NFL Sunday Week 6 Games Ranked By Watchability
Each week this season, OutKick will get you primed for an NFL Sunday on the couch by telling you which games deserve the most attention. For Week 6, here we go...
NFL Games Worth Watching From Opening Kick Until Final Whistle
Thankfully, one of the worst primetime games of the season -- Thursday Night Football between the Commanders and Bears -- is followed by one of the best. OutKick's Armando Salguero wrote a detailed piece on why this is the Game of the Week, which you can read this morning.
Main storyline:
Main storyline: I'm not sure how the New York Giants are in a can't-miss game in Week 6, but here we are. The Giants are 4-1, coming off a win over the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Daniel Jones is playing competent football. Despite the fact that ESPN believes the Giants should lose on purpose, I expect an all-out effort in this one. This is one of those "are you for real games," especially for Jones.
Here's an interesting fact about Daniel Jones: he's actually much worse at Giants Stadium than he is on the road. Away from home, Jones owns a career 30-11 TD-INT ratio. But in home contests, he competes just 62% of his passes and has a 18-20 TD-INT ratio. That's right, he's actually thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in home games. He and the Giants have a lot to prove in this contest and I'm looking forward to seeing them try.
Main storyline: Whoa, boy. In what could easily be a preview of the AFC Championship, the Bills head to KC to take on the Chiefs. There are too many storylines to count, but we'll give it a shot. I'd like to say this is a big game for Buffalo, but is it really? Allen and the Bills are 1-3 against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in his career, but 0-2 in the playoffs. These teams met in Week 5 last season at Arrowhead and the Bills won 38-20. It seemed to be a major turning point for Buffalo, but they would later lose to KC in the playoffs -- again -- and no one cared about what they did in October.
If anything, a win here would give Buffalo the leg up for the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs. That's huge because both of their playoff losses the past two seasons have come at Arrowhead. The Bills are also on bye next week, so there's no reason not to push everything to the absolute limits. The Chiefs, meanwhile, are coming off a hard-fought Monday Night Football victory over the Raiders. They've had one fewer day to rest and prepare and have to travel to the West Coast next weekend. It's a great spot for Buffalo and I expect them to take advantage.
Josh Allen and the Bills won at Arrowhead last October, in NFL Week 5. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Games To Flip To During Commercials Of Better Games
Main Storyline: The NFL is a quarterback league, so it seems weird to have a Kirk Cousins vs. Skylar Thompson matchup this high. But this contest is much more about the other players on offense. The Vikings have Justin Jefferson, who is arguably the NFL's best offensive player (non-quarterback). The Dolphins have a pair of stud wide receivers of their own in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. If you flip to this game during a commercial, you might get to see one of those three making an incredible play, and that alone is worth it. Although, Hill and Waddle will have to be careful not to be too distracted by ping-pong.
Main Storyline: How the New York Giants and New York Jets are both in meaningful games in Week 6 is an absolute anomaly. But here we are! This is a battle by two teams who are very different but facing the exact same question: "are they actually any good?" The Jets are 3-2 and feature a fun offense with rookies Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall and second-year playmakers Michael Carter and Elijah Moore. But the questions aren't about them. They're about their quarterback, Zach Wilson. Although New York is 2-0 since his return to the lineup, he hasn't been all that impressive, completing under 60% of his passes in wins over the Steelers and Dolphins. This is a big game for him and the Jets.
On the other side, it's the exact opposite story. Sure, the Packers have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback ... but who else?? Rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs has been good, but he was a fourth round pick for a reason. Hell, 32-year-old Randall Cobb had 13 targets and seven catches last week. It seems likely that Rodgers will look across the field on Sunday and say "Man, I wish I had the weapons that Zach Wilson had." In what world did we ever think Aaron Rodgers would be jealous of Zach Wilson? At least, on the field. We are all a little jealous of Wilson off-the-field.
The Jets are 2-0 since Zach Wilson's return to the lineup, but he hasn't exactly been impressive in those two NFL games. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
I Guess It's OK If This Game Shows Up On NFL RedZone
Main Storyline: I think this game has an opportunity to be more fun and higher-scoring than the 43-point total suggests, which is why I gave out the Over as one of my favorite wagers on this week's OutKick Bets podcast. You can check out all of our NFL picks here.
Despite a Bailey Zappe vs. Jacoby Brissett quarterback matchup that looks terrible on paper, don't sleep on this contest. First, we have a potential brewing QB controversy in New England and another good start by Zappe could really add fuel to that fire. The Browns are just trying to keep their heads above water with Brissett until Deshaun Watson returns. Although, a new lawsuit against the latter could complicate matters. While this might not seem like the most exciting matchup, don't be surprised if it ends up as one of Sunday's best games.
Main Storyline: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The Saints, when Drew Brees was at the helm, used to regularly be must-see TV. And the new-look Bengals with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins should be a can't-miss offense. Instead, we have the "Andy Dalton revenge game" and that's just not doing it for me. And Cincinnati, despite the offensive talent, have scored 20 or fewer points in three of their five games. They've yet to top 30 points, something they did seven times last season. New Orleans defense isn't great, evidenced by the 60 points they've allowed over the past two weeks, but can the Bengals finally take advantage?
Let's hope so, because this game should never be this low. Especially since Joe Burrow is returning to Louisiana and might be stalked at the stadium by LSU NIL star Olivia Dunne. There are too many storylines for this game to be this uninteresting on paper.
Main Storyline: The media so badly wants this to be a matchup between two Black head coaches, but thankfully Todd Bowles and the rest of us couldn't care less about that. What we care about is the matchup between 45-yard-old ageless wonder Tom Brady and rookie Kenny Pickett, who is making just his second NFL start. While the Bucs are favored by more than a touchdown, this is another game with a chance to be really good.
The Bucs offense has been really bad this season and Kenny Pickett gives the Steelers offense an element they didn't have with Mitch Trubisky. That element being, of course, a quarterback who can actually throw a football. This could be a low-scoring slugfest, but I think an exciting ending will save it. Please let Kenny Pickett have the ball in hands with a chance to win the game late while Tom Brady looks on. And please let a terrible roughing the passer call be the reason he gets the job done. That would be football justice.
Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett is still looking for his first NFL victory and it would be fitting to get it against the GOAT, Tom Brady. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
If You're A Fan Of These Teams, I Guess You Might Care. But I Don't.
Main Storyline: There's not a whole lot to say about this one. The only thing keeping it from being a bottom-tier game is that the 49ers are leading the NFC West and the Falcons are only one game back in the NFC South. Otherwise, I'm struggling to find much to say. The 49ers defense is completely dominant, which is great for them, but not a lot of fun to watch. And now they get a Marcus Mariota-led Falcons offense. Oof. Talk about a mismatch. Plus, it's not like San Francisco offense is super exciting. And the Falcons defense has actually better than you might think, holding each of their last four opponents under 24 points. A defensive slugfest between two teams with average-to-below-average quarterbacks? As the tier suggests, if you're a fan of either team you probably care. I just don't.
Main Storyline: I was torn on actually moving this game up a notch. As boring as the above game looks on paper, this one has the potential to be super fun. Bad football, to be sure, but fun nonetheless. Geno Smith continues to defy all expectations -- and logic -- but I think eventually that has to come to an end. I just don't think it will be in this game. And a date with the Seahawks ghastly defense might be what Kyler Murray and the Cardinals need to actually unlock itself. The over/under is set at 50 points, the second-highest number on the slate. So, yeah, this could be fun. You know what? I screwed up. This game belongs in a higher tier. But I'm too lazy to change it, so just pretend it's there.
Geno Smith has been proving the doubters wrong so far this NFL season (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
If These Games Show Up On My TV, I'm Punting It Off My Back Deck
Main Storyline: How the defending Super Bowl champions are now a team that I have zero interest in watching is legitimately beyond my comprehension. But not only are the Rams playing badly, but they are no fun to watch. Their offense stinks, Matthew Stafford is clearly not healthy, the offensive line is a mess and only Cooper Kupp appears to currently belong on an NFL roster.
On the other side, PJ Walker is starting at quarterback for new head coach Steve Wilks because Carolina finally fired Matt Rhule. I guess that's an interesting storyline, but this game has DRAG written all over it. Two offenses that are a complete mess playing while Bills vs. Chiefs is on another channel. I can't even imagine seeing a second of this game while that matchup is on. I wouldn't even switch to this during commercials. I'd rather watch another Flo from Progressive or Lily from AT&T ad just to ensure I don't miss something when that real football game returns from break.
Main Storyline: I've already written a ton of words and my editor says I need to write less in these pieces, so I'm going to throw him a bone here and write nothing about this disaster of a matchup. Happy, Dom?