NFL - Week 6 Reflections & Takeaways
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Week 6 is in the books and this is the point in the year we can really start seeing some trends and realize how each team’s season is going to turn out. Every week, I want to highlight a key takeaway from each team to hopefully find some patterns to help us start creating new trends for each team. While each team might have plenty of things to take away from that week’s games, I want to detail one that the media not be as focused on. The hope is that we can recognize these patterns before the rest of the field does, giving us leverage in the coming weeks. This is more meant to be structured towards fantasy football, but can also be applied to DFS in some aspects. No need to ramble… let’s dive right in!
Cardinals:
We can’t say they looked all that great against the Rams this weekend, but atleast their defense held up for a little bit until Kupp and Kyren went bananas on them in the second half. Joshua Dobbs looked like Joshua Dobbs for once after a few decent starts which is not a good sight. He had been playing well, but barely had a 50% completion % this weekend and could barely find any of his premier targets. It was just a tough weekend, but atleast the run game was efficient with over 4 YPC from a bunch of borderline practice squad guys.
Falcons:
They might have lost but they really didn’t play that poorly outside of poor timing of the turnovers. Ridder has been able to keep Drake London and Kyle Pitts fantasy relevant for two weeks running which is something I didn’t think I would be able to say. With an easier schedule coming up, I actually think these guys could be viable and more than just a volatile flex play as long as Ridder can stay consistent. They are finally getting away from running the ball all the time with a more balanced approach and it truly is making them look better.
Ravens:
London was nice to Baltimore who came out with a gritty win. The real winner was Justin Tucker who scored 18 of their 24 points, but the person to get the other 6 was a guy I have personally wanted to see break out for a while. Zay Flowers continued to impress leading the team in targets and putting up a solid 6/50/1 stat line. If he can produce like that just about every week I don’t think anyone would be left unsatisfied. Lamar finally has a true WR1 to go to and as long as he can be decent throwing the ball this team should do well.
Bills:
I don’t understand how they didn’t dismantle a terrible Giants team but props to the NY defense for not giving up. They actually didn’t play that bad which is why the Bills couldn’t manufacture any offense. Once again I am going to harp on the concern for James Cook and his usage. They almost refuse to use him in the red zone which will cap his upside significantly. He gets the touches and has a strong YPC number to fall on, but if you aren’t scoring TDs in today’s fantasy landscape you aren’t going to be able to keep up.
Panthers:
There was a glimmer of hope to start the game, but the Dolphins squashed that like a bug. Through the good and the bad, one thing is likely to stay consistent. Adam Thielen is performing like a top 5 fantasy WR this season and it can’t go without notice. He gets so many targets and the script will always be favorable for him. I don’t see an avenue where he doesn’t have great performances every week.
Bears:
After back to back decent weeks it is almost as if they took 10 steps back. They have a lot of injuries to the offense that was already limited and now Justin Fields gets hurt and they will possibly have to ride the rookie Tyson Bagent for a couple weeks. This offense is going to be pretty crummy regardless, but with Bagent it could reach a whole different level of bad. Time will tell, but no one on this offense is going to be consistent.
Bengals:
They started their game out so hot then completely floundered from the mid way point in the 2nd on. The only thing that I really am starting to get concerned about is Joe Mixon and his efficiency issues. He gets touches but barely ever does anything with them. I would be looking to try to trade him on name value if you can. The schedule the next few weeks gets very tough and their willingness to go away from the run unless they have a lead is concerning.
Browns:
Holy cow what an upset. Conditions weren’t the best, but the still managed to beat the 49ers. It was really nice to see Kareem Hunt get some volume and produce with it. It will likely be a committee approach regardless, but it was a breath of fresh air over Ford who I just don’t think is that great. Also, Amari Cooper had some crazy plays that kept the momentum going to keep in the game. Overall what a crazy win for the Browns.
Cowboys:
I don’t understand Dak Prescott at all. He looks atrocious some games then amazing in others. Last night we saw the bright side of his play with an efficient performance through the air and on the ground. The Chargers defense is terrible at stopping the pass so I can’t say I am surprised. It was nice to see Brandin Cooks finally be featured in the offense along side Lamb. His big play ability was put on display and might be a sign to come. If they can keep the games competitive, he should be more of a factor.
Broncos:
They got smacked Thursday night against the Chiefs where the offense continued to struggle. Only one decent drive led to points and the rest were pretty awful. I get the Chiefs defense is playing a lot better this season, but their defense isn’t going to be good enough to keep scores low enough if they offense can’t score more than 10 points. Jerry Jeudy might actually be a JAG like Steve Smith led on. With trade rumors swirling, I was expecting more and he fell flat once again.
Lions:
Losing David Montgomery for a few weeks might prove to be an issue, but the offense is playing well enough across the board that it probably won’t even matter. They are so consistent across the board to the point they can beat you just about however they please. Nonetheless, the two key guys they want to get involved are clearly Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta. Both get north of 10 targets without anyone else getting over 3. Goff has found the guys he likes and will continue to pepper them just like he has his whole career.
Packers:
BYE WEEK
Texans:
CJ Stroud finally looked human and made a turnover. For real, playing the Saints is never an easy matchup so bouncing back shouldn’t be hard. They still won despite the poor stats. This team really needs Tank Dell back though. They really didn’t have the ability to stretch the field which effected how efficient they could be and it led to some stalled drives. It should help Nico Collins a lot when he returns to open up the middle of the field.
Colts:
The defense really let them down this week and things just got worse with Anthony Richardson likely out for the year. Gardner Minshew is atleast a pretty good backup and will be serviceable as a starter every week. They are going to have to lean on the run heavily which is why I think Jonathan Taylor is about to take off. The script is flipping for him and Moss and I fully expect him to get 70% or more of the work soon. They couldn’t really run the ball much with it being a blowout quick, but use that as a buy low opportunity and try to get Taylor.
Jaguars:
Wow is Travis Etienne playing like one of the best backs in football. He leads the league in RB touches and has put together more TDs this year than he did all of last year. He is used in the pass game as well basically making Bigsby an afterthought at this point. This is clearly the ticket to their success and need to continue to let him be the driving force to keep drives going. Nothing against Trevor Lawrence at all; he has been fine. I just fall into the boat of “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” and the Jags clearly are doing something correct on the ground.
Chiefs:
Something is off about this offense without Eric Bienemy. I feel like a broken record saying it, but they just don’t look good. You can put all the blame you want on the WRs but they have looked a bit better recently and they still can’t seem to score. The biggest takeaway though is Rashee Rice needs to get 80% of the snaps. He is playing maybe half of them at the moment but is the only WR that looks even half way decent. They need to keep trying to feature him as well as get him out there more.
Raiders:
I am going to be completely transparent. They beat the Pats who could easily be the worst team in football and the Pats had every opportunity to win. What the heck are the Raiders doing only throwing the ball to Davante Adams 4 and 5 times in back to back weeks? They are lucky to be 2-0 in those games but man is it concerning. When Michael Mayer is getting more targets then him you know there is a cause for concern. With the QB play being so shotty, I would be trying to move on from Adams. This is definitely shaping up to be a disappointing season for him.
Chargers:
The choke artists strike again. I honestly blame the refs and would have blamed the refs for whoever lost that game. It really kills the flow when play is stopped literally every play due to ref interference. I think we can close the book on Quentin Johnson if he can’t do anything without Mike Williams. It truly is baffling when you have Addison and Flowers producing and they were taken directly after QJ. Everything else went just about how I expected except for that. Johnson is just a non factor currently.
Rams:
They played the Cardinals so I don’t know how much you can takeaway from it. Cooper Kupp is back and at 100% with another massive performance. Him and Puka were the only players to receive north of 7 targets, but atleast Kupp did a lot with his. He will be the key to success going forward for this team with the backfield now banged up. It also helps that his schedule lightens up until the Browns in about a month.
Dolphins:
They lost De’Von Achane but didn’t miss a beat. Raheem Mostert had a banner day with another multi-TD performance and 100+ yards. Tyreek Hill is looking to break records this year. Jaylen Waddle is finally getting back on track. They might be the best team in football honestly after the 49ers and Eagles blew it this week. Injuries are really the only thing that might get in their way. They better hope Tua can stay healthy all year.
Vikings:
They did not look good without Jefferson this weekend, but the weather definitely factored in to the poor performance as well. I expected a little bit more from the receiving options, but I can’t say I expected them to pass much with winds and scattered rain. The biggest takeaway for me might have been that Alexander Mattison is still the bell cow and got plenty of volume. They will likely lean on him a bit more in the post-JJ injury times to grind out wins.
Patriots:
I honestly don’t think this game was Mac Jones’ fault. Yes he had the one atrocious INT, but there were a few drops on big throws that could have gotten them into a position to win. Regardless, they lost and continue to disappoint. It was, however, nice to see Rhamondre Stevenson who bounced back with 15 touches. I was starting to get worried, but the clear avenue for Stevenson’s success will be the Patriots just have to be in the game. If they are getting destroyed then he won’t do much at all. Just keep that in mind going forward.
Saints:
Even in a loss they didn’t look that bad. It is wild how quickly DeMeco Ryans turned a subpar defense into an elite group. This game went pretty much to script with how we expected. Maybe we could say you can’t sleep on Rashid Shaheed anymore. He can take the top off of a defense and showed that this past week with two bombs and one for a TD. He will always be volatile, but the ceiling is massive.
Giants:
I guess decent game from the defense, but man I would be mad if I was apart of that unit and see my offense not even muster up a TD and only score 9 points. Atleast with Tyrod they were able to sustain drives somewhat well. The offense really missed Saquon Barkley who was the driving force in atleast keeping their offense from stalling. They want to get him involved and I do think that there will be spike games for him here soon. The volume is just too high to pass up.
Jets:
It is wild to me they go and beat the 5-0 Eagles without both DJ Reed and Sauce Gardner. Their defense is truly elite and might be the best in the NFL. The offense really didn’t do anything, but did just enough to get into FG range and pick away at the score allowing their defense to stifle Hurts and pull out a W. Props to Garrett Wilson for being an absolute boss. If he had Rodgers I could see him having a top 5 WR season. His skills set is unbelievable and makes catches that no one should be making. Hopefully this team can keep grinding out wins an just hope Rodgers comes back to take his starting spot back.
Eagles:
Jalen Hurts has to be the one to take the fault for this loss. 3 TOs is too much to come back from and 4 as an offense is typically a death sentence even against the worst teams. It was a weird script because usually this team runs the ball a lot more but they kind of abandon it and let Hurts keep throwing despite the struggles. I don’t think this is a sign to come. It was just a bad game all around against a really good defense. They get the Dolphins next week in what should be a lot better of a game. The big thing will be they for sure can’t turn the ball over like that again or Miami will capitalize.
Steelers:
BYE WEEK
49ers:
What the heck happened? Well… injuries happened. They lost CMC, Trent Williams and Deebo for a good portion of the game with Deebo and CMC not returning. Brock Purdy looked like Mr. Irrelevant in this one having below a 50% completion %. I don’t think this is a sign to come, but if they can’t stay healthy I fully expect him to take a step back and not look as good as he has. Aiyuk and Kittle can only do so much.
Seahawks:
Holy cow this team blew so many chances to win but just couldn’t get it done. I think they had double digit chances at the end zone on a few different possessions and failed every time. The Bengals defense isn’t even that good. This was a textbook Seahawks game where Lockett and DK do well, Walker had another big volume day. However they just couldn’t get the win. I guess it was good to see Kenneth Walker still get heavy volume even in a closer script. I think he will be a big feature unless they get down big which won’t happen often.
Buccaneers:
The Bucs looked really bad this week and just about everyone on the team would agree. They just couldn’t get anything going. There isn’t much to takeaway other than I expect everyone to bounce back in their next game. When you abandon the run like that it is always going to be hard to beat a defense. Rachaad White needs to get the ball a bit more to keep the secondary honest which will open up more for Evans downfield.
Titans:
Ryan Tannehill going down to injury might actually be a positive for this team. He has looked dreadful so far and if it weren’t for Derrick Henry putting the team on his back the London game would have looked much worse. He proved once again that you should never doubt the king. He tore up a tough Ravens rush defense and almost house called a 70 yard TD. He is the ticket for them and they need to lean on him regardless of whichever QB is under center. Winter is coming and that is peak Henry season.
Commanders:
They got a win even if it was ugly. Just when I thought Logan Thomas might be emerging from the depths of the TE wasteland he proves to us there is no getting out of that. In the best matchup possible he only produced 1 catch for 1 yard. This team really got lucky with how easy Atlanta wanted to cough up the football and only ran around 40 plays for the entire game. There isn’t much to takeaway from that, so just be looking for an update next week.
