NFL Week 6 Takeaways

NFL Week 6 Recap

By: Andrew Ferguson

New drama, more disappointments and the same teams remain undefeated. Some teams are setting trends while others after 6 weeks, have no idea who they are. Some coaches don’t even know the rules. Looking at you Dan Quinn. But one thing I do know after the first 6 weeks is that I have a new Super Bowl matchup prediction. It isn’t one of my topics today but I’m sure many of you can guess that it’s the Bills vs. 49ers. I think America would be okay with that matchup and it would be a high octane, offensive game. A lot of great personalities and fan favorites. What’s not to like? 

But before we get to February and a Valentine’s Day Super Bowl, we need to pick through the mess of the NFL to see what’s going on and what happens before this lovely day. 

1) It’s Officially Time for the Rams to Panic

Remember how it all started and you can even go back to last year. They didn’t win the division, then they ran into Seattle on the road and lost a crazy game. They really thought they were just avoiding Seattle on the road to get to the Super Bowl. They go all in and seem to have all of the pieces this year for an NFC title then onto a championship or straight bust. Well right now, it’s looking like bust. Going 2-3 to start the year wasn’t ideal given that tough schedule. Poor travel plans to Australia, on the road against Denver’s tough defense then a loss to the Bills. Let’s see anyone come out of that alive. One of those wins would’ve made a huge difference right now. But this weekend to lose to the Cardinals in a game where the offense did not look good at all then to have your defense let Arizona drive down the field to win is concerning. They also lost Davante Adams for potentially up to 10 weeks. Winning the division this year looks to be out of reach so they’re going to have to quit messing around and start winning easy games they shouldn’t lose in the first place and start beating good opponents. I think it’s possible they can string some wings together but they need to get to .500, and then start a win streak. This is still a team I’m not giving up on or want to play in the playoffs. Even with the Adams injury, the Rams have too much talent to not make the playoffs, but the dreams of a Super Bowl are slowly starting to disappear. 

2) Time for the Eagles to Rebuild. Who’s Going to Win the NFC East? 

Holy crap, what a mess this division is. Did you know two weeks in a row, nobody from this division has won a game? And 2 of the teams even played against each other? Yeah, think about that. We’ve now seen 2 starting QBs go down for the season in Dart and Hurts for the Eagles (prayers up for Hurts as it’s a serious medical condition). Jaylen Daniels has a robotic arm and the Cowboys just don’t care to win and take advantage of a division that’s in more of a rut than I’ve ever seen the NFC South in. But let’s start with the Eagles. Before the Hurts injury, there were serious questions all over this organization. Nick Sirianni seems to be on the hotseat. But if you decide to dismantle this current regime, are you not moving on from Hurts as well? I think the answer is… sort of. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sirianni is let go but they decide to keep Hurts on the roster while also bringing in the QB of the future for the organization. Let’s face it, the Eagles peaked, they won their Super Bowl and they’re still holding onto hope. Saquon can’t stay healthy and the offense just can’t get things going no matter who is calling the plays. Even before the injury, Hurts has had a massive regression and I don’t see what he’s currently capable of to get the job done anymore. Also, the tush push seems to have been figured out. I think it’s time to trade the vets, fire the staff and start over. They have tons of talent on defense so the turnaround potentially couldn’t take too long if you nail it on the QB. Or you start completely over and use those current pieces on defense to gain more assets for the future. 

But who wins the division this year? Call me crazy, but if the Cowboys can get their heads out of their asses, it’s theirs for the taking. I’ll put my money on Dallas over Dan Quinn and Jameis Winston any day. It may be a 10-7 division winning season but the Cowboys offense needs to start carrying this pathetic unit of a defense. 

3) Someone’s Gotta Go

My top 3 candidates to be fired right now in the NFL are Mike McDaniel, Todd Bowles and Brian Schottenheimer. The longest leash right now goes to Schottenheimer given how bad the division is and the Cowboys have a chance. But it’s one of those 3 foot leashes. Not one where you extend and click however long you want your little yapper dog going. If things get out of hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s fired midseason. Cowboys fans have high expectations. Why? I don’t know. So between McDaniel and Bowles, I’m putting money on McDaniel to be fired first. I know it’s not as exciting because he’s not a head coach but what the Chargers are doing on offense is embarrassing. They have injuries on the team just like anyone else but at least Bowles has the excuse of his QB being hurt. This experiment with McDaniel is straight up, not having a good time and not working. It fizzled out in Miami so I’m not that surprised in hindsight to see it go to complete shambles in LA. Herbert looks like a completely different player than year’s past and he needs someone that can utilize his skillset properly. I was also really high on Omarion Hampton. Why isn’t he good and why isn’t the run game revolved around him? I’m very confused and McDaniel needs to go. 

4) Who Do You Think is Back? Is the NFC North the Most Fun?

The Vikings at 5-0 are running away with the NFC North right? Wrong. The Bears and Packers are back, sitting at 4-2 and all of a sudden, this looks like the toughest division in football. The Lions already had their bye and are also at 3-2 so don’t think they’re going to roll over for you. Well, maybe their defense will. But the Bears got Caleb back, he looked good and owned the Falcons. The Packers seem to be in a groove and Jordan Love is playing his best ball in his career. They’re also getting Josh Jacobs back (maybe?) which will be a massive upgrade to their non-existent run game. The NFC North just turned into the most intriguing division to watch and I’m not sold on Minnesota. The Vikings have scored 9 TDs in 5 wins and that type of play just isn’t sustainable to me no matter how elite the defense is playing. I picked the Lions at the beginning of the year based on their easy schedule but that’s proving not to matter with their atrocious defense. Right now, I’m taking the combination of Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams and the Bears to come back and win this division. It was nice to see Burden and Loveland get involved the way they should have been in the first place so I think the best has yet to come for the Bears since we saw that week 1 offensive explosion.

5) The Seahawks Miss Klint Kubiak

The Seahawks are sitting at 3-3 with most of their questions coming from their offense. The Raiders are also 3-3 so does Klint Kubiak miss the Seahawks? Probably so but when you get a head coaching job, you take it no matter who it is. But Seattle has dealt with up and down play from Sam Darnold along with injuries. At some point, do you consider putting Drew Lock back in? I doubt it. I called it at the beginning of the season that for a team to win the Super Bowl, a lot has to go right. And to make a 2nd run, everything has to go right again and it’s very unlikely to happen when your top tier offensive playcaller departs and Sam Darnold is your QB. I still think Seattle is good enough to make a run and get into the playoffs but it won’t be because of Sam Darnold. The run game hasn’t been great either so this defense and playmaking of JSN alone are going to have to get the job done. 

6) Colts GM Fired. What Now?

Chris Ballard was fired on Monday by Carly Irsay-Gordon and the Colts who had been in the General Manager position since 2017. Ballard did a lot of good early in his tenure with the Colts by drafting guys like Quenton Nelson, Shaq Leonard and Jonathan Taylor. However, the post Andrew Luck QB carousel hasn’t been successful. Irsay-Gordon has also made headlines for being on the sideline with a headset on every game listening and taking notes. A lot of NFL execs and fans have been criticising it and saying she’s micromanaging. I disagree. I think it’s smart to know your business and to know if you have the right people in place. And right now, the Colts do not have the right personnel, starting with the QB. Over the last couple of years, the Colts have made big ‘All In’ type moves that haven’t panned out and they’ve gone on huge losing streaks and have started this season buried in the AFC early. Drafting Anthony Richardson 4th overall also hasn’t panned out and he’s had injuries along with the fact he’s not accurate and can’t hit someone on a slant route. However, he has an 8-7 record as a starter so why not give him a shot and call the Daniel Jones experiment over with because he’s obviously not able to play in this league anymore. This team is needing a reset which brings me to my next point.

Should the Colts trade Jonathan Taylor? I don’t think it would be a bad idea. Running backs are the most disposable position in the NFL. I think he can actually bring in some value for your future for a team this year that needs one. I think the Seahawks or Broncos could be a good fit for Taylor as they desperately need something to go right in their offenses. Taylor is the only good thing about the Colts right now and fans may not like it, but it would be necessary given the struggles they’re currently having. If you can get a future 2nd round pick for Taylor, I’m pulling that trigger all day. 

7) The Browns are in First Place?

Did I just actually type that out? Are you reading that correctly? This is the first time in 12 years they’ve had a division lead this deep into a season. The AFC North has turned into must watch TV. Deshaun Watson isn’t really lighting up the stat sheets but he’s able to get the job done and the Browns are winning with a top 10 defense. Even without Myles Garrett. It’s shocking. Every team in this division is pretty hot and the Ravens are getting Lamar Jackson back very soon. The Browns loaded up on weapons over the past couple of years and their young talent is a lot of fun to watch. If they can just get the most important position in football correct for once, this is a legit team. Keep an eye on this division as this and the NFC North should be the most competitive in the league to make up for the NFC South and NFC East. 

8) Texans Can Do It. Don’t Give Up.

Is it crazy to believe in an 0-4 team? I guess I am a little then. The Texans went 0-3 to start last year and made the playoffs with a 12-5 record. CJ Stroud is actually playing the best football he’s played since his rookie year and their defense is still elite. They’ve clawed back to 2-4 and their upcoming schedule for the entire rest of the season isn’t as scary as it looked earlier. This team can get hot and overcome the early struggles and they’re only 2 games behind the Jaguars for the division lead. Anything can happen. They just traded for Marvin Harrison Jr. and if he can contribute to this offense, it would be a massive move. I still have questions on the run game and the offensive line with the Texans which stalls me from having them make a deep playoff run, but when you have top tier QB play and a good defense, that should be enough to get you into the playoffs. Watch out for a mid to late season push from the Texans. 

9)  Aaron Rodgers is Getting it Done

Rodgers is on pace for 34 touchdowns and 4,200 yards at the age of 42. The Steelers are currently at 4-2 even missing some key pieces on the offense. Germie Bernard might be the 2027 version of Puka Nacua 4 years ago as they seemed to have found something with him. But with Roman Wilson, Michael Pittman and Rico Dowdle all hurt, this offensive surge comes at a surprise to me. Is Mike McCarthy that big of a difference? The reunion of Rodgers and McCarthy has been highly successful to start the season he’s getting the most out of Rodgers. If Rodgers can string along some more games where he throws a few TDs, he’d honestly be in the MVP category. Which is a long way away from when people thought he was done and the Steelers should start one of their young QBs. I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in my day, but Rodgers winning a Super Bowl and riding into the sunset was not on my bingo card. Keep a close eye on this as well! What a story it would be and I’d watch that documentary. Especially if Danica Patrick, Shailene Woodley and any ayahuasca trip videos were in it. 

10) Bills Defense Still Sucks

The Bills are 5-1 and in first place in the AFC. Who cares, right? Well with how good they’ve looked on offense, they haven’t been able to stop anyone on defense. Except for the Chargers but do you even count that? They’re allowing 29 points a game and continue to rely on Josh Allen to outscore the other team. Yep, that’s how football works. But is this sustainable? We’ve seen fantastic, MVP regular seasons out of Josh Allen and the Bills as a whole, but when it comes playoff time, they can’t get over the ultimate hump. This year they mean business as they’re doing whatever it takes to have home field advantage all the way up until they’re in that Super Bowl. I still have them as my AFC favorites to make the Super Bowl, but if it were to be the 49ers, I’d probably put my money on San Francisco. Josh Allen is the ultimate difference maker but if this defense can’t stop anyone, it’s hard to trust them as a team.