And with that, we're 1/3 of the way through the 2023 NFL season. Boy, has it flown. There's still plenty left, but we can all collectively slam the brakes and enjoy what we've had so far. Week seven will be here before we know it.
Til then, here's out week six recap:
Chiefs 19- Broncos 8
-How much worse can it get in Denver? Seriously, I know they're financially strapped to Russell Wilson, but the man had 37 passing yards in the first half. He took almost as many sacks as he was averaging yards per attempt. It's pathetic, completely pathetic
-The craziest part is, Wilson actually looks noticeably better than in 2022. So Sean Payton isn't doing nothing, I guess, but he sure isn't doing a lot
-Javonte Williams looked explosive returning from injury, averaging 5.2 YPC. He and Jameel McLaughlin actually have the makings for a nice thunder-lightning combo
-Courtland Sutton made a ridiculous touchdown catch to help his QB's line not look quite as pitiful. Jerry Jeudy went 3/14, as reports stemmed that he's on the trading block. Hard to get a read on him given the situation, but I don't think he's really that good
-Kansas City wins, but it's rarely inspiring. Outside of Mahomes, Kelce and Chris Jones, they're really not that talented of a roster
-No shade of Isiah Pacheco, of course, who stayed rumbling, turning 22 touches into 98 yards
-Second rounder Rashee Rice has actually emerged into a viable weapon for #15, catching four passes for 72 yards Thursday. His 21/245/2 line on the year has him statistically ahead of every other receiver on the team
Ravens 24- Titans 16
-Throw the final score out, this game wasn't nearly as close as it appears. The Ravens had their usual blips, but dominated for majority of this London showdown
-The defense limiting any chunk plays was a huge part of that, giving up 17 first downs but just 233 total yards of offense-- 48 of which came on a screen catch and run in the final minute by Ty'Jae Spears
-Lamar was pretty dialed in once again, in the run and pass game. His interception, on a pass to Rashod Bateman, seemed weird. Still not sure who to pin that on-- a miscommunication or a bad throw
-There were a couple of sets where Nelson Agholor was the only receiver on the field, showing how far he's immersed into this system in such a little time. He was a shoe string away from a 60 yard touchdown
-It was fun Ryan Tannehill, but the ride's over. Dude is awful
-Malik Willis definitely holds onto the ball too long, but he wasn't visibly worse than Tannehill. With the draft capital they've invested in him and Will Levis, I do not understand why Vrabel has stuck with their shitty veteran
-Derrick Henry's 12 totes for 97 yards is pretty eye popping. Read between the lines though, and you'll see he had 63 and 15 yarders in there. Meaning a paltry 1.9 YPC outside of his two pops
Commanders 24- Falcons 16
-Desmond Ridder felt that gunslinger running through his blood after last week! He was completely incapable of repeating such a performance, throwing three horrendous interceptions that buried Atlanta. This game is on him and his seat should be overheating soon
-The ground game was virtually useless, with Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier each taking 13 carries for a cumulative 88 yards
-Drake London's 9/125 day could've been so much nicer with competent quarterback play. Kyle Pitts caught a touchdown too, his first in 11.5 months!
-151 yards isn't going to jump off the screen, but three turnoverless touchdowns by Sam Howell against a quality defense on the road is something worth crediting. Nice win for the second year guy
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| Photo: Brett Davis/ USA Today |
-Brian Robinson just finds ways to contribute to this offense. He was inefficient rushing the ball, but rumbled 24 yards for a catch and score that put the Commanders out of reach
-Terry McLaurin's a very reliable receiver, perfect tool to have for a young QB. Curtis Samuel's 4/42/1 stat line ain't too shabby either, as the speedster stayed involved
-Jahan Dotson's drop on that deep cross...c'mon man! Leaving a 40 yard gain on the field, if not six. Really tough for a guy struggling this year
Vikings 19- Bears 13
-Really high hopes for this game and it sucked
-It sucked before Justin Fields got hurt. He was 6/10 for 58 yards and a pick, taking four sacks in the process. Back to Earth, against a defense he should've boomed against
-It sucked after Justin Fields got hurt, with Tyson Bagent lobbing the ball around. He definitely looked like a backup, turning the ball over twice
-D'Onta Foreman was commendable in a sad offense effort, modestly
-Kirk Cousins with Justin Jefferson's been pretty average. Without...not pretty. He lost a fumble, but did just enough to beat a bad Bears team, with their backup QB
-Five of Minnesota's six pass catchers caught at least three balls, with TJ Hockenson leading the way with six. Generous ball distribution by the Captain
Bengals 17- Seahawks 13
-Hard to be excited about either quarterback from this game. Joe Burrow regressed from his season-best performance a week ago, only managing 185 yards in front of his home crowd. Geno Smith was worse, throwing two interceptions and taking a game ending sack in his own red zone. Anytime the ball got close to the end zone, he folded
-Kenneth Walker was explosive again, but got phased out a bit with Seattle trailing for 47 minutes
-DK Metcalf left briefly with a hip injury before returning to finish the game. Tyler Lockett paced the way throughout, catching six balls for 94 yards. Many (like me) sleep on him every year, but the man produces consistently
-Ja'Marr Chase led Cincy in receiving yards with 80, but Tyler Boyd tallied the most receptions on the team, while finding the endzone. Rookie Andrei Iosivas out of Princeton caught Burrow's other touchdown pass, the first of his career
Browns 19- 49ers 17
-Who saw this coming? Outside of your true Jim Schwartz diehards, this was a monumental upset-- and season saving win for Cleveland
-PJ Walker was pretty bad, but how could he not have been against this ferocious San Francisco D? He took some chances though and made some big plays to Amari Cooper down the field that sparked the offense enough to keep up. Nice notch added to the former XFL player's belt this weekend
-Jerome Ford's actually pretty good. Rocking with a tandem of him and Kareem Hunt isn't the worst spot to find yourself in after losing an all-world running back like Nick Chubb. If only their overpaid, handsy quarterback could get on the field
-Ugly, ugly showing for Brock Purdy. 125 yards on less than 50% completion percentage is never going to win you games. Credit the defense for having them in a spot to win late twice
-Christian McCaffery, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams all exited with injuries. Not making excuses for Purdy, but those are pretty massive, gameplan-impacting losses there
-76 yards on the afternoon for Brandon Aiyuk. He hasn't recorded less than 43 in any of his five games, with two going for over 125. Even with Deebo out there, he's the Niners' WR1
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| Photo: Sue Ogrocki/ AP |
-You've got to feel for third round rookie Jake Moody, missing two kicks (including the game winning attempt from 41) to essentially cost San Francisco the game. The team won't pin this on him, but that's a sword he needs to fall on this week, at least partially
Dolphins 42- Panthers 21
-For a minute there-- or nineteen but it probably felt fast-- Carolina fans had a glimmer of hope. They led the high octane Dolphins 14-0, Chuba Hubbard was running the ball. Adam Thielen and Bryce Young were connecting at will on the perimeter
-Then Miami scored 35 unanswered, with the Panthers offense never again putting up points. Jaylen Waddle caught a short one, Tyreek Hill caught a long one, Raheem Mostert punched two in and Salvon Ahmed vultured a late score. Once the engine started rolling, it didn't stop
-Mike White came in to relieve Tua and threw a terrible pick six to Troy Hill late in the fourth quarter. Given the situation, pretty inexcusable throw
Jaguars 37- Colts 20
-Gardner Minshew, we had such higher hopes. Three picks and a lost fumble erased any chance of Indy being competitive, dimming their future outlook significantly in Anthony Richardson's absence-- which is now looking potentially extensive
-Zack Moss and Jonathan Taylor were useless on the ground, with the latter at least adding a forty yard catch and run
-Michael Pittman Jr. was probably the one person happy with Minshew, catching nine passes for 109 yards
-Trevor Lawrence didn't shine, but he certainly did more than enough to capitalize on the Colts' constant mistakes
-Travis Etienne had a workmanlike 55 yards rushing, finding the end zone two more times. He also added 28 receiving yards
-Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk and Evan Engram are a trio you can't really sleep on. Lawrence needs to be more consistent to have this team achieve it's full potential
Texans 20- Saints 13
-Statement performance for the CJ Stroud and Demeco Ryans era. As home dogs, they pretty thoroughly handled the visiting Saints
-Stroud did throw his first career interception, but was able to move the offense enough to set up two passing scores. Gutsy win for the rookie
-Nico Collins remains Houston's top wideout, with Dalton Schultz beginning to settle in as the secondary target. The two each caught four balls for 80 and 61 yards, respectively
-Devin Singletary looks better then Dameon Pierce at this point in the season, which is a disappointing development for fantasy owners like myself
-It's crazy to me how some QBs like Derek Carr can throw for 353 yards, but only manage to stumble into the end zone once. His interception late to end it was atrocious too. Just a lame player
-Alvin Kamara was the clear workhorse, handling 19 of the team's 25 carries, plus seven receptions for 104 total yards
-Chris Olave added 96 receiving yards to Carr's totals, leading the team in yards. Rashid Shaheed loves making big plays and lookout, Taysom Hill's starting to get involved. Surprisingly productive day catching 7 for 49
Raiders 21- Patriots 17
-What a gut wrenching way this would be to miss on a spread, with Mac Jones falling victim to a game ending safety while trailing 19-17. The line was Vegas -3.5
-Jones did play better than he had at least? Admittedly a low bar. Outside of a missed throw to Hunter Henry, which resulted in a laughable interception, he wasn't worthy of benching this week. We'll see how long that trend lasts, with Malik Cunningham now being elevated to the backup role
-Rhamondre and Zeke each found the end zone while consistently finding bits of wiggle room each tote
-Kendrick Bourne snagged 10 of 11 targets for 89 scoreless yards. It's a modest title, but he's probably the WR1 in New England's room
-The whispers are getting loud Bill
-Jimmy Garoppolo hurt his back midgame, opening the door for Brian Hoyer to get a little game action against his multiple time former team/coach. He was clean with the ball, doing enough to wait out a Mac Jones mishap. I believe they went with the vet to navigate the relief effort and expect we'll see Aiden O'Connell next Sunday, with a whole week to prepare
-Big day for rookie tight end Michael Mayer, showing good rapport with Garoppolo and Hoyer en route to a 5/75 line
-Davante Adams disappeared however, only catching 2 passes for 29. Is he checking out in Las Vegas?
Rams 26- Cardinals 9
-Matthew Stafford was alright, but Kyren Williams was the star of the show Sunday afternoon. The recently anointed RB1 carried the rock 20 times for 158 yards and a score. He runs so angrily and will be sorely missed next week, as he's expected to sit out with an ankle injury from this game
-I hate statements like this, but it feels appropriate, so here we go: Cooper Kupp is him. 7/148/1 in his second game back from what appeared to be a pretty banged up hammy. Hat's off to the kid
-The rest of the pass catchers combined for just 8 catches and 78 yards. Kupp cooked
-Josh Dobbs threw a pick and lost a fumble, generally looking flustered as he was pressured regularly on drop backs. Tough defensive matchup, but the league's quickly catching on to what the perennial backup does well. And how to negate it
-Emari Demercado was the waiver wire darling last Tuesday, but Keontay Ingram and Damien Williams stole the show in the backfield for Arizona, handling 18 of the 20 carries. They ran well as a unit, but had to get away from it in the second half as they were hopelessly playing catchup
-Second year tight end Trey McBride made a few nice plays, ending the day with 4 catches and 62 yards
Jets 20- Eagles 14
-While it's too early to call this a season saving win for New York, it certainly isn't one they expected to get with Zach Wilson under center
-The defense, while missing it's top two corners in Sauce Gardner/DJ Reed, still balled out. Jalen Hurts was picked three times, including a disgraceful throw with less then two minutes on the clock by Tony Adams. He ran that one back to the Philadelphia 8, where Breece Hall scored a play later
-No shade to Devonta Smith or Dallas Goedert, but AJ Brown is in a class of his own with these Philly pass catchers. 131 more yards to his impressive year
-Garrett Wilson is a really special wideout in his own right, catching eight passes for 90 yards. Zach Wilson seems like he's trusting his top receiver to just go up get the ball more, for better or worse. Luckily for him, Garrett's the kind of guy who can do that
-Haason Reddick sacked the Jets quarterback 2.5 times, including a crushing blow late in the second half. He's been one of the better free agent signings across the league over the last few years
Lions 20- Buccaneers 6
-I'm not even here to shit on Tampa Bay. No, they didn't play well, but it feels safe to say at this point that Detroit may be an elite team in the NFL. Stop me if you've ever heard that before
-I notice you didn't stop me, probably because there haven't been many seasons in my lifetime that I'd consider the Lions truly good, let alone elite. But they're the third ranked offensive unit and #7 defensively, so the proof's there
-Jared Goff showed last Sunday that he could ball without Amon Ra St. Brown, but he clearly prefers his top receiver in the mix. 12 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown on the evening for the kid
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| Photo: Jason Behnken/ AP |
-David Montgomery left halfway through this one with a rib injury, which'll likely shelf another Detroit running back for the foreseeable future. If Jahmyr Gibbs doesn't return this week, expect a lot of Craig Reynolds vs. Baltimore
Bills 14- Giants 9
-There's the ugly side of the Bills we've come to expect every now and again. They trailed for majority of this game, with all 14 of their points coming in the final quarter
-Josh Allen wasn't particularly imposing, only racking up 169 passing yards. As with many other performances this season, it was Stefon Diggs or bust
-Despite the fact everyone in New York knew he wanted to get Diggs the ball, his top receiver still managed to catch ten passes for 100 yards
-14 carries for 71 on the ground for James Cook; another nice day for Buffalo's lead dog
-Is Tyrod Taylor better than Daniel Jones? I typed that question sarcastically, but I'm not totally confident it's a false statement
-This Giants' offense clearly is better when Saquon Barkley is on the field. The Penn State product tallied 93 yards on 24 carries
-Wan'Dale Robinson continues to come on strong, catching a season high eight passes Sunday night. He's quietly been a PPR producer, despite some pretty sad quarterback play
Cowboys 20- Chargers 17
-At home, coming off a bye, it didn't seem like there was any reason the Chargers should've dropped this one. But hey, it's the Chargers we're talking about, so here we are
-Keenan Allen is fantastic, but it feels like the offense is limited without Mike Williams to take the top off. Frustrating inconsistency at a minimum
-Obviously a small sample size, but definitely was months ahead of the Quentin Johnston bust train. The man was spoon fed a role, allegedly tailor made for his skillset coming out of college, and has completely flopped in his opportunity to seize it. Still plenty of time to prove me wrong
-Dak was really solid, finding CeeDee Lamb regularly as he paced the Cowboys down the field. His 4th and 1 RPO touchdown run was pretty sick
-Tony Pollard only averaged two yards a rush, but he did add 80 in the receiving department
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@Choppinglines
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