NFL 2023: Week 6 Review – The Bengals win, The Chargers lose and no more unbeaten Teams

Week 6 in the NFL. Coming into this week, we still have two unbeaten teams and we have one more London game to enjoy/tolerate. We’re at the part of the season where generally we know which teams are competitive, and which teams are struggling. Of course, with this being sports, anything could happen. 

Let’s have a look back at Week 6 in the NFL. 

The Jets Shoot down the Eagles

Coming into this season, everyone’s eyes were on the New York Jets. Why? In the off-season, the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers. But Rodgers lasted 4 plays in his debut before being injured and then ruled out for the season. They would struggle ever since, but last week defeated the Denver Broncos. Their opponents this week were the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles. The Jets have never won against the Eagles. Could we see history in the making? 

The Jets had the opening possession of the game, but like in typical Jets offense under Zack Wilson fashion, could not do anything with the ball and quickly punted away to the Eagles. Philadelphia would then have an incredibly long drive. From their 9-yard line, the Eagles’ offense led by quarterback Jalen Hurts very slowly moved the ball down the field. On their way, they converted 4 3rd down conversions and would reach the Jets 3-yard line. Then, on 4th down Hurts ran into the endzone.

However, he would fumble the ball just before the endzone, and the ball was recovered by the Eagles offense. According to the rules, no one other than the player who fumbled the ball can recover the ball, so the Eagles lost possession. Philadelphia would challenge this decision and upon review, the officials decided that Hurts did fumble and recover the ball before breaking the plane and scoring the 3-yard touchdown. In total, that drive would last a total of 19 plays. 

The long drives would continue with the Jets’ reply to the touchdown. Jets quarterback Zack Wilson and company slowly moved down to the edge of the Eagles’ red zone, before a false start penalty against New York forced them back to the Eagles’ 25-yard line. The drive would stall here, which forced Jets kicker Greg Zurlein to attempt a 43-yard field goal. Zurlein would be successful with this attempt. 

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Things would then get better for the Jets. On the Eagles’ next drive, they would cross into Jets territory and down to their 46-yard line. Hurts would then attempt a pass to Dallas Goedart. However, this pass would be intercepted by the Jets’ defense, who would return the ball to Philadelphia territory, giving the Jets a good field position to score from. Wilson couldn’t do anything with the drive and turned the ball over to the Eagles on downs at their 40-yard line. 

While New York couldn’t score from a fairly generous field position, the Eagles could. They would make it down to the Jets 3-yard line, aided by a 48-yard pass from Hurts to Antonio Brown. They then were moved back 6 yards from a poor play. This would not stop any momentum, however, as on the next play, Hurts would find D’Andre Swift for the 9-yard touchdown pass. In reply to this score, the Jets tried to reach the Eagles’ red zone but were not able to cross the 25-yard line. Zurlein would again kick a 42-yard field goal 

Philadelphia would make another mistake before halftime. After crossing into the Jets territory, Swift would fumble the ball and it would be scooped up by the Jets defense. Then, New York would drive down to the Eagles’ 17-yard line, before Zurlein successfully kicked a 35-yard field goal to end the half. This gave the Eagles a 14-9 lead. 

The second half would not open in the best way for either team. There would be three consecutive drives ending in punts. The Jets would however be the first to score in the half, in the same manner in which they scored all their points in the first half. The offense would stall at around the Eagles red zone, and then Greg Zurlein would be successful with a field goal attempt. This time, “Greg the Leg” kicked a 38-yard field goal. 

The Eagles would then make a massive mistake, and not for the first time in this match. Jalen Hurts and company had just crossed into Jets territory, and Hurts had intended to pass to DeVonta Smith. However, this pass would be intercepted by the Jets defense. Luckily for Philadelphia, New York could not do anything with the ball, so the Eagles very quickly regained possession.

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With the new possession, the Eagles would drive down to the Jets’ 20-yard line before stalling. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, who long-time readers know my opinion about but for those who don’t know, I do not like him, stepped up for a 37-yard field goal. He would miss. Things would get even worse for the Eagles on their next drive, as Hurts would be intercepted again by the Jets, who would return the ball down at their 8-yard line. This would give them an excellent opportunity to score a touchdown and take the lead late in the game. 

With 1:46 left on the clock, Jets running back Breece Hall would be handed the ball at the Eagles 8-yard line and would cross into the endzone with it, scoring an important touchdown. They then decided to go for a two-point conversion, which they were successful with. This gave them a 6-point lead, meaning that the Eagles would have to quickly score a touchdown and a PAT to give them the victory. What would they do?

The Eagles drive would not get anything. They attempted a deep pass for a fourth down in an attempt to score, but it was ruled incomplete. The Jets had done it. The New York Jets had defeated the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles 20-14.

This is their first-ever victory over the Eagles for the Jets, and they improved to a 3-3 record on the season. For Philadelphia, their undefeated start is over and they played poorly. Next week, the Jets are one of 6 teams on a bye, while the Eagles face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football. 

Brock Purdy: Unbeaten No More

The San Francisco 49ers are still unbeaten. Led by quarterback Brock Purdy, who has never lost a regular season game, the 49ers are hoping to go one step further than last season and reach the Super Bowl. Their opponents this week were the Cleveland Browns. So, would Mr Irevelant’s unbeaten streak continue? 

San Francisco would have the opening possession of the game and would waste no time in scoring from it. The 49ers would start from their 16-yard line, and would quickly reach the Browns’ 13-yard line, aided by a large penalty against the Cleveland defense. From there, 49ers Quarterback Brock Purdy would find reliable target Christian McCaffrey for the 13-yard touchdown to give them the early lead. 

Things would only get better for San Francisco on the first Browns drive of the game. Browns quarterback PJ Walker would move his offense into the 49ers territory. But then, his pass from the 49ers’ 43-yard line would be intercepted by the San Francisco defense, who would return the ball down at the Browns 26-yard line, setting up a good opportunity to score again. However, the 49ers would struggle and would move backward. This would set up a field goal attempt from former Michigan Wolverines Jake Moody from 54 yards out. He would miss. 

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The subsequent Browns drive started quickly and featured a quick score. From the San Francisco 32-yard line, Walker would find David Njoku for the touchdown pass. However, there was a holding penalty against Cleveland on this play, so the touchdown was removed. A few plays later Cleveland would fumble the ball. San Francisco did challenge the play as they fought the pass to the player who fumbled the ball was incomplete, but that was upheld. In any case, Cleveland would have a 4th down attempt and would decide to kick a 47-yard field goal. They would also miss. 

Jake Moody would soon have another chance to score a field goal when the San Francisco drive would stall at the Browns 9-yard line. This time, he would face a 25-yard attempt, which he would be successful with. In reply to this, the Browns would again quickly drive down the field. They would reach the San Francisco 16-yard line. From there, Kareem Hunt would run the ball in for the touchdown to keep the Browns in the game. 

Two punts would end the half, and as both teams returned to their respective locker rooms, the 49ers would have a 10-7 lead. 

Cleveland went into the second half 3 points down. After their opening drive, the deficit would become nonexistent. PJ Walker and company would drive down to the 49ers 24-yard line before stalling. Then, Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins would successfully attempt a 42-yard field goal. 

We would then see an unlikely mistake from someone who has shown to generally be unflappable. Brock Purdy would be intercepted by the Browns’ defense. The silver lining for San Francisco was that Cleveland could not do anything with this gain in possession. However, a few drives later they were able to find some points. The Browns drive would again stall at the San Francisco 27-yard line. Then, Hopkins would successfully kick a 46-yard field goal to take the lead for the first time. 

Then, there was another period of poor play from both offenses. However, in this period, star running back for the 49ers, Christian McCaffrey was injured and ruled out for the rest of the game. With no Deebo Samuel either, things would suddenly become a lot harder for Purdy and the 49ers. 

The next Browns drive however showed us that while the 49ers offense may struggle for the rest of the game, their defense shouldn’t. PJ Walker was again intercepted, deep in their own territory. This gave San Francisco a strong field position and a good opportunity to score. They would take this opportunity quickly. Running Back Jordan Mason would run the ball into the endzone for an 8-yard touchdown to return the lead to the 49ers. 

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Cleveland would then go on a long drive lasting 7 minutes and 14 plays. They would only move 43 yards, but that was enough to put them into field goal range. Hopkins would successfully kick the 50-yard field goal to put the Browns within 1 point of the 49ers. The next Browns drive would be a lot quicker but would end in the same result. PJ Walker and company would stall at the 11-yard line, with the Browns would make the field goal to put them into the lead with little time left. Could we see an upset?

All San Francisco needed to do was kick a field goal to win. Purdy and company drove the ball down to the Browns 23-yard line. This set up a 41-yard field goal attempt from Jake Moody. Moody had already missed for 50 yards early in the game, could he be the hero to keep the unbeaten record alive? Moody would step up, and the ball would sore to the right of the goalposts. This kick was missed. This meant that the Cleveland Browns had defeated the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers 19-17.

For Cleveland, this is the upset win they needed. I don’t think they played like winners, but at the end of the day, the score is the only thing that matters. They improved to 3-2 for the season. For San Francisco, their undefeated start to the season is over. For Brock Purdy, this is his first regular-season defeat after 10 consecutive victories. Next week, the Browns face the Indianapolis Colts, while the 49ers face the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. 

Cincinnati Celebrate

The Cincinnati Bengals have not had the best start to the season. This could be seen mostly to do with the injury that star quarterback Joe Burrow obtained during pre-season. However, it looks like they are improving from their poor start. Their opponents this week were the Seattle Seahawks, who after losing their opening game of the season to the Los Angeles Rams, have won their last 3 games, before going on a bye week last week. So, who would win this game?

The Seahawks had the opening possession of the game, and their offense wasted no time in putting points on the board. From the 25-yard line, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith led the offense down to the Bengals 3-yard line. Then, Smith attempted a touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett, but the pass was ruled incomplete. However, there was a defense pass interference penalty against the Bengals defense. This moved the Seahawks to the one-yard line. From there, Kenneth Walker would run the ball into the endzone for the opening touchdown. 

In reply to the Seahawks’ score, the Bengals tried to get one of their own. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow led the offense down to the Seahawks 46-yard line where his offense stalled. However, on a 4th down attempt with the Bengals needing 2 yards, there was a penalty against the Seahawks for a false start. This gave Cincinnati enough yards to gain another set of downs. This mistake would prove costly for Seattle, as the Bengals would continue their drive down the field, before reaching the Seahawks 8-yard line. From there, Burrow would throw the touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd to tie the scores up. 

The tie would not last long as the Bengals would again find the endzone. This time, Cincinnati’s drive would be much more simple, with Burrow easily moving the offense down to the Seahawks 3-yard line. There, he would find Andrei Iosivas for the touchdown pass to take the lead. While there was a penalty on this play, it was against the Seahawks, so it had no impact on the score. 

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Seattle would close the deficit before halftime. Their drive would start strong but would stall at the Bengals 37-yard line. From there, Seahawks kicker Jason  Myers would successfully kick a 55-yard field goal. Two drives that ended in punts would end the first half, with the Bengals leading 14-10. 

The second half would open poorly for both teams. On the first-half drive, the Bengals would advance to their 40-yard line. Then, Burrow would attempt a deep pass to JaMarr Chase. However, this pass would be intercepted by the Seahawks defense at their 31-yard line. In reply to this, Geno Smith and company would be able to drive the ball down to the Bengals 3-yard line. But then, a penalty would force them back 15 yards to the 18-yard line. There, Smith would attempt a touchdown pass, but this pass would be intercepted by the Bengals defense, stopping any chance of the Seahawks getting points. 

However, a drive later the Seahawks would be able to get some points. Their drive would stall at the Bengals ‘ 5-yard line, but they only reached this position due to an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Cincinnati defense. From the 5-yard line, Seattle was unable to score a touchdown and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal from Myers. 

The Seahawks would try again on their next drive to finally score a touchdown. In this part of the game, they were much more likely to score one compared to the Bengals, who were ending every drive in a punt. However, at their 36-yard line, Smith attempted a deep pass which was intercepted by Cincinnati, who would return the ball to the Seahawks 34-yard line. From here, the Bengals could not move the ball. Luckily their kicker is good from far distances. Bengals kicker Evan McPherson would attempt a 52-yard field goal which he would be successful with, widening their lead to 4 points. 

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Seattle would try on two separate occasions after this field goal to score a touchdown and win the game. Both of these drives would take Geno Smith and company into the Bengals’ red zone, at the 6-yard and 9-yard lines respectively. The Seahawks would attempt a 4th down conversion from here on these drives. They would fail on both attempts. This would end the game, and the Cincinnati Bengals would defeat the Seattle Seahawks 17-13.

That game was not the best of the weekend. A lot of the games this weekend were not the usual affairs that we have seen in the NFL so far this season. The victory puts the Bengals at 3-3 for the season, while the Seahawks fall to 3-2. Next week, the Seahawks face the Arizona Cardinals, while the Bengals are on a bye week. 

Will the Chargers ever Win?

Last week, the Dallas Cowboys suffered a humiliating defeat to the San Francisco 49ers. On the other hand, the Los Angeles Chargers were on a bye week, so they got to watch the Cowboys’ humiliation like the rest of us did. These two teams faced off on Monday night. How would Dallas respond? 

The Cowboys had the opening possession of the game, but failed to move their offense far and quickly punted the ball away to the Chargers. From this punt, Los Angeles would return it down at the Cowboys’ 42-yard yard, which gave them a good field position to attempt to score. Led by quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers offense quickly moved down to the Dallas 27-yard line. From there, Herbert found J Palmer, who would run the ball into the endzone for the opening touchdown of the game. However, the touchdown would be taken off the board as there was a penalty against the Chargers for an ineligible forward pass. This meant that instead of scoring of touchdown, the Chargers offense moved back 5 yards to the Cowboys’ 32-yard line. 

Los Angeles would then move down to the Cowboys’ one-yard line, mostly aided by a 28-yard pass from Herbert to Austin Ekeler. From the one-yard line, Herbert would find Keenan Allen for the actual opening touchdown of the game. 

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In reply to the Chargers touchdown, the Cowboys would also find the endzone from their next drive. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott would lead his offense down to the edge of the Chargers redzone, before stalling. Then, on a 4th down attempt from the 18-yard line Prescott would run with the ball into the endzone to tie the scores up. 

Then, the Festival of Kicking would return from its hiatus over the last couple of weeks to make an appearance in Arlington, Texas. The next 5 drives would end in a punt. 6 of the 8 drives overall would end with the team punting. There would be a brief pause from the punting when the Cowboys were able to reach the Chargers red zone. However, they were unable to convert their 4th down attempt. 

The half would also end with a kick, but this time it was for points. Dallas would again break into the Chargers red zone before their drive stalled. Then, as time ran out, Cowboys kicker Brandon  Aubrey would successfully attempt a 32-yard field goal. This would mean at halftime, the Cowboys would have a 10-7 lead. 

The second half would open with the Chargers actually showing some offensive power. Herbert and company would drive down to the Cowboys 16-yard line. After 3 downs, they would be one yard short to earn a new set of downs. The Chargers decided to go on 4th down. They were unsuccessful in this attempt, so the possession was turned over the Dallas, who did nothing with the ball. 

However, on their next drive, Los Angeles was able to turn it into some points. They made it down to the Cowboys’ 6-yard line before their drive stalled. Then, Cameron Dicker, the Chargers kicker (I will never tire of saying that) would step up and kick a 24-yard field goal to tie the game. 

This tie would not last long. Aided by a long 60-yard pass from Prescott to Tony Pollard, the Cowboys would again find their way into the Chargers red zone. They would make their way down to the 2-yard line before Prescott found Brandin Cooks for the touchdown to retake the lead. 

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However, this lead would not be in Dallas’ hands for long. The Chargers would soon be inside the Cowboys’ red zone and at the 5-yard line. It would take them 4 attempts, but they would find the endzone from it. In the end, Herbert would find Gerald  Everett for the one-yard touchdown to tie the game again. 

In reply to this, Prescott and company would again show their strength and drive down to the edge of the Chargers red zone, where their drive would stall. Then, Aubrey would kick what could be the winning 39-yard field goal. The Chargers had the ball back with enough time to drive down the field to score a field goal to take it to overtime. Could they do it?

From the Chargers 25-yard line, Justin Herbert’s pass was intercepted. Their drive was over, along with the game. The Dallas Cowboys had defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17.

This was one of the better games of the weekend. For Dallas, it is a needed win after last week’s disaster. This puts them 4-2 for the season. For the Chargers, it is another close loss and it puts them 2-3 for the season. Next week, the Cowboys are on a bye week, while the Chargers face the Kansas City Chiefs. 

What Happened in the other games?

The Kansas City Chiefs faced the Denver Broncos and the difference between these two sides could easily be seen. The Chiefs dominated the game, with Quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing for 300 yards and scoring a touchdown. In contrast, Russell Wilson, who is a Super Bowl winner, struggled throughout. In the end, the Chiefs were 19-8 winners.

Week 6 gave us our final London game of the. season, as the Baltimore Ravens faced off against the Tennessee Titans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The games in this year’s London series have not been the best. This game would follow that pattern. It was mostly field goals, apt for a game inside a soccer stadium, as the Ravens defeated the Titans 24-16

Coming into this game, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder had never lost a game at home. This week, the Falcons faced the Washington Commanders. Ridder would throw 3 interceptions, while the Commanders quarterback would throw 3 touchdowns in Washington’s 24-16 victory, handing Ridder his first loss at home. It is not only Brock Purdy who lost a streak this weekend. 

In a battle of 1-4 NFC North teams, the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears faced off. This game would be notable as Bears quarterback Justin Fields would be injured and ruled out for the rest of the game, leaving the Bears relying on their backup QB, Tyson Bagent. Bagent would score a touchdown, but it would not be enough, as the Vikings would defeat the Bears 19-13. There have also been questions about Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins’s future with the team, with some saying he could be traded.  At the moment these are rumours at best. 

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The high-scoring Miami Dolphins faced the winless Carolina Panthers. You can probably guess how this one went. The Panthers would surprise us all and take a 2 touchdown lead early in the game. But, this would not last and the Dolphins would soon cruise to victory. Tua Tagovailoa scored 3 touchdowns in the 42-21 victory to make the Carolina Panthers 0-6. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars faced divisional rivals the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. The Colts are without rookie quarterback Antony Richardson and may be without him for the season. Instead, they have Gardner Minshew. He couldn’t make a difference however, as the Jaguars would defeat the Colts 37-20, giving Jacksonville their 9th consecutive win at home. 

CJ Stroud’s strong rookie season continued as the Houston Texans faced the New Orleans Saints, who shut out the New England Patriots last week. While Stroud would be intercepted for the first time in his NFL career, the Saints could not replicate their performance from last week. Houston would win 20-13. 

Can someone explain to me how the New England Patriots have gotten this bad? After last week’s embarrassing, the Pats decided to play two quarterbacks who would rotate throughout the game against the Las Vegas Raiders Mac Jones would start, but there was no room for Bailey Zappe. Instead, we had Mailk Cummingham for the occasional play. The Raiders also had a quarterback change as Jimmy Garoppollo was injured and replaced by former Patriot Brian Hoyer. Did the Pats’ plan make a difference? No. Mac Jones would be sacked for a safety which sealed the 21-17 win for the Raiders. 

The emerging Los Angeles Rams faced divisional rivals the Arizona Cardinals. After a first half full of field goals, Cooper Kupp would score one touchdown in the Rams 26-9 victory. 

In a battle of division leaders, the Detroit Lions faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As it has been the case for most of this season and the second half of last season, the Lions were high-scoring. Lions quarterback Jared Goff would throw for over 350 yards and two touchdowns in what was a surprisingly low-scoring game for the Lions. Detroit would win 20-6. 

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The Sunday Night Football game this week featured many returns. The New York Giants faced the Buffalo Bills. This was Giants head coach Brian Daboll’s first game against the Bills since he left them to coach the Giants. Also returning to face a former team was Tyrod Taylor. The quarterback spent 2 years will the Bills before joining the Giants to back up Daniel Jones. But with Jones injured with a neck injury, which some are reporting as being much worse than what the Giants and Jones are telling us, Taylor was in. It was a poor game from both teams with a lot of poor officiating. The Giants had the lead for some time in the game, but the Bills came back and just held on for a 14-9 victory. 

That was week 6 in the NFL. Compared to previous weeks, the quality of the games was poor. Next week, we might be struggling again to get a good number of high-quality games as 6 teams are on a bye week.