Buccaneers, Titans rise to the occasion as teams across the league capture
The NFL’s recent struggles with COVID-19 persisted asmultiple teams’ practice facilities were temporarily closed due to positive test results leading up to Sunday in aweek without Thursday Night Football. The fact that these cases did not force further adjustments to the current league schedule — which have been in place since Week 5 — gave the NFL a much-needed sigh of relief in Week 6.
Week 6 marked the continued dominance of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, signs of life from the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons undernew head coaches, the arrival of Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, theproclamation of Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a Super Bowl LV contender and, most comically, the continued struggles of the Dallas Cowboys, this time at the hands of a resurgent Arizona Cardinals team. While these results gave us some answers, they also left us with a lot of questions about how teams around the league stack up as theNov. 3 trade deadline and halfway point of the 2020 NFL season quickly approach. Without further ado, let’s take a quick look at some of the matchups from Week 6.
Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans
Perhaps the most entertaining game of the week was that between the reigning AFC South champion Houston Texans — fresh off their first win of the season in the first game after firing head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien — and their division rivals, the undefeated Tennessee Titans. The Titans jumped out to a 14–0 lead in the first quarter, courtesy of two short touchdown passes by Ryan Tannehill. Deshaun Watson and the Texans climbed back, however, and took their first lead of the game (23–21) in the fourth quarter. The Titans regained the lead through a 94-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry, but Watson’s two passing touchdowns put the Texans back on top. The Titans then sent the game into overtime with a clutch game-tying drive, capped off with a 7-yard touchdown reception by second-year Titans standout A.J. Brown with four seconds remaining. In overtime, a 5-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry won the game for the Titans, 42–36. The Texans offense kept them in the game against a very tough opponent, but their exploitable run defense never stood a chance against Derrick Henry, who ran for 212 yards and two touchdowns. This culminated in a historic performance by the juggernaut Titans offense, whobecame the first in NFL history to have both a 350+ yard passer and a 200+ yard rusher in the same game.
Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots
Staying in the AFC, we turn to one of the less entertaining, but still important, matchups of Week 6. The player of the game was certainly Broncos kicker Brandon McManus, who went a perfect six for six on field goals, including two successful attempts from 50+ yards. No turnovers by the Broncos offense through the first three quarters of the game kept the ball out of the hands of Cam Newton and the Patriots offense and allowed the Broncos to control the game. A steady performance by second-year quarterback Drew Lock turned sour in the closing stages, as two interceptions on consecutive drives gave the Patriots offense a shot at scoring a potential game-winning touchdown. However, they could not capitalize, and a turnover on downs sealed the big Broncos win in Foxborough by a final score of 18–12. This marks only the second Patriots loss in 38 games against first and second-year quarterbacks at home in the regular seasonsince 2001. The Patriots drop to a record of 2–3, which puts them 1.5 games back in the AFC East andunder .500 in October or later for the first time since 2002, which is certainly a testament to the organization’s unparalleled success under Bill Belichick, but casts doubt on their playoff hopes in Cam’s first season with the team.
Green Bay Packers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Over in the NFC, the conference’s power dynamics were turned on its head as Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted Aaron Rodgers and the undefeated Green Bay Packers. Star running back Aaron Jones found the end zone as the Packers jumped out to a 10–0 lead in the first quarter, but it was simply all Bucs from there. Aaron Rodgers, who was having a stellar season thus far, began the Bucs scoring with a pick six to cornerback Jamel Dean in the second quarter. To cap off a four-touchdown second quarter for Tampa Bay, Brady linked up with tight end Rob Gronkowski for their first touchdown partnership as members of the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay did not allow Green Bay to score for the remainder of the game and won by a score of 38–10. Green Bay’s dominance to start the season came to an abrupt halt against a Bucs team that had a lot to prove against a serious Super Bowl contender in the wake of a brutal loss to the Chicago Bears last week that ended with Brady uncharacteristically forgetting the number of downs and turning the ball over as a result. Maybe Brady really does play his best when he’s doubted most.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys
Monday Night Football brought us another inter-divisional NFC showdown as the Arizona Cardinals traveled to Dallas to take on the Cowboys, now led by Andy Dalton, who after nine years with the Cincinnati Bengals took over for star quarterback Dak Prescott, who went down with a season-endingankle injury in Week 5. The Cowboys defense, which entered the game as one of the worst in the league, held its own in a scoreless first quarter, but was left vulnerable in the second quarter, as fumbles on two consecutive drives by Cowboys former All-Pro running back Ezekiel Elliott were exploited for the first two Cardinals touchdown drives of the game. Andy Dalton’s offense floundered while the Cowboys defense failed to close the floodgates. The final insult to injury was a nice 69-yard touchdown run by Kenyan Drake, who had performed below expectations up to this point in the season, but had no problem carving up the Cowboys defense for 164 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals ended up defeating the Cowboys 38–10, the same embarrassing four-touchdown margin by which the Buccaneers defeated the Packers the day before. Astoundingly, the NFC East is so weak that despite the loss and 2–4 record, the Dallas Cowboys still sit atop their division and are in line to host a playoff game. The Cardinals improve to 4–2 and sit 2nd in the NFC West, which on the other hand is likely the strongest division in football.
Quick hits
Baker Mayfield proved no match for elite defenses once again as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns, 38–7.
In a season full of stunning comebacks, the Cincinnati Bengals’ early 21–0 lead evaporated as the Indianapolis Colts defeated them, 31–27.
Rookie running back D’Andre Swift had his first career game of 100+ rushing yards to go along with two touchdowns as the Detroit Lions defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 34–16.
The New York Giants picked up their first win of the season after a failed two-point conversion attempt by the Washington Football Team with 36 seconds remaining for a final score of 20–19.
Two touchdowns in the final four minutes by the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t enough and a failed two-point conversion attempt sealed the victory for the Baltimore Ravens, 30–28.
All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones made a strong return from injury as the Atlanta Falcons, in their first game after firing head coach Dan Quinn, picked up their first win of the season over the struggling Minnesota Vikings, 40–23.
Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears never looked back as they took lead of the NFC North by defeating the Carolina Panthers, 23–16.
The New York Jets are now the only team remaining without a win and highly-touted rookie Tua Tagovailoa — now named the Week 7 starter — made his first NFL appearance in the closing stages of an easy route for the Miami Dolphins, 24–0.
Jared Goff’s struggles on the road throughout his career continued as the Los Angeles Rams dropped the divisional matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, 24–16.
The current AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills struggled to compete with the AFC heavyweights for a second week in a row, this time losing at home to the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, 26–17.
