The NFL saved the best for last in Week 6.
Going in, it looked like there weren’t a lot of good matchups, so it wasn’t surprising that after Jacksonville upset Miami in the Sunday morning game in London, all seven favorites at 1 p.m. won.
And there was only one upset in the late afternoon and Sunday night game – Raiders over Broncos – although Dallas had to go to overtime to beat New England.
So Arizona remained the only unbeaten team at 6-0 by beating the Browns while five one loss teams – Baltimore, Dallas Green Bay, Rams (on Thursday night) and Tampa Bay all won. The only one loss team to lose during the day was the Chargers, who lost to Baltimore.
But the primetime action Sunday and Monday nights was captivating. Pittsburgh went to overtime to beat Seattle as Geno Smith was strip-sacked to set up a game-winning field goal. And in Tennessee, Buffalo spurned a field goal that would have sent the game into overtime and had Josh Allen try a quarterback sneak. He slipped and was stuffed as Tennessee got the win.
Buffalo’s loss means Baltimore is the only 5-1 team in the AFC. The Ravens, who lost their opener before winning five in a row, are followed by five 4-2 teams – Bills, Chargers, Bengals, Titans and Raiders.
The Chiefs, Browns Broncos and Steelers are all 3-3 so it is a wide-open race. In the NFC, while Arizona is unbeaten at 6-0, Tampa Bay, the Rams, the Packers and the Cowboys are 5-1.
In battle for top draft pick, Jacksonville’s victory in London means Detroit is the only winless team at 0-6 while five teams – Jacksonville, Houston, Giants, Miami and Jets all have one win.
—Buffalo’s decision to go for a first down on the quarterback sneak will be the most debated decision of the weekend. The decision made sense not to kick field goal and go to overtime, but they could have had a better play call than quarterback sneak.
—Dak Prescott suffered a calf injury but the Cowboys have a bye so they can hope Prescott recovers in two weeks. He seems to be at the top of his game and makes the Cowboys a Super Bowl contender.
—The Seahawks contacted Cam Newton but didn’t sign him, so they seem committed to sticking with Geno Smith until Russell Wilson comes back. He is playing for his future, trying to convince teams he can be a starter in the league.
—Head coach Kliff Kingsbury was sidelined by Covid but Vance Joseph took over the duties and the unbeaten Cardinals didn’t miss a beat in dominating the Browns. With the Texans coming up next, they are likely to go to 7-0.
—While Tom Brady is 5-1 in Tampa Bay, Bill Belichick is 2-4 in New England and is getting questioned for playing it too conservative at the end of regulation against Dallas as he let the clock run out instead of trying to get a game-winning field goal. The Patriots then lost in overtime.
—Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to the win over the Bears but what will be remembered is that he told the fans after scoring he owns them. He said he blacked out and didn’t know what he said after a fan gave him the double bird.