NFL Week 6 Overreactions: 5 Things to Flip Out Over
Five overreactions to the action from NFL Week 6. Everybody freak out.
NFL Week 6 is in the books, save for a Monday Night Football matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets. But with 14 of the week’s 15 games to be played already showing triple-zeroes, there’s more than enough fodder to start overreacting to.
After five weeks of the 2016 NFL season, you’d think that we’d start to get a real grasp on the league as a whole. Be it because of biases resulting from previous years or preseason perceptions or underestimating the impact of certain players, though, we seem to be making the same mistakes again and again.
Take for instance the Philadelphia Eagles in NFL Week 6. After losing their first game of the season last week, the thought was that they’d bounce back with a divisional win over the Washington Redskins. However, we all failed to account for the importance of Lane Johnson. Subsequently, Washington ravaged Philly’s offensive line and Carson Wentz on their way to a 27-20 victory that, really, wasn’t all that close.
Of course, that’s just one example of things we missed on during Sunday’s Week 6 action. There were countless others. Moreover, there were also countless things to dissect, process, and react to. But where’s the fun in that kind of measured approach?
Instead, let’s completely turn off that filter and overreact to some of the things we saw in NFL Week 6. Just as a disclaimer, these overreactions are intentionally hyperbolic to get across a point.
Here are the five things to flip out over.
Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) runs with the ball and breaks a tackle by San Francisco 49ers free safety Eric Reid (35) during the second half at New Era Field. Buffalo beat San Francisco 45-16. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
5. The Buffalo Bills are Going to the Super Bowl
Should you start booking the Buffalo Bills tickets to Houston, TX and NRG Stadium on Feb. 5—or do you just want me to take care of it?
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The Bills started the season 0-2 and everyone started pointing and laughing at them. This was just another Rex Ryan coached team full of nothing but hot air. That wasn’t an unfair assessment, either. Not only have we seen that from Ryan before, it also seemed as if this team wasn’t playing anywhere close to the levels they did last season.
However, Buffalo fired then offensive coordinator Greg Roman and it’s been like a new season since. They’ve gone through three of the four NFC West teams (yet to face the Seattle Seahawks) and a Jacoby Brissett-led New England Patriots team with a convincing four consecutive wins. LeSean McCoy looks better than ever before running the ball. Tyrod Taylor somehow looks more dangerous without Sammy Watkins on the field. And this Bills defense is playing like everyone expected them to last season and this year.
Just go ahead and punch their Super Bowl ticket out of the AFC now. This team is complete and firing on all cylinders. So what if they haven’t played any quality teams at full-strength or without a monkey on their back. That’s all fodder. The Bills are going to the Super Bowl, clearly.
Oct 16, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws the ball in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
4. Dak Prescott: Future Hall-of-Famer
Somewhere in the magical land of Canton, OH, a laser engraver buzzes loudly into the night working on a new Pro Football Hall of Fame bust. A tailor gets off the phone with the Dallas Cowboys, writing down measurements to ready a gold jacket. All of this, of course, is to get ready for the 2035 induction of Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott.
Prescott has led Dallas to a 5-1 record after going on the road and defeating the Green Bay Packers in NFL Week 6. Just look at the Hall-of-Fame type accomplishments he achieved in that win. He started by surpassing Tom Brady for an NFL record (most passes without an interception to start a career). Then Prescott led the rolling Cowboys to a resounding 30-16 victory in Lambeau Field, becoming only the second rookie quarterback to win at the Packers vaunted stadium.
What was most impressive about Prescott’s work, though, was the mental fortitude he showed. His streak of pass attempts without an interception finally came to an end in this game. Moreover, he looked shaky early on with fumble problems. Rather than crumble, the emerging star pulled himself up by his boot-straps and went back to work, namely leading his team to victory. It was the play and tenacity of a veteran and future Hall-of-Famer.
You call it too soon to say—I call it a formality at this point. Hell, get Ezekiel Elliott a bust and jacket ready as well. These two rookies are Canton-bound.
Oct 16, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) defends a pass intended for Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Atlanta, 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
3. Fire All of the Refs, Bring Back the Replacements
Remember that time in Week 6 when the Atlanta Falcons were trailing the Seattle Seahawks by two points late in the fourth quarter, but Matt Ryan and company had the chance to drive for a field goal? Do you recall that beautiful pass over the middle to Julio Jones that he hauled in with two hands to keep the drive and game alive? Oh, you don’t? That’d be because the refs never allowed the latter part to happen thanks to an egregiously blown call at the end of this game.
I understand that officials miss calls. There’s no reason to get angry if a ref doesn’t see a hold on one of the dozens of snaps that he’s going to see throughout the course of a game. Hell, it’s even fine if one of the men in stripes doesn’t see some contact between defensive back and receiver that could be called for pass interference. However, it’s an entirely different thing to, in the most crucial moment of an important game, to miss a blatant pass interference call in the middle of the field.
Richard Sherman is a fantastic player, but he absolutely mauled Jones on the play. There have been targeting-style hits with less contact than there was on that pass. And to make matters exponentially worse, the no-call essentially ended the game for the Falcons. This wasn’t just any game either as both of these teams could well be competing for home-field in the NFC. Now it could come down to this hogwash call.
Get rid of these officials, man. They obviously have no idea what they’re doing if they can’t make a call like this. Bring back the replacement re—oh wait. I forgot about the Fail Mary debacle. Well, bring back the replacement refs, fire them too, and then replace the replacement refs. Do it for the sanctity of football.
Oct 16, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) walks back to the huddle during the first half against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
2. ‘With the First Pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select…’
The Pittsburgh Steelers are burnt toast. Not only did they go down to South Beach to play the Miami Dolphins in NFL Week 6 and get embarrassed by the likes of Ryan Tannehill and Jay Ajayi, but now Ben Roethlisberger is out indefinitely after tearing his meniscus in the loss. That leaves the Steelers with Landry Jones coming in at quarterback for an unknown length of tim. Welp—might as well kiss this one goodbye, Pittsburgh.
If you’re an optimist, at least Jones has experience having to step in as the starter for the Steelers. That kind of familiarity can go a long way. However, it’s also worth noting that all of the familiarity in the world isn’t going to change the fact that Landry Jones is a pretty awful NFL quarterback. With him under-center, even having the likes of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell around him isn’t going to matter. He’s simply not capable of winning games at the level of a mediocre player at the position—much less at the level of Big Ben.
Though Roethlisberger is a warrior, a torn meniscus is going to keep him out for at least a good while. Considering that the Steelers couldn’t even beat the Dolphins, an undeniably crappy team, with a banged up Big Ben at quarterback, they’re destined for a top-10 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. At this point, they might as well just bottom out, get Myles Garrett with the first-or-second-overall pick, and be done with it.
Oct 16, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) scrambles with the football during the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field. The Cowboys won 30-16. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
1. A Backup CFL Quarterback is Posing as Aaron Rodgers
It’s a tale as old as time in the NFL and one we’ve all seen a hundred times. The quarterback comes out of college and gets on with a great franchise. When he finally gets his shot to be the starter, he looks every bit as good as advertise. He even leads said historical franchise to a Super Bowl victory. Then one year, that quarterback looks nothing like himself. He struggles and stumbles before finally revealing himself to be a backup CFL quarterback masquerading as the great Aaron Rodgers.
You can talk about the Dallas Cowboys beating the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau being about the home team’s run defense not stepping up all you want. This loss goes on Aaron Rodgers by my estimation, as does the team’s lackluster player—despite a 4-2 record—through the first six weeks of the 2016 season.
For whatever reason, Rodgers looks nothing like the superstar quarterback that we’re accustomed to seeing. Sure, he’ll show flashes where he’s making throws no one else can. And he still has the savvy at times to make things happen. But then there are the throws that he has to have and the plays that he has to make. In the 2016 season, those are the plays he’s not making and it’s costing his team dearly.
I don’t know how a backup CFL quarterback infiltrated the body of Rodgers, but he needs to desist right now. It’s not cool to hold a superstar and a whole Packers team hostage like this. Unless the real Aaron Rodgers returns at some point this season, though, Green Bay could be in store for a steep decline from their 4-2 start.