Advertisement

NFL Week 6: What we learned

 
Getty Images
Getty Images
Published Oct. 15, 2017

Colin Kaepernick? Tony Romo? Who replaces Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, who broke his right collarbone in the first half of Sunday's 23-10 loss to the Vikings? Let the speculation begin. Right now it is Brett Hundley, a 2015 fifth-round draft pick out of UCLA. Some will claim that Kaepernick, who grew up in Milwaukee, continues to be blackballed by the NFL if the Packers do not sign him (for more on that, see Page 7C). Romo, who grew up a Packers fan in Wisconsin and is now safely tucked in the TV booth for CBS (and doing a heck of a job as a first-year analyst), said on Thursday Night Football, when a clip of the final pass of his career was shown, "Was it the last pass?" Hmmmm. In 2013, Rodgers missed seven games when he broke his collarbone. But that was his left collarbone. So the injury might not be a season-ender, but he is likely out of the Packers' Dec. 3 matchup with the Bucs in Green Bay. Packers coach Mike McCarthy tried to grab hold of the runaway QB speculation when he said after the game that Hundley is his quarterback and Joe Callahan is his backup, so there you go.

Patriots QB Tom Brady found himself down 14-0 in the first half against the Jets for … the … first … time … in … his … career. That's 30 games. But Brady is Brady, and he rallied the troops for a 24-17 road victory for an NFL-record 187th regular-season win of his career. He entered the day tied with Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

Speaking of Brett Favre, since he took over as the Packers' quarterback in Week 3 in 1992, the Packers have had only nine games started by a quarterback not named Favre or Aaron Rodgers.



Texans QB Deshaun Watson reported for work Sunday morning wearing a Warren Moon throwback Houston Oilers jersey. Moon responded on Twitter with: "Grateful that a future NFL great honors the NFL past … Now go be the best." Watson, proving he can follow directions from a current Hall of Famer, passed for three touchdowns in a 33-17 win against the Browns. The rookie has thrown for 15 touchdowns this season, the most by a rookie through his team's first six games in NFL history. Brock Osweiler passed for 15 in 15 games last season for the Texans.

Jets TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins caught one scoring pass against the Patriots, but the one that replay officials said he didn't catch caused Jets fans to lose sleep last night. With the Jets down 10 in the fourth, Seferian-Jenkins caught a pass and reached across the goal line. Touchdown! Not so fast. It was determined he "slightly" lost control of the ball when it was punched by DB Malcolm Butler. The ruling was a fumble and a touchback for the Pats. The ball, though, never touched the ground, and Seferian-Jenkins never fully lost possession.

Here is what Boomer Esiason said at halftime on CBS about Dolphins QB Jay Cutler: "Enough already." Here is what Cutler did in the second half: rallied the Dolphins from a 17-0 deficit with two touchdowns and a late fourth-quarter drive that produced a field goal and a 20-17 win. Here is who will start Sunday for the Dolphins against the visiting Jets: Jay Cutler.

With Adrian Peterson running wild against the Bucs in the Arizona desert, the Saints could finally settle on Mark Ingram as a feature back, and boy, did the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner respond. Ingram rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in the Saints' 52-38 win against the Lions. It was his first 100-yard day of the season, and those were his first two scores.

How do you help your rookie QB who is making his second career start and first on the road? You call only 16 pass plays and feed the running backs 54 times. The Bears made that work in a 27-24 OT win vs. the Ravens. Mitch Trubisky passed for a 113 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Howard paced a running game that produced 231 yards with 167.

From our friends at ESPN Stats & Info: The Bears had a run of four consecutive touchdown passes thrown by QB Mike Glennon, punter Pat O'Donnell, Trubisky and running back Tank Cohen after Cohen's first quarter toss on the ol' halfback option against the Ravens.

The winless 49ers are the first team to lose five straight games by three or fewer points after losing 26-24 at Washington. But, hey, how about QB C.J. Beathard? The third-round pick out of Iowa replaced Brian Hoyer in the second quarter and rallied the Niners from a 17-0 hole to tie it at 17 in the third. The grandson of former Redskins GM Bobby Beathard was 19-for-36 for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Redskins QB Kirk Cousins took control of the game against the 49ers in the fourth quarter, leading Washington to a field goal and a touchdown drive with some clutch third-down completions. That he did so in front of his former offensive coordinator and current 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan added fuel to the fire that Cousins is headed to San Francisco in the offseason.

The Rams and Jaguars played the first game in the Super Bowl era (from 1966) with two touchdowns scored in the first 25 seconds, ESPN Stats and Info said. Pharoh Cooper returned the opening kickoff 103 yards. After a touchback, Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette raced 75 yards to the end zone.

Nice bounce-back game for the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger in a 19-13 win at Kansas City. The QB passed for 252 yards, a touchdown and only one interception after a career-high five picks in last week's loss to the Jaguars. Maybe we should have seen this coming. Big Ben is 17-1 all time against K.C. The Steelers' D throttled the top-ranked offense, holding the Chiefs to one first down and 6 yards in the first half.

No more undefeated teams after the Chiefs lost. Go ahead you members of the 1972 Dolphins, pop those champagne corks! And toast the current Dolphins, who won in Atlanta for the first time since 1980.

Another solid win for the Rams, who traveled cross-country and beat the Jaguars 27-17 with a big day by their special teams. The first-place Rams, who have matched their win total from last season (four), returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and turned a blocked punt into another score.

The Jaguars' Leonard Fournette exploded in the first quarter vs. the Rams, with 100 yards (including a 75-yard TD run) on six carries. He had only 30 yards on his next 11 carries, and he didn't finish game because of an ankle injury. The Jags couldn't continue the momentum of last week's big win in Pittsburgh. They have not won consecutive games in more than a year and have won just one of their past 10 in Jacksonville.

The Chargers, who have lost two games this season on missed field goals, won one when Nick Novak's 32-yarder on the final play beat the Raiders 17-16. Novak's kick won the game because Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio missed a point after in the fourth quarter.

And lastly …

• Vikings LB Anthony Barr, who knocked out Packers QB Aaron Rodgers out with a broken collarbone, eventually left the game with a concussion.

• SS Reshad Jones' game-saving interception against the Falcons was the first interception this season by the Dolphins.

• Falcons QB Matt Ryan has thrown six interceptions in his past three games.

• The Patriots have won 11 straight road games. The Browns have lost 16 straight road games.

QB Case Keenum is holding down the fort for the Vikings while Sam Bradford traveled to New York last week for treatment on his injured knee, but how long can that last? Eligible to return to practice this week is Teddy Bridgewater (above right, on the Vikings sideline Sunday), whose dislocated knee suffered in August 2016 required reconstructive surgery. Reports out of Minnesota say that he could be ready for game action in three weeks.

The Browns benched QB DeShone Kizer last week after the rookie threw his NFL-high ninth interception. Kevin Hogan (above), making the first start of his two-year NFL career, threw three on the road against the Texans. Hogan was the 28th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999.