Week 6

NEW YORK GIANTS (34) vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (17)

I was hoping that this Thursday night game would be just as close as the previous four division rivalry matchups on this stage, but the Philadelphia Eagles decided it would give their fans more headaches with a surprising double digit defeat.

My biggest takeaway from this game is that Jaxson Dart is the quarterback of the future for the Giants. He might not have thrown for a ton of yards against this Eagles defense, but he kept the defending champions on their heels from start to finish. Dart finished the night with 195 passing yards, an extra 58 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Four of his first six drives ended in the end zone, yet it was only a three point game at halftime. 

Through the first thirty minutes, Philadelphia’s offense actually looked respectable. Saquon averaged seven yards a carry on just eight touches, AJ Brown looked like himself again and the Tush Push was still infuriating everybody to oblivion. While their defense was getting picked apart by a rookie quarterback, the Eagles had a chance to get their focus back after halftime and show them why they were the defending champions.

On the first drive of the third quarter, the defense got the three-and-out that Philly needed, yet their offense failed to respond. The play that really killed their momentum was on third down at the 11 yard line. DeVonta Smith got wide open on a broken coverage down the left side of the field, but the pass was badly overthrown by six yards and the Eagles were forced to punt back. Once New York got the ball back, they immediately waltzed down the field in just nine plays and Cam Skattebo punched it in the end zone for the second time to increase their lead 27-17. 

For the rest of the third quarter and the early parts of the fourth, both teams were

at a stalemate. Philadelphia could not get anything going on their offense and the Giants suffered a little bit of an injury scare as Dart exited the third quarter due to a possible concussion. Fortunately for them, he cleared protocol and was able to return, yet the Eagles still had a chance to get back in this game.

In the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, Jalen Hurts drove his team into the red zone in three plays thanks to a huge pass interference penalty on Paulson Adebo. However, the Eagles failed to score once again thanks to a back breaking interception from Cordale Flott that set the Giants up in tremendous field position and all they needed was one last touchdown from their rookie running back Skattebo to put the game away. 

In the second half, Philadelphia’s offense scored zero points with six first downs, zero third down conversions, and 115 yards of offense. New York, on the other hand, looked invincible from start to finish. Skattebo nearly had 100 yards with three total touchdowns and it says a lot when the two best receivers of the night for Dart were Wan’Dale Robinson and Lil'Jordan Humphrey. The Giants went 11 for 16 on third down, they were a perfect three for three in the red zone and they scored 34 points against a defense that was supposed to be the best at the start of the season.

Right now, Philadelphia is not necessarily at rock bottom, but they are not sitting pretty. Their offense is an absolute trainwreck and the defense is starting to fall apart due to a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness, which reminds me so much of how their 2023 season played out. There is not one individual to blame for the mess this team is in right now. This is a stench all the way from the top of the organization all the way to the last dude on the practice squad. The leaders need to step up and they have to get their acts together. Otherwise, big changes are going to be made before the trade deadline, which will drastically impact the rest of the team’s season.

The Giants pull off a huge win at home and bounce back to 2-4, but will take the road for a truly difficult matchup against the Denver Broncos. Meanwhile, the Eagles have lost their second game in a row, yet are still leading the division at 4-2 and will stay on the road for a must win afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings.

DENVER BRONCOS (13) vs. NEW YORK JETS (11)

This was by far the worst game I watched all year. I am more surprised that both teams were able to score double digits because the offenses that were on the field were absolutely atrocious. It felt like the Broncos were doing everything they could to give their opponent an undeserved victory, but then we remember that it’s the Jets.

Justin Fields had the worst game of his career by far. Getting sacked nine times is bad enough and it is not the first time that this happened to him. However, he did not even throw for 50 yards on Sunday afternoon! None of the points that New York scored were on the offense. Nine of them were from three made field goals by Nick Folk and the remaining two came off a safety because of a holding penalty in the end zone. That Jets offense had so many chances to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year to get their first victory, but once again, their gameplan of “Give the ball to Breece Hall and throw it to Garrett Wilson” predictably backfired. Let me put it this way. When the head coach decides to not run another play with 30 seconds left in the first half, that should tell you everything you need to know about this group. They were two for fifteen on third down, they had eight first downs and totaled 82 yards. 

Yet the Broncos offense only scored 13 points. Through the first 30 minutes, they were not great, but put together a couple of decent drives to take a 10-6 lead at the break. However, in the second half, Bo Nix completed four out of ten passes for 49 yards. They only had four first downs in that span with 71 total yards, going one for six on third down. That Jets defense did everything they could to win that game. On the opening drive, they finally forced their first takeaway off a lost fumble, yet the offense went three-and-out to kick a field goal. When Garrett Boles got flagged for holding in the end zone, it gave New York the lead, but their offense did not capitalize off the play whatsoever. Even when Kene Nwangwu totaled 72 yards on an early kickoff return, the team only settled for three. In my mind, the Denver defense won but their offense did not.

The Broncos hang on for an atrocious win and are now 4-2, heading back home for a competitive matchup against the New York Giants. Meanwhile, the Jets are still the only winless team in the league as they fall to 0-6, heading back home to play the Carolina Panthers.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (31) vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS (27)

Due to a foot injury, Kyler Murray did not suit up for a must win road game against the Indianapolis Colts. Therefore, backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett had a chance to get his revenge on his former team. In his first start of the season, he played well with 320 passing yards and a couple touchdowns, yet it was unfortunately not good enough.

Throughout the first half, the Cardinals did their best to keep it close, but played from behind most of the way. While their defense was able to intercept Daniel Jones after letting up an early touchdown on the opening drive, Brissett threw an unfortunate pick of his own to Mekhi Blackmon two plays later and Indianapolis was able to hold a 14-10 lead at the break. However, Arizona was able to get the ball to start the third quarter, so their offense needed an early strong start for them to go out in front.

In the third quarter, the Cardinals offense looked like they would be unstoppable for the rest of the afternoon. Their first three drives gave their team the lead. They led by as much as seven and as little as three. The only problem for them was that their defense had no answers for Daniel Jones or Jonathan Taylor. The Colts had four total possessions in the second half. Three of them ended with touchdowns and the last one gave them the lead with 4:32 remaining. That was more than enough time for Brissett to be the hero just like he was for the Patriots last year against the Jets, so all he needed was a touchdown for the upset to be pulled off.

On the first play after the two minute warning, Brissett took a deep shot down the field to Michael Wilson and the receiver leaped up for an incredible 30 yard catch at the 12-yard line. With all three timeouts in their pocket, Arizona had the momentum on their side, so the only thing that could set them back is if they went one-dimensional. On their last four plays of the game, they did not run the ball. The first one was a simple three-yard completion, the second an incomplete pass and the third became a costly sack in the hands of Kwity Paye. On fourth down, the Cardinals failed to pull off the miracle and one last first down run from Taylor put the icing on the cake.

To make a long story short, there was not really a momentum swinging play that allowed the Colts to win. It all came down to efficiency. Daniel Jones reached the red zone four times on Sunday afternoon and succeeded on all of his trips. Jacoby Brissett got inside the twenty six times, yet only reached the end zone on three of them and one of those trips ended with a turnover. Jonathan Taylor ran for 123 yards on 21 carries while Arizona only totaled 88 on the ground. This was a competitive game that came down to the wire, yet Indianapolis won because they took advantage of their opportunities the most, especially down the stretch.

The Colts hang on at home to officially take the division lead at 5-1, but will head back to So-Fi Stadium for another crucial matchup as they take on the Los Angeles Chargers. Meanwhile, the Cardinals lose their fourth game in a row to fall to 2-4, heading back home for a challenging game against the Green Bay Packers.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (29) vs. MIAMI DOLPHINS (27)

Normally, I would be happy that the Chargers were able to get out of their two week slump but all I saw were more flaws than bright spots. Justin Herbert was able to pull off a game winning drive in the final minutes, that is true. However, their defense is not as strong as they were last year and the offense kept it closer than it should have been.

On the first pass attempt of the game, Tua Tagovailoa threw an interception to Tony Jefferson, but that was because Jaylen Waddle dropped a perfect pass over the middle of the field. However, the Dolphins still led 13-9 at the break because their defense kept Herbert out of the end zone and a 49 yard touchdown run by De’Von Achane gave Miami a lot of early momentum. Unfortunately, the same could not be said to start the third quarter. 

The Chargers offense took the field to begin the third quarter and mastered a successful touchdown drive in 13 plays, taking over seven minutes off the clock that was capped off with a dart to Ladd McConkey in the end zone. Three plays later, Tagovailoa threw his second interception of the afternoon, this time to Benjamin St. Juste. Not too long afterwards, Kimani Vidal got wide open in the flat for a score and LA was now ahead by 10. When the Dolphins offense got the ball back, a sack from Tui Tuipulotu forced a three-and-out, before Cameron Dicker made his fourth field goal of the day to increase their lead to 13.

As the fourth quarter began, Miami finally woke up and looked like the team we at least thought they would be over the last couple of years. Not only did the defense force a needed stop, but the offense scored a touchdown on their next two drives to take a one point lead with less than a minute remaining. However, it was still enough time for Herbert to set up a game winning field goal, so this game was far from over.

Two plays into the final drive, Herbert escaped a sack from Jaelan Phillips up the middle and found Ladd McConkey open down the sideline, who juked past a defender for an electrifying 42 yard catch-and-run all the way to the 17 yard line. All Dicker needed to do was a chip-shot field goal for the Chargers to win and that is exactly what he did on his fifth made kick. One last chance for Tua to make something happen, but he threw his third interception to end the game.

With all that happened on Sunday, the bottom line is that Miami made too many mistakes to win. Their fourth comeback quarter was impressive and it was one that they needed to somehow keep their season alive, but three turnovers from their offense completely bit them in the butt and the patchwork defense could not get a crucial stop when they needed one to win. Now Tua has publicly called out his teammates for showing up late to meetings and Mike McDaniel is not happy. 

Los Angeles got the win, yet I am still not as excited about them the way that I was after week three against Denver. This should not be the case because Herbert was efficient from the jump, Kimani Vidal ran for over 120 yards on 18 carries and Ladd McConkey had his first 100+ yard performance of the season. However, they trailed by four at halftime and blew a 13 point lead in the fourth quarter. I get that they have dealt with a lot of injuries, yet I wish they could have put this game away when they had the chance. At the end, this team made a couple more plays than the opposition and they deserve more credit than blame.

The Chargers bounce back with a win on the road and are still tied for the AFC West lead at 4-2, heading back home for a huge prove-it game against the Indianapolis Colts. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are still in a rut as they have fallen to 1-5 and will take the road for a chance to bounce back against the Cleveland Browns.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (25) vs. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (19)

There were a couple of games that did not surprise me in the slightest and this was the first. The Saints have been a scrappy pesky team all season long and were coming off a home win against the Giants thanks to five turnovers, so New England knew that they were not in for an easy win. However, the reason why New Orleans lost was the same one as three of their previous four: they failed to seize the momentum.

The Patriots offense began the game with three touchdowns on their first four drives of the afternoon, all of them thanks to the beautiful arm of Drake Maye. The only miscue they had in that entire first half was deciding to go for it on fourth and seven with the center snapping the ball way behind its quarterback, which allowed New Orleans to take a two point lead with a field goal. However, the minute New England took the lead on the next drive, they never lost it the rest of the afternoon.

As for the Saints offense, moving the ball was once again not the issue. On the first play of the game, Chris Olave got behind the defense for a huge 53 yard play, yet they settled for a field goal. Nine of their 16 points in the first half were thanks to the leg of Blake Grupe, while the offense only reached the end zone one time with the help of Taysom Hill. 

In the second half, neither team could score more than three points as it became a defensive slugfest. However, the reason why New Orleans held on was very simple: they could not take advantage of the opportunities that were literally gifted to them. They committed the only turnover of the day as Juwan Johnson fumbled a catch down the seam, yet no matter how many times New England punted the ball back, the Saints could not score the points that they needed to pull off another upset. This is what would have happened for the Giants if they did not turn the ball over left and right.

One last thing before we wrap this up. I do not like blaming officials for impacting the game because I think that while there are questionable calls that will get talked about, the teams that lose could have prevented themselves from being in that situation. However, I felt like the Patriots would have scored a lot more points if it were not for a couple of phantom push-off calls. Granted, this team was flagged 11 times while New Orleans committed eight penalties so I am not going to complain too much about it, but there were a couple of deep throws that Maye put right on the button that were confusingly called back.

The Patriots win their third game in a row to officially enter the playoff race at 4-2 and will stay on the road for Mike Vrabel’s chance at revenge as they play the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, the Saints fall back down to Earth as they fall to 1-5 and will head on the road to take on the Chicago Bears.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (23) vs. CLEVELAND BROWNS (9)

This was the second least surprising game of the entire week because the Browns have not won in Pittsburgh in the regular season since 2003, so as long as the Steelers did not completely get in their way on either side of the ball, they would do enough to win. In what turned out to be a simple defensive showdown, the team that scored a touchdown first would be smiling in the locker room and Cleveland could not do that.

All nine of their points came off the leg of Andre Szmyt, who has honestly been one of their better players since the two awful whiffs against the Bengals in week one. Their defense did a good job of keeping Pittsburgh out of the end zone by forcing three field goal attempts of their own in the first half, but on the opening drive of the third quarter, the Steelers mastered a 79 yard drive in six minutes and Aaron Rodgers capped it off with a dime in the back of the end zone to Connor Heyward. That put Pittsburgh ahead 16-3 and the Browns offense just failed to keep the game within reach.

There are two reasons why Cleveland got held to nine points. The first is that Dillon Gabriel got sacked six times, two of them from Jalen Ramsey on a blitz. The second is that they got shut down in the running game. The Steelers simply dared Gabriel to win the game by himself by holding Quinshon Judkins to 36 yards on 12 carries. That forced the third round quarterback to throw the ball 52 times, yet with little impact. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, ran the ball 28 times and threw it 30. Rodgers finished the day with 235 yards and a couple touchdowns, while the rushing attack picked up 100 yards, but the best part for them was that the Browns defense had zero sacks. Overall, Pittsburgh was just the better team and in a game where Cleveland needed to be perfect to have a chance, they got neutralized.

The Steelers return from the bye week with a blowout victory to widen their division lead at 5-1, but will take the road on a short week as they visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Browns are still terrible at 1-5 and will head back home for a meeting with the Miami Dolphins.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (30) vs. DALLAS COWBOYS (27)

It is nice to see the Panthers not be one of the worst teams in the league this year but it is even better that they got this statement win at home over the Dallas Cowboys. The minute that this team gets a victory on the road, more positive attention is going to head towards their way. Yet just like last week’s upset win, Carolina had to get themselves out of a hole for them to escape.

After both teams started the game with early field goals, Bryce Young threw an interception to Donovan Wilson that was returned all the way to the 12 yard line. However, the turnover was not the quarterback’s fault because Tet McMillan dropped an easy completion and Wilson caught it off the tip. Nonetheless, the Cowboys capitalized with a touchdown, but both Young and McMillan redeemed themselves with the tying score on the next possession. However, it did not take too long for Dak Prescott to respond by leading Dallas 77 yards down the field in close to eight minutes, finding Jake Ferguson wide open down the seam for another go-ahead touchdown. Carolina managed to kick a field goal in the final minutes of the half and the silver lining was that they would get the ball to begin the third quarter, so all they needed was a fast start and they would be right back in the game. 

On the first play of the second half, Young found the rookie receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. in stride for a 34 yard catch-and-run. Just a few plays later, Dallas’ former running back Rico Dowdle was wide open for a 36 yard touchdown and all of a sudden, the Panthers were ahead by three points. George Pickens would eventually give the Cowboys a 34 yard catch-and-run score to retake the lead, but Dowdle once again carried Carolina down the field to set up another touchdown pass to McMillan. 

What ensued in the fourth quarter was a gutsy defensive struggle, yet the game was still tied at 27. After both teams went three-and-out midway through the period, the Panthers got the ball back with about six minutes to spare. This was not the first time he pulled off a game winning drive in situations like this and against a terrible Dallas defense, there could not be a better moment to lead his team to victory than right now. Thanks to a pass interference penalty from Kaiir Elam on third down and an open completion to Hunter Renfrow on fourth, Carolina got within field goal range and Ryan Fitzgerald put on the finishing touches with a winning 33 yard kick.

There was a lot to break down in this game but my big picture takeaway is very simple: the Panthers found a way to close the deal and the Cowboys could not. When it comes to passing blame, nobody deserves it more than the Dallas defense because it is an absolute trash heap. However, the offense does not get a complete pass for not putting the game away in the fourth quarter when they had the chance. The reason why is because when you know your defense is this terrible, the last thing you can do is give the opposition a chance to breathe and succeed. 

Once again, Bryce Young found a way to deliver a win in the clutch, yet the main star of the show was Rico Dowdle. He let his former team know that he was going to be ready to make a statement and he absolutely backed up his talk. He ran for 183 more yards on 30 touches. With an extra 56 receiving yards, Dowdle totaled nearly 240 yards from scrimmage and that catapulted him to being the fourth leading rusher in the NFL. I still want to see more from Carolina, especially on the road. At the same time, it is refreshing to see them find ways to win instead of the opposite way around for a change.

The Panthers pull off another gutsy win and are evened up at 3-3, but will take the road for a chance to have a winning record as they play the New York Jets. The Cowboys lose in gut wrenching fashion to drop to 2-3-1, heading back home for another challenging showdown as they welcome the Washington Commanders.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (20) vs. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (12)

I appreciate that this turned out to be the feisty competitive grudge match that I expected before the week began, yet I was really surprised about the outcome. Then again, this is the ninth straight road victory for the Seattle Seahawks, so I personally should have seen this coming. However, the Jaguars were the ones that threw the first punch.

After both teams punted the football on their first couple drives, the Seahawks secondary let up a few wide open passes, including an early touchdown pass to Brian Thomas Jr. However, Cam Little missed the extra point and Jacksonville was ahead by six instead of seven. Jason Myers got Seattle on the board with a chip shot field goal and after the defense forced a three-and-out thanks to a couple of sacks, Sam Darnold launched a rocket down the left sideline to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 61 yard touchdown pass. The minute that the Jaguars gave up the lead, they never got it back.

Since the wide open touchdown to Thomas, Seattle scored 20 unanswered points to take a 14 point lead. Seven of them came on the opening drive of the second half from Cooper Kupp. There were definitely a few rough patches that got overlooked. They were one for twelve on third down and only one for three inside the red zone, yet Darnold still threw for 295 yards with a couple touchdown passes and zero turnovers. The reason why I believe the Seahawks did not score more than 20 points was because they had trouble running the ball and the only consistent receiver on the field was Smith-Njigba.

Lawrence did not post the worst statistics either, throwing for 258 yards with two two touchdown passes and no turnovers himself. However, not only did the Jaguars also fail to run the football effectively, but the offensive line allowed seven sacks! Seattle’s pass rush alone was the biggest reason why they never gave up the lead. Otherwise, this game would have been too close to call. Even though the Jaguars made it a one score game in the fourth quarter, they did not make enough plays to tie things up or take another lead.

This was not the result that Jacksonville wanted just a week after beating Kansas City on Monday Night Football. However, the Seahawks simply let the NFL world know that as long as you do not turn the ball over against this team and play complimentary football, then the game will not get flipped upside down.

The Seahawks bounce back from a heartbreaking defeat and are tied for the division lead at 4-2, with a trip back home for a Monday night showdown against the Houston Texans. The Jaguars get thwarted on both sides of the ball but are also still 4-2 and will head out to their second residence in London for a matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.

LOS ANGELES RAMS (17) vs. BALTIMORE RAVENS (3)

Of all the games that were played this week, this was probably the most boring. It was tied at three at halftime, the Rams only scored 17 points and were doing everything they could to keep Baltimore in the game, yet that team kept getting in their own way repeatedly. 

Through the first 30 minutes, LA could not do anything on the offensive side of the ball. It started with a doinked field goal miss by Joshua Karty, it continued with a strip sack by John Jenkins, and ended with a three-and-out. However, two factors killed Baltimore’s chances of potentially pulling off an upset: turnovers and failed fourth down attempts. The only silver lining for the Ravens was that Derrick Henry ran for over 120 yards on 24 carries. Their only problem was that Cooper Rush was uninspiring as usual. He threw a bad interception to Kamren Curl, then John Harbaugh somehow trusted him to try to convert a fourth down attempt at the 34 yard line that predictably backfired, and it was no wonder why they did not put the ball in his hands on their final drive of the period. Normally when the Ravens are set up at the one yard line, the idea would be to give the ball to Henry for a chance to score. Instead, offensive coordinator Todd Monken decided to run back-to-back sneaks with Mark Andrews that went absolutely nowhere, only for the Rams to predictably stuff Henry on fourth down. That was the possession that really killed the game for Baltimore because when they returned to the field for the second half, their offense could not do anything.

The Rams got off to a better start of the period by scoring a touchdown in just over a few minutes with the help of Kyren Williams. Just a few plays later, Zay Flowers fumbled the football on a screen and Matthew Stafford only needed 21 yards to lead Los Angeles down the field and find Tyler Higbee wide open in the end zone for another score. The offense did not do too much since, yet the defense forced another fumble from Flowers and two more fourth down stops to put the icing on the cake. The Ravens were so desperate to stay competitive that they benched Rush for Pro Bowler Tyler Huntley, who got sacked four times and somehow looked slightly better in mop-up duty.

If it were not for the red zone struggles and a couple of failed fourth down attempts, Los Angeles would have won by a lot more points. However, their defense led the way from start to finish and all the offense needed was a semblance of a pulse to get through that win. Baltimore is just in the worst mess they could have asked for right now, so hopefully the week off can be the reset that they desperately need.

The Rams bounce back with a win on the road to improve to 4-2 and will now travel to London for a Sunday meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Meanwhile, the Ravens have lost four straight games and will enter the bye week with a 1-5 record.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (20) vs. TENNESSEE TITANS (10)

Just when you thought the Titans could potentially save their season from the brink, they fall right back down to Earth as a complete laughing stock. All it took was a strip sack from Devin White to give the Raiders all of the momentum they needed to get through the afternoon. Sure enough, Michael Mayer was wide open in the end zone to put Vegas ahead 10-0 and Tennessee predictably shrank the rest of the way.

Cam Ward was sacked six more times on Sunday, went three for thirteen on third down, picked up only 15 first downs, and the offense could not even total 230 yards on the ground. After the momentum-swinging strip sack, the Titans turned it over two more times: the first an interception to Devin White and the second on a lost fumble by Ward. Nobody is going to remember the fact that Geno Smith threw his tenth interception of the season or that the Raiders won because the biggest story of the game was the one that many could see coming a mile away.

24 hours after the loss, Tennessee announced that they were firing Brian Callahan as the head coach. It turned out that the only reason why he was relevant was because he was Joe Burrow’s offensive coordinator and could not only fix the broken offense that this team had, but was nowhere near a leader of men. Mike McCoy will be the interim head coach, yet that is not going to remove the absolute stench that is stinking up this football team. Cam Ward now becomes the third straight rookie quarterback to have his coach fired in the middle of his rookie season, which lets you know that the Titans are absolutely going to ruin this kid if the ownership and front office do not get their acts together. They better be thankful that the Jets are still an NFL team or else there is no question to determine who the worst in the league is this year.

The Raiders bounce back with a win at home and are back in the column at 2-4, but will take the road for a more challenging matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Meanwhile, the Titans are right back at rock bottom to fall to 1-5, heading home to welcome back Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots.

GREEN BAY PACKERS (27) vs. CINCINNATI BENGALS (18)

The Bengals might be a flaming disaster with no optimism or contingency quarterback, yet the Packers were not going to underestimate this team the way they did against the Browns in week three. Joe Flacco was part of the most shocking upset in the NFL just a few weeks ago, but this game was in Lambeau Field and he did not necessarily have the defense or the offensive line to help him out.

In the first half, Cincinnati got completely shut down offensively. After Jordan Love threw an interception to Geno Stone in field goal range, it was the perfect opportunity for Flacco to rechannel the energy he had a couple years ago in his miraculous playoff run, yet the offense went three-and-out on three of their first four drives. Flacco only threw for 40 yards in that span, but he looked a little better after halftime.

If you told me that the Bengals were going to begin the third quarter with a 17 play touchdown drive in just over 10 minutes and that they would score two more times afterwards, I would be excited to see how that game would end. The only problem is that their predictably weak defense got completely torched on three straight possessions. Any time Cincinnati actually found a way to respond offensively, Jordan Love and Josh Jacobs would immediately respond with a scoring possession to increase their lead. The game ended with a missed field goal from Evan McPherson on a desperation attempt from 56 yards away, just two quarters after he barely missed a 67 yard field goal to end the first half. 

Love was not perfect on Sunday afternoon, yet still threw for close to 260 yards, while Jacobs mainly led the way with 150 yards from scrimmage. The Packers defense did not even force a takeaway or sack Flacco one time, yet they looked five times better than they did a couple weeks ago against the Cowboys on the road. Fortunately, Green Bay did not fall into another trap and they made sure to take care of business.

The Packers are back in the win column at 3-1-1 and will head on the road for what should be an interesting matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Bengals have lost four straight to fall to 2-4 and will head back home on a short week to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (30) vs. SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (19)

This was the best matchup of the Sunday afternoon slate and it gave us the results that I personally expected, yet it turned out to be a little better for the Buccaneers han I thought. On Mac Jones’ first attempt of the game, he threw an interception to Kindale Vildor that should have been a pick six, but the defender slipped as he was falling to the ground. It only took a couple of plays for Rachaad White to reach the end zone, yet as the offense stalled out on their next two drives, Jones bounced back with a couple of scoring drives to give the 49ers a three point lead at the start of the second quarter.

However, it did not take Baker Mayfield too long to retake the lead. After a sluggish start, he proceeded to lead five straight scoring drives, excluding the end of each half where he took a knee. Keep this in mind. He did not have Bucky Irving, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, or two starting offensive linemen entering the game. He lost Emeka Egbuka in the second quarter due to a hamstring injury. Yet he is throwing wide open dimes down the field to the likes of the Johnson and Johnson duo of Tez and Kam. As a result, Mayfield threw for close to 260 yards with a couple touchdown passes and zero turnovers. One huge reason why is that the 49ers lost their star linebacker Fred Warner for the rest of the year with a dislocated ankle, but this was still an impressive showing for Tampa nonetheless. 

As for Mac Jones, moving the ball was not the issue. It was scoring when it mattered most. While he threw for 342 yards, he got sacked six times and his two interceptions allowed the Bucs to put this game out of reach. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro did not have too bad of a day with four made field goals, yet if he is the biggest reason why San Francisco is scoring points, then they need everybody to get healthy immediately. However, that was not the biggest reason why this team lost on Sunday. It was because they did not play well enough on either side to ever maintain a lead.

The Buccaneers have surged their way to the top of the NFC standings at 5-1 and will take the road for a huge primetime showdown against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football. The 49ers get outplayed on the road but are still solid at 4-2 and will stay home for an intriguing Sunday night matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (30) vs. DETROIT LIONS (17)

The last time these two teams met was something to remember. On opening night of the 2023 season, the Lions upset the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs 21-20. Travis Kelce and Chris Jones did not play in that game, but both were healthy to play in this year’s rematch on Sunday Night Football. Detroit had the team everyone wanted to win, while Kansas City was still regarded as the biggest villain in the National Football League. This simply came down to will and who wanted it more, which turned out to be the Chiefs.

Early on, both offenses threw punches left and right. The Lions scored an early field goal on their opening possession that honestly should have been a touchdown on a direct pass from David Montgomery to Jared Goff. However, they were flagged for illegal motion on the play and it backed them up five yards to make the field goal. The first time Patrick Mahomes took the field, you could just tell he was fired up to play. In just eight plays, the Chiefs offense marched right down the field for a touchdown as Mahomes found a wide open Xavier Worthy in the end zone. Unfortunately, Harrison Butker missed the extra point, so Kansas City was only ahead by three. The Lions responded with a fast touchdown possession of their own, but the defense was already inside their own twenty yard line. However, they did enough to force fourth and one at the 19 yard line. Andy Reid decided to go for it and trust his quarterback to keep the drive alive, but a rollout pass to Worthy got broken up and Detroit forced a critical stop! 

Coming back onto the field, the Lions had a chance to get back in the end zone and go ahead by double digits, which would give them so much momentum to beat the Chiefs once again. Fortunately, the offense was able to get across midfield, but they ended up with fourth and two at the 44 yard line. It should be no surprise that when Dan Campbell is the head coach, that team is going for it every time. Facing the blitz, Goff threw a solid pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown over the middle of the field, yet the ball was dropped and Kansas City took over. Not only was that the break the team needed, but it gave them the spark they needed to pull away. 

It only took two minutes for Mahomes to lead his offense down the field and take the lead. Once that happened, he never trailed for the rest of the night. The Chiefs got the ball to start the second half and once again, they scored quickly and went ahead by 10. Despite the Lions making it a one score game to begin the fourth quarter, their defense could not get off the field when it mattered and the offense ended up running out of gas.

Kansas City looked like themselves again on Sunday night football. This was the team that we were all used to seeing over the last seven years. Mahomes was phenomenal, throwing for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Travis Kelce turned back the clock and gave Detroit’s defense fits by catching six passes for 78 yards. Even JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown were making dynamic plays left and right. Having said all of this, we need to see more from them for us to believe that they are truly back. The last thing they want is to have an up-and-down year where they look great one week and then not show up the next, especially when they go on the road.

Detroit was simply beaten at their own game. I get that two of their top corners DJ Reed and Terrion Arnold were out, but we know that this was going to be one of those nights where Patrick Mahomes was going to do whatever it took to win. The offense does not deserve a pass either because there were a couple of drives that they would have loved to get back, but Kansas City just simply wanted it more. However, what in the world was Brian Branch thinking when he snubbed a handshake from Mahomes and then got into a brawl with Smith-Schuster? It was deserving that he got suspended one game and it somewhat proved that the Lions were simply over their heads entering a must win showdown.

The Chiefs bounce back with an impressive win at home to get back on the board at 3-3 and will stay home for what should be a winnable game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Lions get their piece of humble pie as they still lead the NFC North at 4-2, with a trip back home for a Monday night thriller against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

ATLANTA FALCONS (24) vs. BUFFALO BILLS (14)

The upsets did not stop there because in what was expected to be a bounce back win for the Bills turned out to be another frustrating defeat. Atlanta did not even have too dynamic of a performance offensively, but the offense simply shoved the ball down the defense’s throats and their defense set the tone throughout the entire night.

The game nearly started in the worst way possible as Bijan Robinson coughed up the football on the first play, but an offsides penalty on Greg Rousseau gave the Falcons exactly the break they needed. From that point on, their offense just simply ran the ball at ease. Robinson ran for 138 yards on 12 carries in just the first half alone, which included an 81 yard touchdown to put Atlanta ahead 21-7 at halftime. They finished with 210 total yards on the ground, while Michael Penix Jr. finished with a solid 250 on 20 completions. While they stumbled for much of the second half, they got the three points they needed from Parker Romo with less than two minutes remaining to officially pull the game out of reach. This was easily their most impressive victory of the season and it is one that could potentially get them in the playoff picture if they continue to play like that.

Josh Allen, on the other hand, was awful. Despite two strong touchdown drives at the beginning of each half, he only finished with 180 passing yards, two interceptions and four sacks taken. The Bills were two for nine on third down and could not convert on their only fourth down attempt of the night, so this offense just got punked on a primetime stage. If you take away the two touchdown drives they had, Buffalo only had 141 more yards of offense. Right now, they are in the same situation as the Philadelphia Eagles. They got off to a strong 4-0 start, but now they have stumbled over the last two weeks. Their offense has been very concerning and the defense is flawed on all three levels due to a combination of injuries and inefficiency. Now, they are not even in first place in their own division as the Patriots have the tiebreaker. This is unfamiliar territory that the Bills are in right now and it is a good thing that they have the week off because they have to figure out what is wrong as soon as possible.

The Falcons pull off a strong win at home and are now 3-2, but will take the road for another challenging matchup as they take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Bills drop their second game in a row to enter the bye week 4-2. 

CHICAGO BEARS (25) vs. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (24)

For the Commanders, it was a primetime game at home against a scrappy football team. For the Bears, this was a chance for revenge against the team that sent their season into a freefall last year. This Monday night matchup was not a coincidence. It was fate. 

Chicago won almost exactly the same way that they did two weeks ago against the Raiders. Their defense forced three turnovers, yet the offense barely did anything with the chances they were given and they barely escaped 25-24. The only difference was that it did not take a blocked field goal for them to barely escape. Instead, it was a 38 yard chip shot in the final seconds from Jake Moody, who was elevated from the practice squad because Cairo Santos was injured. However, I did not say that this game was completely identical to the one against the Raiders.

The Bears were up 13 to nothing after their first three drives. Their defense forced two early takeaways with an interception by Jaquan Brisker and a forced fumble on a handoff to Jacory Croskey-Merritt. However, it did not take too long for Washington to get back into the game as Jayden Daniels found Chris Moore in the corner of the end zone to trim their deficit to six. When Chicago got the ball back, they managed to drive into enemy territory again, but they faced fourth and one at the 31 yard line. Ben Johnson channeled his inner Dan Campbell to go for it, but in shotgun formation, Caleb Williams tried to find Rome Odunze down the left side of the field and it was nearly intercepted by Frankie Luvu. However, the Bears got a break on the next drive after Matt Gay missed a 50 yard field goal, so their lead was still intact.

Both teams kicked field goals to begin the second half that kept Chicago ahead by six until a wide open touchdown pass to Luke McCaffrey gave Washington their first lead of the night. After the special teams blocked a 48 yard field goal on the ensuing possession, Jayden Daniels found another wide open receiver Jayden Lane to set up another touchdown pass, this time to Zach Ertz. Now the Commanders were ahead 24-16, but just three plays later, D’Andre Swift gave the Bears a lot of momentum back with a 55 yard catch-and-run score! However, the two point conversion failed and they still trailed. When the offense got the ball back on the next drive, they went three-and-out and all Washington needed were a couple more first downs to run out the clock.

Then, all of a sudden, a miracle happened. On third down and one at the 40 yard line, Daniels fumbled the ball on a handoff and the Bears fell on top of it for their third takeaway of the night! Last year, the Hail Mary gave Washington a stunning victory. This season, Chicago got their comeuppance. Once again, Swift led his offense all the way into the red zone to set up a 38 yard winner for Moody. For the fans watching at home, this was a 50/50 kick because there is a reason why the 49ers cut him, but the ball was drilled through the uprights and the Bears won the game! What a glorious night to be alive!

The Bears get their revenge and are climbing back into the playoff race at 3-2, heading back home for what should be a grudge match against the New Orleans Saints. The Commanders fumbled away a winnable game at home to finish the week 3-3 and will take the road for a must win matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.