Upsets were hard to find in Week 6, with several favorites dominating Sunday. Perhaps for the first time this season, tiers between the good and bad teams finally showed after five weeks of unpredictable outcomes.
The Baltimore Ravens might be the one team that can hang with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC after they defeated the Washington Commanders 30–23, snapping Jayden Daniels’s four-game winning streak.
The Commanders don’t appear to be in the class of the Ravens when it comes to forming a list of Super Bowl contenders, but they are definitely contenders in the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles had a sluggish 20–16 victory against the Cleveland Browns.
The Detroit Lions had the look of a team in pursuit of the Lombardi Trophy, cruising past the Dallas Cowboys 47–9. But unfortunately for the Lions, their victory in Dallas had a sour ending after Aidan Hutchinson sustained a scary lower leg injury and was carted off the field.
It wouldn’t be wild to say the Ravens and the Lions are the two best teams in their respective conferences. But the San Francisco 49ers and Chiefs definitely disagree—those two teams will clash in a Super Bowl rematch in Week 7. And don’t overlook the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, who were on a bye week.
Going back to Week 6, the Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears have ways to go before reaching the top-tier status in the NFL, but they might be well on their way to becoming playoff teams after both picked up impressive wins Sunday.
Here’s what else we learned in Week 6, including what we saw from rookies Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler in their starting debuts.
Lions regain top status in NFC after crushing Cowboys
The Lions made an emphatic statement with their dominant win over the Cowboys, displaying the wide gap between the two teams.
Dallas (3–3) has the look of a fringe playoff team and might be the third best team in the NFC East, but more on them in a bit. This Week 6 matchup was all about the Lions (4–1) regaining their top status as one of the two best teams in the NFC. Last season ended with Detroit falling to San Francisco in the NFC championship game, and the two teams might be headed for another playoff rematch in late January.
But it’s tough to say whether the 49ers are fully back after brushing off a slow start and improving to 3–3 with Thursday night’s win against the Seattle Seahawks. And the Lions might not be the best team inside their own division; the Vikings are 5–0 and lead the NFC North. Minnesota and Detroit meet next Sunday with first place on the line in the division and the conference.
With the Lions, it’s obvious they’re an elite team, especially on offense. Quarterback Jared Goff has regained his top form from last season, including a perfect game against the Seattle Seahawks. On Sunday, he completed 18-of-25 passes for 315 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers. Detroit’s offense might be even better than last year with Jameson Williams (three catches, 76 yards, one touchdown against Dallas) contributing regularly. David Montgomery, who signed a new two-year, $18.25 million contract extension, quickly started earning his money Sunday, rushing for a team-high 80 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions finished with 184 rushing yards.
Defensively, though, Detroit might be without Hutchinson for the foreseeable future. He’s the Lions’ best defender, giving defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn a daunting task to fill his void.
As for the Cowboys, they continue to show they’re a two-man team on offense and have many issues on the defensive side. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb were enough to get by the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, but that won’t get it done against teams as good as the Lions. Dallas needs to find more help for Prescott, but that won’t save Mike Zimmer’s poor defense, which allowed 492 total yards to the Lions with several key starters missing due to injuries.
Herbert shows coaching staff he can do more than hand off the ball
It took longer than expected, but the Chargers’ coaching staff finally unleashed Justin Herbert, leading to a 23–16 victory over the Denver Broncos.
Herbert, the star quarterback making $52.5 million annually, did more than just hand the ball off to running backs and deliver safe throws, two things that occurred often in the first four games of the season. On Sunday, Herbert had more than 30 passing attempts for the first time in a game this season. He was 21-of-34 for a season-high 237 passing yards, and had a 38-yard touchdown throw to rookie running back Kimani Vidal.
Herbert moved the offense quickly upfield while coach Jim Harbaugh left the sideline briefly because of an illness. Harbaugh told the CBS broadcast he has dealt with arrhythmia on and off for a while and that’s why he left for a bit to be evaluated by the medical staff.
Once Harbaugh returned, he didn’t have to worry too much about the game—L.A. had a 23–0 lead after three quarters—because of a complete effort that snapped Denver’s three-game winning streak. It was a much-needed victory for the Chargers (3–2), who had a two-game losing streak and a laundry list of injuries before heading into their Week 5 bye.
Health certainly played a role in the Chargers’ standout offensive performance because Herbert’s nagging ankle injury didn’t seem to be an issue in Denver. Starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt were on the field to help Herbert push the ball upfield. Nine players had receptions from Herbert, and J.K. Dobbins had a game-high 96 rushing yards and one touchdown.
For the Broncos, it was their worst defensive performance of the season. To make matters worse, star cornerback Patrick Surtain II left the game early to be evaluated for a concussion. Bo Nix and the offense struggled more than usual, and Sean Payton’s Broncos won’t be more than a pesky team until the offense shows signs of improvements on a weekly basis.
Ravens might have the best offense in the league
The Ravens might have the best offense in the league and appear to be the one team that can truly knock off the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. It’s way too soon to discuss potential playoff meetings, but the Ravens should rank among the top contenders after their 30–23 victory over the Commanders.
The Commanders (4–2) are a year ahead of schedule, but they’re not to the point where they can beat legit Super Bowl contenders. The Ravens (4–2) were a few steps ahead in every phase and had answers each time Jayden Daniels orchestrated a scoring drive. Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr delivered an impressive game plan to contain Washington’s rushing attack and limit Daniels’s downfield shots. The Commanders recorded 305 total yards, including only 52 rushing yards. Daniels finished 24-of-35 for 269 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Lamar Jackson (20-of-26, 323 yards, one touchdown, one interception), Derrick Henry (24 carries, 132 yards, two touchdowns) and Zay Flowers (nine catches, 132 yards) helped the Ravens dominate time of possession (36:08), almost 12 minutes longer than the Commanders. Washington struggled to generate pressure, with Dante Fowler Jr. being the lone defender to register a hit (two sacks) against Jackson.
After an 0–2 start, Baltimore now has a four-game winning streak and has scored at least 20 points in every game this season. If the Ravens’ defense plays the way it did Sunday, that could make the difference when the games truly count in January.
Again, it’s way too early to look that far ahead, but it appears the elite class in the AFC only has two teams: the high-scoring Ravens and the 5–0 Chiefs.
Caleb Williams plays up to his No. 1 status in rout of Jaguars
Many refused to look at the calendar when firing off hot takes about the Bears possibly picking the wrong quarterback again in the NFL draft.
Those September takes look silly now with Caleb Williams torching opponents the past two weeks and seems to be getting better every week. The Bears recorded their third consecutive victory after Williams picked apart the reeling Jacksonville Jaguars in a 35–16 rout in London.
Williams was 23-of-29 for 226 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 124.4. The 2024 No. 1 pick posted a similar stat line in last week’s victory against the Carolina Panthers, going 20-of-29 for 304 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers and a passer rating of 126.2. Perhaps those stats won’t impress the Williams doubters because it occurred against the Panthers and Jaguars, and the Bears have only played one team with a winning record to this point.
Williams still has a ways to catch Daniels, the 2024 No. 2 pick, in the race for Offensive Rookie of the Year, but the competition has gotten closer with Williams’s October surge in Chicago. The Bears (4–2) head into a bye week before meeting Daniels’s Commanders in Week 8.
It’s no coincidence that Williams has improved his play with the offensive line providing better protection in the past two games. It also helps that Keenan Allen is back on the field after dealing with an injury last month. (Allen and Cole Kmet each had two touchdown catches against the Jaguars.) But Williams’s turnaround can also be attributed to getting more reps against NFL defenses. He’s seeing coverages better and playing with more composure, throwing only one interception during the three-game winning streak—he had four picks in the first three games.
Not much has improved with the Jaguars (1–5) a week after the team recorded its first win in the season. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan might be losing his patience with coach Doug Pederson, but Pederson told reporters that he has Khan’s full support after meeting with him after the blowout loss in London.
It’s not a good look, though, that Jaguars safety Andre Cisco said there was “a lot of quit” during the loss to the Bears.
Maye could have played sooner, while Rattler falls victim to Saints defense
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye flashed his arm strength and Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler showed plenty of confidence, but both rookies lost their starting debuts Sunday.
Maye, the No. 3 pick in April’s draft, was impressive in many areas despite the Patriots falling to the Houston Texans, 41–21. Maye stood tough in the pocket behind possibly the worst offensive line in the NFL and managed to throw three touchdown passes, including a 40-yard beauty to Kayshon Boutte in the second quarter. Maye also had 30-plus-yard completions to Hunter Henry and DeMario Douglas. Maye finished 20-of-33 for 243 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Maye’s positive flashes Sunday is why many wanted him to start at the beginning of the season. But the down side to that was the lack of protection and the amount of hits Maye could take throughout his rookie season. Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. recorded three sacks Sunday. New England (1–5) will need to find creative ways to protect Maye from the rush to allow him to operate and learn on the fly for the final 11 games of the regular season.
Rattler, who filled in for the injured Derek Carr, had a strong start before falling apart in the ugly 51–27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints went into halftime with a 27–24 advantage before allowing 27 unanswered points.
The disastrous defensive effort didn’t allow Rattler to establish a rhythm in the second half, and he didn’t have Chris Olave, who exited early to be evaluated for a concussion. Rattler, the 2024 fifth-round pick, finished 22-of-40 for 243 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
It wasn’t Rattler’s fault that the defense allowed a whopping 594 total yards, which could put him in line to start again Thursday night against the Denver Broncos if Carr isn’t cleared to return from his oblique injury.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as What We Learned in NFL Week 6: Lions, Ravens Looking Like Elite Teams.