Analysis
October 16, 2023
13 min read
Everything You Need to Know From NFL Week 6
Week 6 in the NFL saw both remaining undefeated teams fall and another high-scoring performance from the Miami Dolphins.
After an exciting slate of Sunday action in Week 6, The 33rd Team breaks down key plays, stats and insights from around the NFL.
>>READ: Biggest Winners, Losers From Week 6
Ravens 24, Titans 16
Key Inactives
Ravens: OT Daniel Faalele, LB Odafe Oweh
Titans: WR Treylon Burks, DT Teair Tart, LB Luke Gifford, FS Elijah Molden
Ravens Offense Does Just Enough
Justin Tucker went six for six on field goals, putting up 18 of the Baltimore Ravens' 24 points. The Ravens' lone touchdown came on a pass to Zay Flowers, who got in the end zone for his first career NFL score. Baltimore's offense was on the field far longer than the Tennessee Titans'. The Ravens had the ball for 35 minutes and 42 seconds, compared to the Titans' 24 minutes and 18 seconds.
Lamar Jackson was the Ravens' leading rusher, finishing the day with 13 carries for 62 yards, he finished 21 of 30 for 223 passing yards and one touchdown along with one interception and a 88.6 passer rating. The Ravens finished with 360 total yards, 127 more than the Titans.
Titans' Sputtering Offense
Tennessee’s offense struggled (outside of its 10-point third quarter) to put points on the board, finishing with 16 points. The Titans totaled 233 yards. Derrick Henry averaged 8.1 yards per carry with 12 carries for 97 yards and a score. DeAndre Hopkins was held to only one reception for 20 yards.
Ryan Tannehill exited the game in the fourth quarter with a right ankle injury and was replaced by Malik Willis, who also struggled to lead the Titans’ offense. Willis went four of five for 74 yards and a 118.8 passer rating. While his passer rating was high, Willis took four sacks at pivotal moments in the game, which kept the clock running and made any chance at a comeback even more difficult for the Titans. Willis added three carries for 17 yards.
Browns 19, 49ers 17
Key Inactives
49ers: LB Dre Greenlaw
Browns: QB Deshaun Watson, OL Joel Bitonio, WR Cedric Tillman
Brock Purdy's Growing Pains
Brock Purdy was 12 of 27 for 125 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked three times and threw his first interception of the season. Purdy struggled with the rain and on a key play he was flagged for intentional grounding on first down with a 17-16 lead. That eventually gave the Cleveland Browns just less than three minutes to work with to take the lead.
49ers' Offensive Injuries
Deebo Samuel suffered a shoulder injury in the first half and did not return. Christian McCaffrey suffered an oblique injury in the third quarter. McCaffrey’s touchdown extended his scoring streak to 15 consecutive games, two shy of the NFL record held by Lenny Moore. He is tied with John Riggins and O.J. Simpson for second place.
San Francisco's Key Defensive Plays
CB Deommodore Lenoir intercepted P.J. Walker and returned the ball to the Browns 8-yard line. Jordan Mason then ran in from 8 yards out for his second touchdown of the season, putting the San Francisco 49ers up 17-13 with 10:58 remaining in the game. Nick Bosa sacked Walker to create an 11-yard loss for the Browns. Fred Warner intercepted a second-down pass from Walker and returned it 32 yards to the Browns 25-yard line.
Pregame Scuffle, In-Game Stunner
Juan Thornhill and Brandon Aiyuk exchanged words before the game started which led to dozens of players from each team in a pregame brawl. The brawl also included Samuel, Trent Williams, Elijah Moore and many others. There were no penalties or ejections.
The Browns pulled off the biggest upset of the season this week beating the undefeated 49ers 19-17, despite being without Watson, who missed his second straight week because of a bruised right shoulder. The Browns totaled 189 yards in the first half but were hurt by seven penalties for 67 yards against five penalties for 39 yards for the 49ers.
Rams 26, Cardinals 9
Key Inactives
Rams: OL Joe Noteboom
Cardinals: RB James Conner, S Jalen Thompson
Rams Erupt After Halftime
The Los Angeles Rams (3-3) overcame a 9-6 halftime deficit with a dominant second half. Led by WR Cooper Kupp, who made seven catches for 148 yards and his first touchdown of the season, and RB Kyren Williams, who rushed for a career-high 154 yards on 18 carries (7.9 yards per attempt), the Rams mounted a 20-0 rally. They forced two Cardinals turnovers and held the ball for 20:28 after having it for just 9:02 in the first half.
Cardinals Can’t Capitalize on Opportunities
The Arizona Cardinals (1-5) had three chances in the red zone and could not score a touchdown as QB Josh Dobbs struggled all game. He completed just 51.2 percent of his throws and averaged 5.7 yards per attempt. The defense was no better, allowing 179 rushing yards and nearly 7 yards per play.
Jaguars 37, Colts 20
Key Inactives
Colts: QB Anthony Richardson, OL Braden Smith
Jaguars: WR Zay Jones, OL Walker Little
On Top in the South
The Jacksonville Jaguars moved to first place in AFC South with their win over the Indianapolis Colts. Trevor Lawrence suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter, something that could be a concern for the Jaguars who play on Thursday night in Week 7. Lawrence passed Byron Leftwich for fourth in franchise history in career passing yards. Evan Engram passed James O'Shaughnessy for most receptions by a tight end in franchise history (105). Lawrence has thrived in two games against the Colts this season: 422 passing yards, 71 percent completion percentage, four passing touchdowns and a 97.6 passer rating.
Josh Allen continued his great start to the season with another sack, giving him seven on the season along with his 23 pressures. In the same play that he had his sack, he also forced a fumble. The Jaguars turned four Colts turnovers into 17 points.
Travis Etienne found the end zone two times while no receiver on the Jaguars had more than 50 receiving yards.
State of the Colts
Gardner Minshew tied his career highs in pass attempts (55) and completions (33).
Seven out of eight Colts turnovers this season have come against the Jaguars. Josh Downs had his first career touchdown while Michael Pittman led all Colts receivers with 109 yards (the most he’s had all year) and nine receptions.
Jonathan Taylor has yet to take over the backfield. Zack Moss had seven attempts for 21 yards (3 yards per attempt) while Taylor added eight attempts for 19 yards (2.4 yards per attempt). The Colts generated 121 more yards of offense (354-233) but turnovers took them out of the game.
Commanders 24, Falcons 16
Key Inactives
Commanders: CB Christian Holmes, DE K.J. Henry, OL Charles Leno
Falcons: CB Clark Phillips, OL Kyle Hinton
Falcons Offensive Rundown
Desmond Ridder went 28 for 47 with 307 and two TDs with three interceptions, all of which came in the second half. Tyler Allgeier was the leading rusher with 13 carries for 51 yards. Drake London was the leading receiver with nine catches for 125 yards.
Commanders Offense Does Enough
Sam Howell went 14 for 23 for 151 yards, and one TD though Washington added to its league lead by giving up five sacks, raising their total to 34 through six games. Brian Robinson was the Commanders' leading rusher with 10 carries for 31 yards and added on a receiving TD. Terry McLaurin was the leading receiver with six receptions for 81 yards.
Lions 20, Buccaneers 6
Key Inactives
Lions: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, S Brian Branch, TE James Mitchell, G Jonah Jackson
Buccaneers: OLB Anthony Nelson, OT Brandon Walton
Lions Rely on Passing Game
RB David Montgomery’s rib injury left the Detroit Lions’ running game down its top two backs. QB Jared Goff led a strong passing game, completing 30 of 44 passes for 353 yards and two TDs. Amon-Ra St. Brown returned after missing Week 5 to catch a career-high 12 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (5-1). Fellow receiver Jameson Williams caught Goff’s other TD pass. Tampa Bay allowed a season-high 8 yards per attempt.
Bucs Offense Stuck in Neutral
Baker Mayfield (19 of 37, 206 yards, one interception) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense couldn’t get anything going. The Lions held them to 251 yards and two field goals in Tampa Bay’s only trips inside the red zone. The Bucs (3-2) were held to a season-low 16.7 percent conversion rate (two of 12) on third downs.
Creamsicles Gone Bad
Tampa Bay wore its throwback “Creamsicle” uniforms. Unfortunately, its play matched the era the jerseys came from. Per ESPN, the Bucs had the worst winning percentage of any franchise in U.S. major sports during the Creamsicle days from 1976-96.
Texans 20, Saints 13
Key Inactives
Saints: TE Juwan Johnson
Texans: WR Tank Dell
Break Up the Texans
Rookie C.J. Stroud passed for 199 yards and touchdowns to TE Dalton Schultz and WR Robert Woods to lead the Houston Texans to their third victory in six games, matching their win total from the 2022 season. Devin Singletary rushed for 58 of the Texans’ 120 yards. LB Blake Cashman had 15 tackles, two for a loss, and two passes defensed for Houston.
Saints Get Yards, Not Points
The New Orleans Saints (3-3) lost despite outgaining the Texans 430-297. QB Derek Carr passed for 353 yards but missed two opportunities to lead the Saints to the tying score. He misfired a pass on a fourth down with 4 minutes left, and he threw a fourth-down interception with 19 seconds left. Carr was hit eight times and sacked twice. New Orleans K Blake Grupe missed two field goals.
Jets 20, Eagles 14
Key Inactives
Eagles: CB Darius Slay, DT Jalen Carter, S Sydney Brown
Jets: CB Sauce Gardner, CB D.J. Reed, DL Micheal Clemons, CB Brandin Echols
Turnovers Tell the Story
The Philadelphia Eagles (5-1) had four turnovers, including three interceptions by Jalen Hurts, while the New York Jets (3-3) did not surrender the football. Hurts has seven picks through six games in 2023 after only six last season. The Eagles also had four turnovers in two of their three losses last season. Hurts’ third interception, right after the two-minute warning, hurt the most. Tony Adams returned it to the Eagles’ 8, and RB Breece Hall scored the winning touchdown on the next play to give the Jets their first win against the Eagles in 13 meetings.
Eagles Lose Despite Outgaining Jets
The Eagles outgained the Jets, 348-244. Hurts went 28 of 45 for 280 yards and one touchdown, and he rushed for 47 more yards. Counterpart Zach Wilson was 19 of 33 for 186 yards and took five sacks. Jets WR Garrett Wilson caught eight passes for 90 yards.
More Pain in Philadelphia
Three more key Eagles left the game with injuries - RT Lane Johnson, S Reed Blankenship and CB Eli Ricks.
Raiders 21, Patriots 17
Key Inactives
Patriots: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, T Riley Reiff, G Cole Strange
Raiders: CB Nate Hobbs
Raiders Win Second in a Row
The Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) won their second game in a row despite QB Jimmy Garoppolo sustaining a back injury and not playing in the second half. Backup Brian Hoyer, like Garoppolo a former New England Patriots quarterback, went 6 of 10 for 102 yards. TE Michael Mayer had five catches for 75 yards.
Patriots’ Offense Struggles Again
The Patriots (1-5) struggled to get going on offense again. Their first-half drives resulted in two punts, a field goal and an interception. They had -2 yards in the first quarter. RB Ezekiel Elliott snapped a Patriots streak of 12 quarters without a touchdown when he scored in the third quarter. That drought tied the franchise record, which was established in 1991.
Bengals 17, Seahawks 13
Key Inactives
Seahawks: LB Devin Bush, DB Artie Burns, OL Damien Lewis
Bengals: LB Akeem Davis-Gaither
Seahawks Turnover Woes
The Seattle Seahawks (3-2) turned the ball over twice via two Geno Smith interceptions. The Seahawks had only turned the ball over once in their previous four games this season. In the second half alone, the Seahawks had three drives inside the Cincinnati Bengals’ 8-yard line and failed to score any touchdowns. Smith was under duress throughout the game, with the Seahawks allowing four sacks and 21 pressures. Smith had not been pressured more than 20 times in a game this season, nor the entire 2022 season. Seattle remains in second place in the NFC West.
Bengals Hang on
Joe Burrow continued to lean on Ja’Marr Chase early and often. Chase paced the team with 13 targets, while Tyler Boyd managed to find the end zone and led the team with seven receptions. Cincinnati scored a touchdown on each of its first two drives but was held out of the end zone the rest of the game. Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, Logan Wilson, and Cam Sample each had one sack. Hendrickson has 7.0 sacks this season, which is the second-highest most in the league just behind T.J. Watt and Danielle Hunter. Cincinnati (3-3) remained at the bottom of the AFC North.
Vikings 19, Bears 13
Key Inactives
Bears: RB Roschon Johnson, RB Travis Homer, CB Terell Smith, RB Khalil Herbert
Vikings: DL Jaquelin Roy, OL Hakeem Adeniji
Injuries Plague Bears
Justin Fields left the game during the third quarter because of a hand injury, Fields was going to be sacked, so he attempted to throw the ball away and was slammed down onto his right hand. Before the injury, Fields was 6 for 10 for 58 passing yards and one interception. He was initially listed as questionable to return, however, he was later ruled out. Undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent replaced Fields. Guard Nate Davis suffered an ankle injury during the second quarter and was carted off the field. Fields seemed to have landed on Davis’ ankle causing it to roll.
Minnesota Looking Shaky Despite Win
While the Vikings had only one turnover, the Bears had significantly more time of possession (35:11 compared to 24:49) and more first downs (18 compared to 12). Kirk Cousins only threw for 181 yards and one touchdown, going 21 for 31. The Vikings only rushed for 46 yards. But the defense helped the Vikings overcome that somewhat sloppy performance. They were able to score 19 points off only 220 total yards on offense, thanks to a defensive scoop and score after Bagent fumbled. That was a big turning point because it increased Minnesota’s lead from one score to two.
