Arkansas Bengal Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Published: Oct 16, 2023 at 08:32 AM Jeffri Chadiha NFL.com Columnist 2023 NFL season, Week 6: Notable injuries, news from Sunday's games Cincinnati Bengals 3-3 The Bengals have rebounded from a slow start for the second straight season, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them start rolling again. Cincinnati lost its first two games in 2022 before winning 12 of its next 14 regular-season contests. It’s a much harder road to create that kind of success this year -- after this week's bye, the Bengals will see the 49ers, Bills and Ravens in three of their next four games -- but there’s a lot to like about Cincinnati. First off, quarterback Joe Burrow is playing at a high level again after dealing with a lingering calf strain. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is asserting his dominance, as well. The defense also is starting to find itself, as the Seattle Seahawks learned in Cincinnati’s 17-13 win on Sunday. The Bengals came up with two huge fourth-quarter stops after Seattle had moved deep into Cincinnati territory and looked ready to take the lead on a touchdown. Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith also had a horrible day against that unit, throwing two interceptions and taking four sacks. The Bengals knew it would be a tough transition when safeties Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates III left in free agency, and this unit has gone through its growing pains. However, the talent is there for this defense to be as reliable as it was in each of the last two seasons. If it can keep playing like it did on Sunday -- and Burrow remains healthy -- the Bengals will very much be in the Super Bowl discussion. Cleveland Browns 3-2 Anybody who watched Cleveland's 19-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers realizes that the Browns are as dangerous as they’ve been in years. They beat a team that had been whipping opponents and accomplished that feat with quarterback Deshaun Watson sidelined for the second straight game. It’s fair to argue that the injuries to wide receiver Deebo Samuel and running back Christian McCaffrey plagued the 49ers in this game. That also would be a huge slight to the Browns' defense, which has been elite all season and frustrated the Niners’ prolific attack for most of this contest. Cleveland is a team that has been intriguing since training camp, largely because of Watson having a full season to play and the potential of that defense with new coordinator Jim Schwartz running it. Now we’re seeing what that buzz was about. The Browns have the look of a legitimate playoff contender as long as Watson can build on the momentum he created before his shoulder injury -- he produced his best game with that franchise in a blowout win over Tennessee in Week 3 -- and their ground game can withstand the loss of running back Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury. Houston Texans 3-3 There’s no way anybody was picking Houston for this kind of list when the season began. That was before rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud started his career in stellar fashion, and the Texans found various ways to battle through adversity. This is a team that has endured all sorts of offensive line issues. It didn’t have much of a running attack before this Sunday’s win over New Orleans, and the defense doesn’t possess any real star power. Yet here the Texans stand, with blowout wins over Pittsburgh and Jacksonville, and one game separating them from the AFC South lead. This team is so balanced that it ranked 11th in both scoring offense and defense coming into Sunday's triumph over the Saints. It also has a favorable schedule coming up after this week's bye, with four winnable games arriving in the ensuing six weeks (against the Panthers, Buccaneers, Cardinals and Broncos). The Texans spent a lot of time early in this past offseason talking about how they wanted to build a team to put around whomever they ultimately drafted at quarterback. That strategy has put them much farther ahead than expected. Los Angeles Rams 3-3 Sean McVay is a phenomenal coach when he’s blessed with a star-studded roster. It turns out that he’s even more impressive when working with a team carrying low expectations. The Rams aren’t as good as their NFC West rivals, San Francisco and Seattle, but they’re more than capable of competing for a wild-card playoff spot. That’s not only because the NFC is weak; it’s because McVay has made the most of a team that seemed destined for a major rebuild. His greatest feat thus far is finding a way to turn an offense that lost its centerpiece for four weeks (wide receiver Cooper Kupp) into one that hardly missed a beat with new faces (Puka Nacua quickly became one of the rising stars of this young season). The Rams also have played strong teams close, losing by seven to the 49ers and three to the Bengals. It’s hard to know how much longer Los Angeles can keep this up, but this much is true: McVay will find ways to maximize that passing attack, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald is still a beast. Those two factors are enough to stay optimistic about how this team evolves over the course of the year. New York Jets 3-3 The Jets were supposed to be dead by now, five weeks after Aaron Rodgers went down with that torn Achilles. Instead, they’re sitting at 3-3 because their head man, Robert Saleh, is coaching his butt off. Zach Wilson wouldn’t be playing better if Saleh didn’t support him. The Jets wouldn’t be able to beat the Eagles without both starting cornerbacks (Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed were out with concussions) if Saleh wasn’t inspiring them. New York has now beaten Buffalo and Philadelphia -- and given the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs all they could handle in a loss. That says something about Gang Green's competitive spirit and the talent that still exists on this roster. The blueprint for this team after Rodgers was lost was obvious: Run the football and play elite defense. The Jets have done more of that lately -- they forced four turnovers against Philadelphia -- and it’s given them a chance to remain viable. https://www.nfl.com/news/the-first-read-five-teams-that-are-better-than-their-records-mvp-rankings-week-7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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