So about those Super Bowl favorites …
The reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles have now lost two straight and look totally discombobulated. The Buffalo Bills have also lost two straight and don’t appear to have the defense to get over the hump this year. And the Detroit Lions got humbled in Kansas City.
It was a wild Week 6 in the NFL altogether, sure to generate plenty of overreactions this week, but isn’t that the fun of it all?
Let’s dive more into those matters and other highlights and lowlights as we break down the NFL’s Week 6 winners and losers.
Week 6 Winners
New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen
Last year, Schoen was getting derided for letting star running back Saquon Barkley leave via free agency to Philadelphia, as he went on to rush for 2,005 yards and lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl title. He also got some ribbing for a “Hard Knocks” clip in which his son advised him to trade up in the draft last year for quarterback Jayden Daniels, who went on to win Rookie of the Year honors for the Washington Commanders instead.
But as it turns out, Schoen is doing just fine.
QB Jaxson Dart, who the Giants traded up to draft this year with the 25th overall pick, and fourth-round RB Cam Skattebo are already starters and fan favorites as rookies. Skattebo rushed for 98 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Giants’ 34-17 win over the Eagles, while Dart had a passing and rushing touchdown and a viral high-five with a ref that only further endeared him to the fanbase.
That’s after Schoen hit on star WR Malik Nabers (unfortunately now injured, but a big part of the team’s plans in the years to come) in the first round last year while starting the 2025 draft with edge rusher Abdul Carter, who hasn’t broken out just yet but was viewed as a can’t-miss prospect.
It’s suddenly fun to be a Giants fan again.
Carolina Panthers RB Rico Dowdle
The Dallas Cowboys let RB Rico Dowdle walk after a 1,000-yard rushing season last year. He landed with the Carolina Panthers as a backup to Chuba Hubbard, but an injury to Hubbard opened the door for Dowdle to rush for 206 yards against the Miami Dolphins and then deliver the encore against his former team.
Leading into the game, Dowdle warned the Cowboys to “buckle up” and he backed it up with 183 rushing yards plus 56 receiving yards and a touchdown. His 239 scrimmage yards broke the Panthers team record, and per ESPN, he became just the seventh player in NFL history to have consecutive games with at least 230 scrimmage yards.
Asked afterward if he had a message for his former team, Dowdle said, “They wasn’t buckled up.”
Perfect.
Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold
All Sam Darnold did last year was pass for 4,319 yards, 35 TDs and 12 INTs while leading the Minnesota Vikings to 14 wins and the playoffs.
And yet, the team decided it was better off turning things over to an unproven second-year QB and letting Darnold go elsewhere.
How is that working out?
Well, J.J. McCarthy was pretty bad in his first two career starts before an injury sidelined him, and the Vikings have looked significantly better with journeyman backup Carson Wentz. (Imagine how they’d look with Darnold — or just look at those numbers from last season again …)
Darnold, meanwhile, is quieting the doubters who thought his delayed breakout season was a fluke and that his rough final two games (including a quick playoff exit) outweighed the rest. He has the Seahawks off to a 4-2 start and passed for 295 yards and 2 TDs in a 20-12 road win at Jacksonville. Overall, Darnold ranks among the NFL leaders with 1,541 passing yards, 11 TDs and 3 INTs.
Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams had a rough rookie season as the No. 1 overall draft pick while the aforementioned Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick, won Rookie of the Year and got Washington to the playoffs.
So there had to be an extra measure of satisfaction for Williams as he led Chicago to a 25-24 win at Washington, as Daniels lost a fumble at the Bears’ 44 with a little more than 3 minutes left and Williams helped drive his team for the game-winning field goal.
Overall, Williams passed for 252 yards and a TD and rushed for another score while playing in front of extra friends and family back in the Washington, D.C., area where he grew up.
Bijan Robinson’s bank account
Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson is in the third season of his rookie contract and eligible for an extension after this year, and oh, it’s going to be a big one.
Robinson showed again Monday night that he’s one of the best players in the league, tying his career high with 170 rushing yards and a TD while adding 68 receiving yards.
The Chiefs reminding everyone they’re still the Chiefs
Many were ready to bury the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty (if that’s what we’re calling it) after an 0-2 start in which their once-vaunted offense struggled, QB Patrick Mahomes looked mortal and TE Travis Kelce looked old.
Well, Kansas City has won three out of four since then and could have won all four if not for a defensive letdown on a Jacksonville Jaguars touchdown in the final minute. The Chiefs bounced back from that with a resounding 30-17 win over the Lions, who had the most momentum of any team in the league.
Meanwhile, that offense is averaging more than 31 points the last three games, Mahomes looks like Mahomes and is now the betting favorite for the MVP, and Kelce is fourth among all tight ends with 321 receiving yards after a big game (team-high 6 catches for 78 yards).
Baker Mayfield’s MVP campaign
The Baker Mayfield story is one of the most compelling in the NFL as he continues to take his narrative arc from perceived first-round draft bust to potential league MVP.
Mayfield has the third-best MVP odds after Week 6 at +350, per Bet MGM, behind Mahomes (+200) and Josh Allen (+275).
He was great again in Tampa Bay’s 30-19 win over San Francisco, passing for 256 yards and 2 TDs as the Buccaneers improved to 5-1. He’s now up to 1,539 yards, 12 TDs and 1 INT and was serenaded with MVP chants from the home crowd Sunday.
The Drake Maye Era
It sure seems like the New England Patriots are one of the NFL’s most improved teams thanks in large part to the growth of second-year QB Drake Maye.
He passed for 261 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs in a 25-19 win at New Orleans and is up to 1,522 yards, 10 TDs and 2 INTs (with 2 rushing TDs).
Is it too soon to say Maye is a top 10 QB in the league? Maybe, but it’s trending that direction.
Week 6 Losers
Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo
How do you turn an offense led by Saquon Barkley, fresh off a historic 2,000-yard rushing season, and Jalen Hurts into the 25th-ranked rushing unit in the league? Well?
First-year Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has that question and plenty others to answer after a stunning couple weeks for the reigning Super Bowl champs, who seem to be in total disarray after losses to the Broncos and Giants.
Barkley has been held to 60 rushing yards or fewer in five of the six games so far and got just 18 carries combined over the two losses.
Make it make sense.
Former Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan
Tennessee fired head coach Brian Callahan just six games into his second season after a 1-5 start (and 3-14 finish last year).
Most coaches who land a potential franchise quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the middle of a massive rebuild get some time to develop the team around that player, but the Titans leadership had seen enough in less than one and a half seasons to decide that Callahan wasn’t the man for the job.
Buffalo Bills
Incredibly, the Bills are actually now the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl, per BetMGM, at +600.
Has anyone been watching this Buffalo defense?
Overall, the Bills rank in the middle of the pack in yards allowed per game, but that’s only because they’ve played the terrible Jets (who managed just 154 yards that game), the spiraling Dolphins (276) and the Spencer Rattler-led Saints (298).
But the two best teams the Bills have played exposed that defense, with a pre-injury-plagued Baltimore Ravens putting up 432 yards (238 rushing) in Week 1 and the Atlanta Falcons going for 443 yards (210) rushing on Monday night.
QB Josh Allen had a rare off game and the Buffalo offense struggled as well, but the Bills will be fine on that side of the ball. The defense, though, is a major concern.
The Mike McDaniel Era in Miami
Not only are the Miami Dolphins 1-5 with their only win coming over the winless Jets, but it doesn’t sound good behind the scenes either.
After Miami’s 29-27 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa told reporters that the team has had players skipping players-only meetings, which he feels contributes to the general issues and struggles.
“We have guys showing up to player-only meetings late, guys not showing up to player-only meetings. There’s a lot that goes into that,” he said.
Those comments drew a lot of backlash from former NFL players calling out the QB’s own lack of accountability. Coach Mike McDaniel called the comments “misguided” and said, “As the franchise quarterback, that’s not the forum to displace that.”
The Dolphins started 2-6 last year and finished strong to get to 8-9, but it’s fair to wonder if McDaniel will get that chance this year. Miami ranks 26th in total offense, 29th in total defense, already lost star WR Tyreke Hill to a season-ending injury and looks in need of a total reset at this point.
New York Jets QB Justin Fields
Every year now, another team talks itself into former first-round pick Justin Fields with the thinking that he just hasn’t been put in the right situation to bring out his full potential.
And every year, no matter the team he’s playing for, Fields looks like exactly the same player — whether it was three seasons in Chicago, last year in Pittsburgh or this season with the Jets.
Fields is averaging just 159.8 passing yards per game, and while he hasn’t thrown a pick this season he’s also tossed just 4 TDs. He has rushed for 235 yards and 3 scores, but he’s only topped 50 rushing yards in one game so it’s not like he’s making up for the passing game limitations.
In a 13-11 loss to Denver on Sunday, Fields completed just 9-of-17 passes for 45 yards, rushed for 31 and took 9 sacks.
The 2025 Jets are hopeless, and Fields is going to have a hard time finding another team that wants to go into a season with him as its starting QB.