Week 6 In Review – Unbeaten records fall as Lions roar

And just like that, there are no more unbeaten teams in the NFL after the 49ers and Eagles both went down in Week 6.

Blown chances blow up unbeaten records

The Philadelphia Eagles could have run the ball and punted it to a New York Jets team without timeouts. However, they took an aggressive approach on 3rd-and-9, opting instead to throw the ball. Tony Adams picked the pass off and returned it to the 8-yard line with his Jets team down 14-12. Breece Hall rushed in a touchdown before Zach Wilson converted the two-point conversion, and just like that, the Eagles suffered their first defeat of the NFL season and first loss to the Jets in franchise history.

Also of note, Wilson played his third ‘not bad’ game in a row. For the Eagles, though, it was a game of missed opportunities while also giving too many to the opposition. Jalen Hurts threw a career-high three interceptions while D’Andre Swift fumbled one in the first half. The game script – without so many turnovers – is a bit of a trend for Philly at the moment; they will show flashes of their potential and play a mostly incomplete game before hanging on to win in the end. But not this time.

Short version: don't have 4 turnovers to 0 takeaways and tons of injuries

Long version: been talking about and writing about an Eagles team that hasn't felt as dominant as the 2022 version. Saw some of that catch up to them today, especially offensively. Lot to fine-tune.

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) October 15, 2023

In a similar fashion, the San Francisco 49ers blew their chance to move to 6-0.

Brock Purdy played his first bad game of the year, the 49ers dealt with key injuries, did themselves no favours with penalties and received no favours from the officials late in the game. Still, they came to within a field goal of beating the Chicago Bears. It’s not a loss that needs to be scrutinized and overanalysed. If the injuries that came out of it turn out to be long-term, then we might circle it as a turning point in their NFL season. Until then, the 49ers are one of the best teams in the NFL.

The Eagles and Niners are no longer unbeaten. Week 6 proved that even the best teams in the league can have an off day. But with what we’ve seen from the first six weeks overall, San Francisco remains as $5 favourites to win Super Bowl LVIII. Philadelphia, not quite as convincing week-to-week, is on the third line at $7.

Detroit Lions Roaring

The Detroit Lions are 5-1 for the equal-best record in the NFL.

David Montgomery left the game with a rib injury as Detroit rushed for only 40 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But fear not: Jared Goff is playing the best football of his NFL career and led his Lions to a 20-6 victory.

Connecting on 30 of his 44 pass attempts for 353 yards and two touchdowns, Goff completed passes to ten different receivers in the process. Amon-Ra St. Brown benefited most with 12 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown as he continues to elevate himself into the conversation of the best wide receivers in the NFL.

Detroit are doing it with their defence, too. To give up only six points is impressive. For only the fourth time in franchise history, the Lions have not allowed an opponent to gain 100 rushing yards in any of the first six games of the season.

"Can't say enough about the defensive performance."@CUREInsurance pic.twitter.com/TNpxcp0ADG

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 15, 2023

Performing well on both sides of the ball, the Lions will have plenty of opportunities to continue their dominance across the remainder of the NFL season. According to Tankathon.com, Detriot faces the second-easiest remaining schedule in the league.

Week 7 will provide a decent test, though. The Lions face the Baltimore Ravens as $2.15 and +2.5 underdogs. From there, we can really start to assess them as Super Bowl LVIII contenders. As it stands, Detroit is on the seventh line of betting at $14.

Dolphins Don’t Die

The Carolina Panthers shocked the early NFL slate by flying out to a 14-0 lead over the Miami Dolphins. But before the fairly typical social media overreaction could get going, Miami had closed the gap. Just before halftime, Tyreek Hill earned himself another fine for celebrating his lead-taking touchdown too much – No Fun League in a nutshell.

Down early, the Dolphins scored 35 unanswered points to win 42-21 and moved into $10 in the Super Bowl LVIII market from $11 last week.

The Miami Dolphins average 498.7 yards of offense per game. The next closest team, the Kansas City Chiefs, averages 116.4 yards per game less.

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) October 15, 2023

In the process, the Dolphins joined the 1958 Colts as the only teams in NFL history to record 15 rushing touchdowns and 15 receiving touchdowns through six games of a season. They are on fire but opened as $2.18 and +2.5 underdogs against the Eagles in Week 7.

Bad Beat New England Patriots

“We’ve never been able to buy the New England Patriots this low before…” – Red Zone Returns

Thankfully, we weren’t confident enough to take the Patriots +3 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Instead cashing in on either team by 7 or less as the Raiders held on to win 21-17. However, Patriots punters were left reeling as a Raiders sack and Mac Jones safety made it a four-point game with 1:47 on the clock.

Patriots +3 support group meets here. 2-pt game becomes a 4-pt game on the safety.

I am doing fine, frankly!

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) October 15, 2023

Jones has now failed to cover the spread in 13 straight games as an underdog. Meanwhile, the Patriots have moved to 1-5 against the spread this season. Jones will have a chance to end his horror streak as a +9.5 dog against the Buffalo Bills next week.

Other NFL Notes From Week 6

– Falcons -0.5 1H Desmond Ridder is now 0-10 against the first half spread in his pro career.
– The under has now cashed in 15 of New Orleans’ last 16 games and they are the only undefeated team left this season to the under or over (6-0 to under).
– Zay Flowers scored the first touchdown of his NFL career and is on pace for 100 catches. Jaylen Waddle holds the rookie record with 104 catches.

The Giants are the only NFL team in the last 30 years to run the final scrimmage play of each half from inside their opponents' 10-yard line (let alone from the 1) but not score a point on either drive.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 16, 2023

– As if the New York Giants weren’t listed to play enough primetime games this season, they’re already 0-4 in the slot.
– The 49ers loss ends Brock Purdy’s regular season winning streak at 10.
– The Cincinnati Bengals picked up a valuable 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks. They’re now back to .500 after a poor start to the NFL season.
– Tyreek Hill added another 163 yards to take his season tally to 814 yards. He’s on pace to become the first wife receiver in NFL history to pile up 2,000+ yards.
– Desmond Ridder threw three interceptions in Week 6. Time is running out for him.