Week 6 NFL Recap

Week 6 NFL Recap

Tennessee Titans over Pittsburgh Steelers

This game proved that the Steelers this season just aren’t that good.  They are plagued by injuries on offense and defense and I don’t think Big Ben is good enough to overcome the other weaknesses on the team.  This season they have no running game with the laundry list of injuries to the running backs and offensive line.  They might be able to overcome a weak division and a weak AFC to be a playoff team but unless they get substantially healthier by playoff time.  The Titans on the other hand just really aren’t that good.  Their defense still isn’t that good while their offense is an inconsistent unit.  Chris Johnson is as inconsistent a player that there is a really can’t be relied on.  The Titans might have 2 wins right now but they might not have another win for a long time. 

Baltimore Ravens over Dallas Cowboys

The Ravens won their 4^th game in a row but the game probably ended up hurting them more then helping them.  They lost star defensive back Lardarious Webb and linebacker Ray Lewis for the season.  This defense just isn’t going to be that good with those injuries along with injuries to Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs.  They seem pretty lucky to be 5-1 as is, winning their last 4 by 1 score, and seem like they may be due for a second half slump.  The Cowboys on the other hand without any question should have won that game.  They outgained the Ravens, substantially, were able to move the ball up and down the field without any problems, and shutdown the Ravens offense pretty easily.  Some special teams plays and coaching plays cost the Cowboys the game, something that should surprise nobody that has watched the Cowboys play the last few years.

Miami Dolphins over St. Louis Rams

The Dolphins this year continue to make their attempt to be the shocking team that made the playoffs.  Their defense is solid across the board and their offense is much better than anyone expected.  They have gotten a better than expected performance from Ryan Tannehill and every game no matter who they play seem to be competitive.  The Rams are another team that has been significantly better than people assumed.  They have played competitively in every game except for against the Bears, who might be the best team in football, and seem to be fighting for a playoff spot.  The super strong NFC seems to be increasingly competitive as the Rams seem to be a part of that.

Detroit Lions over Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles lost again because of you guessed it… TURNOVERS!  Michael Vick threw 2 picks and they lost another fumble.  This team has a lot of talent, but they are so inconsistent and turnover prone that this is quite unrealistic.  They haven’t shown an ability to hold onto the ball during the season and seriously I highly doubt that this will change as the season progresses.  The Lions won their 2^nd game as they try to work their way back into the playoff race.  The team made the playoffs last season but this season seems like they will struggle to get there.  The NFC is significantly stronger this year and their slow start will probably cost them any chance of making the postseason.  The Lions still have a dynamic offense and even if they miss the playoffs are a dangerous team each week.

Cleveland Browns over Cincinnati Bengals

The Browns were able to get their first win of the season against a Cincinnati Bengals team that seems to be showing its true colors.  They have a total stud in A.J. Green but I am not sold on Andy Dalton yet and the running game is far from elite.  The Bengals seem to be regressing toward the team I thought they were, as they have lost 2 in a row and seem to be far from a playoff team right now.  The Browns on the other hand finally got a win which they seemed quite due to get.  They put forth a solid effort defensively and offensively to get their first victory of the season.  If the team is going to win with Brandon Weeden then the team will have to improve soon, he is 28 years old, but for now they have something to build on. 

New York Jets over Indianapolis Colts

The Jets proved to be there inconsistent selves again in their win over the Colts.  They won because of one reason, a reason that happens to plague many teams… TURNOVERS!  The Jets were able to force Andrew Luck into turning the ball over with a wave of exotic blitzes and schemes.  They were able to confuse Andrew Luck as he followed up his best game of his career with a rough performance.  The Jets were able to stay in the thick of the hunt with their victory as the team hopes to stay competitive.  The Colts got a tough loss, after an emotional letdown game after Luck’s worse game of his career.  Growing pains like this gave to be expected by a rookie but they are tough to see coming with Andrew Luck.  Both these teams could fight for a playoff spot and we will see how both of these teams’ seasons progress.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Kansas City Chiefs

This victory for the Bucs was a huge win over a bad team.  The Bucs were able to dominate the Chiefs with their running game, passing game and defense.  They dominated the Chiefs in all of facets of the game and were able to win by a huge margin.  The Bucs, one of my sleeper teams for this season, may find the role tough to accomplish with the increasingly competitive NFC.  However the team isn’t terrible, they haven’t been blown out this year, and with a few victories could prove themselves to be quite dangerous.  The Chiefs on the other hand again presented their case as the worst team in all of football.  The offense is seemingly dependent almost exclusively on Jamaal Charles and if he isn’t producing then the team is just terrible.  I see them as the worst team in the NFL and they seem to be making the case each week that it is the case. 

Atlanta Falcons over Oakland Raiders

The Falcons escape again and remain the only undefeated team in all of football.  The team seemingly did everything wrong this week, their 3^rd straight close game against a team that is currently .500 or worst, and yet still escaped with a victory.  Their method of winning these games might not be entirely sustainable but right now they have to be the favorites to be the 1^st seed in the NFC.  For a team that built itself around a dome offense, getting home playoff games in a dome.  They may not be great but Matt Ryan has been impressive late in games and they are talented enough.  The Raiders lost their 4^th game this year and again look like one of the worst teams in football.  The Carson Palmer trade looks like a total disaster, as the team seems to have regressed from all the progress they had made as a franchise.   

Seattle Seahawks over New England Patriots

The Seahawks improved on their already impressive home resume beating the New England Patriots and moving to 4-2 over on the season.  They are playing in an increasingly impressive NFC West and every win a team can get is going to be crucial.  They did it through big plays on the offensive and defensive sides of the football.  After trailing 23-10 midway through the 4^th quarter Seattle was able to generate a great comeback against the Seahawks.   They were able to intercept Tom Brady twice and Russell Wilson was able to generate huge plays throwing the football down the field as he led the team to the upset.  The Patriots though just aren’t the juggernaut that I expected them to be and are used to seeing.   The team offensively while still an elite an extremely dangerous unit is without question entirely stoppable.  Brady isn’t as sharp as he once was and the offensive line doesn’t give him as much time as he used to have.  Defensively, especially in the secondary the team is notably susceptible.  They can’t cover anybody and any good offense should be able to score on the team.  All that said they are still one of the favorites in the AFC, and I fully expect them to go on a long winning streak soon and make us forget about this slow start.

Buffalo Bills over Arizona Cardinals

The Bills won a game!  I was ready to write this team off and hope for as good a pick as possible, but now who knows.  The team has looked like the worst team in football in there 3 losses, but in their 3 wins handled the 2 bad teams they played and beat an above .500 team on the road.  The defense looked good against what is probably the worst offensive line in football, and the offense, especially the running game played pretty well.  The biggest problem in that game was toward the end it seemed like Chan Gailey did everything in his power to stop the team from winning.  From the wildcat interception, to punting in OT, on the Cardinals 35 yard line, really it was an embarrassing coaching effort.   For the Cardinals after these past two weeks it is beginning to look like they are taking on the role of being this year’s Bills.  The offense is bad at quarterback, running back, and offensive line with their only true playmaker being Larry Fitzgerald.  While the defense might be able to carry them to some wins this year I don’t think an offense this bad can make the playoffs.

Washington Redskins over Minnesota Vikings

RGIII is really really really good at football and will be a top quarterback in this league for years to come.  He is an electric runner who can score on any play, as shown in this awesome run, and is a pretty good passer in his own right.  The Redskins have their flaws as a football team, and I don’t expect them to be a playoff team this year, but for once one of their crazy gambles appears to have paid off.  The Vikings weren’t able to complete the comeback because of the RGIII run, but really it’s an understandable loss for the team.  The team had been playing so far over its head that at some point it was bound to lose a game against an inferior team like the Redskins.  I still think they will complete for a playoff spot with a top notch defensive line, Christian Ponder, and the somehow playing great Adrian Peterson.

New York Giants over San Francisco 49ers

The Giants won this week by beating the 49ers at their own game.  They shut down the run, ran the ball effectively, forced the opposing quarterback into interceptions and had their quarterback manage the game to victory.  The Giants got a statement victory with that win and are going to be a real force to be reckoned with as the season progresses.  This Giants team is definitely improved over last year’s Super Bowl winning team and Eli Manning is putting himself in the middle of the MVP conversation.  The 49ers seem to have affirmed one thing about the team, they cannot play from behind.  Their team is designed with scoring first in mind and if they have to catch up to a team then they are going to struggle.  The team is going to look like the best team in football when it has the lead and when it doesn’t it is going to look fairly mediocre.

Green Bay Packers over Houston Texans

For the 1^st time this season Aaron Rodgers looked like the MVP that we all came to expect from last season and because of that the Packers were able to beat the very good Texans team fairly easily.  When Rodgers is playing well then the Packers are almost unstoppable with his scrambling abilities and his ability to make plays down field the offense becomes almost impossible to stop.  The team is going to be dependent on Rodgers the entire season and if he plays like an MVP then the Packers are an elite team and if he does not then the team is far from that.  The Texans got their 1^st loss of the season in kind of a shocking manner.  The offense struggled throwing the ball and running the ball and the defense couldn’t slow down Rodgers at all.  I still expect them to be an elite team this season and probably the top seed in the AFC, but for the 1^st time this season you could see some holes in the team.

Denver Broncos over San Diego Chargers

The Broncos were able to win by double digits in a game that they trailed 24-0 at halftime, the short answer on how that happened, Peyton Manning is the Broncos quarterback and Norv Turner is the Chargers Head Coach.  Really though the Broncos just looked like the better team across the board with the Chargers scoring 17 points off turnovers before the Broncos could blink then once the Broncos got ahold of themselves they looked like the better team.  Peyton Manning just completely picked apart the Chargers in the 2^nd half and Phillip Rivers just looked horrible.  I would say Norv Turner should be fired after this performance, but he has had some many performances he should have been fired after that it would seem pointless.  The Broncos take control of the AFC West after this huge comeback victory as they schedule eases up for them a bit I would expect them to make a run at a top seed in the AFC.

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