Is your NFL world turned upside down? Because Week 6 delivered some SHOCKING results that have fans and analysts alike scratching their heads! We're talking about potential MVP candidates emerging from unexpected places and perennial playoff contenders suddenly finding themselves in the basement. Buckle up, because this season is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable in recent memory.
Let's dive into the chaos that was NFL Week 6:
The Upside-Down World of the NFL
Six weeks into the season, and the NFL landscape looks… different. Baker Mayfield, yes, THAT Baker Mayfield, is playing like a legitimate MVP contender. The Indianapolis Colts are sitting pretty atop the AFC standings. And the Baltimore Ravens, a team consistently in the playoff hunt, are languishing near the bottom of the league with a dismal 1-5 record. And this is the part most people miss... Consider the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a seemingly ageless Aaron Rodgers under center, they're dominating the AFC North – a division they haven't conquered since 2020. Who saw that coming?
Early in the season, comebacks are the norm. There have been a staggering 27 game-winning scores in the final three minutes of regulation or overtime. This is the highest number ever recorded at this point in an NFL season. It seems like no lead is safe, and every game is going down to the wire.
Chargers Edge Out Dolphins Amidst Team Turmoil
The Los Angeles Chargers orchestrated one of those thrilling comebacks, defeating the Miami Dolphins and sending Mike McDaniel's squad spiraling to a 1-5 record. The loss prompted Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to make some startling revelations about the state of his team. We'll get to that shortly.
Jets Plummet to New Lows
Meanwhile, the New York Jets are desperate for a spark, but it seems nowhere in sight. Head Coach Aaron Glenn's tenure has started with six straight losses. The Jets endured one of the worst passing performances the NFL has witnessed in over two decades. Can they turn things around, or is this season already lost?
Buccaneers and Colts: The Unlikely Leaders
Mayfield's Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of two teams sitting at an impressive 5-1 through Sunday's games (with the Buffalo Bills playing the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night). The other? The Indianapolis Colts, who narrowly escaped with a 31-27 victory over the Arizona Cardinals after a truly bizarre day.
Colts backup quarterback Anthony Richardson suffered an unusual eye injury before the game due to an accident with a stretching band in the locker room. Then, starting cornerback Charvarius Ward collided with tight end Drew Ogletree during warmups, sidelining Ward with a concussion. Despite these setbacks, Indianapolis overcame a strong performance from Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett (filling in for an injured Kyler Murray) to claim the top spot in the AFC South. The Cardinals, once riding high at 2-0, have now stumbled to 2-4, suffering four losses by a combined nine points. Talk about a tough stretch!
Ravens' Nightmare Continues
In Baltimore, the quarterback was benched, boos echoed through the stadium, and a season that started with promise continues to unravel. The Los Angeles Rams left town with a 17-3 victory, leaving the Ravens with an almost unbelievable 1-5 record. Cooper Rush, subbing for the injured Lamar Jackson, was pulled in the fourth quarter, but the game was already out of reach. Coach John Harbaugh expects Jackson and linebacker Roquan Smith to return after the team's Week 7 bye. Can they salvage the season?
Cowboys' Defense a Growing Concern
In Carolina, one of the NFL's worst defenses was exposed once again. The Dallas Cowboys have a problem, and if they don't fix it soon, one of Dak Prescott's best seasons could be wasted. Dallas suffered a 30-27 loss to the Panthers, marking the fifth consecutive game in which they've allowed 375 yards or more. Prescott's MVP-caliber performance (261 passing yards and three touchdowns) will be for naught if his team can't rally from a 2-3-1 record.
"It's a long season," Prescott said. "I've been 3-5 before, and we made the playoffs. We've just gotta find a way to win these close games. And I have all the confidence that we will." The return of CeeDee Lamb should provide a boost. But at this point, the Dallas defense is the bigger concern. Is it time for a major shakeup on that side of the ball?
Smith-Njigba Shines for Seahawks
In Jacksonville, Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, one of the league's true breakout stars of 2025, had a standout performance in a 20-12 victory over the Jaguars. Smith-Njigba's eight-catch, 162-yard, one-touchdown game followed an eight-catch, 132-yard, one-touchdown performance in the previous week's loss to the Buccaneers. This third-year wideout is leading the league in receiving yards (696). The Seattle pass rush also deserves credit for Sunday's win, as they sacked Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence seven times.
Browns' Offensive Woes Deepen
To sum up the Browns' season, let's borrow the words of star pass rusher Myles Garrett: "To lose the same way every time, it's frustrating as hell." The Browns' offense has failed to score 20 points in a single game this season, and the team now sits at 1-5. In his second career start, QB Dillon Gabriel threw 52 times for only 221 yards and no touchdowns in a 23-9 loss to Rodgers and the Steelers. Is it time for a change at quarterback?
Flacco's Bengals Debut Ends in Defeat
Joe Flacco's new team didn't fare any better than his old one, as the Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 27-18. Flacco was solid in his Bengals debut, throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns, especially considering he learned the offense during a phone call with head coach Zac Taylor while driving from Cleveland to Cincinnati earlier in the week. The Bengals managed to defeat Jacksonville in the game where they lost Joe Burrow to a toe injury, but they've lost four straight since. Can Flacco be the answer to their offensive struggles?
Patriots Surge, Saints Stumble
Led by Drake Maye's 261 yards and three touchdowns, the New England Patriots defeated the New Orleans Saints 25-19 to improve to 4-2, matching their win total from each of the past two seasons. This marks three consecutive victories for Mike Vrabel's team, their best start since 2019. The Saints, on the other hand, are struggling at 1-5.
Raiders Snatch a Win
In Las Vegas, the Raiders secured their first victory since Week 1, defeating the Tennessee Titans 20-10. The Titans, who are battling the Browns for the title of worst offense in the league, failed to score any points until the third quarter and turned the ball over three times.
Key Takeaways from NFL Week 6:
Don't Count Out the Chiefs:
Five games into the season, concerns were swirling around the Kansas City Chiefs. The offense seemed less potent, the defense wasn't as sharp, and those close wins from the previous year were now turning into losses. Kansas City had an incredible 11-0 record in one-score games in 2024, which propelled them to a 15-2 regular season and their ninth consecutive AFC West title. However, heading into Sunday night's game against the Detroit Lions, the Chiefs were 2-3 on the year and 0-3 in one-score games, with those three losses coming by a combined 12 points. But here's where it gets controversial... Are the Chiefs still a team to be feared?
Perhaps the Chiefs aren't the juggernaut they once were, but they remain firmly in the AFC West race after a convincing 30-17 victory over the Lions. And with wide receiver Rashee Rice expected to return from suspension soon, this team – particularly its offense – has the potential to find its rhythm in the second half of the season.
Marquise Brown had his first multi-touchdown game in four years on Sunday night, grabbing a pair of second-half touchdowns as the Chiefs pulled away. Credit Steve Spagnuolo's defense as well. The Lions entered the game on a four-game win streak, averaging over 40 points per game, and were arguably the hottest team in the league. They left Arrowhead Sunday night humbled.
The Chiefs (3-3) now trail the Chargers and Broncos (both 4-2) by one game in the division. The Lions are 4-2.
Baker is Cooking:
He's played for four teams, traded by the Browns, released by the Panthers, and spent a month with the Rams. Now in his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield is not only playing the best football of his career, but he might be playing the best football of any quarterback in the league.
Mayfield capped off a 30-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers with a scramble that perfectly encapsulated his style of play. On a third-and-14 late in the third quarter, he escaped a would-be sack deep in the pocket, darted upfield, juked a linebacker, and dove for the first down, extending his arm just enough to reach the necessary yard line. It was gutsy, ridiculous, and, as CBS's Jim Nantz described it, "pure Baker Mayfield."
By the end of the game, Nantz's broadcast partner, Tony Romo, had a message for the fans at Raymond James Stadium: "If I was this crowd, I'd be chanting MVP right now." And this is the part most people miss... Is Baker ACTUALLY playing like an MVP?
Mayfield has been that good and that essential for a 5-1 Buccaneers team that sits atop the NFC South. He's thrown for 1,539 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just one interception despite a string of injuries on Tampa Bay's offense, including wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and running back Bucky Irving. Tampa Bay's 5-1 start ties the best in franchise history.
San Francisco, meanwhile, lost more than just the game on Sunday. Star linebacker Fred Warner fractured and dislocated his right ankle and is out for the season. Before the injury, Warner had missed only one game in his eight-year career.
Tua: 'It Starts with Leadership':
It's never a positive sign when a team holds a players-only meeting after a Week 1 blowout, as the Dolphins did in September. But it's even more concerning when the franchise quarterback reveals publicly that the team struggled to get all the players on the roster to even attend that meeting.
This is what Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had to say when asked about preventing a bad season from getting worse following his team's 29-27 loss to the Chargers, which dropped the Dolphins to 1-5:
"I think it starts with the leadership and helping articulate that for the guys, and then what we're expecting. We're expecting 'this.' Are we getting that? Are we not getting that? We have guys showing up to player-only meetings late, guys not showing up to player-only meetings. There's a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make this mandatory? Do we not have to make this mandatory? It's a lot of things of that nature that we've gotta get cleaned up, and it starts with the little things like that."
Players showing up late to players-only meetings? Players not even showing up at all? That sounds like a team fracturing from within, with accountability slipping. Typically, the blame starts at the top. But here's where it gets controversial... Is Tua throwing his teammates under the bus?
Tagovailoa's comments hint at very valid leadership concerns in Miami, beginning with 10th-year general manager Chris Grier and fourth-year coach Mike McDaniel, who haven't found any answers this season. Tagovailoa owns part of this, too, as the quarterback.
The Dolphins' lone victory came against the winless Jets, and Miami is now 1-15 in its last 16 games against teams with a winning record.
Outside of a Week 1 loss in Indianapolis, Miami isn't getting blown out every week. This team is still competitive, still playing for McDaniel. But the deeper the hole gets, the warmer McDaniel's seat becomes. Grier's likely feeling the heat, too.
"I'm not worried about the team staying together," McDaniel said Sunday. "I'm worried about us getting our football right."
So far, it doesn't sound like either is happening in South Beach.
Jets' Start Goes From Bad to Worse:
In a 13-11 loss to the Denver Broncos in London, the offensively inept Jets managed negative-10 passing yards, the lowest in franchise history and the lowest by any team in a game since 1998. This disastrous day was punctuated by a heated sideline exchange between first-year coach Aaron Glenn and star wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Glenn downplayed the incident after the loss, which was the sixth straight to open his Jets tenure.
"Our guys fought their asses off," he said. "Obviously, it wasn't good enough."
Glenn's quarterback, Justin Fields, was sacked nine times and completed just nine passes for 45 yards. The Jets managed three field goals and a safety. Asked by a reporter if Fields would remain his starter, Glenn dismissed any brewing controversy.
"Come on, man," Glenn said. "What kind of question is that?"
The Jets can find some solace in the fact that their next three games are against the Panthers, Bengals, and Browns, teams with a combined 6-12 record. The Broncos, meanwhile, are only the second defense since 1990 to accumulate 30 or more sacks in the first six weeks of a season.
What do you think about these Week 6 takeaways? Are the Chiefs back? Is Baker Mayfield a legitimate MVP candidate? And are the Dolphins in serious trouble? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
