NFL Week 6 overreactions: Can Tom Brady win MVP?
We're more than a third of the way through the NFL season, but there's plenty left to sort out around the league. Some surprise results and injuries on Sunday might have altered the outlook for several teams.
Here are five overreactions we're pushing back on in Week 6:
Tom Brady won’t have a shot in the MVP race because he missed four games
The volume may not be there in the end, but the New England Patriots quarterback is playing with – let’s call it – a little extra motivation after the conclusion of the Deflategate mess.
In two games, Brady is completing an absurd 76% of his passes for 782 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions. His quarterback rating sits at 135.5 after Sunday's 35-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
And while the first of his two games came against the winless Cleveland Browns, this is the best two-game start to a season in Brady’s 17-year career.
Brady will certainly have a lot of ground to make up in terms of pure yardage and touchdowns, but New England should be one of the top contenders in the AFC. And that always helps MVP candidates stay relevant.
One of his biggest challengers for the award, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, reportedly suffered a torn meniscus and will have surgery.
Who might be Brady's biggest challenger, then? Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan leads the NFL in passing yards with 2,075 and looks like the stiffest competition.
Steelers' season in jeopardy?
Pittsburgh's disastrous loss in Miami on Sunday got worse when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported after the game that Roethlisberger suffered a torn meniscus and would undergo surgery Monday to trim the ligament.
An estimated recovery time has yet to be established, but many believe that it’s not an injury that will end Roethlisberger’s season.
The Steelers have gone 11-9 in the 20 games that Roethlisberger has missed after becoming the team’s starter in 2004. If they can weather the storm until Roethlisberger returns, Pittsburgh should still have an excellent chance to not only contend for the playoffs, but still win its division.
Remember, Roethlisberger missed four weeks last season after spraining his medial collateral ligament and suffering a bone bruise in a Week 3 game. Once he returned, Pittsburgh went 6-3 the rest of the way, despite losing running back Le’Veon Bell to his own torn MCL.
The Steelers went 2-2 in those four games Roethlisberger missed in 2015.
Pittsburgh has a one-game lead in the AFC North. A home game against the Patriots looms in Week 7, but the bye week is after that.
It couldn’t have come at a better time.
The NFC Champion Panthers still have a shot
Everyone wants to point the finger at a young secondary that opposing quarterbacks have embarrassed.
And it certainly deserves a big chunk of the blame. But general manager Dave Gettleman publicly justified letting All-Pro corner Josh Norman walk this offseason because he wanted Carolina to invest its money on its defensive line.
How’s that going?
Carolina is tied for 16th in the league in sacks with 12. The team leader in the category? Safety Tre Boston with two. The Panthers' pass rush is the key to the defense. As long as it remains subpar, Carolina will continue to struggle - especially in the inexperienced and thin secondary.
Carolina is 1-5, and only two teams since the AFL-NFL merger have made the playoffs after such a start.
The margin of error is now razor thin.
The Falcons showed serious signs of weakness in their loss against the Seahawks
Atlanta should have never been in this position.
The Falcons held a one-point lead with just fewer than four minutes left to play, when the normally reliable Julio Jones let a slant pass ricochet off his hands and into the arms of Seahawks safety Earl Thomas.
Seven plays later, Seahawks place kicker Steven Hauschka booted what would turn out to be the game-winning field goal.
But even after that, officials kept their flags on their belt clips on what appeared to be a clear defensive pass interference on Jones, when Seahawks corner back Richard Sherman hooked Jones’ arm. The penalty would’ve put the Falcons within striking distance to attempt a field goal.
Atlanta still has to live with the result: a 26-24 loss to the Seahawks.
But if there are any silver linings, it’s that the defense did its part, quarterback Matt Ryan dissected the vaunted Seahawks' pass defense, and simply that the Falcons passed the eye test – on the road in one of the toughest places to play in the NFL.
With the Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers each yet to find any semblance of consistency, the NFC South looks like it’s Atlanta’s to lose.
The Eagles can shake off their issues
Philadelphia has now lost two in a row after falling against the Washington Redskins 27-20 on Sunday. Doug Pederson's group sits at 3-2, and a hot start to the season feels far removed.
The Eagles have talent. But they also have flaws.
The offensive line – especially with starting right tackle Lane Johnson’s 10-game suspension in effect – is vulnerable. It allowed rookie quarterback Carson Wentz to get sacked five times.
Philadelphia put up just 239 total yards to Washington's 439. The Redskins dominated the Eagles' defensive front in the ground game.
And then there are the penalties. The Eagles have committed 27 in the past two games.
There’s plenty to clean up.
Philadelphia’s loss Sunday was its first game against a division opponent, which means there will be plenty of chances to make up ground and stay in it.
The problem? The Eagles face what may be the most daunting remaining schedule in the entire NFL.
Coming up: the Minnesota Vikings (5-0); at the Dallas Cowboys (5-1); at the New York Giants (3-3); the Falcons (4-2); at the Seahawks (4-1); the Green Bay Packers (3-2); the Cincinnati Bengals (2-4); the Redskins (4-2); at the Baltimore Ravens (3-3); the Giants; and finally the Cowboys.
Making matters worse, Philly’s bye already passed in Week 4. From here on out, it’s a non-stop grind.
Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.
PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 6