NFL: Key Storylines to Follow In Week 6
So we made it to Week 6. Well, not all of us, sorry Coach Saleh. Yes that’s right, our first coaching casualty lands in New York and the Jets aren’t even remotely the worst team in the NFL. Elsewhere roster depth is being stretched to the maximum as injuries hit. Let’s take a look at the biggest storylines to keep an eye on this weekend.
Is Caleb Williams’ success here to stay?
The Chicago Bears have put together two wins back-to-back and the light looks to have come on for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. He looked assured in a 36-10 victory over the Panthers, throwing for 304 yards and 2 TDs, including this beauty to DJ Moore:
UNBELIEVABLE PLAY! 🤯🤯🤯#Bears DJ Moore just Jefferson’d the janitor that’s playing cornerback for the #Panthers to get his SECOND touchdown on his former team.
— NFC North News (@NFCNorthNewss) October 6, 2024
Have a day DJ. 👏👏👏pic.twitter.com/DSw8GmuxLh
Now Londoners get to enjoy the ride, with Williams coming to town. The Jaguars shouldn’t offer a lot of resistance, they have conceded the second most yards per game this season and have the second worst defensive EPA per pass play. Williams should be able to light up this suspect secondary and continue his upwards trajectory as a playmaker in this league.
When does the Deshaun Watson situation become untenable?
A 5-year, $230 million contract, fully guaranteed is a difficult thing to wriggle out of. Deshaun Watson’s play has nowhere near warranted that outlandish figure but when does an embarrassed Browns franchise cut the cord? For the sake of his teammates that time may be approaching.
Watson went 15-28, for 125 yards and 1 TD as the Browns were humbled by the Commanders last week. The display left Watson bottom of the QB rankings for total EPA with a whopping mark of -50.2. At this point how much worse can Jameis Winston be? Could the Eagles game be the end of the line? Well, this Philly defense haven’t scared anybody yet, if Watson can’t make it work here, then speculation will intensify.
Who will come out on top in an AFC West defensive battle?
Two of the top defenses will go head-to-head in Week 6 as the Broncos take on the Chargers. A hobbled Justin Herbert will have to cope with a defensive front that are third in the league for sacks and second in the league with 42 QB hits. Zach Allen and Jonathon Cooper are certainly two players who have excelled despite being relatively unheralded coming into the year.
The Chargers will be looking to exploit the cracks in the Sean Payton – Bo Nix relationship. They had words during the Raiders victory, likely due to Nix’s self-belief more than anything else, but things could still be difficult for the pair against a strong Chargers defense. This group has turnover differential of +5 and will be looking to pray on Nix’s inexperience.
This one looks set to be a good old-fashioned, low-scorer. Payton v Harbaugh should be an intriguing watch.
Master vs Apprentice
If the Washington Commanders want a blueprint of how Jayden Daniels’ career should go, then they would be best placed looking at the Baltimore Ravens. Daniels’ skillset is eerily reminiscent of Lamar Jackson. The speed and elusiveness matched with the ability to hit the deep ball and blow the top off a defense. Much like Jackson, Daniels has taken the NFL by storm.
Both teams have been lacking on defense, which should mean this could turn into a fierce, last man standing shootout between the two. As it stands these are two of the most efficient offenses in the league, but can the young upstart unseat the master and former MVP? These are the electric QB battles we want more of in the NFL.
Rory-Joe Daniels
NFL & Cfb contributor
AS A LONG-SUFFERING CINCINNATI BENGALS FAN, RORY HAS FOLLOWED THE NFL FOR OVER 20 YEARS. HIS PASSION FOR THE DRAFT LED HIM TO GET ENTANGLED WITH COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND HE HAS BEEN WRITING ABOUT PROSPECTS AND THE CFB LANDSCAPE EVER SINCE.