Things I Noticed: Week 6

Some of the league's top teams entering the week suffered losses this week and we're now down to only one undefeated team.

Six more teams are off this week: Denver, Kansas City, Tennessee, Arizona, Seattle, San Diego.

For the rest of the teams, here are some things I noticed this week: 

• A week after suffering their first home loss in over a year, Atlanta rebounded to set a new home winning streak by closing out the Panthers with a 17 point 4th quarter.
• Michael Turner led the way with 139 rushing yards and 2 TDs.  
• Not Cam Newton's best game, as he threw three INTs without a passing TD.  He did add a rushing TD on a 14 yard run that he made look far too easy.  Just another example that even when he's not at his best, he can find other ways to make plays to keep his team in the game.
• Curtis Painter had a chance to do his best Peyton Manning comeback impression, but it was spoiled by a costly fumble by Pierre Garcon, which was run back for the game sealing TD.  Hopefully that miscue doesn't cost Garcon the trust Painter has shown in him lately, as he's been the Colts best receiver since Painter took over.
• Dallas Clark has had some issues with dropping passes lately, so he put in some extra practice time this week to catch a few extra balls before the game.  It paid off when he hauled in a spectacular one handed catch for a TD.
• The Bengals entered the week as the top team in the league in total defensive yards allowed (279.6).  They actually lowered that average even further after holding the Colts to 273 total yards.  Cincinnati's defense is much improved, but their easy schedule thus far has more to do with that stat than anything else.
• In case there was any doubt that the 49ers were legit, they entered a hostile environment in Detroit and handed the Lions their first loss of the season. They were supposed to be one of last season's breakout teams, but ended up being one of the most disappointing.  It seems they were just a year late on meeting those expectations.
• Nate Burleson's 5 yard TD catch almost didn't count.  It was initially ruled an incompletion, with the referee claiming Burleson let go of the ball too early rather than retaining possession all the way through the play.  With shades of the disastrous call that robbed Calvin Johnson of a TD, and cost Detroit the game in their Week 1 loss to the Bears last year, the play went to review.  This time the refs got it right and the call was overturned, giving Detroit the score.
• The 49ers postgame celebration turned ugly when Lions coach Jim Schwartz ran down 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and got in his face.  Apparently Schwartz didn't appreciate Harbaugh's over-zealous celebration, or perhaps something he said.  The two coaches had to be separated, which led to both teams crowding around and pushing each other around.  
• Not much came out of the scuffle aside from some harsh words, hurt feelings and a little pushing and shoving, but if the two coaches actually had thrown down and brawled right there on the field, wouldn't that have been even more entertaining than the game?
• Harbaugh later apologized for the incident, confessing he got a little carried away and may have shook Schwartz's hand a little too hard.  Yeah, I'm sure a little hand squeezing is what set him off. 
• The Packers were favored by a season high 15 points and still managed to easily beat the spread against the struggling Rams.  The Packers scored all 24 of their points in the first half, then apparently stopped trying to score, yet the hapless Rams still couldn't close the gap.  Maybe the Mercy Rule was in effect, or maybe the Packers just felt bad for them.
• It's going to be a long year in St. Louis.  The only thing that could make it worse for that city is if Albert Pujols pulls a Lebron and makes a decision to leave the Cardinals in a heartbreaking televised announcement
• After the game, the Rams completed a trade with Denver for WR Brandon Lloyd.  The rebuilding Broncos were looking to get anything of value for the Pro Bowl receiver, who is in the last year of his contract.  The Rams give up the low cost of a 6th round draft pick, which could become a 5th round pick if Lloyd catches at least 30 passes with his new team.  The Rams hope that re-uniting Lloyd with Josh McDaniels' offense will help ignite their dormant offense.  Lloyd, who led the league in receiving yards last year, was the best available option to upgrade their weak receiving core and give Sam Bradford a legitimate target to throw to.  Great low risk pick up to give them a boost.  He's not enough of a difference maker to dig the Rams out of the hole they've dug themselves into, but in order for their young QB to develop, he needs someone to throw to.
• The Giants are becoming increasingly difficult to figure out.  After a shocking let down last week against Seattle, they come back this week to hand Buffalo their second loss of the season.  They find themselves at the top of the competitive NFC East, but have had the division's easiest schedule so far.
• It didn't take Fred Jackson long to move his way up to the top of the list for the league's rushing leaders (he would be passed again later in the day by Darren McFadden).  He took a first quarter carry 80 yards to the house, which included some impressive joy-stick maneuvering to evade the pursuing tacklers, for the Bill's first score.
• The Steelers picked up another win, but it was hardly a convincing confidence builder, as they nearly blew a second half lead to the offensively challenged Jaguars.  Losing star safety Troy Polamalu to a possible concussion doesn't help either.
• Rashard Mendenhall was a question mark entering the game due to a lingering hamstring injury, but it didn't appear to hold him back at all on his way to rushing for 146 yards and a TD.  Redman and Dwyer did an admirable job filling in last week, but were hardly needed in this one to relieve their workhorse starter.
• The Eagles finally got back in the win column, while also knocking the Redskins out of the top spot in the division.  Philadelphia fans were likely getting a bit nervous as Washington staged a late comeback, but the Eagles managed to hang on this time for the win.
• Rex Grossman had a terrible first half of the game, leading to him getting benched in the second half.  John Beck looked much better in relief, nearly leading a comeback.  It will be interesting to see if the change is permanent.  As poorly as Grossman played, he did lead the team to a surprising 3-1 start to the season.  Taking away his job due to one bad half may be a bit of overreacting.
• The only people Grossman made look good in this game were Eagles defenders.  They picked off four of his passes.  Kurt Coleman had three of them.  The big name additions to that Eagles secondary have been relatively quiet this season, but at least some of their defenders are starting to turn things around.
• Michael Vick left the game briefly after getting his bell rung, allowing Vince Young to see his first game action of the season.  He threw an INT on his only pass attempt of the game, prompting the Eagles to ignore signs of what potentially could have been another concussion for Vick by putting him back in the game.
• Last week the Raiders lost their owner Al Davis.  This week they lost their starting QB.  No, he's not dead, Jason Campbell just broke his collarbone.  A painful injury that could keep him out a while, but I'm fairly certain it's not fatal.  Kyle Boller was adequate enough in relief that the injury didn't prove fatal to the Raiders chances of winning either, as they held off a late surge by the Browns.    
• The Raiders are reportedly on the verge of completing a trade deadline deal for disgruntled Bengals QB Carson Palmer.  Two first round picks is a steep price to pay for a guy that hasn't played all season, doesn't know the system and has been on the decline for the past three years, but he would still be an upgrade over what they have if Campbell is out for the season.  It's the type of bold move that could either save their season or sink their future.
• Madden 12 cover boy Peyton Hillis was limited in the game due to a pesky hamstring injury.  The Madden Curse continues to ruin his season.
• The Texans struggled again without Andre Johnson and Mario Williams and Baltimore contained Arian Foster for only 49 rushing yards (although he did have 52 receiving yards).  What once looked like a cake walk to their first division title is starting to look a lot less certain, as they've fallen behind the idle Titans.
• Baltimore's defense was once again the star for the Ravens, but Ray Rice (161 total yards) gets a lot of credit as well.  
• The Bucs recovered from an embarrassing no-show performance in San Francisco last week to beat their division rival Saints and make the NFC South race a bit more interesting.  Instead of the Saints running away with the division, they now find themselves tied with Tampa and only a game ahead of Atlanta.
• With LaGarrette Blount out of the lineup, Earnest Graham took advantage of the opportunity, piling up 131 total yards.
• The Saints suffered a major injury in the game, but it didn't come on the field.  Head coach Sean Payton tore his MCL and fractured his tibia when he got wiped out on the sidelines by one of his own players.  Jimmy Graham was run out of bounds to end the play and ended up colliding with his coach.  Payton was unable to make his way back to the sidelines, instead having to coach from the locker room by watching the game on TV.
• On the bright side for the Saints, at least Marques Colston appears to be back to being the top target for Brees. After being injured in Week 1, he'd been relatively quiet in his two games since returning, but gradually has increased his number of targets and production. His 118 yards with a TD was one of the top receiving performances of the week.
• Well this isn't what we expected to see.  What was supposed to be a shootout between the Patriots and Cowboys turned out to be a fairly low scoring affair, as both offenses looked sloppy and struggled to find a rhythm.  As promised, the Dallas defense threw the "kitchen sink" at Brady, who was sacked 3 times and hit 8 times.  The pressure led to 4 New England turnovers, including their first two lost fumbles of the season (one of which came on a kick return).  Despite all that, Brady remained calm under pressure, leading the two minute drill for a game winning TD in the game's final minute.
• New England scored only 20 points in the game, snapping a streak of 13 consecutive games in which they had scored 30 or more points.
• For once, Dallas lost a game that they can't blame Tony Romo for.  He got off to a rough start, but overall had a good game and didn't make any mistakes down the stretch to cost his team.  What may have cost them was some conservative play calling.  With a chance to run out the clock at the end of the game, Dallas called three straight running plays to ensure the clock would keep ticking or force the Patriots to use their time outs.  After failing to pick up a first down, the Cowboys were forced to give the ball back to Tom Brady with about two and a half minutes left.  That's far too much time to give to the league's reigning MVP, who now has 32 career 4th quarter comeback victories.   Had they mixed in a few pass plays they would have risked incompletions that would stop the clock and give the Patriots even more time to come back, but it also would have increased the chances of picking up a much needed first down or two, potentially allowing them to prevent the Patriots from ever getting the ball back.  The plan will likely be second guessed all week and has already been questioned by owner Jerry Jones.
• No defense has given up fewer rushing yards this season than the Cowboys.  This led to the Patriots airing it out in more of a pass heavy attack, but when they did run the ball they actually found some success.  The yardage total won't impress due to a lack of carries, but BenJarvus Green-Ellis still managed a healthy 4.1 yards per carry against them and rookie Stevan Ridley broke off a 16 yard run on one of his three carries.
• The Bears may have a mediocre record, but this week they showed us what they can do when they aren't up against the elite teams in the league.  They may not be true contenders if they can't hang with the top teams, but they can sure put a beating on the inferior ones.
• Devin Hester was the star of the show again for Chicago, opening up the scoring with a long 48 yard strike from Cutler for a TD, then later returning a kickoff for a TD.  Hester isn't really known as a consistent receiving threat, but he's certainly capable of the occasional big play.  Plus, we already know he's the most dangerous return man in league history.  Seriously, why do teams keep kicking to him?  I'd kick it out of bounds every time, or even consider just going for it on 4th down, rather than kick off to Hester and give him any chance for a return.
• The Donovan McNabb era may have mercifully come to an end in Minnesota.  He actually wasn't all that terrible this week, completing 19 of his 24 passes and didn't turn the ball over.  The Vikings just couldn't move the ball.  Adrian Peterson couldn't find much room to run and was quickly taken out of the game plan after the Vikings fell behind.  The team's conservative play calling and lack of reliable receiving treats may be just as much at fault for his demise as McNabb's declining talent, but after falling to 1-5 they might as well see what they have with Christian Ponder.
• Brandon Marshall made headlines earlier in the week by claiming he planned to amp his intensity level up to the point that he expected to get himself ejected from his team's Monday night match up against the Jets.  Not the most brilliant thing he's ever said, but at least he wasn't foolish enough to back up his prediction.  He was up for the challenge though, having one of his best games of the season, despite being blanketed by shut down corner Darrell Revis.
• His biggest play actually came when he burned Antonio Cromartie for a 46 yard gain.
• Despite giving up a few of those catches to Marshall, Revis reminded the Dolphins why teams avoid throwing in his direction by returning an INT 100 yards for a TD.  I still can't figure out how he wasn't called for pass interference on the play, as he had his hands all over Marshall, practically tossing him to the side just before the ball arrived.
• The Jets keep talking about getting back to the ground & pound approach (hey, talking is what Rex Ryan does best!), but we've still yet to see it.  Green and Tomlinson combined for less than 100 yards and a pedestrian 3.5 yards per carry.  They are still the 31st ranked rushing offense in the league.
• Each division leader in the league is either tied at the top with at least one other team, or leads by only one game, except the San Fransisco 49ers.  They have a three game lead over 2nd place Seattle in the NFC West.
• While no teams are technically eliminated yet, I think he can safely write off the season for winless teams like the Colts, Rams and Dolphins.