NFL Week Six has concluded, and there is a lot to digest. There were some inspiring performances, and then there were some duds. Let’s dive deep.
The Los Angeles Rams lost to a 1-4 Arizona Cardinals team 18-16. Heading into the game, the Cardinals allowed 32.4 points per game. It’s difficult to explain how Matthew Stafford and company managed only 16 points.
The Rams, as we all know, were heavy Super Bowl favorites in the offseason. They signed reigning defensive player of the year, Myles Garrett, and that, as a result, brought Aaron Donald out of retirement. There were talks about this team going undefeated.
Now, Los Angeles sits at the bottom of the NFC West at 2-4. Yes, they are below even the Cardinals now. On top of that, Davante Adams is now out for 6-10 weeks with a ruptured hamstring. Injuries have not been kind to this team, and the setbacks keep piling up.
At 2-4, the Rams are no longer playing to protect their status as Super Bowl favorites. They’re fighting to keep their season from slipping away. This may be the most shocking outcome of NFL Week Six.
The Houston Texans were 0-4 just a few weeks ago with their season on life support. Now, they have two straight wins, with the latest one coming in London against a fantastic Jacksonville Jaguars team. The most encouraging sign was that it was the offense that got the job done.
Over the last two years in particular, the Texans’ defense was the driving force. The narrative was that this team would be a true contender if they had upper-level quarterback play. Now, that script has flipped.
The Houston defense is 20th in points per game allowed, with 23.8. CJ Stroud, this season, has nine touchdowns to just one interception with a 100.9 passer rating. That is closer to what he produced in his rookie year when he had a 23:3 ratio and a 100.8 passer rating.
In the most recent game, Stroud outdueled Trevor Lawrence in a 34-31 victory. He threw for 312 yards on 24/34 passing with three touchdowns and one interception. He was sensational and was the driving force.
If there’s one unit the Texans should trust to turn things around, it’s the defense. They have been among the top dogs in the league over the last few years, so they know what it takes to turn it around. With how good the offense looks, the defense doesn’t even need to be elite.
If Houston’s defense can rediscover even some of its previous form, the Texans could become a dangerous team down the stretch. This was my second takeaway from NFL Week Six.
The Denver Broncos had a brutal six-game stretch to begin the season. They faced the Kansas City Chiefs, Jaguars, Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Seattle Seahawks. They came out of that stretch 4-2 and now have the fourth-easiest schedule remaining.
The Denver story after the Seattle game has been the play of Bo Nix. The national media has come after him and has criticized his poor play. While there is no denying Nix’s play has been poor as of late, there’s a lot of the season left to play.
In my opinion, the story should be that this Broncos team has more than survived this gauntlet of a schedule with a lackluster offense. There’s no guarantee that the offense will turn it around, but with a softer schedule, people should be open to that possibility.
Four of Denver’s first six opponents are ranked top 10 in scoring defense. That certainly could be a factor in the slow start offensively. The larger point is that the Broncos’ offensive struggles have overshadowed how impressive its overall start has been.
With Denver’s 4-2 record, people have focused on how ugly the wins have looked. There are always two sides to the coin, though. The other side is: what does this team look like when the offense gets going?
This is my final NFL Week Six takeaway.
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NFL Week Six was a wild one. We saw some teams like the Texans save their season, while other teams like the Rams dive headfirst into disaster. Some teams, like the Broncos, aren’t getting their respect.
What’s your biggest takeaway from NFL Week Six?
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