Week 6 is in the books, which means one third of the NFL season is done! Check out the biggest winners and losers of the week below.
WINNERS
New York Jets
Somehow, some way, the New York Jets are 3-3. In Week 6, the team got their second straight win as they took down the reigning NFC champions. Despite Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed not being on the field, the defence intercepted Jalen Hurts three times, keeping their team in the game all night. Zach Wilson also looked better for the third straight week, which is something that Jets fans must love seeing. The offence still has a hard time scoring, but Wilson has quietly been doing a much better job of taking care of the ball. In his last four games, he has thrown only one interception and lost one fumble. The Jets now head into the bye week with back-to-back wins before a very winnable meeting at MetLife stadium with the Giants. Oh, and Aaron Rodgers is recovering incredibly quickly.
Josh McDaniels
Before becoming head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Josh McDaniels had already enjoyed a ton of NFL success as the offensive coordinator in New England. In Week 6, he got the better of his old boss and team, as the Raiders beat the Patriots 21-17. McDaniels is one of many members of the Bill Belichick coaching tree that people question outside of New England. Last time he left the Pats, he ended up coaching Denver for just two years and then coordinating in St. Louis for one season before returning. His tenure in Las Vegas hasn’t come with much success either, but a win against the old boss without starting quarterback for the second half HAS to feel good.
Detroit Lions
The Lions are for real. In Week 6, the team dominated once again in a 20-6 victory over the Buccaneers. The Bucs may not be as good as their 3-1 record suggested, but handling the lesser teams with ease is still a good sign for a team that wants to go far. Detroit is now one of five teams at 5-1 on the season and will play many more winnable games in the future. It’s obviously still down the road quite a bit, but this team is looking very much like it could become the first Lions team to win the NFC North since 1993.
However, they may have to rely more on Jared Goff in these next few weeks than they have all season. With David Montgomery expected to miss some time and Jahymr Gibbs working out a hamstring injury, the Lions are all of the sudden very thin at running back.
LOSERS
Undefeated Teams
Heading into Week 6, there were two undefeated teams left in the NFL. Now, there are none. Both the Eagles and 49ers went down on Sunday, and neither looked very impressive doing it. First, San Francisco fell to the Cleveland Browns. With Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel leaving the game due to injuries, Brock Purdy began to look incredibly average. Still, he was able to set up rookie kicker Jake Moody with a chance to win the game in the dying seconds. Moody couldn’t convert, though, and the 49ers fell for the first time in 15 regular season games.
In the later slate, it was Philadelphia’s turn to lose. After going up 14-3 twenty minutes into the game, Philadelphia was completely stalled on offence for the rest of the contest. The Jets forced four turnovers in the afternoon, including a shocking interception late in the game that set up the winning touchdown. Not a good week for the defending NFC champs!
Indianapolis Colts
Things looked so exciting for the Colts just a week ago, but the season outlook has taken a tough turn since then. After performing admirably in a win against the Titans in relief of Anthony Richardson, Minshew was not good in Week 6. He did throw the ball 55 times, but only 33 of those resulted in receptions and three ended in interceptions. Minshew may have to get used to those kinds of afternoons too, as there’s a decent chance that Richardson will be shut down for the season. Star running back Jonathan Taylor is getting back up to full speed, but for a fanbase that was looking forward to seeing Taylor and Richardson together, there may be some tough weeks ahead. In the loss, Gardner Minshew’s record as a starter fell to 2-10.
Chicago Bears
For two weeks, the Bears were fun to watch again. Then, they came crashing back down to Earth in Week 6 against a very mediocre Vikings defence. Justin Fields sprained his right thumb in the game, but before the injury, things were looking very similar to the first three weeks for Fields and the offence. For Chicago fans, the most frustrating thing has to be the hope they get when the team figures things out. Chicago DOMINATED the Commanders in primetime a week after a game against Denver that they also should have won. Then, on Sunday, they seemingly went backwards. Backup quarterback Tyler Bagent did lead the team on a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, but it’s tough to imagine this team doing much of anything against the Raiders next week.
Love the NFL? Play in our FREE Pick’em contests EVERY week this season at http://officepoolsbets.com and make sure to check out our Power Rankings every week to help with those tough selections!
