NFL Week 6

Many teams impressed this week, but some teams didn’t show up. The Titans, Browns, Jaguars, and Giants were all extremely disappointing. Tennessee was held to 106 total yards, and allowed Marcus Mariota to be sacked 11 times. Baker Mayfield had his mobility limited, and the Browns’ offense could not adjust. Jacksonville looked totally unprepared to play Dallas. And the Giants proved they should have drafted a QB, since Saquon Barkley has a stellar game, and the team was still trounced.

The scores this week were:
Eagles over Giants 34-13, Dolphins over Bears 31-28 (OT), Texans over Bills 20-13, Falcons over Bucs 34-29, Vikings over Cardinals 27-17, Chargers over Browns 38-14, Jets over Colts 42-34, Redskins over Panthers 23-17, Seahawks over Raiders 27-3, Steelers over Bengals 28-21, Rams over Broncos 23-20, Cowboys over Jags 40-7, Ravens over Titans 21-0, Patriots over Chief 43-40, Packers over 49ers 33-30.

Fortunately for the football gods, the top teams looked as advertised this weekend. The Rams are now the only undefeated team in the league with the Chiefs losing, and they showed they can win ugly. The passing game was held in check, largely due to Cooper Kupp being injured. Jared Goff was sacked five times, led by a breakout three sack performance by Denver’s Bradley Chubb. Like good teams do, the Rams adapted and rode the ground game. Todd Gurley finished with a whopping 208 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. He was the first Ram to rush for 200 yards since Marshall Faulk did it in 2001. Denver had chances, but settling for field goals instead of touchdowns ultimately did them in. The Rams got off to a slow start, but they are so good it doesn’t matter. Great teams know how to win regardless of circumstance.

The Patriots-Chiefs game may have been an AFC championship preview, and it lived up to the billing. 83 total points were scored, KC made a thrilling comeback, and the game came down to who had the ball last. The Pats continued to roll on offense, and the emergence of the running game is a big reason why. The duo of Sony Michel and James White carried the load, combining for 145 yards. (Michel has 316 yards in his last three games) The offense now looks complete for the first time this year, aided by Julian Edelman’s return and the acquisition of Josh Gordon. Although teams are taking Gronk out of the mix, New England is moving the ball in other ways.

The Chiefs played well, but their slow start dug them into an early hole. The Pats did a good job of limiting Travis Kelce early, constantly shadowing and bumping him at the line. The Chiefs only had 9 points at halftime, but they took off after that. They trailed by 15 at halftime, but they outscored the Pats 17-3 in the third quarter. Due to Mahomes’ bazooka arm, and the athleticism of Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt, the offense can score in bunches most of the time. As well as the Chiefs played in the second half, the Patriots are too good to spot them a lead.

Pittsburgh has owned Cincinnati in their rivalry for years, making this loss even more crushing for the Bengals. They almost came back to win, but lost on the final drive. Pittsburgh took control early, and played an extremely physical game. James Connor had 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Several Bengals’ defenders left the game with bumps and bruises. Pittsburgh had a balanced passing attack as well, with Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster each finishing with 100 yards. Cincinnati played much better down the stretch, but they showed why they never seem to be able to get over the hump. Despite rattling off three big plays, Joe Mixon only finished with 64 yards. His talent is undeniable, but Cincy underused him for some reason. He should be a bell cow for this offense. It seems like they want to be an elite passing attack like Pittsburgh, but they should go with what’s working. I’ve said for years that the Bengals should consider moving on from Marvin Lewis as their coach. Maybe a young innovative coach could take then to the next level.

The Jets had a great win against the Colts, and the actually were constant two weeks in a row. They had some great fortune early, with Morris Claiborne getting a pick six off a bobbled screen on the second play of the game. Andrew Luck came close to throwing another one on the next possession, but then proceeded to string together a stellar touchdown drive. Sam Darnold looked mediocre for the Jets early, and he threw yet another careless pick when he severely under threw his target on a deep throw. However, this turned out to be his best game of the year. He completed 80% of his passes, and he’s getting better at spreading the ball around. Jermaine Kearse 94 yards on a career-high nine catches. He had been a non-factor all season, so his emergence was a pleasant surprise.

The Jets had a huge goal line stand to start the second quarter. Had Indy scored and taken the lead, they would have likely seized all the momentum. This is an example of the Colts continuing trend of shooting themselves in the foot early in games. Luck almost made a comeback late, but the hole theydug for themselves was too big. This is mostly due to their lack of talent on offense. Andrew Luck looks like the star he was supposed to be since being drafted #1 overall, but he team is not helping much. Marlon Mack’s 72 rushing yards in the second half give signs for optimism, but this team has a long way to go.

The Cowboys were on the verge of total implosion coming into this week, but boy did they respond. Their 40-7 drubbing of the Jags may have been the biggest surprise of the week. They got off to a fast start, piling up 251 yards and 17 first downs in the first half. They scored on their first four drives of the game. They were leading 24-0 at halftime, and the game was effectively over. Dak Prescott looked more comfortable than he has all year, and he actually ran the ball like he did his rookie year. He finished with 82 rushing yards on 11 carries. Dallas showed great balance, keeping Ezekiel Elliott and Cole Beasley involved all game.

The Jags looked like a legit Super Bowl contender a few weeks back, but now their issues are coming to light. Their o-line is mediocre, and Blake Bortles struggles when pressured. The defense was understandably torched by KC last week, but they followed it up with a worse performance against Dallas offense which has been atrocious. Leonard Fournette’s injury has been a problem, but I’m not sure his return will fix all of their recent issues. I cannot say Dallas fixed all their problems either. Not having center Travis Frederick is evident in the pass blocking department. The center is the most important lineman when it comes to identifying where the pressure is coming from, and the backup is clearly struggling. Also, teams will start preparing for Prescott like he’s a real quarterback again. Time will tell if he can play like this in consecutive weeks.

The Eagles had gotten off to a slow start after winning the Super Bowl last year, but they seem to have found their stride now. Carson Wentz was clearly shaking off his post-injury cobwebs, and he’s looking more and more like himself every week. On Thursday, he finished 26 of 36 with 278 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. More impressively, they scored touchdowns on four of six red zone trips. They had 24 points at halftime, more than they had scored in a game all year. Surprisingly, the backfield tandem of Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement admirably filled in for the injured Jay Ajayi. Coupled with the way they assaulted Eli Manning, it was a great team win for Philly. With that said, the New York Giants really can’t get out of their own way. Many pundits said they should have drafted a quarterback instead of Saquon Barkley, and this game showed why. Barkley had a wonderful game (130 rushing yards, 99 receiving yards), yet his team was still blown out. Eli Manning threw a pick in his second pass of the game. Philly started the drive in their own red zone, and got an easy touchdown. They scored again quickly, jumping ahead 14-3 in the blink of an eye. The Giants looked explosive at times, courtesy of the aforementioned Barkley. But they were 4 of 14 on third down, and started the game 0 for 8. When you are already playing from behind, and drives stall early, coming back becomes futile. Odell Beckham Jr, who is supposed to carry this offense, was held to only 44 yards. Philly did a good job of blanketing him all night. Outside of Barkley, the Giants have no big play ability whatsoever. Poor o-line has made many excuse Eli’s play, but Carson Wentz played very well under similar pressure. Eli is immobile, which makes him a dinosaur in today’s high octane game. Almost every QB in the NFL can escape the pocket and make plays with their legs. He needs to get the ball out of his hand quickly, like he did his first year with Coach McAdoo. Screens and swing routes are not going to cut it. Unfortunately, all teams need to do is blitz him heavily and it’s over.

The Browns came out against the Chargers with the same level of energy they’ve had lately, but things changed after Baker Mayfield hurt his ankle running out of bounds. He was visibly limping afterward, and his play struggled. He was far less mobile, and looked inaccurate on medium and deep passes. He did look like himself later on, but his receivers dropped passes in big spots. Their receiving group has not stepped up in general, and Jarvis Landry’s lack of big play ability doesn’t help either. Antonio Callaway was supposed to be their deep threat after cutting the troubled Josh Gordon, but his rookie inexperience is showing. Cleveland is vastly improved, but they have not yet learned how to win consistently. Unsurprising considering their recent history.

The Chargers did not play the greatest game early on, but big plays by Tyrell Williams allowed them to take control. In the second quarter, he had receptions for 44, 45, and 29 yards. He is becoming a superstar, yet the average fan doesn’t know his name. Coupled with their dominant day rushing the ball as well, led by Melvin Gordon’s 132 yards and 3 touchdowns, they left the Browns with no answers. 

I hate to end on a somber note, but two teams lost their owners in the past few days. Chargers owner Alex Spanos died of dementia complications at age 95, and Seahawks owner Paul Allen died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 65. R.I.P.