NFL Week 6: Cards Remain Undefeated; Diggs Continues Magic

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Deandre Hopkins scores one of his two touchdowns versus the Browns

NFL Week 6 was yet another exciting installment of the 2021 Season. The overtime streak record was extended yet again as three games saw overtime in NFL Week 6. The Cardinals remain undefeated, as they, the Raiders, and Ravens all came up with huge statement victories. The Jaguars broke their 20-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Chiefs and Colts avenged tough Week 5 losses.

The first set of bye weeks are in the books. Trevon Diggs extends his interception streak to 6 games. While Rodgers continues his dominance versus the rival Bears. The Rams and the Giants claimed a small slice of history themselves, as they became the first-ever opponents to put up a 38-11 final score. Here’s how it all went down.

Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns

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Cardinals at Browns was originally going to be a great game between two of the NFL’s elite teams, but it quickly turned into a much less desirable matchup. Nick Chubb was ruled out of the game by Thursday, while Kareem Hunt was going to be a game-time decision. Cleveland would be forced to play without the strength of their team.

The Browns caught a break, however, when the Cardinals head coach, Kliff Kingsbury was diagnosed with COVID with not enough to be cleared before the game. Or so was the new narrative. The Cardinals had something else to say entirely.

On Arizona’s first two drives of the game, they took a page from the Cleveland playbook and consumed 10 minutes off of the clock. They finished off both of the drives with Kyler Murray touchdown passes to Christian Kirk and Deandre Hopkins respectively, to claim an early 14-0 lead.

Once the second quarter was in full swing, however, the Cleveland D began to clamp down. Unfortunately, their offense couldn’t avoid the turnover. Golden forced a fumble which was recovered by Teller, and Robert Alford intercepted a pass to end Cleveland’s next two drives, deep within their own territory. Despite their defense’s best efforts in limiting the Cards to negative yardage on their next two drives, they still both resulted in field goals and a 20-0 lead for the Cards.

The Browns bit back a little before the half, with a long scoring drive and an improbable Hail Mary completion that both resulted in Donovan Peoples-Jones touchdowns, but they never managed to pull within less than 2 scores.

Arizona would widen the gap in the 3rd after a JJ Watt forced fumble led to a second Hopkins touchdown. Their final knockout blow came on a drive in which they ate up half of the 4th quarter when Murray threw his 4th and final touchdown to AJ Green.

This scoring drive came right after a 6-minute drive from Cleveland stalled in the red zone. Adding insult to injury, or shall we say visa versa? Hunt exited the game on that drive with an injury. Watt and Alford were instrumental in making the clutch plays that ended that drive.

With the victory, the Arizona Cardinals remained undefeated and established themselves as the NFL’s top team. Their 6-0 start matches the Cardinal’s best start in their history, tying a mark set in 1974.

The Arizona Cardinals blew out the Cleveland Browns, 37-14

Dallas Cowboys at New England Patriots

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Going into this week, the Cowboys’ offense looked unstoppable and the Patriots looked like a weak team at best. No one expected this one to be a back-and-forth thriller right from the start, but that is exactly what we got.

In just the second series of the game, New England took over after Dallas gave them a short field from a turnover on downs. Some angry running from Damien Williams soon found the Pats, in the end, one, as they took their first lead of the game.

The Cowboys, not wanting to be outdone, answered back on the very next series. Dak Prescott drove them 75 yards over the next 3 and a half minutes, capping off the drive with a touchdown pass to Blake Jarwin.

Now knowing that the Cowboys came to play, Mac Jones struck quickly on a 4-play, 60-yard drive, finishing it off with a 20-yard strike to Hunter Henry. With that score, the Patriots made it clear that they came to win. They put an exclamation point on that score with a Kyle Dugger interception on the next series. To add insult to injury, this pick came at the end of a 13-play, 79-yard drive in which Dallas took over 7 minutes off of the clock.

These moments of triumph, however, were short-lived for the Pats as a Gregory forced fumble and a Golston fumble recovery gave the Boys the ball back with great field position. New England’s D was able to step it up and limit the damage to a field goal.

It looked like there would be more action before halftime when Dallas blocked a New England punt, but a quick Cowboy turnover led us painfully into three kneels to close out the clock. The Patriots had set the early tone, but a slew of points awaited us in the second half.

This barrage of scores did not take off quickly, however, as the first three series out of the gate led to three 3-and-outs. Then, came Dallas’ chance to break their offensive funk.

Dak drove his team 80 yards over 4 and a half minutes, satisfying the drive with a 1-yard score to CeeDee Lamb. In their next series, they continued this trend, traveling 66 yards over 3 minutes and 45 seconds. In the end, that drive only yielded them a field goal.

After that, New England found their footing yet again and reclaimed the lead. They did this by driving 70 yards over 13 plays, consuming nearly 7 minutes off of the clock. Rookie Rhamadore Stevenson capped off the drive with a 1-yard TD drive, the first touchdown of his career.

A missed field goal by Dallas gave the Pats a real chance to make a statement, but Trevon Diggs had a bigger one to make. On the second play of the drive, Diggs intercepted the ball and returned it for a touchdown. This Pick 6 was yet another one for the history books.

With that INT, Diggs now has an interception in 6 consecutive games, tying the longest streak in the Super Bowl era. His 7 in 6 games also ties the NFL mark, giving him a chance to claim these records for himself in Week 7. His 2 interceptions returned for a touchdown mark the first time any player has had 7 interceptions and 2 touchdowns over a 6 game streak. One can only guess how far Diggs will push these marks.

Despite the history, the last laugh did not belong to Diggs, however. Belichick took advantage of his aggressiveness just 1 play later, dialing up the bait that would cause him to bite. Once bitten, Mac Jones delivered a perfect strike to Kendrick Bourne for a 75-yard touchdown. From a game perspective, Diggs heroed to zeroed in one play.

As a result of Dallas missing their 2PC and New England scoring theirs, the Pats now had a 3 point lead, kicking off to the Cowboys. It was now the Boys’ time to go to work. Dak drove them down the field, consuming most of the time on the clock, and setting up Greg Zuerlein with a 49-yard, game-tying attempt. It’s good! Overtime.

The Patriots received the ball first, but could only manage to travel 21 yards before a punt gave the ball to the Cowboys. Seven plays later, a 35-yard strike from Dak to CeeDee gave Dallas the victory.

The Dallas Cowboys win a thriller over the New England Patriots, 35-29

Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers

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Both the Vikings and the Panthers knew the importance of this matchup in the grand, NFC playoff picture and both teams left it all out on the field for a chance at victory. Little did we know, the excitement would start on the first play from scrimmage.

On the game’s first play, strong coverage led to Sam Darnold trying to force a pass which was intercepted by Bashaud Breeland. The Vikings were immediately set up with amazing field position just seconds into the game. Fortunately for Carolina, Jeremy Chinn and the rest of their defense came up with a big stop, limiting the damage to a field goal.

Not too long afterward, Minnesota returned the favor by giving Carolina a short field of their own. This came courtesy of an AJ Bouye forced fumble and a Haason Reddick fumble recovery. The Panthers, however, were able to satisfy their short drive with a touchdown run from Chuba Hubbard.

After that, the Vikings put together their own streak of success to counter the Panthers. Over their next two drives, Minnesota consumed nearly 10 minutes and tacked on 9 points to give them a 12-7 lead.

Both defenses continued to prevail until halftime, with the lone exception being a 10-play, 4-minute and 23 seconds, field goal drive for the Panthers. The Vikings went into the half with a 2-point lead and would get the ball coming out of it.

Unfortunately, that was no true advantage as the two defenses forced the teams to swap punts. On Minnesota’s second series of the half, they were forced to punt yet again, but this one did not follow the narrative. A block by Luvu and a recovery by Robinson led to an immediate score and the Panthers reclaiming the lead.

This lead was short-lived, however, as the Vikings offense finally began to click. Five plays and 79 yards later, Dalvin Cook took it 16 yards into the endzone. A failed 2pc would leave the Vikes up by just a point.

On the very next series, the Panthers dug a deeper hole for themselves. On the first play, Xavier Woods forced a fumble that was recovered by Eric Kendricks to give Minnesota the ball in plus territory. Four plays later, Kirk Cousin connects with Adam Thielen to give the Vikings a 25-17.

The 4th quarter began and soon after the Vikings tacked on another field goal for the game’s first and only two-score lead.

Defenses prevailed the next two series, but the Carolina offense was finally able to come through when they were needed. They traveled 55 yards quickly to cut the Vikings’ lead to 8 with less than 5 minutes left in the game.

Minnesota was able to take 2 and a half minutes off of the clock on their next, drive, but unfortunately for them, they had to punt the ball away. With that said, they did pin Carolina on their own 4-yard line. The Panthers were set to return to work just before the 2-minute warning.

At this moment, Carolina played with more urgency than they had played with the whole game. Over the next minute and a half, Darnold would methodically drive his team down the field and into the Vikings’ end zone with a touchdown pass to Robby Anderson. The 2PC attempt to Tommy Tremble was successful and the score was tied.

The problem was that they left Cousins and company a whole 41 seconds to perform a miracle. And that he did. Sort of. Cousins, Justin Jefferson, and the rest of the Vikings’ offense got them to a 47-yard field goal attempt. Sadly, Greg Joseph did not have any late-game heroics this week. We were headed to overtime.

In the end, Joseph’s failure did not matter. The Vikings got the ball to lead off overtime and never looked back. Cousins moved them 75 yards across the field and finished off the Panthers with a 27-yard scoring strike to Tyler Conklin.

The Minnesota Vikings knock off the Carolina Panthers in OT, 34-28

NFL Week 6 SNF: Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers

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With Russell Wilson injured and Big Ben in serious decline, this match did not have the appeal that it would have had even as recently as last year. And even though the final score was close, being decided in overtime, the game itself was a disaster to watch at any given point in time.

The Steelers dominated the first half, working their way to a 14-0 halftime lead. This was accomplished with a strong defensive effort, led by TJ Watt, which held the Seattle offense to a measly 65 yards. The 14 points came on a rushing touchdown from Eric Ebron and a scoring strike from Big Ben to Najee Harris. The rookie Harris did enjoy another strong outing, compiling 127 yards to go along with this score.

The second half came, and now it was the Seahawks’ time to play football. Seattle took the opening drive of the second half and drove 72 yards over 5 minutes. They satisfied the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run from Alex Collins, who would rush for 101 on the night.

A field goal from Pittsburgh restored their two-score lead, but that turned out to be short-lived. On their very next series, Seattle would drive 60 yards and score on a 1-yard pass from Geno Smith to Will Dissly.

From this point onward, field goals and inept offensive play would prevail. Sometimes on the same exact series. On the game’s final drive, Seattle was driving when poor judgment by DK Metcalf allowed him to fumble the ball, almost costing them the game. Fortunately for him, his teammate was there to pounce it. Then, the Seahawks kicked a field goal to head to overtime.

In overtime, it only took 1 play for TJ Watt to claim victory for the Steelers. He came in on Geno and strip-sacked him to set Pittsburgh up with a great field position. Three plays later, they kicked the game-winning field goal.

The Pittsburgh Steelers win a messy affair over the Seattle Seahawks in OT, 23-20

NFL Week 6 MNF: Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans

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Other NFL Week 6 Action

Jacksonville Jaguars 23, Miami Dolphins 20

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The Jacksonville Jaguars snap a 20 game losing streak, knocking off the Miami Dolphins in the second London installment of the season. Rookie Trevor Lawrence was brilliant in his first win as an NFL quarterback, throwing for 319 yards and a score. His 9-yard strike to Laviska Shenault with 5 seconds left put the Jags into field goal range, for what would be a game-winning attempt as time expired.

Kansas City Chiefs 31, Washington Football Team 13

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Patrick Mahomes overcame a dreadful first half in which he turned the ball over 3 times to lead his team to victory while throwing for 397 yards and 2 touchdowns. Darrel Williams added 89 offensive yards and a pair of scores, filling in for the injured CEH.

Big Man, DT Tersahwn Wharton had an amazing interception to preserve the Kansas City victory.

Los Angeles Rams 38, New York Giants 11

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Cooper Kupp hauls in 9 passes for 130 yards and 2 scores from Matthew Stafford, who threw for 4 touchdowns on the game. The Rams put up 28 points in the 2nd quarter to put the Giants away by halftime. And apparently, this was the first game in the history of the NFL that ended with the final score of 38-11.

On the defensive side, LA came up with 4 sacks and 2 additional tackles for a loss. Taylor Rapp had 2 interceptions, accounting for half of their turnovers.

Indianapolis Colts 31, Houston Texans 3

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Jonathan Taylor for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 14 carries and added a reception for 13 yards. As a team, the Colts put up 175 yards on the ground. In his return from the IR, TY Hilton caught 4 passes for 80 yards.

Darius Leonard had a forced fumble and an interception to go along with a defended pass and 7 tackles. The Indy D got on track as a whole, coming up with 2 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, and 3 turnovers while surrendering just 3 points.

Cincinnati Bengals 34, Detroit Lions 11

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The Cincy D limited the Lions to just 228 yards of total offense, including just 95 yards before garbage time in the 4th quarter. Before their final two drives, the Bengals were shutting out the Lions, 27-0. Logan Wilson led all Bengal defenders with an interception, a defended pass, and 6 tackles, with 2 of them being for a loss.

Joe Mixon starred on the offense, compiling 153 total yards to go with a score. Joe Burrow threw for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Green Bay Packers 24, Chicago Bears 14

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Aaron Rodgers completed 17 of 23 passes for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran for 19 yards and a late score that put the Packers up by their final 2-score lead. While doing so, he declared war on the Chicago fans, repeated shouting, “I own you!”, in response to receiving the double bird from a woman in the stands behind the endzone. This moment was as classic as it was hilarious.

Kenny Clark led the defense, collecting 2 sacks and 2 additional tackles for loss. Darnell Savage added a controversial interception on what Justin Fields thought was a free play.

Baltimore Ravens 34, Los Angeles Chargers 6

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In what was advertised as a showdown between the AFC’s elite, only one team bothered to show up for the game. The Baltimore Ravens outgained the Chargers by 118 yards. They did this by dominating the run game on both sides of the field, rushing for 187 and limiting the Bolts to just 26. This led to Baltimore holding onto the ball for a staggering 38 minutes.

The rushing attack was a little bit from everyone as Freeman, Bell, and Murray all ended up with scores. Freeman and Lamar Jackson both ran for over 50 yards.

The Ravens’ D came up with 9 total plays for a loss, including 2 sacks. Deshon Elliot also added an interception.

Las Vegas Raider 34, Denver Broncos 24

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After parting ways with Gruden at the start of NFL Week 6, the Raiders proved just how much they didn’t need him. Derek Car came out ready to lead the offense into its new era, throwing for 341 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kenyon Drake caught one of those scores and ran for another collecting 73 total yards.

The Vegas D forced 4 turnovers, including the first interception of his career for rookie Trevon Moehrig. The defense also had a tackle for a loss and 5 sacks, including 3 from Maxx Crosby. With this victory, the Raiders returned to their winning ways from Week 3.

Additional Highlights

Top Touchdowns from NFL Week 6

Every NFL Week 6 Touchdown

Troy Polamalu Jersey Swap?

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