And now, with a third of the season wrapped up, we now have a solid idea about each team, their identity and their fatal flaws.
And perhaps no team perceived to be a contender has been a greater disappointment than the Dallas Cowboys, who on Sunday suffered their worst home loss in nearly 36 years. Dallas is still very much alive in the NFC East, but the Cowboys simply don’t look like a group that can compete with some of the top teams in the NFL. Elsewhere in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers spread the ball around, getting significant contributions from several players, though one glaring issue remains for the offense: the team’s execution inside the 20 has been far too inconsistent.
Here are the winners and losers from Sunday of Week 6 in the NFL.
WINNERS
It wasn’t pretty, but Bengals get one more
Any time a one-win team can grit one out on the road to course-correct its season, it’s hard to find fault. Yet the Cincinnati Bengals still need to shore up their defense, even though they allowed the New York Giants to score just seven points.
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New York was without receiver Malik Nabers, running back Devin Singletary and edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Giants also missed a pair of field goals. Yet the Bengals struggled at times to capitalize on excellent field position, needed more from their rushing game (save from a bailout scramble touchdown from Joe Burrow) and the defense had difficulty turning the Giants away on third and fourth downs. Still, Cincinnati’s offense is much more dangerous now that Tee Higgins (seven catches for 77 yards) is healthy. The Bengals (2-4) are already two games out of first in the AFC North, so the margin for error is razor thin.
Why did the rest of the NFL let the Ravens get Derrick Henry?
Arguably no player has been a more impactful offseason addition than running back Derrick Henry joining the rush-heavy Baltimore Ravens. Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards (704) and touchdowns (eight).
Coupled with Lamar Jackson, the Ravens have the best ground game in the league, and it’s not close. Of players with at least 50 attempts, Baltimore has the first- and second-ranked rushers in yards per carry in Jackson and Henry. This makes the Ravens especially dangerous in the red zone, where Baltimore (75%) is tied with the Texans as the most efficient team in the NFL. When the Ravens (4-2) can win the rushing battle 176-52, like they did in a 30-23 victory over the Washington Commanders (4-2), they’re going to be tough to stop.
Eagles (desperately) needed their star receivers back
Let’s set aside the weirdness of coach Nick Sirianni trolling the home crowd after the Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) scraped past the one-win Cleveland Browns 20-16 — Sirianni said he “was having fun.’ The Philadelphia offense got a huge boost with the return of receivers A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion), both of whom had missed multiple weeks.
Each had a reception of at least 40 yards and scored a touchdown, and the two both combined for 180 receiving yards on nine catches. Brown is one of the strongest receivers in the league, one who often snatches jump balls away from defenders and has unparalleled instincts of when to slow down and use his leverage on underthrown balls. Smith is a silky-smooth route runner. Jalen Hurts (64% completion rate, 264 yards, two touchdowns) easily had his best game so far this season. Still, the offense sputtered at times on third downs and there’s much to improve, but this at least was progress.
Packers find their flow on offense, but one issue remains
Though there are few offenses better than rolling up yards, the Green Bay Packers have nonetheless been rather uneven this season, at times falling into early holes. But in a 34-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Packers (4-2) raced out to score the game’s first 24 points, cruising to a victory.
Nine different Packers caught at least one pass and Jordan Love threw four touchdowns to three different players. Similarly, seven different players recorded a carry, as Green Bay put up 179 rushing yards. Yet, if there’s one glaring area of concern for this offense, it’s what it does inside the 20. The Packers simply aren’t finishing enough drives with touchdowns. Against the Cardinals, they went two-of-four in the red zone, keeping their conversion rate this season at 50%. That may not be an issue against Arizona. Against some of the NFL’s better teams, however, it could lead to losses.
LOSERS
The Cowboys need a shakeup
The Cowboys have three victories, sure, but Sunday’s 47-9 loss against the Detroit Lions showed just how far this team is from legitimately competing. Detroit absolutely trampled Dallas, almost a month after the New Orleans Saints similarly did so in a 25-point rout.
The Cowboys lack physicality, particularly along both the offensive and defensive lines. They play almost as if they know they cannot beat good opponents. They cannot run the ball. By the end of the third quarter, the leading Cowboy rusher was Rico Dowdle, who had 7 yards on three carries; Dallas (3-3) by that point had 16 total rushing yards on 10 attempts. The 38-point defeat is the worst home loss since Week 11 of 1988, one season prior to Jerry Jones’ purchase of the franchise. Dallas is winless at home. The problems are cultural, and they start with the coaching staff. This looks like the tired build of a team whose best days are over.
Playing Will Levis (at least right now) is becoming indefensible
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis is still a young player who, frankly, was probably forced to play far too soon. But Tennessee at this point cannot reasonably start Levis, 25, and expect to be a competitive team.
Backup Mason Rudolph almost certainly isn’t a viable long-term option, either. But Tennessee (1-4) runs the risk of shaking Levis’ confidence and of inadvertently instilling poor habits, as seen with his fourth-quarter heave into double coverage that killed Tennessee’s chances of beating the Indianapolis Colts in an eventual 20-17 loss. Levis leads the NFL with seven interceptions and ranks dead last among qualifying players in QB rating (70.7). Tennessee actually does have some weapons at receiver, but Levis has not built a connection with Calvin Ridley, who had eight targets Sunday and not a single catch. DeAndre Hopkins — a three-time All-Pro — is essentially a non-factor. This makes the team’s decision to trade Malik Willis, a player who never got a real shot, all the more confounding.
Raiders self-destruct, putting season on the brink
The Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) committed only four penalties on Sunday, which normally would be a really solid day. Yet, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, each of those penalties nullified huge plays and were symbolic of a team that self-destructed in a 32-13 loss.
The first came in the second quarter on a roughing-the-passer penalty that negated an interception; four plays later, Pittsburgh scored a touchdown. The second was in the third quarter and erased a big completion, pushing Vegas out of field goal range; its eventual punt was blocked. The third came minutes later, an inexplicable roughing the passer on third-and-18 that extended the drive; two plays later, Najee Harris ran for a 36-yard touchdown. The fourth came on the final play of the third quarter, an illegible man downfield that nullified a touchdown pass; two plays later, running back Ameer Abdullah fumbled at the goal line.
