Best NFL Games This Week | Week 6
It’s truly been an NFL season to remember so far. With some absolute nail-biters in Week 5, including a huge 49ers win over the Cowboys, the intrigue of this season has blown up to incredible proportions. Some surprising teams have risen to the top of the league, while others have had massively disappointing seasons, but there is still time for all of that to change before the NFL playoffs come around.
With that said, let’s look at some of the best NFL games to watch in Week 6.
Broncos (1-4) @ Chiefs (4-1) - Thursday Oct 12, 8:15pm ET
From one team that has steadily gotten better as the season has progressed to another that has been unluckily fighting in every game this year.
The Kansas City Chiefs have been in stellar form since losing their opening game at home to the Detroit Lions, and their most recent 27-20 win against the Minnesota Vikings was far more comprehensive than the scoreline showed. Patrick Mahomes, the star quarterback of the league, has been excellent, throwing for 2 touchdowns against the Vikings and generally wreaking havoc amongst NFL defences.
The humorous distraction of pop star Taylor Swift’s relationship to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce doesn’t seem to be affecting the team, with Kelce himself getting a touchdown against the Vikings and the team playing better and better despite the increased media attention.
They come up against the Denver Broncos in Week 6, with the Broncos feeling desperately unlucky after some close defeats (aside from their 70-20 demolition at the hands of the Miami Dolphins). Their losses have been by 1, 2, and 10 points, and even that 10 point loss by the New York Jets last week was much closer than that scoreline showed as they led 13-8 at halftime.
Quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 31-21 Jets loss, and he has played admirably well in the face of some tough defenses. The Broncos defense has been the issue mostly, and the fact that Mahomes and the rest of the Kansas offense are next up is a huge worry for Denver.
However, with as many shocks this year as in any season in recent memory, nothing is certain in this Week 6 clash.
Seahawks (3-1) @ Bengals (2-3) - Sunday Oct 15, 1:00pm ET
Another huge divide between teams so far is this matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Seahawks host this game and have been one of this year’s surprise packages, with a 3-1 record so far and a win over one of the form teams in the league, the Detroit Lions. They blew away the New York Giants 24-3 in their previous match, with Kenneth Walker III running through the Giants at will, scoring 1 touchdown and constantly being a threat with his carries.
Quarterback Geno Smith was actually relatively quiet, only throwing for 110 yards and 1 touchdown, but the true heroes of the game were the Seahawks defense, holding Daniel Jones and co to just 3 points and intercepting him twice in the game. The Seahawks will need to be equally effective on defense against the Bengals, as they always pose a threat, even if they haven’t quite hit the heights of the past two seasons yet.
Why the Bengals haven’t played as well is a bit of a mystery. They have most of the same personnel as seasons past, and quarterback Joe Burrow doesn’t seem to have lost any of his outstanding talent. It just seems that they have a bit of a hangover this season, and while they did come back to beat the Arizona Cardinals 34-20 in Week 5, that was just a week after a demoralising 27-3 loss against the Tennessee Titans.
One thing the Bengals need to do is to protect Burrow a bit better. He has been intercepted on multiple occasions over the past few games, and that will always put the Bengals in danger if they keep turning the ball over in such needless ways.
This should be a tough one for both teams, with the Bengals eager to show that they still have the potential to match last season’s performance and the Seahawks filled with optimism after such a positive start.
Lions (4-1) @ Buccaneers (3-1) - Sunday Oct 15, 4:25pm ET
Finally, we round up our pick for games in Week 6 with a belter. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Detroit Lions in a game that sees two of the surprise form teams play each other at an early stage.
With both teams only losing once in the first few weeks and leading the NFL South and North respectively , this should be a real test of their staying power and of how much potential they really have.
First, the Tampa resurgence this season after the retirement of Tom Brady has been excellent and a positive surprise for sure. Their only loss has been against the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, who have been one of the best teams in the league for over a year. New quarterback Baker Mayfield has been excellent, throwing for 3 touchdowns in their most recent game, a 26-9 win over the New Orlean Saints.
The Bucs have got their defense right in most of their games this season as well, only conceding 20 or more points twice this year so far, and they will be hopeful of stopping a Detroit Lions side that has blown teams away this season.
But that might be difficult given Detroit’s form. They scored 42 points in their Week 5 42-24 win over the Carolina Panthers, 34 points agains the Green Bay Packers, and also 21 points in their opening day win against 2023 Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jared Goff has been one of the standout quarterbacks in the league so far, showing calm and poise in the pocket along with having one of the most improved arms in the NFL. Running back David Montgomery has also been a huge help, carrying 19 times in their win over the Panthers to take the load off Goff and give them another threat to deal with.
This game should be the classic attack vs. defense, and it really seems to hard to call. You just have to tune in and find out.
Author: Dan Anderson