Week 6 NFL Talking Points

By Joshua Hatt

Brady beats Rodgers in Tampa

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers handed the Green Bay Packers their first loss of the season on Sunday, forcing Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers into his first two interceptions of the year, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Tampa Tight End Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement to play with his old New England teammate Tom Brady, and it was just like old times as the pair hooked up for their first touchdown connection in Tampa. This was a statement win for the Bucs, as they shut down a Packers offense that had been excellent through the first 5 weeks but were limited to just 10 points on Sunday.

Cards crush Cowboys in dominant display

The Arizona Cardinals put on a show in Dallas on Monday night, forcing two fumbles from Ezekiel Elliot and two interceptions from Andy Dalton as they thrashed the Cowboys 38-10. The Cardinals offence capitalised on the turnovers forced by their defence, scoring 3 touchdowns and a field goal following the turnover of possession. Dallas meanwhile couldn’t get anything going with new starting quarterback Andy Dalton, and their defence couldn’t stop Arizona from scoring, with Kenyan Drake scoring a 69-yard run to rub salt into Dallas wounds at the end. Amazingly the Cowboys are still in first place in a woeful NFC East, but on the basis of this performance they won’t get far in the playoffs if they do make it. Arizona meanwhile sits at 4-2 and in a tie for second place in a very competitive NFC West, and this win will give them confidence that they can make the playoffs this season.

Derrick Henry leads the Titans to a thrilling win

Derrick Henry is one of the most entertaining players in the league, and he showed why on Sunday as he helped the Titans come from behind to beat the Houston Texans in overtime. Henry has a rare combination of power and speed that makes him nigh on impossible to stop at times. And he ripped off a 94 yard touchdown, before clinching the win in overtime with another long run and a touchdown from a direct snap. The Titans are undefeated and will look to go one step further than last year, when they lost in the AFC Championship game. And with Henry running the ball, they have every chance of making the Superbowl.

Other talking points from around the league:

The Pittsburgh Steelers comfortably beat their division rival the Cleveland Browns on Sunday to remain undefeated, but they did suffer a blow as they lost star Line-backer Devin Bush for the season with a torn ACL.

Two teams got their first win of the year, as the Atlanta Falcons won in Minnesota under new interim coach Raheem Morris, and the New York Giants beat Washington 20-19 to give coach Matt Judge his first career win.

That leaves just one time without a win this year, the New York Jets. The Jets were embarrassed again as they lost 24-0 in Miami. Only two teams have failed to win a game in a season, the 2008 Detroit Lions and the 2016 Cleveland Browns. They way the Jets are playing and with a tough schedule coming up, they could find themselves joining that winless club.

The Kansas City Chiefs rebounded from a loss last weekend as they beat the Buffalo Bills 26-17. Rookie Running Back Clyde Edwards-Helaire continued his impressive rookie campaign by running for over 100 yards for the second time. The Chiefs sit in first place in the AFC West at 5-1, and despite the loss Buffalo is still the team to beat in the AFC East, but they have lost 2 straight games.

Baltimore survived a late scare to beat the Eagles 30-28 in Philadelphia. The Eagles were down 17-0 at one stage but scored three touchdowns in the 4th quarter to make things interesting. However, they were unable to convert a crucial two-point conversion attempt, and slipped to 1-4-1 on the year. Baltimore meanwhile is 5-1 and will compete with bitter rivals Pittsburgh for the AFC North.

The Chicago Bears are also 5-1 as they won in Carolina on Sunday. It hasn’t been pretty at times, but the Bears are right in the thick of things in the NFC North after Green Bay lost to Tampa.

The Indianapolis Colts came from 21-0 down to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 31-27. This has been a season of comebacks in the NFL, with one team coming back from a deficit of 16 points or more to win in every week thus far.