2024 NFL: Previewing Week 6

Heading into Week 6, the New York Jets have fired Head Coach Robert Saleh, and the New England Patriots are preparing to start Rookie QB Drake Maye.

Let’s review what we saw in Week 5, and preview the week ahead.

Week 5 Quick Hits

Falcons 36 Bucs 30 – Kurt Cousins put 500 yards and 4 TD’s on the Bucs.  The OT victory for Atlanta left both of these NFC South teams at 3-2. Atlanta had 5 players with at-least 66 yards receiving.

Vikings 23 Jets 17 – The apparent last straw for Saleh. Presumably Jets ownership wondered about a game plan which had Aaron Rodgers attempting 54 passes. Rodgers still has his arm, but he looks very vulnerable in the pocket. He did step up, and extend a play for the Jets first TD, but overall he looks like a statue. Breece Hall and Braelon Allen combining for 14 carries is just negligent. You have to run them, and give Rodgers play action. On the Vikings side, Minnesota is now 5-0!  The Vikings had 3 sacks, and 3 picks. RB Aaron Jones had to leave the game in the 2nd Quarter with a hip injury. Sam Darnold was just 14 of 31, but the Vikings were still able to win.

Bears 36 Panthers 10 – Chicago moved to 3-2 overall, and is undefeated at home. DJ Moore had his first 100 yard receiving game of the year. Caleb Williams had his second 300 yard passing game.

Ravens 41 Bengals 38 – A fun, back-and-forth game.  Joe Burrow lit up the Ravens, but the Bengals still lost. Cincinnati is now 1-4 overall, and have a roughly 6% chance of making the playoffs. Lamar Jackson is now in good position to obtain his 3rd NFL MVP.

Dolphins 15 Patriots 10 – You can’t convince me that anyone watched this game. 41 rushing attempts for Miami. Tua Tagovailoa seems to be tracking towards returning Oct. 27th. Miami has a bye this week, and face the Colts on the 20th. Possible they could be 3-3 when they get their QB back?

Commanders 34 Browns 13 – Deshawn Watson was sacked 7 times. Washington had 215 yards rushing, including 82 from QB Jayden Daniels. The Browns came into ’24 envisioning themselves as getting back to the playoffs. Instead they are 1-4, and Watson’s horrible contract is strangling them tighter every day.

Jaguars 37 Colts 34 – Win number 1 for Jacksonville.  Trevor Lawrence put up 371 yards and 2 TD’s.  Indianapolis and Jacksonville combined for 41 points in the 4th Quarter.  Joe Flacco had 359 yards and 3 TD’s for the Colts.  Biggest story for Jacksonville was the 2nd year RB Tank Bigsby had a big game, going for 101 yards (including a 65 yard run), and 2 TD’s.

Texans 23 Bills 20 – Houston improved to 4-1 overall, and 3-0 at home. They got some help from Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott, and his poor handling of the Bills last possession.  Josh Allen was just 9 of 30 overall, and sacked 5 times. In the 4th Quarter his head bounced off the turf pretty viciously, but he didn’t go into Concussion protocol.

Broncos 34 Raiders 18 – Denver has quietly improved to 3-2 with their 3rd straight win. Only 6 teams have a better point differential overall. Nice game for QB Bo Nix, who finished 19 of 27, for 206 yards and 2 TDs. On the Vegas side, Gardner Minshew was replaced in-game by Aidan O’Connell.

Cardinals 24 49ers 23 – I’m a Niners believer, but this game does make wonder.  Outscored 14-0 in the 2nd half at home, SF failed to close out the game. While Jordan Mason has been productive, maybe the inability to close is an example of how SF has been missing Christian McCaffrey?  Presumably SF would be scoring that much more earlier in games, and they’d also be utilizing him to finish out games. Brandon Aiyuk an George Kittle both had big games, and a ton of targets. Deebo Samuel was limited to 1 catch for 11 yards. I don’t think Arizona is particularly good, but they’ve got enough to bite teams. Could they get to 9 wins?

Packers 24 Rams 19 – Despite an ugly Pick 6 from Jordan Love, GB was able to improve to 3-2.  The Rams fell to 1-4, and like Cincinnati have a roughly 6% chance of making the post-season. Xavie McKinney now has 5 picks already for the Packers.

Giants 29 Seahawks 20 – Pretty disappointing game for Seattle.  A missed opportunity to get further separation on the Niners. New York was without Malik Nabers, and Devin Singletary, and still got the road win. One reason they won is that they had 7 sacks. I like the Giants Defense.  The thing you always come back to, is can they do enough / anything on offense? In-general, you’d say no they can’t. In a game without Nabers and Singletary, you’d definitely expect the answer to be no. Still, they found a way.  Rookie RB Tyrone Tracy (a 5th rounder out of Purdue) had 129 yards on 18 carries. And QB Daniel Jones looked like 2022 Daniel Jones and had a good game. On the Seattle side, Seahawks not named Geno Smith rushed for a total of 30 yards on 7 carries. Smith is hit continuously, and Seattle just continues to throw the ball. I don’t get it.

Cowboys 20 Steelers 17 – The Sunday night game delayed by a thunder storm, this game finished around 2AM EST.  Dax Prescott had a strong game vs. a strong defense, and ended the game with a winning drive. Dallas is now 3-0 on the road. That was an important game for Dallas. The Steelers offense is pretty limited, but credit to the Cowboys for their defensive effort, particularly with their two best defensive players out of the game. Steelers HC Mike Tomlin says the door is ajar for Russell Wilson (now cleared for full practice) to take over the QB job from Justin Fields.

Chiefs 26 Saints 13 – KC improved to 5-0. Patrick Mahomes had 331 yards passing, including 130 yards to JuJu Smith-Schuster. Kareem Hunt had 27 carries for 102 yards. KC has a good defense, strong special teams, fantastic coaching, and Mahomes.  Losing Hollywood Brown, and Rashee Rice for the year, limits KC’s ceiling, but there still going to be a very tough out. Isiah Pacheco is out for for 6-8 weeks with a broken leg, but should return.  I figure they’ll add another WR via trade.

Week 6 Games

Thursday October 10th

San Francisco at Seattle – The 2-3 Niners at the 3-2 Seahawks. It’s a very important NFC West game. SF can leave Seattle with both teams at .500, or leave the Emerald City two games behind Seattle. ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor gives SF a 61.6% chance of winning.

Sunday October 13th

Jacksonville vs. Chicago (in London) – The Jags return to their home away from home. Chicago with a chance to get to 4-2.

Arizona at Green Bay – The Packers are also trying to get to 4-2, and keep pace or gain ground on the Vikings and Lions in the NFC North. Could be a fun game, but Green Bay wins at home.

Indianapolis at Tennessee – The Colts are 0-2 away, while the Titans are 0-2 at home. The Colts maintain Anthony Richardson is the starter when he’s healthy, but given Flacco’s performance vs. the Jags; you’d think they wouldn’t be rushing Richardson back.

Houston at New England – New England starting Maye makes this game a bit more watchable, but have to expect Houston to improve to 5-1. The Texans are currently 7 point favorites.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans – You could excuse the Bucs players if their minds are elsewhere with Hurricane Milton bearing down on the Bay. If the Bucs win, they can get some separation on the Saints. If the Saints win, the Falcons / Bucs / Saints will all be jumbled together, but Tampa Bay will have back-to-back road losses vs. their divisional foes.

Cleveland at Philadelphia – The Eagles had the bye, and extra time to prepare for the 1-4 Browns. They’re at home. No excuse for Philadelphia not to win this game, and look good doing so.

Washington at Baltimore – I’ve seen some National types calling this a rivalry game due to the geographic proximity. Ehh.  I don’t feel it. If anything, I feel good for their fanbase for being done with Dan Snyder and having real hope with Daniels. Beyond a fake rivalry, it is a match-up of the current NFC East leader vs. the current AFC North leader. Daniels is completing passes at a high rate.  I’m curious to see if Ravens DC Zach Orr can make Daniels look like a Rookie.  Can you confuse him at all?  One thing I didn’t realize prior to looking at the numbers more, was how effective the Commanders have been running the ball. Could be a good game. Figure Daniels will make some plays. Also figure the Commanders will have a good amount of their fans in the stands at M&T.  I am expecting the Ravens to win though. The DC defense seems fairly limited, and are allowing 5.1 yards per carry.  I imagine Derrick Henry is going to be fed often.

LA Chargers at Broncos – The Chargers had a bye this past week, and a chance to get healthier prior to this AFC West game. As I said above, Denver has improved to 3-2. This is a swing game for these teams. LA is a 3 point favorite, and ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor gives LA a 54.4% chance of winning. This is a game where you’d want to see Justin Herbert outclass the Rookie Nix.

Pittsburgh at Las Vegas – The Steelers have lost their last two after starting the year 3-0.  What does Pittsburgh do at QB?

Detroit at Dallas – The Lions are coming off a bye.  They are 3.5 point favorites, and ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor gives them a 57.2% chance of winning.  Dallas has yet to win at home. Could see this being a shootout. Interested to see if Dallas’ defense can follow up their effort vs. Pittsburgh.  Clearly a more difficult match-up vs. the Detroit offense.

Atlanta at Carolina – The Falcons had the mini-bye after playing last Thursday.  Cousins coming off his 500 yard outing.  Clearly the Falcons expect to leave Carolina at 4-2.

Cincinnati at New York Giants – It’s a game Cincinnati has to have obviously at 1-4.  The Giants recipe will be the same as it was in Seattle.  Get to Burrow with the pass rush, and run the ball.

Monday October 14th

Buffalo at New York Jets – Does Josh Allen have any lingering effects from his non-concussion concussion? How do the Jets respond after moving on from Saleh? I think the Jets have a better roster overall, but I still like the Bills to win the East mainly because Allen is 28 and Rodgers is 40.  The Jets QB play last year was abysmal, and NY was still competitive. The thought has been if Rodgers can be average and above, that New York is very capable. I buy into that. I believe Rodgers is still capable, even with his old legs, and vulnerability in the pocket. But New York has to run the ball consistently. And their defense – which did a lot of talking in the preseason about being elite – has to be that much better. Both teams have lost their last two. If Buffalo gets the road w, they’ve got some separation on the Jets. If the Jets win, both teams will be 3-3. Bills WR Khalil Shakir was out vs. the Texans, and is day-to-day. Rookie Keon Coleman had a 49 yard TD, but that was his only catch on 5 targets.