Here are 10 things that stood out from Sunday’s games in Week 6 of the 2019 NFL season:
10. Russell Wilson has moved into the lead for MVP
With Kansas City losing its second straight game at Arrowhead Stadium, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes no longer is the favorite for NFL Most Valuable Player. Seattle’s Wilson moved into that spot with another near-perfect game in a win against Cleveland. Wilson completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a touchdown. On the season, Wilson has 14 touchdown passes and still hasn’t thrown an interception.
9. Bill O’Brien doesn’t trust his kicker, but that’s OK
On a fourth down in Kansas City territory with less than two minutes remaining, Houston kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn appeared ready to attempt a field goal that would have sealed a victory against the Chiefs. But O’Brien had other ideas. He waved the kicker off. You can’t really argue with O’Brien’s logic. Fairbairn alreadly had missed a field goal and an extra point. So O’Brien called a pass play, and quarterback DeShaun Watson connected with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a first down that allowed the Texans to run out the clock. Expect Houston to audition kickers this week.
8. The Saints have the best defense of the Sean Payton era
A decade after New Orleans’ Super Bowl championship, memories are cloudy. A lot of fans think that team had a great defense. That’s not true. The 2009 Saints defense didn’t shut anyone down. Instead, it thrived on being opportunistic, creating 27 turnovers and 35 sacks with players such as Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma leading the way. But this year’s defense is much better all around. That much was obvious as the Saints held Jacksonville to two field goals, kept Leonard Fournette in check and forced Gardner Minshew’s first interception since Week 1. This defense is great at generating pressure without using a lot of blitzes. Backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is undefeated while filling in for Drew Brees. But Brees should be back soon. When that happens, he could combine with that defense to give New Orleans its best team ever.
7. Devin Bush is the Defensive Rookie of the Year
Quarterback Devlin Hodges will get the most attention of any Pittsburgh rookie after Sunday night’s victory against the Chargers. He should. Hodges, whose nickname is “Duck’’ (as the NBC crew told us about 137 times), got the start in place of the injured Mason Rudolph – who was playing in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger – showed plenty of composure as he completed 15 of 20 passes for 132 yards with a touchdown and an interception. But Bush, the Michigan linebacker drafted in the first round, was the catalyst for the Steelers. He recovered a fumble and returned it for Pittsburgh’s first touchdown. He also had an interception and appeared to return it for another touchdown, but officials ruled that Bush was down soon after the pick. Still, his interception set up Pittsburgh’s second touchdown and took a lot of pressure off Hodges.
6. The Dolphins officially are the NFL’s worst team
The Redskins had been staying right with the Dolphins for this title in terms of wins and dysfunction. But, when the two met, something had to give. Actually, it almost didn’t. The game could have gone to overtime (and ended in a tie) if Miami coach Brian Flores decided to kick the extra point after Ryan Fitzpatrick hit DeVante Parker with a last-minute touchdown to cut Washington’s lead to one point. But Flores, in the true spirit of tanking, went for two, and the conversion failed. That keeps the door open for an 0-16 season that’s looking more possible every week.
5. QB Whisperer, Superman not on same page
Coach Bruce Arians was supposed to come to Tampa and make quarterback Jameis Winston into a superstar. It’s not working. Winston threw five interceptions, lost a fumble and was sacked seven times in Sunday’s loss to Carolina. Arians has talked about Winston in delicate terms and defended his quarterback at every opportunity. But there was a crack in Arians’ style after Sunday’s game.
“Throw the damn ball away,” Arians told the media. “You avoided one. You might have avoided two. You ain’t thrown it anywhere. … Throw it away. He has a habit of trying to be Superman.”
If Arians is publicly changing his tone on Winston, that doesn’t bode well for the future of a quarterback in the last year of his contract.
4. The 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo are for real
When the 49ers started 4-0, there was still skepticism. That’s because their early-season schedule wasn’t difficult. But the 49ers validated themselves Sunday by going to Los Angeles and beating the Rams, the defending NFC champions. That came even though the 49ers were without both regular offensive tackles, their starting fullback and a starting cornerback. The defense held Jared Goff to 78 passing yards. Perhaps more importantly, Garoppolo has a five-game winning streak with San Francisco for the second time. He also won five straight in 2017. Despite going 10-22 the previous two seasons, the 49ers suddenly are a legitimate playoff contender.
3. The Vikings now believe in Kirk Cousins
The jury still was out on Cousins’ outstanding performance last week. You could envision it just being a fluke because of his horrible start. But Sunday proved that Cousins is for real. In a win against Philadelphia, Cousins topped last week’s performance with 333 passing yards and four touchdowns. Three of those scores went to Stefon Diggs, who reportedly wanted a trade out of Minnesota. The other went to Adam Thielen, who criticized Cousins two weeks ago. Both receivers are happy now. In a postgame interview, Diggs raved about how happy he is in Minnesota. Minnesota already had a good defense and a gifted running back in Dalvin Cook. Now that Cousins has given Minnesota a passing game, this is a team that could go a long way in the postseason.
2. The Falcons could fire Dan Quinn very soon
The day started for the Falcons with NFL Network reporting that Quinn needed to show progress before the Week 9 bye or he could lose his job. I’m sure the report was true at the time. But the timetable on Quinn might have been moved up after Sunday’s embarrassing loss to Arizona (any loss to Arizona is embarrassing, and Quinn’s defense was beyond embarrassing in allowing rookie Kyler Murray to throw for 340 yards and three touchdowns). There’s no excuse to have only one win when you’ve got Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. Quinn has no insulation left after changing offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators in the offseason. Owner Arthur Blank’s patience is thin. Quinn might not even make it to Week 9. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s fired Monday. Oh, and general manager Thomas Dimitroff’s job also could be on the line before all is said and done.
1. Cowboys were the NFL’s most overrated team
With Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper, the Cowboys were viewed as one of the best teams in the league heading into the season. There was even Super Bowl talk. That seemed valid when the Cowboys started 3-0. But the tables have turned dramatically. The Cowboys lost to the previously winless New York Jets on Sunday. Yes, Dallas was without its two starting offensive tackles wideout Randall Cobb. But that’s no excuse. The Dallas defense had all sorts of trouble with New York quarterback Sam Darnold, who was playing in his first game back from mononucleosis. The only good thing is Dallas still is tied for first place in an NFC East that’s turned out to be weaker than expected. But the pressure is suddenly on head coach Jason Garrett, who is in the last year of his contract.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
