As most of the country spent Sunday flipping between football and the ALCS, Week 6 of the NFL season gave us a little bit of everything. A kicker won a game as time expired. A quarterback tied a Hall of Famer. A team scored 34 straight points on the road. And the defending conference powerhouse from two years ago kept sliding. Here is what stood out.
The Chiefs Are Still Perfect, Even When They Are Sloppy
Kansas City came out of its bye and beat the Chargers 22-6 at Arrowhead to move to 5-0. It was not pretty. The Chiefs left points on the field and the receiving corps was a patchwork group with Rashee Rice out, but Kenneth Walker III carried the offense with 128 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Harrison Butker handled the rest with three field goals.
The defense did the heavy lifting. Kansas City sacked Justin Herbert from all directions and held the Chargers without a touchdown. Los Angeles is now 0-6, and there is no other way to say it: that is the worst start this franchise has had in more than two decades. The Chiefs head to Seattle next week.
Josh Allen Catches Jim Kelly
Buffalo survived a late Raiders rally to win 33-30 in Las Vegas and improve to 5-1. Josh Allen threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and the second one tied Jim Kelly for the most touchdown passes in Bills history. For a franchise where Kelly is the standard for everything, that is a big deal.
The Raiders tied it at 23 in the fourth quarter before James Cook punched in a 3-yard touchdown with 4:43 left and Tyler Bass added a 38-yard field goal to make it a two-score game. Las Vegas scored late, but the Bills held on. Kirk Cousins threw for 313 yards for the Raiders, who have now lost three straight.
The Eagles Free Fall Continues
Two seasons ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were Super Bowl champions. On Sunday they lost 25-14 at home to Carolina and fell to 2-4. With Tanner McKee under center and questions swirling about Jalen Hurts’ health, the Eagles never found an answer.
Bryce Young threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Tommy Tremble, who celebrated one of them with a full Rocky Balboa routine in the end zone. In Philadelphia. That is a bold choice and I respect it. Chuba Hubbard ran for 120 yards and a score, and the Panthers are now 3-2.
Upset Sunday
Three results that made the morning picks look bad:
- Cardinals 18, Rams 16. Arizona came in as a double-digit underdog after four straight losses by a combined 66 points. Chad Ryland kicked six field goals, the last a 43-yarder as time expired, right after Matthew Stafford had put the Rams ahead with 47 seconds left. The Rams have the league’s best offense on paper and a 2-4 record in reality.
- Saints 34, Giants 27. New Orleans trailed 10-0 late in the first half and then scored 34 straight points. Tyler Shough threw three touchdown passes, including rookie Bryce Lance’s first career touchdown, and ran for another. The Giants rallied in the fourth, but the Saints made a fourth-down stop in the end zone to end a three-game losing streak.
- Titans 26, Colts 20. Tennessee had six points through three quarters and then scored 20 in the fourth for its first win of the season.
Sunday Night: Green Bay Grinds Out Dallas
The Packers beat the Cowboys 23-13 for their third straight win in a game that featured 22 penalties, 11 for each team. Jordan Love threw a touchdown pass to Matthew Golden on the opening drive and scored on a 1-yard keeper. He finished 23 of 41 for 276 yards, and those numbers would have looked much better if his receivers had held on to three more potential touchdowns.
Green Bay’s defense intercepted Dak Prescott twice in the second quarter to kill scoring chances. Dallas falls to 2-4, and the conversation about Brian Schottenheimer’s job security is officially here, even with ownership publicly backing him.
The Rest of the Slate
- Bears 31, Falcons 23. Caleb Williams completed his first 12 passes in his return from a hamstring injury, and cornerback Kyler Gordon had three sacks and two forced fumbles in his own return. Chicago led 31-7 before Atlanta made it interesting.
- Steelers 26, Buccaneers 19 (OT). Aaron Rodgers threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns, D.K. Metcalf caught 11 passes, and Pittsburgh won it in overtime. Tampa Bay is 1-5.
- Browns 13, Ravens 10. Baltimore led 10-0 after the first quarter and never scored again. Cleveland and Baltimore are both 4-2.
- Patriots 26, Jets 19. Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes and New England is 4-2.
- Texans 34, Jaguars 31 (London). C.J. Stroud threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns to outlast Trevor Lawrence’s four-touchdown day and keep Houston’s season alive.
Week 6 Sunday Scoreboard
| Matchup | Final | Records after |
|---|---|---|
| Texans vs. Jaguars (London) | HOU 34, JAX 31 | HOU 2-4, JAX 4-2 |
| Titans at Colts | TEN 26, IND 20 | TEN 1-5, IND 2-4 |
| Jets at Patriots | NE 26, NYJ 19 | NE 4-2, NYJ 2-4 |
| Saints at Giants | NO 34, NYG 27 | NO 2-4, NYG 3-2-1 |
| Panthers at Eagles | CAR 25, PHI 14 | CAR 3-2, PHI 2-4 |
| Bears at Falcons | CHI 31, ATL 23 | CHI 4-2, ATL 2-4 |
| Steelers at Buccaneers | PIT 26, TB 19 (OT) | PIT 4-2, TB 1-5 |
| Ravens at Browns | CLE 13, BAL 10 | CLE 4-2, BAL 4-2 |
| Cardinals at Rams | ARI 18, LAR 16 | ARI 2-4, LAR 2-4 |
| Bills at Raiders | BUF 33, LV 30 | BUF 5-1, LV 3-3 |
| Chargers at Chiefs | KC 22, LAC 6 | KC 5-0, LAC 0-6 |
| Cowboys at Packers | GB 23, DAL 13 | GB 4-2, DAL 2-4 |
Byes: Bengals, Lions, Dolphins, Vikings
Looking Ahead
Six weeks in, the AFC runs through Kansas City and Buffalo, the NFC has one unbeaten team left (more on the 49ers in my Monday night recap), and some of the preseason favorites in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Dallas are already running out of runway. There will be many stories to see play out, and Week 7 starts Thursday.
Featured photo: Arrowhead Stadium, 2016 by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Christopher Thornbury, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Leave a Reply