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I love the middle part of the NFL season. This is when we can sort the pretenders from the contenders, debate which impatient owner fires their coach next and watch Eagles HC Nick Sirianni yell at local fans.
It’s a tradition like none other (here was 2022’s version), this time coming after his 3-2 team (barely) beat the 1-5 Browns.
In case you missed it, the 4-2 Bears have now scored five offensive touchdowns in back-to-back games for the first time since 1956. It came against the Panthers and Jaguars, but don’t mention that part in Chicago.
Let’s start there for Sunday’s risers/fallers:
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📈 Caleb Williams, again. This year’s No. 1 pick ended a 35-16 win in London with a 79.3 completion percentage, four touchdowns and an elite 88.3 QBR — all career highs. Williams is now two passing touchdowns from tying the Bears single-season rookie record (🤯). As The Athletic columnist Jon Greenberg writes, a new day is dawning in Chicago.
📈 4-2 Ravens. Pair Derrick Henry with the league’s best rushing quarterback, and you get an average of 205.3 rushing yards per game. And that’s not all, as Lamar Jackson’s back-to-back games with 320-plus passing yards prove. After beating the red-hot Commanders 30-23, Jackson is now to 22-1 as a starting quarterback against NFC opponents, with a chance to improve that record against another NFC foe in Tampa Bay on Sunday night.
📈 Trickery in Texas. After TE Sam LaPorta scored a 52-yard touchdown off a flea-flicker, the Lions almost pulled off this hook and ladder to 335-pound offensive lineman Penei Sewell:
Yes, they were winning by 28 points at the time. Is there an offensive play-caller having more fun than Lions OC Ben Johnson? (More on this game below.)
📈 5-1 Texans. While C.J. Stroud (192 yards, three TDs) and the offense command attention, fellow sophomore DE Will Anderson Jr. dominated the Patriots struggling line (three sacks, three pressures and a deflected pass that led to an INT). Houston won easily, 41-21, spoiling Drake Maye’s first start. However …
📈 Hope in New England. “It’s definitely encouraging,” said Jerod Mayo after Maye passed for 243 yards and more touchdowns (three) than Jacoby Brissett had in five games (two). Maye also led the team in rushing (oof), but had two interceptions and took four sacks in his up-and-down debut. If there’s a get-right game, it’s coming next Sunday against the reeling Jaguars in London.
📈 The NFC North. The best four NFL teams by point differential? All here, where Williams is improving, the Lions are rolling and the Packers dominated the Cardinals, winning 34-13. The Vikings’ bye kept them undefeated atop the best division in football. Could all four make the playoffs? Exactly 30 years ago, they did. Winter is coming!
📈 Injuries, unfortunately. Aidan Hutchison, Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Olave, Patrick Surtain II, Jerome Ford, Dallas Goedert, Darius Slay Jr. and many, many others — even Jim Harbaugh — all exited at some point on Sunday.
📈 Harbaugh’s offense. Out of those listed above, only the Chargers coach returned — after dealing with an irregular heartbeat — to watch Los Angeles post a season-high 350 yards in a 23-16 win against a stout Denver defense. “2-0 with arrhythmias,” Harbaugh said after the game. Earlier this week, Chargers beat reporter Daniel Popper explained why help in the form of Amari Cooper could arrive at the trade deadline.
📈 4-2 Buccaneers, in the second half. After intercepting three of Baker Mayfield’s passes in the second quarter, the Saints led 27-24 at the half. But Todd Bowles’ pressure was too much for rookie QB Spencer Rattler (four sacks, two interceptions in the second half), and the Buccaneers shut out New Orleans from then on, winning 51-27.
📈 Great catches. One week after Jayden Reed made this incredible grab, Courtland Sutton had maybe the catch of the year.
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📉 Birthday celebrations for Jerry Jones. The Cowboys owner spent his 82nd birthday watching the Lions decimate his team, 47-9 (Scorigami!). He’s spared next week, as the 3-3 Cowboys have a bye. That should be enough time for Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland to return, though they’re still missing DeMarcus Lawrence, Brandin Cooks and Marshawn Kneeland. Still, it’s panic time.
📉 1-5 Jaguars. The heat on HC Doug Pederson’s seat continues to rise after another sloppy defeat. After their loss to the Bears, post-game comments from safety Andre Cisco described the feeling in the locker room: “How should I say this: a lot of quit.” This is the same team that owner Shahid Khan called the “best team assembled” in franchise history. Funny. This also made me laugh:
📉 Will Levis’ career. Just 95 total passing yards and a key fourth-quarter interception cost the 1-4 Titans in a 20-17 loss to the Colts. Levis has the physical tools of a franchise quarterback, but that’s about it. Only Deshaun Watson has been worse this season. Levis’ No. 1 receiver, Calvin Ridley, finished with eight targets, zero catches and this quote: “This s— is getting f—ing crazy.”
📉 4-1 Lions, despite the blowout win in Dallas. Their star DE Hutchison started Sunday leading the NFL in sacks (6.5) while posting the highest pressure rate (24.4) through the season’s first-half since 2019. But his day ended on a cart after breaking his tibia. Their depth behind Hutchinson is paper-thin.
📉 Kevin Stefanski’s job security can be summed up by this tweet from beat reporter Zac Jackson:
Stefanski asked if the Browns will stick with Deshaun Watson.
“Yes.”
We’ll cover the Deshaun Watson escape plan below.
📉 Raiders QB hopes. Aidan O’Connell replaced Gardner Minshew with the goal of limiting mistakes after the latter had six turnovers. Vegas still committed three turnovers in a 32-13 loss to Pittsburgh, despite extremely conservative playcalling.
For more, Zak Keefer shared his Week 6 learnings here. A quick note from Dianna on Doug Pederson:
What Dianna’s Hearing: Pederson has his owner’s support — for now
Jaguars owner Shad Khan gave his head coach a vote of confidence before Sunday’s game in London. And, according to Pederson, the owner still has his back after the Jaguars’ lopsided loss to the Chicago Bears.
The 1-5 Jaguars stay in London this week to prepare to face the 1-5 Patriots in Week 7. If the Jaguars don’t return to the U.S. with a split in the two games, Pederson could be the next coach fired in-season.
Pederson’s former team, the Eagles, beat the spiraling Browns at home, but you can add Nick Sirianni to the list of coaches feeling the heat. Sirianni did little to escape the hot-seat conversation in an uninspired victory.
Back to you, Jacob.
Deshaun Watson: When can it end?
I expect a heavy downpour of boos in Cleveland on Sunday, when the Browns play their first home game since Week 3. Their fans are more than ready to end the 2024 Deshaun Watson experiment as their 1-5, win-now roster creeps closer to the first overall pick. Unfortunately, it’s not up to them.
Mike Sando sorted through exit strategies for Cleveland as Watson remains in place to be their starter against the Bengals. Three nuggets from Mike’s article caught my eye:
- Watson’s EPA (expected points added) per pass play ranks 590th out of 592 quarterbacks who started the first six games of a season since 2000, per TruMedia.
- Cleveland is the first team in more than 20 years to play the first six games of a season without gaining 300 total yards or exceeding 18 points even once.
- One executive said of Watson: “They could cut him tomorrow and no one would pick him up. I would not want that toxicity to have anything to do with my team build.”
It’s a situation complicated by the remainder of Watson’s $230 million, fully guaranteed contract. From taking an enormous cap hit to convincing Watson to waive his no-trade clause, Mike explored every option the Browns have.
Bills-Jets
Tonight, the Jeff Ulbrich era in New York begins when the 2-3 Jets host Josh Allen and the 3-2 Bills at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN. It’s a matchup that will determine the leader of the AFC East. Two things I’m watching for:
- Can Aaron Rodgers and the Jets offense, which is averaging just 18.6 points per game, improve with a new playcaller? I expect we see more of the Rodgers-dominated scheme that he’s no longer good enough to win with.
- Can Buffalo’s receivers get open? If not, they should make a move for a player like Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, Courtland Sutton or Darius Slayton.
For more, you can find The Athletic’s full preview here. Enjoy the game!
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