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Week 6 takeaways: Bucs & Seahawks are SB contenders, Chiefs are back (again), plus more notes

Prior to last Thursday, my father asked me which NFL team I thought was best. My first instinct was to say the Philadelphia Eagles, then Detroit Lions. I began to mention the Buffalo Bills next, but then I remembered they had just lost to the New England Patriots days before.

The point is, I didn’t really know the answer to that question. Now, after Week 6, I feel the answer has become less clear. A week ago, the Kansas City Chiefs looked lost, but now, not so much. The Eagles also lost to the New York Giants, and the Lions looked weak against K.C., though the injuries certainly didn’t help. This is the sign of a fun season, when the best team isn’t clearly defined. It’s also a sign that the playoffs will be full of bangers.

I enjoyed the games from Week 6, and had a few other takeaways from Sunday’s contests. Let’s dive into some notes.

Bucs, Seahawks are legitimate Super Bowl contenders: Don’t look now, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks are legit. Should we consider the Bucs the NFL’s best team? They’re 5-1 with impressive wins, including over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Their only loss was to the Eagles by six. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is slinging it even without WRs Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan or running back Bucky Irving, and managed to lead his team to victory Sunday without star WR Emeka Egbuka for three quarters.

The Bucs even have a win over the Seahawks, who looked good in a 20-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars this past weekend. Seattle’s defense was the standout, hitting QB Trevor Lawrence a whopping 17 times and sacking him seven times. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba is looking like an early Offensive Player of the Year candidate, earning 162 yards and a score through the air — his fourth time going over 100 yards this season. And QB Sam Darnold continues to impress, throwing for just short of 300 yards as well as two touchdowns. Seattle looks like a complete team from top to bottom, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that defense carry them to wins in January.

MVP Watch led by surprising names: On that note, when considering the top MVP candidates so far, Mayfield has to be in that discussion, right? Despite injuries, he’s top four in passing yards and TDs, has only one interception to his name, and boasts the NFL’s sixth-best offense in points per game. Above all, he leads the team that currently owns the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If he continues this pace, he’ll be a top contender for MVP by the end of the year.

Others who are in that discussion? Of course, the usual suspects like Bills QB Josh Allen and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, but also some surprises: Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford, who leads the league in passing yards, is resurging, while Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott isn’t far behind him, and he’s doing it without WR CeeDee Lamb. But let’s not overlook Pats QB Drake Maye, who is top five in passing and has taken his game to another level over the past two weeks as his squad sits at 4-2. It’s still early, but the field is intriguing.

Chiefs will (probably) not go quietly: After falling to the Jags in Week 5, committing 13 accepted penalties during that game, the Chiefs followed up with a statement 30-17 win over the Lions in which they committed zero accepted penalties. They did it without their starting left tackle, too, and now they have their top wideout Rashee Rice set to return next week. Suddenly the Chiefs are 3-3 with reinforcements on the way, and those who wrote them off may have to backtrack a little.

The Panthers… might be good? Carolina suddenly has a new star, and his name is Rico Dowdle. The 27-year-old RB replaced an injured Chuba Hubbard two weeks ago, and in two games he has 473 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Those are insane numbers. Meanwhile, QB Bryce Young continues to trend positively as he leans on rookie WR Tetairoa McMillan, who had two TDs in Sunday’s win over the Cowboys. The Panthers have had an up-and-down road to reach 3-3, but Sunday they showed they might be good enough to compete with good teams and push for a wild card spot. That’s definitely not something I thought I’d say after their 0-2 start to the season.

Several teams should consider selling: I’m looking at you, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans. Those four are all 1-5 or worse, and there’s no real sign of looking up. The NFL trade deadline is approaching on Tuesday, Nov. 4, just after Week 9, and I don’t see any scenario where these teams magically turn things around by then. With that in mind, they might want to consider selling some key pieces in order to build draft capital.

So who would be for sale? The Dolphins could ship edge rusher Jaelan Phillips for a nice haul, as well as cornerback Rasul Douglas. Tight end David Njoku could make sense for the Browns, along with a few offensive linemen. RB Breece Hall has been a name mentioned often for the Jets to send away, being in the last year of his contract. And the Titans have two notable trade pieces in edge Arden Key and TE Chigoziem Okonkwo who will both be free agents in 2026.

UPDATE: Shortly before publishing this newsletter, the Titans fired coach Brian Callahan. Needless to say, their season is likely done, meaning selling is probably the best option at this point.

MNF preview: Intriguing doubleheader awaits

I’m starting to enjoy the Monday night doubleheaders, as it increases chances of us getting a great game. I prefer when the games are spaced out rather than playing at the same time, but my TV provider’s split screen view helps with the latter.

We have a couple of interesting matchup’s lined up tonight — let’s take a look at each.

Buffalo Bills (4-1) at Atlanta Falcons (2-2), 7:15 p.m. ET: Coming off a close loss to the Pats, the Bills hope to get back on track to stay atop the AFC East. The team was recently hit with some bad news as safety Damar Hamlin and rookie defensive tackle T.J. Sanders were both placed on injured reserve, meaning they’ll miss at least four games. The Falcons, meanwhile, are one of the NFL’s most puzzling teams right now after following up a blowout loss to the Panthers with a close win over the Commanders. This game will be a real test to see what kind of team Atlanta really is.

Chicago Bears (2-2) at Washington Commanders (3-2), 8:15 p.m. ET: The Bears are kind of similar to the Falcons in that they seem like a true .500 team that can compete with the best but also lose to the worst. QB Caleb Williams has been looking better each week, an encouraging sign, and he wouldn’t be able to do it without WR Rome Odunze who has at least one TD in each game this season. The Bears’ defense, however, doesn’t look good, allowing the second-most rushing yards per game and fourth-most points per game, which is something the Commanders should be able to take advantage of. However, it’s an issue that Washington WR Terry McLaurin has been ruled out while WR Deebo Samuel is a game-time decision.

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