Things I Noticed: Week 6

Only two undefeated teams remain after six weeks.  Given that they both play in the same division, we can expect that trend won't last too much longer.  The list of contenders in each conference is starting to form, but no division leader has more than a two game lead at this point, so the division races are far from over.

Bye weeks: Atlanta, Miami

Here are some things I noticed this week:

• Alshon Jeffrey may have been Jay Cutler's top target last week, when he set a franchise record for receiving yards, but this time it was Brandon Marshall's turn.  The star receiver caught 9 passes for 87 yards and two scores.
• The Bears defense picked off Eli Manning three times, including one that was returned by Tim Jennings for the opening score in the first quarter.  The opportunistic Bears are tied for the most takeaways in the NFC after dominating the category last season.  Meanwhile, Manning leads the league by a wide margin with 15 INTs.
• While his older brother is on his way to shattering all kinds of offensive records, Eli is in danger
  
  of setting one of his own that he'd rather have no part in.  The league record for most INTs thrown in a season since the merger in 1970 is 35 by Vinny Testaverde.  Through six games, Eli is on pace for 40!
• One silver lining for the Giants is that they may finally have found some semblance of a running game.  After David Wilson struggled to hold on to the football, then was sidelined with an injury, the Giants went out and brought Brandon Jacobs back to the team.  He may have earned a permanent spot on the roster with a 106 yard, 2 TD performance.
• Andy Dalton (337 yards, 3 TDs) had a big game on the stat sheet, but it still took an FG in overtime to squeeze past the Bills.  Mike Nugent nailed the game winning 43-yard kick to atone for a missed 34-yarder that he sailed wide right late in the third quarter, which helped keep the game within reach for Buffalo's comeback. 
• After being promoted from the practice squad last week, Thad Lewis got the start at QB in place of the injured EJ Manuel.  He filled in admirably with 216 yards, 2 TDs and added a rushing score as well, but also lost a costly fumble that led to a scoring drive for the Bengals in the third quarter.
• Joseph Fauria caught all three of the targets that went his way and all three of them were in the end zone.  The rookie TE hasn't been targeted often this season, but he's quickly establishing himself as a dangerous end zone target.  He has 7 catches on the season and 5 of them went for TDs.  
• Cleveland's unexpected three game win streak was snapped by Detroit.  While we may have thought that the Trent Richardson trade was having some sort of Ewing Theory effect to turn the Browns season around, maybe it had more to to do with the absence of Brandon Weeden.  The Browns won last week after Weeden replaced the injured Brian Hoyer, but they still have yet to win a game this season that Weeden has started.
• The dominating Chiefs defense abused Terrell Pryor with 10 sacks and picked off three of his passes.  Tamba Hali had 3.5 of those sacks and is now 4th in the league with 7.5 this season.  Justin Houston only got in on the sack party once (that's not as weird as it sounds... is it?), but his 9.5 sacks this year are tied for the league lead.
• Oakland managed to keep the game a lot closer than the final score would indicate and actually had a 7-0 lead until late in the first half when Jamaal Charles finally opened the scoring for the Chiefs with a TD run with just over a minute to play in the second quarter.  Charles would add another rushing score in the third quarter to give Kansas City their first lead of the game, but a comeback remained within reach for the Raiders until KC piled on 10 more points in the final couple minutes of the game. They sealed the victory with a pick-six with about a minute and a half remaining.
• Cam Newton (242 yards, 3 TDs, 1 rushing TD) had his best game of the season to lead the Panthers to their second win of the season.  
• The flea-flicker is a rarely used trick play that almost always results in the running back flipping the ball back to the QB, who would then launch a deep pass.  In this case, Newton threw a short screen pass to his tight end for a first down.  Carolina would go on to score on the drive.
• The game was played with heavy hearts for the Vikings in the aftermath of the tragic death of Adrian
  
  Peterson's two year old son last week.  Joseph Patterson, the boyfriend of the child's mother, was arrested for aggravated assault and battery that inflicted injuries leading to the child's death.  It's a horrific story that leaves the rest of us shocked that anyone could bring such vicious harm to a defenseless child, but the criticism Peterson has received for playing in Sunday's game is horrific as well.  Several media outlets, including the NY Post, have used this tragic event to bring up every little off-field mistake Peterson has made during his career (including fathering this child - Peterson reportedly wasn't even made aware that he was the father until a couple months ago and never met the boy until visiting him in the hospital the night before he died from his injuries).  AP may not be a saint, but we all make mistakes.  Now is not the time to re-cap his or question his judgement in choosing to focus on football.  People grieve in different ways and you can't blame the man for burying himself in his job to cope with his loss.  
• Ben Rothlisberger launched one deep to Emmanuel Sanders for a 55-yard TD that put the game out of reach for the punch-less Jets early in the third quarter.  That gave Pittsburgh their first win of the year, in a season that started out worse than any the franchise has endured since the merger.  It was also the 600th victory in franchise history (postseason included), making them only the 4th team (first from the AFC) to reach that milestone.
• The Steelers entered the week as the only team without a takeaway, but their defense picked off two Geno Smith passes to finally put themselves on the board in that category.
• Nick Foles filled in for the injured Michael Vick and tossed three TD passes, two of which went to DeSean Jackson.  Foles may not have Vick's athletic ability to run through defenses, but he did manage to sneak in for a short score on the ground.
• Perhaps Foles just likes playing against Tampa Bay.  In his career as a starter, Foles is 2-0 against the Bucs, but has yet to beat any other team (0-6).
• The Eagles now have at least 400 yards of total offense in all six of their games.  Only the '83 Chargers (7) and '07 Patriots (8) have more games to start a season with 400+ yards.
• Vincent Jackson helped keep the Bucs in the game by catching two TD passes, including one on a nice fade route after Doug Martin was stopped at the one yard line off a 24-yard run.
• Green Bay's deep stable of receivers got a lot thinner when James Jones and Randall Cobb were knocked out of the game with knee injuries, but Aaron Rodgers managed with what he had left to beat the Ravens.  Jordy Nelson helped pick up the slack for his missing teammates, hauling in a 64-yard TD catch.
• The injury to Jones does not appear to be too serious, but the news isn't as optimistic for Cobb.  He has reportedly fractured his right fibula, which could keep the Packers leading receiver sidelined for 6-8 weeks.
• Here's a play you don't see often.  The Packers blocked a punt, but the ball bounced forward past the line of scrimmage.  The ball was touched by John Kuhn, but he couldn't contain it, making it a lose ball.  The Ravens recovered and were rewarded with a first down.
• The Ravens running game continues to struggle.  Ray Rice was held to only 34 yards on 14 carries and was stuffed three straight times inside the five yard line on a second quarter drive where Baltimore was deprived of key points.  The Ravens elected to go for it on 4th down from the 1 yard line, but the Packers defense held strong by keeping Bernard Pierce out of the end zone.  It was still early in the game at that point and the benefits of picking up one yard for a score outweighed the risks of passing on the almost sure chance at adding three with a FG, but it turned out to be costly as they would go on to lose the game by two points.  
• Matt Schuab can't catch a break.  He started out playing better than he has all season before leaving the game with an injured ankle.  Shame on the Texans fans for cheering for Schaub being removed from the game.  Can't blame them for giving up on Schaub this season, but you never want to see a guy get hurt.  Besides, it's not like his replacement was any better, so careful what you wish for!  TJ Yates threw two INTs, including a pick-six.  That makes five straight weeks a pick-six has been thrown by a Texans QB!  Seriously, you can't make this stuff up.  New strategy for steaming defenses in fantasy football - pick up whoever the Texans are playing.  They are as much of a lock as anyone to score a defensive TD.
• You know your season is in trouble when Vince Young is sending out tweets letting you know he's ready to try out.
• The Rams also recovered two fumbles and returned one of those for a score.  Those defensive scores and short fields provided by the other turnovers didn't leave much time for their offense to stay on the field.  Sam Bradford only needed to make 16 throws, but he completed 12 of them for 117 yards and 3 TDs.
• The Patriots were in danger of suffering rare back-to-back losses with Brady failing to throw a TD
  
   pass in two straight games for the first time since 2001, when he was a first year starter.  A miraculous finish prevented either of those from happening, as Brady hit Kenbrell Thompkins with a perfect pass in the back corner of the end zone with five seconds remaining to give the Patriots a dramatic win.
• Bill Belichick is no stranger to making controversial decisions, but his bold choice to keep his offense on the field for a 4th and 6 situation on their own 24 yard line with under three minutes to play didn't pay off.  An accurate pass from Brady was dropped by rookie Aaron Dobson (how many times have we heard that before?).  Many questioned the decision, assuming it was a sign that Belichick didn't trust his defense to stop Drew Brees and the powerful Saints offense to get the ball back again, but perhaps it was the opposite.  Maybe Belichick trusted his defense to keep the Saints out of the end zone if they failed to convert the first down.  Holding them to a field goal would keep it as a one possession game, while giving them such a short field would allow them to score without using up much time.  Did Belichick concede the FG as a clock management ploy?  If so, it was both daring and brilliant.  
• For Brady, it was his 32nd career comeback in the 4th quarter or OT.  He may not have the same receivers around him these days, but give him multiple chances at the two minute drill and he can still work some late game magic.
• Jimmy Graham was held without a catch for the first time all season (yet somehow still leads the league in receiving yards!).  He was held in check by Aqib Talib for most of the game, but both Talib and Graham would end up exiting early with injuries.  The Patriots defense is great at taking a team's biggest threat away and Graham was clearly the focus of their defensive game plan.
• Speaking of dominant tight ends that were a disappointment, Rob Gronkowski still has yet to debut this season.  Gronk hasn't received clearance from the doctors to play, but teammates that watch him in practice don't understand why he can't take the field on game day.  A couple of unnamed players leaked their frustrations to the media last week, so the longer Gronk remains out, the more the tension in the locker room could continue to grow.
• In perhaps the biggest mismatch in league history, the Broncos entered their game against Jacksonville as 27 point favorites.  Well, they ended up losing by only 16 points, so that's a moral victory for the Jaguars.  They beat the spread!  So they were horrible, just not as horrible as we expected.
• As awful as the Jaguars offense is, it's been slightly less putrid since Justin Blackman returned last week.  His 14 catch, 190 yard performance was one of the lone bright spots for Jacksonville.
• Peyton Manning threw another INT this week?  Now he has two this season!  And this one was returned the other way for a Jaguars score.  Are we sure that wasn't Eli out there?  Just kidding, Giants fans.  Of course Peyton had a great game, but this one belonged to Knowshon Moreno.  The Broncos starting RB managed only 42 yards on the ground, but bullied his way into the end zone three times to bury the Jaguars... and my fantasy team.
• Marshawn Lynch contributed 155 total yards and scored twice to push the Seahawks past the Titans. 
• Seattle got the win to remain unbeaten at home despite some costly mistakes.  They put themselves in position for a field goal as the clock was running out in the first half, but a botched snap led to a fumble, which the Titans returned 77 yards for a TD that gave them a lead at the break.  Without that 10 point swing the game never would have been close.
• Remember last year when we had concerns about Vernon Davis and his role in the offense once Colin Kaepernick took over as the starting QB?  If those concerns weren't wiped away in last year's postseason, they certainly are gone now.  Davis dominated the Cardinals with 8 catches for 180 yards and 2 TDs.
• Larry Fitzgerald caught a pass from Caron Palmer and took it 75 yards for his 4th TD of the season, matching his total from last season.  It's amazing what an upgrade to a relatively competent QB can do for an elite receiver like Fitzgerald.  
• Dwayne Harris was the hero for Dallas by returning a punt 86 yards for a score and also adding a 90-yard kick-off return that gave the Cowboys a very short field to work with for another scoring drive.
• Miles Austin returned after recovering from a hamstring injury that cost him a couple games, but was held without a catch.  Terrance Williams remained involved, catching Tony Romo's lone TD pass of the game.  
• Raise your hand if your fantasy team had both Williams and Austin, but you made the mistake of starting Austin... and your team lost by less than the 8 points Williams would have given you. Come on, I can't be the only one!
• Robert Griffin appears to be moving around better in the pocket and even took off running 9 times for 77 yards in the game.  He's also still missing on some throws that he used to make with ease, such as the one he sailed just out of Pierre Garcon's reach on what could have gone for a score.
• San Diego kept the ball out of Andrew Luck's hands with four straight drives of 10+ plays that each ended with putting points on the board.  Their plan to slow the game down worked, as the Colts only managed to run 48 plays all game.
• Keenan Allen (9 catches, 107 yards) appears to be the new go-to guy in the Chargers passing game. He's been heavily involved the past few weeks as their most targeted receiver and topped the 100 yard mark for the second straight week.  Then again, remember when Vincent Brown was projected to be the top target in the pre-season?  Or when Eddie Royal took over the mantle with 5 TDs through the first two games of the season?  Can we trust that Allen is really the top option now, or is he just the flavor of the week?
• Reggie Wayne became the 9th player in league history with 1,000 career catches.  He actually finished
  
  with one more after that, putting him at 1,001 to pass Hines Ward on the list for 8th all time.  He has an excellent chance of moving further up the list later this season, with Isaac Bruce (1,024) next in his sites.  It's unclear how many productive years the 34 year old receiver has left, but it's reasonable to expect Wayne to make a run at Marvin Harrison (1,102) for the most catches in franchise history and 3rd in league history before his career winds down.
• Is there a passing category Peyton Manning doesn't lead the league in?  Yards (2,179), Percentage (74.2), TDs (22), Total QBR (90.1).  Yup, he's got all the major ones.  The schedule will get harder eventually, as Denver has yet to face a defense in the top half of the league in yards allowed or in the top 12 in points allowed.  Then again, in a small sample size of six weeks, are those defenses all that bad or are those stats skewed by having faced Denver's offense?  Ok, Jacksonville really is that bad.
• What has been the biggest turnaround for the 6-0 Chiefs a year after they won a dismal 2 games?  The coaching change certainly helped, as has upgrading to an above average QB, but the real improvement has come on defense.  Kansas City allows the least points (10.8 per game), 5th least amount of yards (306.3) and they have the league's most fearsome pass rush with a league leading 31 sacks.  They also lead the league in turnover differential (+12) thanks to their 18 takeaways.