Another loaded slate of NFL action is in the books. With that in mind, it’s time to have a look at the week that was and break down the prominent storylines which emerged from the league’s play.
Whether it was undefeated teams continuing to stay undefeated, the two-time defending NFC champions looking dead in the water, or one of the most bizarre plays you’re ever going to see that took place Sunday night, there’s plenty to delve into and break down. Here are five things that stood out to me as we put a finishing stamp on NFL week 6.
5 Takeaways from NFL Week 6
Undefeated Teams Roll on the Road
So much for home-field advantage. Five of the six remaining unbeatens were on the road this week. Four of them picked up victories away from home with Atlanta being the lone exception. All in all, the Falcons were the only team that failed to preserve their unblemished record to this point with Green Bay getting a home win over San Diego.
Behind an efficient performance from Andy Dalton, Cincinnati came into Buffalo and escaped with a fairly emphatic 34-21 win. Dalton is now second in the league in both passing yards (1,761) and touchdown passes (14). He’s also thrown just two interceptions and didn’t have a single one on the day against a Bills secondary that had proven themselves fairly proficient at forcing turnovers in previous weeks.
Despite another up and down day from Peyton Manning who threw three interceptions including a pick six on the day, Denver found a way to triumph in overtime against Cleveland. In so doing, they thwarted the Browns chance to defeat a team that was unbeaten through five games for the first time since the 1966 season. Manning’s ten interceptions leads the league and if Denver continues to get mistake-prone play from the veteran, it’s likely they’ll be staring their first loss in the face when Green Bay comes to town in two weeks time (the Broncos are on a bye in Week 7).
Cam Newton continues to prove the skeptics wrong with his exploits for Carolina. Against Seattle in the boisterous cauldron that is CenturyLink Field, he led the Panthers on two 80-yard drives in the fourth quarter to turn a 23-14 deficit into a 27-23 victory. Even though they’ll surely get a spirited challenge from the Falcons this year, Carolina looks primed to win its third consecutive NFC South crown.
Are we at all surprised New England counts themselves among the ranks of the unbeaten at this point? They’ve been an offensive juggernaut through five games, averaging 36.8 points per game which leads the league. Tom Brady continues to show no signs of decline (unlike Manning above) and is second league-wide with 340 passing yards per game. His early second quarter interception against Indianapolis was the first such mistake from Brady on the year. It didn’t really matter, though, as the Pats prevailed 34-27 and was assisted by a gaffe of epic proportions which I’ll get to later.
Green Bay was the only undefeated team at home and was able to come away with a 27-20 win at Lambeau over San Diego, but it wasn’t easy. Phillip Rivers had a career game, throwing the ball a total of 65 times and finishing with over 500 yards passing. He led the Chargers on a 77-yard drive with under three minutes left in the game, but the Packer defense held, breaking up a pass on fourth and goal from their three-yard line with 20 seconds remaining to preserve the win.
As I mentioned in last week’s column, if you’re thinking five unbeaten teams this late in the season is a lot, you would be correct in that assumption. In fact, it’s the most heading into Week 7 since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Three are guaranteed to head into the following week’s play without a loss since Denver, Green Bay and Cincinnati have a bye. The other two are at home, with New England hosting the Jets and Carolina welcoming Philly to town.
Might we see all five head into Week 8 sporting perfect records? If so, it will certainly be a big picture news item I’ll be covering next week as well.
Buffalo Bills Defensive Front Unexpectedly Struggling
What is wrong with the Buffalo Bills defense, particularly their vaunted front four? After averaging 55.5 sacks the past two seasons, they’ve only managed nine through six games. That means they’re on pace for a measly 24 this year.
Their struggles at getting consistent pressure on the quarterback was on full display at Ralph Wilson Stadium Sunday against the undefeated Bengals. Andy Dalton wasn’t sacked a single time on the day, was hit just once and hurried on only seven occasions. You can’t allow a talent such as Dalton that much freedom to execute and expect to get away with it. His three touchdown passes on the afternoon served as a stark reminder.
The situation led to a lot of post-game venting from frustrated players, particularly defensive end Mario Williams. He went so far as to openly criticize the Bills’ defensive schemes, particularly in regard to the frequency with which they’re bringing added pressure via blitzing. That’s not something you’d expect to hear out of a Rex Ryan coached defense.
The unit will be short-handed heading into this week’s game in London against the Jaguars. Tackle Kyle Williams was carted off with a knee injury Sunday and won’t be available. With the offense already hampered with injuries, his absence will put even more pressure on a front four trying to rekindle what made them an immensely feared group over the past two years.
Seattle Seahawks Run of Success Appears To Be on Hold
I’m not willing to say it’s over for the Seahawks. Yes, they’re 2-4 and could easily be 1-5 if not for the now infamous refereeing error in their 13-10 win over the Detroit Lions. However, they’re only two games out of first in the NFC West after the Arizona Cardinals fell at Pittsburgh Sunday and could certainly be in better shape from a record standpoint if they could just finish games.
Seattle’s famed secondary has been more like a “Legion of Gloom” in 2015, particularly in the fourth quarter. In all four of their losses did the Seahawks enjoy a lead in the final stanza and in all four was the secondary partly if not entirely responsible for allowing opposing quarterbacks to get their teams back in the game.
It all came to a head Sunday against Carolina with Cam Newton’s late heroics. Right after his 26-yard pass to tight end Greg Olsen which would become the game-winning score with under a minute left, you could see Seahawks defensive backs Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman visibly arguing with each other over the blown coverage. If that scene wasn’t a microcosm of the issues facing the Seahawks six weeks into the season, I don’t know what is.
Yes, the offensive line is porous with Russell Wilson having been sacked more than any other signal caller in the NFL. It’s something they’re going to have to address in the offseason both via free agency and through the draft. But the defensive backfield has been a critical component to Seattle’s two-year run of dominance and will need to get rectified soon if this club wants to have any chance at making the postseason this year.
The Fourth Down Fail Heard ‘Round the World in Indy
Sunday night’s game between the Colts and Patriots had all the expected undertones of Deflategate heading into it. When all was set and done, however, all we could talk about was the attempted fake punt Indy ran late in the third quarter. With the Colts trailing by just six and facing a fourth down, they set up in what was akin to a swinging gate formation which, to be honest, I had never seen in any other situation except an extra point.
Despite having a handful of Patriots players lined up on top of him, Griff Whalen (a wide receiver) snapped the ball to Colt Andersen (a safety) anyways. He was immediately overwhelmed and brought down to the ground for a one-yard loss, even though the Colts were eventually penalized on the play for an illegal formation. On the ensuing possession, Tom Brady would lead the team down the field on a touchdown drive that extended the Pats lead to 13.
Was it Colts head coach Chuck Pagano getting psyched out in making the decision to call that play? Did it come down to poor execution on the part of the Colts players on the field which resulted in the penalty? Was it just pure insanity to run a trick play with a wide receiver snapping the ball to a safety? Either way, the social media sphere had a field day with what will likely go down as the most bizarre play in NFL history and one of the biggest “what was he thinking?” sports moments of all-time.
Philadelphia Eagles Defense Flexed Its Muscle Monday Night
The final game of Week 6 pitted two long-time NFC East rivals in the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. Big Blue has always struggled with Philly on Monday Night Football, having won just once (way back on October 2, 1972) in their seven previous meetings. Not much changed at Lincoln Financial Field last night as the Eagles romped 27-7 in a game noted for its sloppiness on the part of both teams.
But what was particularly notable was how dominant the Philly defense was in shutting down the Giants passing game. Eli Manning threw two interceptions, including a pick six early in the second quarter by Nolan Carroll which pretty much set the tone for the night. The Eagles’ coverage down field continuously forced Manning into check downs to the Giants running backs. Their pass rush also played their part in making Manning’s night at “The Linc” a miserable one, sacking him three times.
For all the talk about Chip Kelly and the hype surrounding his up-tempo style of offense, it’s the other side of the ball that’s really getting things done for the Eagles. Fletcher Cox leads all defensive ends in the league with five sacks and the team as a whole is allowing just 18.3 points per game, good enough for sixth in the NFL. It’s pretty telling how good this unit is considering Sam Bradford turned the ball over three times and the Eagles were still able to win by 20.
Don’t let their 3-3 record fool you either. Two of Philly’s three losses were by three points or less and came as the result of blown fourth quarter leads. For all the panic over the 1-3 start after falling to the Redskins in Week 4, there has to be a sense of optimism among the always quick to criticize Eagles fan base two weeks later after such a dominating performance against the Giants.
Is there anything I missed? Do you have any of your own takeaways from NFL Week 6? Feel free to comment below or get in touch with me via Twitter.
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