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The Sunday of Week 6 began with a rock fight in London between the Broncos and Jets. The standout games on this side of the pond featured the Panthers edging the Cowboys and the Seahawks topping the upstart Jaguars. In the mid-afternoon window, the 49ers play the Buccaneers in a battle of division leaders, and tonight, the Lions look to continue the Chiefs’ slide.
We’ve got you covered across the league. FOX Sports’ NFL experts provide the lessons we’re learning from every Sunday game and what they mean for each team going forward.
Broncos: Time to loosen the reins a bit on QB Bo Nix.
The Broncos should really be ashamed of themselves for keeping an absolutely horrible Jets team in the game Sunday and only escaping with a 13-11 win. They had a chance to blow New York out, but Sean Payton seemed to really rein in his offense. The Broncos couldn’t run much against the Jets’ defensive front (a season-low 78 yards), so why didn’t he lean more on QB Bo Nix? He did in the first half when Nix was 15-of-20 for 125 yards and a touchdown. But in the second half Nix was just 4-of-10 for 49 yards and didn’t complete his first second-half pass until the fourth quarter.
With the exception of a 326-yard outburst against Cincinnati two weeks ago, Nix has been little more than a game manager most of the season. But he showed last season that he’s capable of more than that. Payton wants to win with defense and a rushing attack, and that’s fine. But he should remember he can rely on Nix in the clutch, too.
Jets: It’s (long past) time to bench Justin Fields.
The way the Jets’ defense played in London, they almost certainly would’ve beaten the Broncos if they had gotten even slightly competent play from their offense. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that quarterback Justin Fields is capable of that. He was on Sunday, to put it in the nicest possible terms, absolutely atrocious. He dropped back to pass 26 times. He completed 9 passes and was sacked 9 times.
He’s supposed to be one of the most mobile QBs and best runners in the league, but he couldn’t get out of trouble and ran just seven times for 31 yards. His throws are inaccurate. He either won’t run or the Jets just aren’t calling for enough runs. The offense totaled a measly 82 yards. It’s not just that backup Tyrod Taylor couldn’t do worse, it’s that he can do much better. He has to start against the Panthers next week. — Ralph Vacchiano
Seahawks: Mike Macdonald’s dominance on the road.
Seattle improved to 10-1 on the road since Macdonald took over as the team’s head coach at the start of the 2024 season. It’s an impressive mark, pointing to Macdonald’s attention to detail and his ability to get his team prepared for any adversity it faces on the road.
Jaguars: Jacksonville’s offensive line can’t keep Trevor Lawrence upright.
Seattle sacked Lawrence seven times, as Jacksonville struggled to protect the Clemson product. According to Next Gen Stats, the Seahawks pressured Lawrence 25 times for a 50% pressure rate. Entering Sunday’s contest, Lawrence had been pressured a game-high 12 times and was sacked just six times through his team’s first five games.
Lawrence’s inability to get comfortable in the pocket led to Jacksonville scoring a season-low 12 points against a formidable Seattle defense. The Jaguars finished with 59 total rushing yards, averaging 3.1 yards per carry. If the Jaguars want to be considered a serious contender in the AFC, they must keep Lawrence clean and run the ball more consistently. – Eric D. Williams
Cowboys: That defense is not getting any better.
Dallas came in with the NFL’s worst defense in terms of yards, and the Cowboys let Carolina pile up 410 in Sunday’s win. This is how Dak Prescott throws for three touchdowns, the offense doesn’t commit a turnover and they still manage to lose. It would be a bad storyline no matter what, but when you trade away one of the best defensive players in the game a week before the season, it’s exactly what Jerry Jones had coming.
As far as Kenny Clark making Dallas better against the run? Carolina rushed for 216 yards — most from ex-Cowboys back Rico Dowdle — and averaged 5.7 yards per carry on a day when Dallas’ longest run play went for six yards. Prescott is having a great season, but it feels like Joe Burrow last year when his own defense will keep him getting the accolades — and wins — Dak would normally have with his numbers.
Panthers: Rico Dowdle does it again — this time in a revenge game.
The Panthers, once 0-2, have won three of four games. Second-year head coach Dave Canales has Carolina at 3-3, with backup running back Rico Dowdle as the surprise spark two weeks in a row. Facing the team that let him walk in free agency in March, Dowdle was even better than last week, rushing for 183 yards and getting another 56 receiving with a touchdown. It’s a revenge-game victory, but Dowdle now has 473 yards of total offense in two weeks.
Also emerging for the Panthers: rookie receiver Tet McMillan, who got his first two NFL touchdown catches. Bryce Young? His second three-touchdown game this season, after totaling two in his first two NFL seasons. If the defense can continue to shore things up, they could challenge for a wild card. — Greg Auman
Browns: Dillon Gabriel needs weapons — a lot of weapons.
If the Browns are going to commit to a young quarterback, they’d better find a way to surround him with better talent. Because in two games, Dillon Gabriel has shown signs that he can be a good quarterback. But he doesn’t have much help. He was the victim of at least six dropped passes against the Steelers, including two by his No. 1 receiver, Jerry Jeudy, and at least three from his tight ends, David Njoku and Harold Fannin. And those are supposed to be his reliable weapons. What else does he have? Running backs and a cast of receivers that might not be on the team next year? It’s part of why Gabriel is often forcing passes (he nearly had four picked off on Sunday).
The Browns are in a tough spot. They rightfully seem to be in sell mode with the trading deadline approaching, and Jeudy and Njoku are likely attractive candidates. But the Browns can’t strip all of Gabriel’s weapons away. And they’ll need to add more this offseason. Maybe a lot more. His development and future success almost certainly will depend on it.
Steelers: Old Aaron Rodgers still has what it takes to win.
A couple of things are really evident watching Aaron Rodgers at 41 years old. He can’t run like he used to. He’ll pull up or dump a pass off rather than scramble very far. And his arm isn’t what it used to be either, as he showed on a badly underthrown deep ball to a wide open DK Metcalf in the first half.
But Rodgers has so much else to offer as a quarterback, as he showed against the Browns. He makes smart, quick decisions and can fire off a pass before a receiver even knows he’s open. And his touch can be near-perfect, as he showed on a 25-yard touchdown pass he floated into the arms of Metcalf in the fourth quarter. The Steelers don’t need him to throw for 350 yards. He’s probably closer to a game manager at this stage. But he’s an expert manager who still has skills better than half the quarterbacks in the league. And the Steelers can win a lot of games with that. — Ralph Vacchiano
Patriots: Drake Maye turning into a QB who can win games.
New England has already matched its win total for all of 2024, going from 4-13 to 4-2 in Mike Vrabel’s first season there. Drake Maye has made nice progress as well: He had four multi-touchdown games in his entire rookie season, and he already has four in six games this season. Sunday’s was a three-touchdown gem — Maye also found a way to lead the team in rushing.
Six weeks in, the Patriots have a win over the Bills and are only one game back in the standings. If anything, the question is how they possibly lost their opener to the Raiders. Their next two games are against the Titans and Browns, so as long as they take care of business, they’ll keep the pressure on Buffalo and look like a strong wild-card team at the least.
Saints: Red-zone offense losing out on four points over and over.
This really isn’t a bad game for Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler — 20-for-26 for 227 yards — but he had zero touchdowns and Drake Maye had three, and that’s why the Saints lost. They managed to score on all four first-half possessions, but that was three field goals and a touchdown, so there was the constant feeling of points left on the field. New England’s defense held them to three points in the second half, so this is just another one that got away.
The Saints rank 29th in red-zone offense, and they’ll need to get better there to turn close losses into hard-fought wins. Punting the ball away with 3:55 left, down six, says that Kellen Moore doesn’t have much confidence in his offense either. — Greg Auman
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