What we learned, winners and losers from NFL Week 6
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NFL Week 6 is (almost) in the books! It was a ... strange Sunday in the NFL. Here are some key takeaways from the games:
➤ Flop of the day: Detroit Lions 47, Dallas Cowboys 9 — Oh boy! America's Team was absolutely smoked, on big boss Jerry Jones' birthday no less. Once seemingly unbeatable at Jerry World, the Cowboys have now dropped four consecutive home games. These developments are surely not enjoyable to like 93% of you reading this newsletter.
➤ Bummer of the day: Unfortunately, it wasn't all good times for the Lions in Texas. They watched third-year defensive standout Aidan Hutchinson, who entered Sunday as the NFL's sack leader, exit the game on a cart with a gruesome leg injury — revealed to be a broken tibia.
NFL Week 6 key storylines
➤ Winners and losers: The Bengals and Eagles got much-needed wins Sunday. Who else stood out?
➤ 32 things we learned: Rookie QBs (not named Caleb Williams) crashed back to Earth on Sunday. What else did Week 6 teach us?
➤ Jaguars show 'a lot of quit' in loss to Bears: Not words you want to hear as a coach when your team is 1-5!
➤ Jim Harbaugh health scare: The Chargers' boss disappeared from the sideline for a time during Sunday's game and revealed the reason why afterward – he experienced an "atrial flutter."
➤ Calvin Ridley is not happy: The Titans' big free agent acquisition had some things to say after Tennessee's loss to the Colts, which dropped them to 1-4.
📸: Fans, mascots, cheerleaders and celebrities at NFL games
NFL Week 6 results
- Cincinnati Bengals 17, New York Giants 7: The definition of "grinding out a win." Joe Burrow called the victory "ugly." We agree!
- Detroit Lions 47, Dallas Cowboys 9: After a few other near-misses this week, this game got us a Scorigami ... so there's that, Dallas fans.
- Los Angeles Chargers 23, Denver Broncos 16: Jim Harbaugh's health was the major story in this one. On the field, his team led 23-0 after three quarters and held on.
- Pittsburgh Steelers 32, Las Vegas Raiders 13: The Steelers broke the 30-point barrier for the first time this season, snapping their two-game losing streak in the process.
- Atlanta Falcons 38, Carolina Panthers 20: At least the 1-5 Panthers have their first-round pick this year?
- Baltimore Ravens 30, Washington Commanders 23: The Lamar Jackson-Derrick Henry combination overwhelmed another opponent Sunday. Jayden Daniels was impressive again, but the Commanders couldn't quite keep pace with a Ravens offense that put up 484 yards.
- Green Bay Packers 34, Arizona Cardinals 13: The Cardinals might be the most perplexing team in the league. We got the bad version today. The Packers led this one 24-0 in the second quarter and Jordan Love finished with four touchdowns.
- Houston Texans 41, New England Patriots 21: Drake Maye played! And the Pat Patriot throwback uniforms looked great as always! Well, that ends the good news! It's going to be a long year in New England.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 51, New Orleans Saints 27: The Buccaneers blew a 17-point lead to trail at halftime – primarily thanks to a New Orleans punt return TD and three Baker Mayfield interceptions – but they shook it off to still win by 24 while putting up a 50-burger and a staggering 594 yards. Good grief!
- Philadelphia Eagles 20, Cleveland Browns 16: Another week, another dreadful offensive performance by the Browns and another declaration from coach Kevin Stefanski that they're sticking with Deshaun Watson at quarterback.
- Indianapolis Colts 20, Tennessee Titans 17: Another win for Super Bowl 47 MVP Joe Flacco.
- Chicago Bears 35, Jacksonville Jaguars 16 (in London): While Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars appear to be in disarray, fellow top pick Caleb Williams seems to be figuring things out, tossing four touchdowns on Sunday.
- San Francisco 49ers 36, Seattle Seahawks 24 (Thursday): The Niners looked like the team that's been knocking on the door of a title the last few seasons in this one. They piled up the yardage on the ground and scored a season high in points to dispatch the division rival Seahawks and regain first place in the NFC West.
Coming up this week
➤ Monday: Week 6 concludes with the New York Jets – under a new interim head coach – hosting the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium at 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN2).
➤ Tuesday: Paste BN Sports offers its power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 6.
➤ Thursday: Week 7 kicks off with the New Orleans Saints hosting the Denver Broncos at the Superdome on "Thursday Night Football" (8:20 p.m. ET, Prime Video). Before the game, make sure to check out our expert picks for every Week 7 game.
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