2022 NFL: Reviewing Week 6

Although we are through six weeks of NFL action, it still feels like we have more questions than answers with regard to Super Bowl contenders. Here are my takeaways from this week’s action across the league.

Commanders 12, Bears 7
WSH – In this clunker of a game, there were some positives to take note of from the Washington
franchise. Brian Robinson scored his first career TD in the pros to help Washington escape the windy city
with a victory. After all the drama on and off the field head coach Ron Rivera did just enough to keep his
seat warm instead of boiling hot. Now there are injury concerns as QB Carson Wentz will be out for the
next month. Washington hosts Green Bay next week.

CHI – There’s not much to say about the Bears because..well..they’re the Bears. A game they should have
won easily became a struggle to score even when granted opportunity after opportunity. In the first half
from the 5-yard line Justin Fields threw a pick off a ball that bounced off a commander’s helmet, then
the second half with the game on Chicago couldn’t punch it across. They get another chance to
embarrass themselves in front of a national audience Monday night against the Patriots.

Falcons 28, 49ers 14
S.F. – The Niners couldn’t overcome injuries before and during the trip to Atlanta to get the win. Already
without game wrecker Nick Bosa the San Francisco defense lost 2 more starters in the contest with CB
Charvarius Ward and OT Mike McGlinchey going down. It didn’t help that lost the turnover battle either
as Jimmy G threw 2 Picks and Jeff Wilson fumbled in the end zone that resulted in a Flacons TD. They
limp into the next game for a tilt in the Bay against the Chiefs.

ATL – This was the most complete performance this season for the dirty birds. Even without Cordarrelle
Patterson, the ground game continues to be one of the league’s best, rushing for almost 170 yards. Oh
yea, in case you missed it, the Falcons’ defense is pretty good too! The unit won the turnover battle and
held all-pro wideout out of the endzone. Keep an eye on the injury to Casey Hayward however, the
cornerback left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return. It’s bad timing for the secondary as
Atlanta goes on the road to play Joe Burrow and the Bengals.

Patriots 38, Browns 15
N.E. – Is there a QB controversy brewing in Pats nation? Well, only time will tell but hows about the
impression that Bailey Zappe has made these last 2 weeks? Thrown in the fire because of injuries to Mac
Jones and Brian Hoyer, the little-known pick from Western Kentucky has now won 2 starts in a row. His
309 yards through the air and 2 TDs helped Bill Belichick tie George Halas for the second-most wins in
league history. He’ll have the chance to surpass Halas against the Bears on Monday.

CLE – The hope was that Jacoby Brissett would keep the team afloat until Deshaun Watson’s suspension is
up but that water level is quickly rising. The veteran backup was picked off twice as the offense
continues to struggle. It didn’t help that leading rusher Nick Chubb was held to season lows on carries
and yards either. The shoulder injury to Myles Garrett is something to monitor as well. He aggravated
the shoulder injury he suffered in a September car crash but still managed to become the Browns’
career sack leader with a strip of Zappe in the first quarter. Cleveland has an AFC North showdown with
the Ravens on Sunday.

Jets 27, Packers 10
NYJ – I understand its still early and things can change quickly in the NFL, but say it with me folks, J-E-T-S
JETS JETS JETS! I’m not huge on the notion of “statement games” but the Jets made one on Sunday,
absolutely smothering Aaron Rodgers and the Packer offense. The formula isn’t “sexy” but a stout
defense with Quinnen Williams leading the pass rush, and Breece Hall becoming a focal point of the
offense has the team and its fans believing again. And how cool was it to see Sauce Gardner rock the
cheesehead after the win? New York travels to the mile-high city on Sunday looking for its 5 th win.

G.B. – The reigning league MVP continues to say the right things but under the surface, the blood is
boiling. Once again, the Packers struggled to get any consistency from the offensive side of the ball in
another loss. An injury to trusted receiver Randall Cobb will put that much more pressure on the young
pass-catchers. To make matters worse the defense which has plenty of money on the books, hasn’t
played up to its billing. Green Bay Hopes to avoid falling below .500 when they travel to the nation’s
capital Sunday to battle the commanders.

Colts 34, Jaguars 27
JAX – The next step for the Jaguars is to finish games. They let a chance to get to an even record slip by
allowing a colts comeback in the 4 th . Jacksonville led the entire first half and responded when the colts
scored in the 4 th with an 18-play drive to take a one-point lead with 2:44 left. The problem was that was
way too much time for veteran QB Matt Ryan. They host the G-MEN this coming Sunday.

IND – Hey Colts fans, your team is just a percentage point behind the Titans in the AFC south. Of course, a
wins a win but I would assume the coaching staff would rather not have Ryan throw it almost 60 times
but it was necessary for the comeback. He finished with 389 yards and 3 TDs and moved into 5 th place on
the all-time list with 350 or more passing yards. The injuries to all the running backs are definitely a
concern though, Deon Jackson filled in admirably but he left the game with a quad injury. Indy has a
chance for sole possession of 1 st place when they travel to Tennessee on Sunday.

Vikings 24, Dolphins 16
MIN – Question for Vikings fans, how do you feel after having to withstand a late rally by a backup QB for
a road win? On one hand, you move 2 games ahead of your division rival in the win, but on the other,
you needed some late miscues and an insurance TD rush by Dalvin Cook to seal the deal. A 5-1 record is
just that, however, and the bye week feels that much better after a victory. Minnesota will host the
Arizona Cardinals the following Sunday.

MIA – The good news is the Dolphin defense put together one of its best performances of the season. The
bad news is the offense couldn’t match that energy with 3 rd stringer Skylar Thompson starting the game
but eventually replaced by Teddy Bridgewater due to injury. Miami has to get their QBs healthy in order
to get back on track. Tua Tagovailoa is on track to return and it is much needed. Miami plays the Steelers at home in this week’s Sunday night game.

Bengals 30, Saints 26
CIN – Joe Burrow continues to prove that he’s one of the best in the game in crunch time, leading another
4 th quarter comeback to stun nawlins. It certainly helped that Burrow’s familiar with the place he led LSU
to a national championship game. He threw for 2 touchdowns including the game-winner to Ja’marr
Chase. With the win, Cincy gets back to an even record.

N.O. – An opportunity to solidify himself as the Saints starter and get a bit of revenge on the team he
played years for slipped through Andy Dalton’s grasp. The offense stalled with an opportunity to seal the
game and with under 2 minutes left in regulation he threw 3 straight incompletions and got sacked. It’s
unlikely Jameis Winston is under center on Thursday as he continues to nurse a back injury.

Giants 24, Ravens 20
BAL – Among the questions I alluded to earlier is the state of the Ravens. They too let another game slip
away late to the upstart Giants. In fact, all 3 losses have come in that fashion after the wild game against
the Dolphins in week 2 and blowing a 17-point lead 2 weeks later against Buffalo. What’s more
concerning is the ball security of Lamar Jackson. He threw a crucial interception that led to the game-
winning one-yard run by Saquon Barkley with less than 2 minutes remaining. Hopefully, Baltimore can
clean up the self-inflicted wounds in time for its game against the Browns.

NYG – Two teams in the metro New York area with winning records?! Say it ain’t so! Ahh, but it is and this
year’s Giants team is doing it in throwback fashion. Saquon Barkley is back and productive and the
defense is getting big-time plays at important moments. After Barkley’s score, Kayvon Thibodeaux put
the heat on Jackson to force a fumble which Leonard Williams recovered. Brian Daboll is the clear front-
runner for coach of the year and they have a chance to move to a 6-1 record on the road Sunday against
the Jaguars.

Steelers 20, Bucs 18
T.B. – Well so much for the TB12 method. Going up against a defense that was missing 4 of its top-5
starters, the 45-year-old Brady couldn’t capitalize on the narrow loss. 4 times the Buccaneers found
themselves in the red zone but could only muster 3 field goals. Tampa Bay can get back in the win
column against Carolina.

PIT – For all the flack that Mitch Trubisky gets, sometimes justifiably so, the young man is a flat-out
professional. He threw for 144 yards after Kenny Pickett went into concussion protocol and connected
with Chase Claypool for a TD with about 10 to go in regulation. The win snapped Pittsburgh’s 4-game
skid and will travel to Miami for the first time since 2016 next Sunday night.

Rams 24, Panthers 10
CAR- It seems as though the Panthers are once again punting on its season after the firing of Matt Rhule
and the ouster of receiver Robbie Anderson. The only touchdown scored by Carolina came from its
defense on a pick-6 from Donte Jackson. Christian McCaffrey racked up 158 yards of Carolina’s 203 total
yards, but that was about it. P.J. Walker threw for just 60 yards in his third career start before going
down with a neck injury. Barring a miracle, the losing skid will most likely continue this Sunday when a
very angry Tom Brady and the Bucs come to town.

LAR – It wasn’t pretty but second-half adjustments proved to be the difference as the defending champs
got back to .500 ball. There were some signs of encouragement, especially from free agent acquisition Allen Robinson who hauled in a TD. The Rams also got rushing scores from Darell Henderson and receiver Ben Skowronek. The win didn’t come without a blemish as left tackle Joe Noteboom went down with a torn Achilles. A bye is next for Los Angeles as they look to get a bit healthier.

Seahawks 19, Cardinals 9
ARI – What in the world is going wrong with the Cardinals? The offense is a shell of itself without the
services of Deandre Hopkins and it reached a new low in being held without a touchdown. They got a
23-yard field goal to open the scoring but wouldn’t score again until the second. And even though D-Hop
is on the way back the injuries are starting to pile up. James Conner and Darrel Williams were ruled out
in the backfield and they also lost Marquise Brown to a potentially serious foot injury. They host the
Saints on Thursday night.

SEA – The Seahawks may have found the answer at running back after Michigan State stud Kenneth
Walker paced the attack and now they find themselves in an early share of the division lead with San
Francisco. Walker rushed for 97 yards and a 4th-quarter score which essentially put the game away.
He’ll continue to be the primary ball carrier with Rashaad Penny going down last week with a broken leg.
Seattle goes down the coast to play the Chargers on Sunday.

Bills 24, Chiefs 20
BUF – Quarterback Josh Allen has done nothing but make highlight reel plays since pretty much his NFL debut and
last Sunday just added another notch in the belt for the MVP favorite. Kansas City ended the Bills
seasons 2 years in a row at Arrowhead and while it not the playoffs, getting a win there was a huge
mental barrier to get over. Allen hurdled a defender for a crucial first down late and capped the drive
with a TD toss to Dawson Knox to take the lead. The Chiefs got the ball back but the defense stepped up
in picking off Mahomes to seal the win. They head into the bye week atop the AFC East and conference
with a Halloween eve game against Green Bay.

K.C. – It won’t be admitted out loud, but the Chiefs miss Tyreek Hill. Patrick Mahomes is still putting up
good enough numbers but there’s certain explosiveness lacking from the offensive side of the ball.
Mahomes finished with 338 passing yards and 2 TDs but threw an interception in crunch time. What was
encouraging was Juju Smith-Schuster hauling in 5 catches for 113 yards but 68 total yards rushing is not
going to get it done. They visit the Niners next Sunday in their final game before the bye.

Eagles 26, Cowboys 17
DAL – Who do the ‘Boys turn to this week? Is it Dak or Cooper rush? That’s a question to be answered as
well after Dallas couldn’t complete the comeback. Rush threw 3 interceptions in the game but was in
charge to get the Cowboys to within3 late. He had ked them to 4 straight wins since Prescott went down
with a thumb injury but 2 picks in the first half led to 10 Philly points. As of now Prescott is scheduled to
return Sunday at Jerry World when the Cowboys host the Lions.

PHI – Fly Eagles Fly! They remain the only undefeated team left in the league thanks to the best ball-
hawking secondary in the league and the continued growth of another MVP candidate Jalen Hurts. He
found Devontay Smith for the clinching score to hold off Dallas and improve to 6-0. 155 yards through
the air certainly won’t wow anyone but he was money when it counted. They come out of their bye
week with an interstate matchup with the Steelers.

Chargers 19, Broncos 16
DEN – Russell Wilson looked better but considering how he has been that’s not much of a step up. He
threw for 188 yards and led the Broncos to a 10-0 lead on its first 2 drives but could only get 2 field goals
the rest of the way in its second straight overtime defeat. The penalties have to get cleaned up if Denver
is to turn its season around. The Broncos were flagged 10 times for 151 yards including 4 pass
interference penalties. They Host the surprising Jets on Sunday.

LAC – The chargers have won 3 straight to get into a tie for the division lead thanks to the heroics of
injured kicker Dustin Hopkins who booted the game-winning 39-yarder with 2:38 to go in the extra
frame. It was the first OT winner in his career and he’s now got 5 games with 4 or more field goals. Not
bad for a guy who injured his hamstring in the first half. Justin Herbert had his streak of 26 games with a
pass TD snapped but I’m sure he’ll take that with the win. His 57 pass attempts were the most in a win in
league history. They look to make it 4 in a row when they host the Seahawks on Sunday.