- And then there were none: Inexplicably, both the Eagles and the 49ers suffered their first loss of the season in Week 6. The Eagles lost to the Jets in New York, and the 49ers lost to the Browns in Cleveland. The league always strives for parity, but usually there are always a couple of teams who threaten perfection all the way to Week 10 and beyond. This year, Larry Csonka and his 1972 teammates can rest easy because the quest died in Week 6.
- The Texans and C.J. Stroud are for real: Although a 3-3 record isn’t exactly anything to write home about, for a team who was chastised for actually winning a game last year to lose the No. 1 pick, getting C.J. Stroud is a dream come true for Houston. He is so far the best QB to come out of the 2023 draft and looks to be the Texans’ franchise QB for years to come. I don’t know if they’ll have enough to make the playoffs in his rookie campaign in the tough AFC, but it is shaping up to be a fantastic storyline and fun to follow the rest of the way.
- Panthers compete in Miami … for a while: Many survivor pools were in jeopardy in the first quarter when the Panthers went out to an early 14-0 lead in Miami. Those pools were battered enough with Philly and San Fransisco both losing, but ultimately the Dolphins prevailed with a three-touchdown win.
- Bengals win ugly: Coming off a dominant win the prior week and at home against a team traveling from the West Coast, everything seemed to be shaping up as an easy victory for the Bengals. But the Seahawks played tough all game with a chance to win until the end, ultimately losing 17-13 but keeping the Bengals high-powered offense to under 20 points.
- Bills win ugly: The Bills were awful all game and literally were one yard away from losing … and a terrible non-call with no time left on the clock. They seem to be missing something, and if the Patriots weren’t so awful this year, I’d pick the upset this week. But the Bills should be able to go into Foxboro and come out with a victory in what will amount to a get-right game.
- Vikings cling to hopes: With Justin Jefferson out, it makes their task much harder, but the Vikings did what they had to do on Sunday by defeating the Bears 19-13. Winning so many close games last season and now losing so many close games this season may be fool’s gold to think they can continue to get into the playoff race. At best, the Vikigns will likely hope for a Wild Card bid due to the Lions’ 5-1 record atop the NFC North.
- The Patriots are the worst team in football: After two awful losses that produced only three total points, the Patriots went to Vegas, only to lose again, 21-17 to the Raiders. They actually had the ball, down by two, with a chance for a game-winning drive, only needing a field goal. But alas, the underwhelming Mac Jones was sacked in the end zone for a safety. To be fair, Jones was the victim of a dropped ball by DeVante Parker that would have put the Pats at midfield. He placed it perfectly in Parker’s breadbasket … it’s been that kind of the year for the Patsies (for anyone under 35 years old, that is what they used to be called).
- The Lions are thebest team in football: The Lions are one of five 5-1 teams and have three impressive road wins on their resume in Kansas City, Green Bay, and Tampa Bay. That’s enough for at least one week to give them that moniker.
- Jaguars win convincingly: After a very sluggish start, the Jaguars have won three games in a row to get to 4-2. They won a pivotal division game at home against the Colts in a very convincing manner, winning 37-20.
- Injuries, Injuries, Injuries: The volume of injuries is getting alarming. This week six QBs went down:
- Chicago Bears, Justin Fields: Fields suffered a dislocated thumb on Sunday.
- Jacksonville Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence: Lawrence suffered a strained knee.
- Tennessee Titans, Ryan Tannehill: Tannehill suffered a high-ankle sprain.
- Las Vegas Raiders, Jimmy Garoppolo: Garoppolo left the game with a back injury.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield: Mayfield, like Fields, suffered a dislocated thumb.
- Indianapolis Colts, Anthony Richardson: Richardson hurt his shoulder and is likely done for the season, thrusting Gardner Minshew into the starting role.
Additionally, San Francisco’s RB Christian McCaffrey suffered an oblique injury and WR Deebo Samuel suffered a shoulder injury against the Browns. RB David Montgomery suffered a rib injury. Rams leading rusher Kyren Williams suffered an ankle injury and was seen wearing a boot. Seattle’s D.K .Metcalf suffered a hip injury and Jets WR Garrett Wilson will have a bye week to nurse a lower leg injury.
