What we learned in NFL Week 6: As 49ers no longer undefeated, Eagles upset by backup QBs – The Athletic

In Cleveland, the veteran quarterback who has been cut a whopping 11 times in his career – at one point he was the XFL’s leading passer – outlasted the league’s newest star in an upset that no one expected.

PJ Walker, formerly of the Colts, Panthers, Bears and Houston Roughnecks, filled in for Deshaun Watson and helped the Browns suffer their first loss of the season to the 49ers – and Brock Purdy’s first regular season loss of his career.

“They tie their shoes just like we do,” Walker said after the Browns’ 19-17 win. “They’re good, but we’re all here for a reason.”

A similar scenario played out in New York when another undefeated player went down: Zach Wilson led the Jets to their second straight win, a 20-14 upset over the heavily favored Eagles. It was the Jets’ first win over the Eagles in franchise history (New York had somehow previously been 0-12 against Philadelphia), and at 3-3, Robert Saleh’s team appears to have calmed the storms that followed the defeat by Aaron Rodgers Week was followed by 1 injury.

How’s that for Week 6 in the NFL? The league’s two remaining undefeated teams – the 49ers and Eagles – both suffered their first losses of the season at the hands of a backup quarterback.

Read more: Sando’s Pick Six: NFL manager on Super Bowl favorites, plus Broncos woes and a dilemma between the Giants and Vikings

In Miami, the Dolphins jumped out to an early 14-0 lead against the winless Panthers and turned heads around the league before reeling off 35 straight points to put the game out of reach. Carolina’s 0-6 start is the franchise’s worst since 1998, and although the Dolphins have yet to beat a rival, Mike McDaniel’s offense is averaging 37.1 points per game a month and a half into the season. This is the fifth highest value since 2000. So far they are in good company.

Highest scoring offenses, Weeks 1-6

In Houston, another team with a rookie passer has already matched its 2022 win total. CJ Stroud appears to have a stranglehold on the Offensive Rookie of the Year race, and the Texans are 3-3 after defeating the Saints 20-13.

In Jacksonville, the Colts lost a road game against the Jaguars for the ninth time in a row. In Tampa Bay, the Lions went 5-1.

In Chicago, Justin Fields left the Bears’ 19-13 loss to the Vikings with a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand, a league source told The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. Although X-rays were negative, he will undergo an MRI on Monday, so his immediate availability is uncertain in what will be a crucial season for him.

And in London, the Ravens improved to 4-2 with a 24-16 win over the Titans, who watched quarterback Ryan Tannehill leave the stadium on crutches.

Here’s what stood out on the afternoon of week six:

Jets continue to embarrass elite QBs

As their AFC East rivals continue to falter – after Sunday’s 21-17 loss in Las Vegas, Bill Belichick’s Patriots are 10-18 in their last 28 games – the Jets have found new life.

Credit to Robert Saleh, the coach who stubbornly stuck with his struggling starter, Wilson, despite suffering three straight losses after the demise of Rodgers. A month later he was proven right.

And credit to Wilson, who has weathered the early-season (and early-career) ridicule and problems that have characterized most of his tenure in New York. Beating a bad Denver team last week was one thing; It’s another thing to hand the reigning NFC champions their first loss of the season. Wilson didn’t light up the Eagles, but he finished the game without a turnover. On the other hand, Jalen Hurts threw three interceptions.

Garrett Wilson had a team-high eight catches for 90 yards for the Jets on Sunday. (Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)

At the heart of the Jets’ turnaround is Saleh’s defense. The Jeff Ulbrich-coordinated unit got the best of Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson on Sunday, limiting a normally explosive offense to three plays of 20 yards or more. Philly didn’t score a point after halftime. That was the difference.

In three games this season against some of the best quarterbacks in football – including Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and now Philly’s Hurts – none have posted a passer rating above 64. Together, the three QBs have thrown three touchdown passes and eight interceptions.

“The first six weeks we played against quarterbacks,” Saleh boasted afterwards. “I know we didn’t get all the victories, but we embarrassed them all.”

That’s why they’re still looking and why Saleh’s name should be in the Coach of the Year conversation.

“Browns spoil Purdy’s, 49ers’ series”

It was an exchange of blows befitting the two strongest defenses in football. The surprise wasn’t just the final score – Browns 19, 49ers 17 – but how they did it and who they did it without. Missing from Sunday’s game due to injury: quarterback Deshaun Watson, running back Nick Chubb and two key offensive players, Jack Conklin and Joel Bitonio. This makes them outsiders by 9.5 points.

Now Cleveland benefited from some questionable late-game offense, a missed 41-yard field goal by Jake Moody with six seconds left and the fact that the 49ers had two key offensive weapons at the end of the game in Christian McCaffrey (oblique) and Deebo had lost Samuel (shoulder). But the Browns aren’t apologizing for it, nor should they: It was an impressive win for Kevin Stefanski’s team, now 3-2 and in the middle of an early, crowded AFC North race.

Walker finished the game 18-for-34 for 192 yards and two interceptions, but found some rhythm with wideout Amari Cooper, who had four catches for 108 yards, including a ridiculous sideline grab. That was enough on a day when Purdy, looking to become just the second QB in league history to win his first 11 starts (Ben Roethlisberger was the other), was 12 of 27 for 125 yards, one touchdown and one Interception ended. He was constantly pursued by the Browns’ stifling defense, but made it late enough to give his team a good chance to escape with the victory, leading a nine-play, 45-yard drive, the Moody’s, as time expired 41-yard attempt prepared. But the kick was a foot wide and the Dawg Pound erupted.

A week ago, the 49ers appeared completely unstoppable in a prime-time matchup against the Cowboys; On Sunday, they couldn’t get a win against a backup quarterback. That’s life in the NFL. Much of this is the result of what Jim Schwartz is doing as the Browns’ defensive coordinator, reshaping a unit that already had talent at all three levels but is now playing like the most vicious group in football. Yards aren’t always the most meaningful statistic, but consider this: The Browns have allowed just 1,002 yards in five games, their fewest since 1971.

It was the 49ers’ first regular-season loss since Week 8 of last season and ended a streak of 15 straight games. It was also the first time in nine games that they didn’t score 30 or more goals.

“It wasn’t just Brock, it was everyone,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It was everyone’s turn on offense, and that starts with me.”

Ridder costs the Falcons (twice)

Falcons coach Arthur Smith has supported his struggling quarterback Desmond Ridder this season, but that kind of unwavering belief will be a harder sell after Sunday’s disheartening 24-16 loss to the Commanders.

Because this one hurt.

And the quarterback cost them.

Two of Ridder’s three interceptions on Sunday scuppered Atlanta’s comeback attempt. Twice in the fourth quarter, when the game was still within one score, Ridder wiped it out with throws into Washington territory that he shouldn’t have made. After the first, a careless throw that was easily deflected in the end zone, Smith stared ahead for several seconds, fingers on his chin, frustration simmering.

That look said a lot.

Second-year QB Desmond Ridder had another tough game for the Falcons on Sunday. (Dale Zanine/USA Today)

One has to wonder how long Smith will stick with Ridder, the second-year QB from Cincinnati, considering expectations have risen for this Falcons team this year. Atlanta has now lost three of four, averaging 9.6 points per game in those losses. Ridder has thrown five picks in his last three games. That is not enough.

But the criticism in Atlanta will extend not just to the quarterback, but also to the head coach. The Falcons are still 3-3 and in a winnable division, but they won’t remain competitive with this type of quarterback play and an offense that continues to struggle.

Smith will have to make a decision sooner or later.

The Bengals are heating up

We probably should have seen this coming. We’ve seen it before.

But there wasn’t much evidence – aside from last season, of course – to point to a turnaround in Cincinnati this early in the season. In September, when Joe Burrow wasn’t yet himself, things weren’t looking good for the Bengals and the coach stressed, “It’s a long season,” and it was pretty hard to see that coming, especially quickly.

In short: they played bad football. Burrow, hampered by a lingering calf injury, was inconsistent at best, terrible at worst. The offense was out of sync. And the Bengals were 1-3 after being beaten 27-3 by a mediocre Titans team on Oct. 1.

Coach Zac Taylor never panicked, emphasizing that his team had been in a similar situation just a year earlier: After an 0-2 start set off alarm bells in Cincinnati, the Bengals finished 12-4 and were winning late in the season Ten wins in a row this season.

“I always feel like we’re there,” Burrow said after the loss to the Titans.

The QB’s words ring true two weeks later. The Bengals can breathe a sigh of relief before the bye: They’re 3-3 after Sunday’s 17-13 win over the Seahawks, and Burrow is starting to play better. After defeating the Cardinals in a 34-20 win last week, he went 13-for-15 for 123 yards and two touchdowns on his first two drives Sunday.

The Bengals defense held firm late into the night, sacking Geno Smith a total of four times to secure the victory. This is a good sign for the future because Cincy won’t be able to rely on its offense every week.

“It’s a lot easier to fix things when you’re 3-3,” Burrow said.

His first four games of the season: two touchdowns, two interceptions, 728 yards and a passer rating under 70.

His last two: five touchdowns, two interceptions, 502 passing yards and a passer rating near 100.

Burrow hasn’t regained his MVP form yet, but as Taylor pointed out a few weeks ago, there’s still plenty of time left in the season. Don’t write off the Bengals just yet.

(Top photo by PJ Walker: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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