upset as Carolina jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter. However, Miami showed the explosive nature of their offense and responded with 21 straight to close out the first half en route to a 42-21 win. In fact, they outscored Carolina 42-7 after the 1st quarter. The outcome isn’t surprising, but it shows that Miami is best in track-meet-type games because they do give up early scores. I know the Panthers are 0-6 but it was one of the better starts they have had this season.
The premier upset of the week was the Browns beating the 49ers 19-17, and doing it without their starting QB. I know Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel got injured in this game too, and rookie kicker Jake Moody missed the would-be game-winning FG, but this was still a very winnable game for San Francisco. I get that the dam has to break at some point and staying undefeated all season is very unlikely, but but this was a bad one. The Niners’ defense got gashed on the ground by the Browns to the tune of 16 yards and it’s worse because the approach was pretty one-dimensional. However, Cleveland outpassed them in the air too. What this game says is that the Browns defense is going to give them a chance to win games and the 49ers are maybe too dependent on two guys. San Francisco’s defense still played well enough to win this game and they nearly did if not for that missed FG. Oh well, on to the next one but that’s a big win for the Browns.
Are the Bengals good? Are the Seahawks? Even though Cincy picked up the 17-13 win at home, I don’t feel like either of those questions were sufficiently answered. The best-case scenario is that both these teams are pretty good and were dialed in on their opponent’s strengths. The crazy part of this game is that Seattle got turned over on downs twice inside the Bengals’ 10-yard line within the final two and half minutes of the game. If they had just kicked the FG the first time, north of the two-minute warning, they would have had two timeouts and the automatic stop clock needing only a FG to win. Instead, they let the Bengals’ defense make the plays to determine the game. Hopefully, it’s a lesson learned by the Hawks as they try to become a playoff team this season and it’s an important win for Cincy as they have to keep pace with a wild AFC North.
Sadly, we got the lame version of the Vikings and Bears with Minnesota edging out a 19-13 win on the road…similar to the Minny/Carolina game that should have been more fun. The Vikes needed the win in order to keep any hopes at this season alive and they got it without Justin Jefferson. Chicago has one of the worst defenses in the league and is in the bottom three against the pass, but Kirk Cousins looked exceedingly mediocre without a guy like Jefferson out there. In fairness, he didn’t turn the ball over and he got the job done with the only passing TD of the game…but still. It’s going to be a long wait for JJ to return. Justin Fields also left the game due to injury but you would think that DJ Moore would get more first-half looks right now. Back QB Tyson Bagnet did come in a salvage that to a degree but the accuracy wasn’t there.
I don’t trust the Commanders, but if you have been reading me for the past few seasons you’ll know that no team has burned me as often as the Falcons. So, this was a tough game for me to pick. I trusted that Washington was just a more sound team and that turned out to be the case as they won 24-16, but second-year QB Desmond Ritter threw 3 second-half interceptions, one of which was in the red zone and another to decide the game, to go along with a turnover on downs sandwiched in between. I like what Arthur Smith has done for the most part in Atlanta but they still have some kinks to iron out.
The Titans are my new Falcons this year, meaning every time I pick them to win, they lose, and vice versa. This was a good spot to pick up a win against a Ravens team that has been struggling to close out games, but Tennessee just couldn’t stay on the field. It didn’t help that Ryan Tannehill left the game with an injury but he wasn’t playing well either. If the numbers I am looking at are correct, the Titans ran just 46 plays to Baltimore’s 70. The yards per play were the same and Baltimore was even penalized more but it came down to basically a field goal battle and the team with Justin Tucker is going to have the advantage there.
Then of course, back where it all started, the Chiefs beat the Broncos 19-8 in a pretty lackluster game overall. The win keeps the Chiefs with a share of the top of the AFC while the loss sends Denver to 1-5 and a pretty strong insistence on rebuild mode.
Thanks to some slip-ups by the only remaining unbeaten teams, the Detroit Lions take over the top spot on the Power Rankings. The middle is getting clogged up with all these early bye-weeks and win triangles, but Carolina is firmly clutching that bottom spot.
| 1. Lions 5-1 (+3) |
| 2. Chiefs 5-1 (+1) |
| 3. 49ers 5-1 (-2) |
| 4. Eagles 5-1 (-2) |
| 5. Dolphins 5-1 (=) |
| 6. Bills 4-2 (=) |
| 7. Cowboys 4-2 (=) |
| 8. Jaguars 4-2 (+1) |
| 9. Seahawks 3-2 (-1) |
| 10. Buccaneers 3-2 (=) |
| 11. Ravens 4-2 (+1) |
| 12. Browns 3-2 (+5) |
| 13. Jets 3-3 (+9) |
| 14. Steelers 3-2 (-1) |
| 15. Bengals 3-3 (+3) |
| 16. Commanders 3-3 (+3) |
| 17. Saints 3-3 (-4) |
| 18. Falcons 3-3 (-4) |
| 19. Colts 3-3 (-4) |
| 20. Rams 3-3 (+3) |
| 21. Texans 3-3 (-1) |
| 22. Raiders 3-3 (-1) |
| 23. Chargers 2-3 (-7) |
| 24. Vikings 2-4 (=2) |
| 25. Packers 2-3 (-1) |
| 26. Titans 2-4 (-1) |
| 27. Bears 1-5 (+4) |
| 28. Giants 1-5 (-1) |
| 29. Cardinals 1-5 (-1) |
| 30. Broncos 1-5 (-1) |
| 31. Patriots 1-5 (-1) |
| 32. Panthers 0-6 (=) |
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