Week 6 saw some excellent games. Sunday began with a bang as the Jags snapped their 20 game losing streak against the Dolphins in London. We also had overtime dramas in Minnesota, New England, and Seattle. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 6 of the 2021 season.
The Good
The ending of the Cowboys-Patriots game – The Cowboys and Patriots delivered one of the most entertaining finishes to a game this season. With less than three minutes on the clock, the Cowboys missed a potential go-ahead field goal. A few plays later, Trevon Diggs seemed to secure the Dallas win with a pick six. The Patriots answered on the next play with a 75-yard touchdown, before the Cowboys tied the game up with a last second Greg Zurlein kick. It finished in dramatic fashion, with a CeeDee Lamb touchdown in overtime to take the Cowboys to 5-1.
The Cardinals keep winning – With their win over the Browns, Arizona move to 6-0 and remain the NFL’s lone unbeaten team. The Browns actually entered this as favourites, but you would never have guessed that when watching the game. Kyler Murray carved up the Cleveland defense, but it was the Cardinals front seven who really impressed. They did a great job limiting the Browns’ running game, holding them to just 73 yards at 3.8 per carry. They also got after Baker Mayfield, finishing with five sacks and six quarterback hits. This all came despite missing Kliff Kingsbury, who tested positive for COVID-19 before the game.
The Burrow-Chase connection – Expectations were high for the reunion of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase in Cincinnati and so far they are delivering. Chase looked dominant again this weekend against the Lions, with four catches for 97 yards. He currently ranks fourth in the NFL in receiving yards and is averaging over 20 yards per reception. This already looks to be the best young quarterback-wide receiver combo in the NFL. It is going to be great fun watching them develop together over the coming years.
The Bad
Chargers’ run defense – When he was with the Rams, Brandon Staley earned a reputation for stopping the run with light boxes. He has struggled to translate that success to the Chargers this season though and it showed up again this weekend. They allowed 187 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries, averaging out at 4.9 yards per attempt. This is just a week after they allowed 230 yards at an average of 6.6 per carry against the Browns. This is fast becoming a problem and doesn’t bode well with a game against New England on the horizon.
Denver lose three on the bounce – The Broncos were the surprise package of the NFL when they started 3-0. Since then it has all come crashing down around Vic Fangio. They have lost three straight games, including this weekend agianst a Raiders team in the midst of a crisis. Worryingly this wasn’t even as close as the 34-24 scoreline suggests. You have to wonder what the next few weeks hold for this Broncos team.
The Houston Texans – This was a weekend that the Texans and their fans will want to quickly forget. After an embarrassing 40-0 loss to the Bills in Week 4, they ran the Patriots close last week and Davis Mills seemed to have turned the corner. That evaporated quickly against the Colts as they were held to just three points. Their offense looks stale and they managed to get into the red zone just once all game. This weekend marks the third time the Texans have been held under 10 points this season.
The Ugly
Brian Flores’ decision making – This was bad. Flores’ decision making this weekend cost Miami the game against Jacksonville. Midway through the fourth quarter, Flores threw the challenge flag on back-to-back plays. Neither play ever looked likely to be overturned and this wasted two of their timeouts in a one possession game. Shortly afterwards, the Jags were faced with a 3rd and 20 with 57 seconds left. Flores declined to use his remaining timeout, allowing the Jags to wind the clock down, get into field goal range, and score the winner.
Cleveland’s injury crisis – The Browns are having no luck with injuries this season. They entered this game without Nick Chubb, as well as their two starting tackles. Things went from bad to worse against Arizona. Kareem Hunt had to be carted off with a calf injury and could miss time. Baker Mayfield had been playing through a partially torn labrum, which he aggravated in this game. We also saw Odell Beckham leave the game briefly with a shoulder injury of his own. It is still unclear whether any of them will miss time, and if so how much, but the injuries are beginning to pile up in Cleveland.
Week 6 MVP
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams – Kupp continued his dominant streak this weekend against the Giants. He finished the game with nine receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
Rookie of the week
Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears – I loved Herbert coming out of Virginia Tech and he was one of the steals of the draft in the sixth round. This weekend saw him start his first NFL game and he put on a show. He finished with 97 yards on his 19 carries at an average of 5.1 yards per attempt. He also scored Chicago’s sole rushing touchdown.
Stat of the week
24 games – The Jags snapped their 20 game losing streak in London, but there is another streak they will want to end soon. This weekend marked the 24th consecutive game with the Jacksonville defense allowing 20+ points. This is the third longest streak in NFL history, and the longest in almost 40 years.
