NFL Week 6 Takeaways: Self-inflicted wounds cost Rams
Week 6 in the NFL is almost in the books and we have thoughts.
Let’s get into it with our Week 6 takeaways.
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Rams are in serious trouble
The Rams entered the season as one of the biggest Super Bowl favourites ever and it’s basically been a disaster ever since.
The latest setback came via an 18-16 Week 6 home loss against the Arizona Cardinals, which dropped L.A. to last place in the NFC West at 2-4.
It was a comedy of errors for the Rams on Sunday through unnecessary penalties, bad play-calling, special teams mistakes and crucial turnovers. They also lost new kicker Blake Grupe to injury after a hilariously bad tackle attempt. It’s worth taking a couple minutes to look up the video.
The good news for L.A. is the season is still young, so there’s time to turn things around. They’re only a game behind 3-3 Seattle for second in the division and I’ll believe the 5-0 49ers can stay healthy all year when I see it.
Bottom line for the Rams, they need to clean things up. Even the best teams lay a few duds, but L.A. can’t afford to continue shooting themselves in the foot.
Packers are headed in the right direction
Two weeks ago the Green Bay Packers’ offence led the way in a 31-7 win over Chicago and it was the defence that did the heavy lifting in Sunday’s 23-13 win over Dallas.
Holding Dallas’ high-flying offence to 13 points is impressive given the Cowboys entered the week averaging 27.6 points per game.
After a tough start to the year, the Packers are finally looking good on both sides of the ball. Jordan Love continues to sling it and defensive star Micah Parsons is expected back in the near future after tearing his ACL last season.
Things are looking up in Green Bay.
Buffalo still has work to do
MVP-favourite Josh Allen continues to dazzle and he is the main reason the Bills are 5-1 while averaging a league-high 32.8 points per game.
However, Allen’s brilliance is covering up some glaring defensive issues in Buffalo as the team is allowing 28.5 points per game, the fifth-highest mark in the NFL.
It seems to be the same story every year with the Bills. They rely too heavily on Allen and he can’t put the whole team on his back every game, especially in the playoffs.
If Buffalo doesn’t fix the defensive side of the ball, there’s only so far Allen can bring this team.
Williams sparks Bears offence
It didn’t take long for Caleb Williams to show why Chicago missed their star quarterback for three weeks. Williams completed 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown as the Bears cruised to a 31-23 win in Atlanta on Sunday.
The one stat that really stands out is Chicago finishing with more third-down conversions (nine) than incompletions (six).
With Williams back in the fold, the Bears are a legit threat in the NFC North.
Is it McCarthy-time in New York?
The Giants dropped a 34-27 decision in New Orleans in Week 6, but there was one obvious silver lining, the performance of J.J. McCarthy, who replaced Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter.
Coming off the bench with only 11:25 remaining in the game, McCarthy made the most of his time, throwing for a ridiculous 243 yards and one touchdown as New York scored 17 unanswered points.
McCarthy’s 243 passing yards in the fourth quarter were the most by any quarterback this season.
Head coach John Harbaugh wouldn’t commit to a Week 7 starter, but with Jaxson Dart out of the season, now is the time to see what the Giants have in McCarthy.
Give Travis Hunter his flowers
We’ll wrap up the Week 6 takeaways by giving Travis Hunter his flowers for the performance of the day on Sunday, albeit in a losing effort.
The two-way threat became just the fifth player in NFL history to have an interception and a touchdown in the same game and he is the first to accomplish the feat since 2002.
Hunter’s performance in Week 6 is exactly what Jacksonville envisioned when they drafted him second overall in 2025.