NFL Week 6 Preview

Week 5 turned out to be a pretty exciting week. 10 of 14 games were decided by one score, including the Packers vs Cowboys game, which was probably the greatest game of the year thus far. Outside of the scores, some of the headlines were Mitchell Trubisky's debut, OBJ's season-ending injury, and most recently, Adrian Peterson was traded to Arizona. This week on paper doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary, but often times those are the weeks that end up the most fun. I see 3 games that rise above the rest.

The Must See Games of the Week

#1: Rams vs Jaguars

At the beginnng of the year, who would have thought this game would be worth looking forward to? Many people had very low expectations for both of these teams, and they have both soared above them. The Rams rank 2nd in points per game, 1st in the NFC. Todd Gurley has continued to establish himself as one of the league's premier runners, and Jared Goff is finally showing why he was picked #1 overall in 2016. The success of this duel-threat offense is largely due to their new, young, offensive minded head coach, Sean McVay. The Rams defense is hit or miss. They are near the top of the NFL in takeaways and sacks, but they are still giving up a bunch of points. Despite the spotty defense, this team is a real threat.

Jacksonville's defense might be the best in the NFL. The Jags are 1st in sacks and takeways, and they are tied for 2nd in points allowed per game. The rest of the league should be terrified of this defense. Not only have they been so great, but they are incredibly young. A few of their biggest pieces were drafted in the last 3 years. The Jags also just drafted Leonard Fournette who happens to be the 2nd leading rusher in the NFL. The only real issue with this team is the passing game. If the Jags draft a franchise QB soon, this team could have dynasty potential.

As for right now, these teams are on a pretty level playing field. Both should be able to run all over each other, but passing could be a struggle for both sides. I think the Jags defense will be the dominant factor in this one. They might be able to stack the box and still maintain good coverage down the field with this secondary. Goff is a pretty good player, but I think he will be a little too overwhelmed to lead the team. Gurley's running should keep them within striking distance early, but if it doesn't, it could be ugly.

Outcome: Jaguars win 20-27

#2: Eagles vs Panthers

The Eagles seem to be becoming one of the better teams in football. Last year we saw Wentz play good football, but the team around him seemed to let him down. This year Philadelphia has clearly given him some support. Not only has he himself improved, but the Eagles have ran the ball effectively and the defense is much better. The Eagles are now 4-1 with their only loss to the best team in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Panthers also stand at 4-1, but they haven't been at the same level. In their first 3 games, Carolina looked fairly unimpressive. The next two were significantly better. Cam Newton finally started show up, and the team had two good wins. However, with this Panthers team, you never know what to expect, particularly Newton. One week he starts looking like an MVP all over again and the next he falls apart. When Cam is this inconsistent, so is the team. The outcome of any Panthers' game will likely depend on what kind of day he has. It seems unlikely that Cam would have 3 great games in a row, but the Eagles pass defense hasn't been that good.

If Cam Newton does play at a high level, this will be a very interesting game. However, I still think that the Eagles will have the advantage.

Outcome: Eagles win 24-21

#3: Patriots vs Jets

Before they start of the season, if you asked me how many wins the Jets would have this year, I would have given them a maximum of 3. Well, we're 5 weeks in and they already have that many. That also just so happens to be the same number of wins as the Patriots have so far. So the question we have to ask is are the Jets really any good? I would probably say no. They haven't exactly had the toughest schedule to start the season, and statistically they are about as poor as ever. I'm not even sure how they managed to win a few games looking at the numbers.

However, the Patriots really haven't been much better. New England's defense has been arguably the worst in the league, and they have little to no running game as well. Brady is pretty much the only thing keeping them alive. That makes the recent injury rumor surrounding Brady incredibly scary for Pats fans. Now, he is still going to play, but we can't be certain that he will be at 100%. This makes this game a lot more interesting. As it is, division games usually tend to be close no matter how much better one team is, and any obstacle for Tom Brady, even as little as this, could swing this the other way.

In the end, I still don't think the Jets will have what it takes to win this one, but I'd be surprised if it isn't close. The Jets-Patriots rivalry has been dead for a little while now, but this game could bring back some life.

Outcome: Patriots win 30-26

The Lesser Games of the Week

Falcons over Dolphins

Packers over Vikings

Lions over Saints

Redskins over 49ers

Ravens over Bears

Texans over Browns

Cardinals over Buccaneers

Chiefs over Steelers

Chargers over Raiders

Broncos over Giants

Titans over Colts