NFL Week 6 is upon us and kicks off with another international contest, as the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans face off in London.
From there, another 14 games will unfold Sunday and Monday. The slate features a little bit of everything: Teams desperate for wins, like the Bears and Minnesota Vikings, who meet in Chicago hoping to improve on their 1-4 records. Or the Washington Commanders, who travel to Atlanta badly in need of a win to help cool the hot seat on which coach Ron Rivera finds himself after last week’s debacle.
There are reunions, like Josh McDaniels and the Raiders welcoming Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots to Las Vegas, and Kellen Moore and the Chargers gearing up for a shootout with the Dallas Cowboys in Los Angeles on Monday night. And there’s plenty more.
Here are five of the most intriguing storylines to follow. (Find the NFL Week 6 schedule here.)
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He and his San Francisco 49ers teammates shredded the vaunted Cowboys defense to improve to 5-0. But now the young Purdy (10-0 as a starter in the regular season) faces another formidable foe.
The Cleveland Browns boast the league’s top-ranked defense, which has held teams to 196.8 yards per game and is led by Myles Garrett, who has 5 1/2 sacks this season and since 2021 boasts an NFL-high 37 1/2 sacks. A big part of the 49ers’ success involves their reliance on the run game to ensure balance. San Francisco is averaging 156.4 rushing yards per game. Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL with 510 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. However, Cleveland owns one of the best run defenses and has held opponents to just 71.8 rushing yards per game.
That strong run game support has helped Purdy continue to ascend. He leads the league both in passer rating and quarterback EPA while averaging 254.2 yards a game to pair with his nine touchdowns and no interceptions. However, Cleveland owns the league’s top pass defense as well (125.0 yards per game) and has given up an average of only 15 points per game (also tops). Who wins in this classic unstoppable force-immovable object matchup? (49ers at Browns, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)
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The Dolphins and wide receiver Tyreek Hill figure to deliver another blistering performance against the winless Carolina Panthers. Hill is coming off an eight-catch, 181-yard showing, which was his third receiving game of more than 150 yards this season. No player has ever recorded four 150-yard-plus games in the first six games of the season, but Hill — with 11 in his career — could achieve the historic feat.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins, who average 513.6 yards and 36.2 points per game, need 432 yards to become only the second team in NFL history (joining the 2000 St. Louis Rams) to reach the 3,000-yard mark in just six games. Coach Mike McDaniel got snarky in downplaying the significance of such an achievement when asked about it earlier this week. However, given the rarity, and the dizzyingly impressive fashion with which his team is executing, the Dolphins are essentially must-see TV every time they step on the field. (Panthers at Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)
The No. 2 pick looks to continue his impressive start to his career as he and the 2-3 Houston Texans host the 3-2 New Orleans Saints. The Ohio State product has made a seamless transition to the NFL and ranks fourth in the league with 1,461 passing yards. Averaging 292.2 passing yards per game, Stroud has seven touchdown passes and no interceptions (Purdy is the only other full-time starter without a pick). The Saints pose a tough challenge, as they boast one of the top passing defenses in the league and have seven interceptions (tied for third-most). Stroud and the Texans have won two of their last three games. (Saints at Texans, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)
Winners of two of their last three games, the Cincinnati Bengals hope they have finally turned the corner after their slow start to the season.
Joe Burrow reports that his strained calf is nearing full strength, and as a result, he’s starting to look like his old self. Last week, he had a season-best performance with 317 passing yards and three touchdowns while completing 78.3 percent of his passes. It was Burrow’s first 300-yard day of the season and only his second with a touchdown pass.
The Bengals (2-3) still have a long way to go. But a win Sunday as they enter their bye would go a long way toward placing them back in the hunt for the AFC North, which features the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2), Baltimore Ravens (3-2) and Browns (2-3), in that order. But the Seattle Seahawks, who return from their bye and aim to build on their 3-1 start, are no slouches. They have won three straight, including two on the road, and boast a defense that ranks among the league leaders in sacks (16). (Seahawks at Bengals, 1 p.m. ET.)
5. Lions-Bucs: Potential playoff preview?
The 4-1 Detroit Lions put their three-game winning streak on the line when they travel to Tampa Bay to face the 3-1 Buccaneers, who have surprised some around the league with what looks like a quick rebound after retooling this offseason.
With both teams perched atop their division standings, Sunday’s game could be an early glimpse of a future playoff matchup. The Lions own one of the best offenses in the league, averaging 384.4 yards and 29.6 points per game, but also have a top-10 defense. That could give the Bucs (301.5 yards, 21.0 points) some problems.
This game is also a showdown between former No. 1 draft picks. Jared Goff (first in 2016) has successfully established himself with the Lions after he fell out of favor with the Los Angeles Rams. He has helped bring stability and improvement to Detroit, and that’s exactly what Baker Mayfield (first in 2018) hopes to do for Tampa Bay as he and the Buccaneers author new chapters. (Lions at Buccaneers, 4:25 p.m. ET.)
(Photos of Baker Mayfield, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff: Dustin Satloff, Harry How, Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
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