Many teams faced harsh realities during Week 6 of the NFL season.
The Dallas Cowboys had an eye-opening 47–9 loss against the Detroit Lions.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is starting to realize that the roster holes he and the front office neglected in the offseason might be too tough to overcome this season.
Cleveland Browns fans are starting to accept that a quarterback change likely won’t come this season. Once again, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski announced that Deshaun Watson will remain the starter, even though the offense continues to struggle and the team is staring at a 1–5 record without an easy path forward.
The Philadelphia Eagles handed the Browns their latest loss and coach Nick Sirianni made sure to remind critical fans about the victory. By now, the football public shouldn’t be surprised about Sirianni engaging in trash talk with fans.
As for the New Orleans Saints, it’s starting to become clear that their 2–0 start was a fluke after the defense spiraled in the ugly blowout loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New Orleans has now dropped four games in a row and is two games behind both the Bucs and the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South with losses to each rival.
For one more harsh reality, there might only be three legitimate contenders in the AFC, with the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens leading the standings. Let’s take a closer look at some of these realities for this week’s winners and losers, starting with the best division in the NFL.
Winners
NFC North
The Lions were an unstoppable force during Sunday’s statement victory over the Cowboys, reminding the football public why many pundits tabbed them to win Super Bowl LIX.
But there’s hesitation to call the Lions (4–1) the best team in the NFC because they might not even be the best team inside their own division with the undefeated Minnesota Vikings (5–0), surging Green Bay Packers (4–2) and Chicago Bears (4–2). The NFC North could be the first division in NFL history to have all four teams qualify for the postseason. Currently, the Vikings are the NFC’s No. 1 seed, and the Lions and Bears hold the fifth and sixth spots, respectively. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the tiebreaker over the Packers for the seventh and final playoff spot.
But it’s way too soon to discuss playoff seeding. Instead, let’s focus on the rarity of all four teams in a division being this good this far into the season. The Vikings and Packers might be the most complete teams in the NFC, with opportunistic defenses and explosive offenses. Chicago’s defense might be as good as Green Bay’s and Minnesota’s, while the offense is making strides due largely to how well rookie Caleb Williams has played the past two weeks. The Packers (17), Vikings (13) and Bears (13) lead the league in takeaways.
The Lions, who have 10 takeaways, are behind when it comes to defense, but they have a high-scoring offense to make up for it. They’ll need to lean on it after the devastating season-ending injury to star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Detroit can punish opposing defenses in various ways, which is why the Week 7 showdown with Minnesota will be a must-watch game.
There will be many intriguing NFC North battles moving forward because there’s been only one divisional game through six weeks, when the Vikings defeated the Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 4.
Maybe it’s too soon to crown the Lions as the best team in the NFC, though it's easy to make the argument given the stacked roster that has experience from last year’s postseason run to the conference championship game. Once the dust settles on the many upcoming NFC North battles, we might find out which team is truly the best in the division and the conference.
David Montgomery
Sticking in the NFC North, the Lions made the right move to reward running back David Montgomery, not only for his production, but also for the grit and leadership he provides on and off the field.
Montgomery quickly earned his money after rushing for 80 yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys, a day after agreeing to a two-year, $18.25 million extension that keeps him in Detroit through the 2027 season. The Lions got ahead of a looming dilemma because Montgomery had already outplayed the contract he received last season when he signed a three-year, $18 million contract. Montgomery and his agent now don’t need to have awkward conversations with the team in the offseason about an expiring contract.
Montgomery’s deal is also another indicator that running backs are again being prioritized. The NFL has taken notice of how well Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs have played with their respective new teams, and how important productive running games are to stifling today’s current defensive schemes. Detroit is a handful for opposing defenses because of how well Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs complement each other throughout games.
But the Lions jumping to re-sign one of their best players goes beyond his production. Montgomery might be the beating heart that brings their physical brand of football to life on the field. He sets the tone with his rugged runs, which opens up the game for many of his teammates, from allowing his offensive linemen to get into a rhythm to providing Jared Goff with a balanced attack. Gibbs is more difficult to defend because Montgomery provides a different style of running, throwing off the rhythm and timing of defenses.
Montgomery is also the closer, which helps the Lions’ defenders when they’re getting long breaks on the sideline throughout the fourth quarter. There are many Lions who fit the mold of the type of players coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes have coveted since they arrived in Detroit in 2021. But not many provide as much grit and assistance as Montgomery. Also, he deserves a ton of credit for opening up about his mental health struggles.
Brash Nick Sirianni
There’s plenty to criticize about the Eagles coach chirping his own fans while his team wrapped up a 20–16 victory against the Browns.
It’s rarely a good idea to call out your fans, but if there’s one fan base that can handle it, it's definitely the rowdy faithful of the Eagles. Not many will care about some trash talking in Week 6 if the Eagles win the NFC East and go on a lengthy postseason run. Many Eagles fans wanted Sirianni gone last season, less than a year after guiding the team to the Super Bowl.
It’s all about what have you done for me lately in Philadelphia, and Sirianni knows that and has embraced it since he arrived in 2021. Sure, criticize Sirianni about his team barely beating the one-win Browns, but as the saying goes, a win is a win, and right now the Eagles (3–2) are only half a game behind the Washington Commanders (4–2) for first place in the NFC East.
Eagles fans have the right to bash Sirianni for how poorly the team played after a 10–1 start last season—again, the standard is high in Philadelphia. There was also the costly pass play call to harp on in the Week 2 loss against the Falcons.
But Sirianni should also be allowed to feel himself a bit after winning a game with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith back on the field. If the two wideouts stay healthy, the Eagles will likely be in the mix for another playoff run, perhaps silencing the chants of “Fire Sirianni.”
Sirianni did apologize for his behavior, which might have made this situation worse. Take the victory lap and continue winning and all will be fine with Eagles fans.
AFC contenders
The NFC could have many new challengers to compete with last year’s conference championship participants, the Lions and San Francisco 49ers.
As mentioned, the Vikings are undefeated and the Commanders are in first place in their division. Also, the Falcons (4–2) continue to improve on a weekly basis and are leading the NFC South.
Over in the AFC, not much has changed with the Chiefs (5–0), Ravens (4–2) and Texans (5–1) boasting the three best records in the conference. There could be a case made for the Buffalo Bills being contenders, but they struggled in losses to the Ravens and Texans earlier this season. These were the final four teams in the AFC’s divisional round in January.
The Chiefs, the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions, might be in a class of their own after defeating the Ravens in the season opener. But the Ravens are a different team after finding their offensive identity with Derrick Henry. They’re riding a four-game winning streak and lead the league in yards (453.7) and points scored (29.5) per game.
The Texans haven’t been as impressive as the Ravens and Chiefs, but deserve credit for finding ways to stack victories. They should have cruised against the Bills in Week 5, but struggled to adjust once Nico Collins left before halftime due to a hamstring injury. Houston did get a dominant 41–21 road win vs. the Patriots on Sunday thanks to the return of running back Joe Mixon.
With Mixon and Collins, the Texans might be as good as the Ravens and Chiefs. They have a star quarterback in C.J. Stroud and a defense filled with playmakers.
Maybe it’s too soon to write off the other teams in the conference, but the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and New York Jets might not have enough firepower offensively. The Cincinnati Bengals do, but they’re 2–4 and the offense was held to seven points for most of Sunday’s 17–7 win vs. the New York Giants.
Losers
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
Jones told reporters that it was “very concerning” and a “shocker” how poorly the Cowboys played in their loss against the Lions.
This Cowboys team losing by a lot to one of the best teams in the league should not be surprising. Here’s a list of concerns Jones should have known before Sunday’s rout:
- The Cowboys no longer are good at home after being crushed by the Saints and Ravens earlier this season, and that doesn’t even include the wild-card loss to the Packers in January.
- The defense can’t stop the run, an ongoing issue that happened long before defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer arrived. Zimmer does deserve blame for the defensive issues, but many of his best players haven’t played in weeks, including Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland.
- The offense can’t run the football and there’s not much receiving help behind CeeDee Lamb.
Jones has been listed under “losers” for this weekly column multiple times this season because he failed to address roster holes in the offseason and didn’t make a coaching change when it was obviously needed after the postseason flop vs. the Packers.
Now Mike McCarthy, who didn’t get a contract extension, has to constantly hear about his job security, and the uncomfortable questions from the media will only increase because this team screams 9–8 or 8–9. Mediocrity won’t get it done in a competitive NFC, especially with the aforementioned possibility of four playoff teams in the NFC North alone. The Cowboys (3–3) head into the bye week before facing the 49ers, Falcons, Eagles, Texans and Commanders in five consecutive weeks. The season might be lost in Dallas after that grueling five-game stretch.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam
Many are now starting to question whether Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is forcing Stefanski to play Watson. That’s how bad the situation has gotten in Cleveland after a 1–5 start.
Stefanski didn’t flat out say no when asked about what many are thinking as to why he hasn’t turned to backup Jameis Winston while Watson continues to struggle on a weekly basis. But Stefanski did say all football decisions on the field are his to make.
Maybe Stefanski isn’t being forced by the owner to play Watson, but he’s well aware of the amount of weight Watson’s fully guaranteed contract of $230 million carries. And does Stefanski have any incentive to make the change? His job probably isn’t on the line after he signed a contract extension in the summer.
This organization appears content to give Watson countless opportunities to regain his top form and refuses to even think about the possibility of Watson never becoming a star quarterback again. It’s a waste of a season and unfair to Browns fans and to all the players in that locker room.
Calvin Ridley and Titans GM Ran Carthon
Calvin Ridley wasn’t happy after the Tennessee Titans’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts, saying that he needs to be better, but also demanded more targets early in games.
Ridley only has two catches for nine yards in the past three games combined, and had eight targets for zero catches vs. the Colts. It’s easy to say that Ridley’s four-year, $92 million contract in Tennessee was a mistake, but there was some truth to the wide receiver’s rant—many of Ridley’s targets on Sunday were barely thrown in the same area code as him.
Titans coach Brian Callahan has failed to get him involved in games and quarterback Will Levis has struggled most of the season. There should be more urgency to feed Ridley early and often with all the money he’s scheduled to make after being a splash signing for the Titans during free agency.
Ridley, Callahan and Levis all need to be better, but it’s starting to look like a lost season for the 1–4 Titans. All eyes were on GM Ran Carthon after the organization fired Mike Vrabel and parted with a few key players, including Henry. So far Carthon has whiffed in many areas, especially at wide receiver.
Saints’ defense
The Saints had the worst defensive performance of the week, and that’s saying a lot with how poorly the Cowboys played vs. the Lions.
The Buccaneers hung a 51-burger on the Saints and racked up 594 total yards at the Superdome. The total yardage was a single-game franchise record for Tampa Bay.
The Saints’ strong 2–0 start is now a distant memory after four consecutive losses and many issues on both sides of the ball. New Orleans’s poor defensive effort spoiled a decent starting debut for rookie Spencer Rattler, who had the team ahead 27–24 at halftime vs. Tampa Bay. Yes, Rattler did have two costly interceptions, but the defense couldn’t generate stops and allowed 27 unanswered points. Even with a healthy Derek Carr, the Saints might be headed for third place in the NFC South given how the Buccaneers and Falcons are surging.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Week 6 Winners and Losers: NFC North Establishes Itself As the Best Division.
