I'm not going to talk about yesterday's London game here. You can find my own personal thoughts on Twitter.
Instead, let's get to the rest of the Week 6 slate and a collection of games that saw another four contests decided by a game-winning score in the final minute of regulation or in overtime. With the Monday Night Football game still to come, that takes the tally of such contests to 23 this season – the most through six weeks in NFL history.
This season has proven, more than ever, that we should expect the unexpected. There have been many occasions where teams looked dead and buried only to come back and other times where kickers who couldn't kick straight for the previous two hours and 59 minutes and have come through in the clutch.
In a season of big surprises, perhaps the biggest of all has been the Arizona Cardinals. I knew they had a good team coming into 2021 but it felt like they could end up right where they were last year – middle of the pack and just on the fringes of the playoff picture.
Let's be honest, very few of us would have had the Cardinals as the last remaining undefeated team in the NFL. But they deserve to be there, one hundred percent. This is no fluke. They dominated the Los Angeles Rams a couple of weeks ago and they took it to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday night, recording a comfortable 37-14 win that would have been even more lopsided but for a Baker Mayfield Hail Mary touchdown pass at the end of the first half. Those were the last points the Browns would score.
Kyler Murray is a special player at quarterback. That's not exactly breaking news. But what is most impressive is that he is doing what special quarterbacks do – he is bringing a lot of different players into the attack every weekend.
Now, it helps when you have good players around you. But I would argue that it is Murray who is making them better than they might actually be in another situation. Chase Edmonds, James Conner, DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, A.J. Green, Rondale Moore… that's quite the lineup. And three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz will be added to the mix soon following his trade from Philadelphia.
The Cardinals have topped 30 points in all but one of their six wins this season, so there is no doubt that they have the firepower to go to the very top in today's offense-heavy NFL. But the defense was also bruising on Sunday and J.J. Watt was quite right when the cameras caught him screaming: "They can't block me." Watt recorded five tackles, one sack, two quarterback hits, one forced fumble and one pass batted down.
Here is a sobering thought for the rest of the NFL. The Cardinals totally dismantled a good Cleveland team without head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson and Pro Bowl pass rusher Chandler Jones.
We keep waiting for the wheels to fall off because Arizona was not expected to do this and are not necessarily one of the NFL's fashionable teams. But the Cardinals are for real, they are genuine and they have shown they are good enough to be among those still standing at the end of the year.
Who's Hot…
The Baltimore Ravens… I was so looking forward to the Ravens' clash with the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday evening. I thought it had 'Game of the Year' or 'AFC Championship Game Rehearsal' vibes, but it turned into an absolute laugher. It was never a contest as Baltimore flexed their muscle on both sides of the ball in romping to a 34-6 victory. As I watched the game, I kept thinking that it was hard to single out one player – this was a total team effort. Baltimore didn't have a player gain more than 53 yards on the ground but they racked up 187 rushing yards and three touchdowns. They held the Chargers to 26 rushing yards, Justin Herbert to 195 passing yards and intercepted him once and sacked him twice. Winning is in Baltimore's DNA and they have now won five straight. Look out!
Antonio Brown… For a while last year, we would look at Antonio Brown and remark on how talented and deep the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were at wide receiver. We would suggest that if Brown was the third or fourth receiving option, it was a wonderful situation for Tom Brady. But what if Brown is now back to his best and able to, once again, be one of the best receivers in the league? There was a period during his Pittsburgh days when Brown was the best pound-for-pound player in football. And while he went off the rails for a while, he has a great confidante and guiding light in Brady and he is starting to look like one of the best in the game again. Over the past two weeks, Brown has caught 16 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns.
Kirk Cousins… There are days when he doesn't play at his best (the loss to Cleveland being the most prominent this season) but when Kirk Cousins is on, he's on. And he was on during Sunday's 34-28 overtime win over the Carolina Panthers. A game the Minnesota Vikings seemingly had in the bag before some late Sam Darnold heroics for Carolina sent the contest into an extra period. And that's where Cousins delivered the killer, game-winning strike to K.J. Osborn. That throw ended a day in which Cousins threw for 373 yards, three touchdowns, no picks and a rating of 112.6.
Who's Not…
Daniel Jones… It's a worrying time for the New York Giants quarterback because his offense has been ravaged by injuries and it comes during a period where he has to prove his long-term worth to the Big Blue. Jones has been plagued by turnovers during his NFL career to date yet Sunday's 38-11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams was the worst outing so far, at least statistically. Jones turned the ball over a career-high four times with three picks and one lost fumble. His lack of care with the football is not just a thing he is going through during this injury-hit period of the season. It has been a problem since day one.
Washington's defense… The fall from grace suffered by Ron Rivera's defense has been one of the stories of this young season. Washington were ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed in 2020 but are a shadow of their former selves. Despite forcing three turnovers and recording three sacks on Sunday, Washington gave up a season-high 499 yards and lost easily by a 31-13 scoreline. Washington have now given up at least 30 points in their last four games – the longest streak in franchise history.
Jared Goff… Talent around a quarterback is vital and there is not much of that with the Detroit Lions. That said, Goff looks a million miles away from what you would expect from a first overall pick an NFL Draft. Goff was a total non-factor in Sunday's 34-11 home loss to Detroit. For the second week in a row. In Week 5, he threw for 203 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a rating of 64.3. On Sunday, Goff threw for 202 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a rating of 67.8. He is the first quarterback since DeShone Kizer in 2017 to have two straight games under 225 passing yards, no touchdowns and at least one interception.
The Fast Five…
- Joe Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase is a weekly thing of beauty. The Bengals duo connected on a 53-yard rainbow during Sunday's win over the hapless Lions. Cincinnati are 4-2 and look like legitimate playoff contenders thanks to the efforts of Burrow and his new number one receiver.
- Kansas City turned on the afterburners to see off Washington on Sunday, but their 14 turnovers this season are the most in the NFL. That's going to prove very costly indeed come playoff time. This is still a playoff team, to me. But the carelessness with the ball being exhibited by Patrick Mahomes and his skill position counterparts is a real worry.
- Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys did what Super Bowl teams do on Sunday. They took New England's best punches and still survived to record a thrilling 35-29 overtime win on the road to move to 5-1. Dak was outstanding as he threw for 445 yards and three touchdowns, including a fitting game-winner to CeeDee Lamb, who went for 149 yards and two scores on nine grabs.
- I'm not counting the Indianapolis Colts out of the AFC South picture as they kicked off the soft part of their schedule with a 31-3 win over Houston to improve to 2-4. Jonathan Taylor is the star who should lead the way. The running back rushed for 145 yards and two scores on 14 carries in Week 6. It was also good to see T.Y. Hilton back at receiver and he led the Colts with four for 80 yards.
- The Las Vegas Raiders put a traumatic week behind them with Sunday's 34-24 win in Denver. It didn't look like Derek Carr missed disgraced and departed head coach Jon Gruden. Carr threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns. I need to see more of the Raiders, though. They feel like quite a shaky 4-2, to me.
Fact of the Week
With one game remaining in Week 6, the average margin of victory has been 14.7 points, even taking into account several close contests across the league. That was the highest margin of victory in a single week since Week 15 of 2019.
Finish That Sentence
Each week in this spot I ask readers - via Twitter - to randomly send me the start of a sentence and, as we so often did on our NFL UK Live stage show tours, I will finish the sentence with the first thought that comes into my head. Here we go…
From Pier (@Pier_C_1)… This season might be the beginning of the end for the Seahawks… because the injury suffered by Russell Wilson is only going to darken his mood. He will play the good soldier, for now, but if and when this team falls out of the playoff picture, I expect him to start making noises about an exit once again. Add in the fact that defense is Pete Carroll's speciality and it could also signal the end of his tenure as head coach. There could be major changes coming in Seattle this offseason.
From Ray Knight (@Rayk71) The most surprising team this season is…_ the Miami Dolphins. I would also say the Arizona Cardinals, but I have already spoken about them earlier in the column. Miami have been a huge disappointment in falling to 1-5. This is a club that won 10 games in 2020 and was supposed to kick on and into the playoffs with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa coming off a strong preseason. They have been one of the biggest failures of this current season.
From David Kent (@KentoCCFC) Aaron Rodgers is… the actual owner of the Chicago Bears, according to news that broke on Sunday evening. Quoting sources very close to himself, Rodgers revealed that he is the owner of Green Bay's fiercest division rivals. After scoring a touchdown at Soldier Field and being on the receiving end of some less-than-pleasant hand signals from a Bears fan, Rodgers yelled: "I still own you." If that sideline report is true, Rodgers is the best undercover agent in espionage history and explains why he tried to take the Green Bay Packers down from within during this past offseason. The man is an evil genius.
Final Thought…
With the London games now in the rearview mirror, my attentions are turning to the remainder of the 2021 season and I think this is going to be the most fascinating race for Super Bowl glory in living memory. Just look at all the teams in the NFL who have just one loss to their name (or none in the case of the Cardinals)… Arizona, Baltimore, Buffalo, Dallas, Green Bay, LA Rams and Tampa Bay. That's an amazing upper class of the league and doesn't even include very dangerous teams such as Kansas City and the LA Chargers who can take down anyone on any given day. The battle is going to be fun to watch but I have no idea who is going to play for all the marbles in LA in February.
