Week Six of the NFL season featured more twists and turns than a bag of pretzels with stunning upsets and ferocious blowouts. Here’s a look at some of the best conflicts for the week.
First, there was no joy in the Chesapeake region as the Ravens who would have thought to have had a decent chance with their #1 defense to pull a mild upset against the hated Colts, the team whose uniform still makes Baltimore fans feel a sense of theft and betrayal even after twelve years of Ravens football and a Super Bowl trophy. The Ravens were a total mess in all three facets of the game with their secondary on defense looking particularly weak while the offense stumbled and choked with rookie QB Joe Flacco looking like a rookie quarterback unable to get the running game started against a defense that has not fared well against the run. While the Ravens had to journey to Indy to get their butts bruised, the Redskins fell in a game against possibly the worst team in the NFL in front of the home town crowd. Mistakes and missed opportunities gave the lowly Rams a chance to ram the Skins off track.
New Orleans showed what was expected of them playing strong offense and stingy defense obliterating the miserable Oakland Raiders 34-3 in front of the admiring Superdome fans.
Atlanta, the team thought to be most hopeless at the start of the season, outlasted the Chicago Bears 22-20 to a 4-2 division record tied with Carolina for the lead.
In hosting the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings posted a win in the standings but a blow out loss to those following the spread winning by 12-10 though favored by 13. The Vikings showed need for much improvement in a game that could be considered a moral defeat.
Tampa Bay manhandled the Carolina Panthers getting a divisional win. The NFC South might turn out to be one of the most competitive division races in the business this year.
Travelling to the great Northwest to face their former coach, Mike Holmgren, the Green Bay Packers were ten points better than the Seattle Seahawks who are increasingly becoming one of the most baffling disappointments of the year so far. at 1-4, Seattle shares last place with the St. Louis Rams.
In a game that could alter the NFC’s geography in much the same way Tom Brady’s demise turned things around in the AFC, Dallas Quarterback, Tony Romo, busted a pinkie and will be out for the next month as the Cowboys are looking increasingly vulnerable as the season progresses. The PacMan Jones distraction couldn’t have come at a worst time. Dallas faces a trip to St. Louis then hosts Tampa before a showdown with division leading Giants in New Jersey on November 2, week 9. Finally, after that, they will be blessed with their bye week. The ‘Boys must hold their own against the weaker opponents as the trip to New York will be a very tough ordeal against the defending Champions. We should mention, the Cowboys had the lead with time running out ready to kick a game ending punt that should have been of little consequence; however, the punt was blocked. The lowly Rams snatched up the ball, hustled in for the game ending touchdown. Rams win. Cowboys lose. Never before has a game ended by a game deciding blocked punt. Wow, we got to see history being made in the mish-mash of last minute takes from the NFC games on Fox!!!
The Philadelphia Eagles, a team desperately needing a strong victory having slid to the bottom of the toughest division in the game, found gold in their visit to San Francisco’s Candlestick Park with a commanding 40-26 win over the San Francisco 49’ers.
A trip across the continent to Qualicomm Stadium in San Diego turned into a chamber of horrors for New England who looked weak and helpless against the dominant San Diego Chargers losing 30-10.
The sixth week of the season ended with perhaps the most shocking upset of all. The New York Giants visited the hobbling Cleveland Browns to have their giant butts handed to them by the Dawg Pound brigade, 35-14. This game gave the Champs a chance to open up some daylight in their division lead with both Dallas and Washington losing, but their loss keeps the division tight.
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