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2024 NFL Week 6: Sunday’s best games and standout storylines

Vaseline October 13, 2024

CNN
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As the leaves turn brown and the clock goes back, the importance of NFL football increases. And Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season is no different, as playoff hopes slip away and jobs are on the line.

The week started with the San Francisco 49ers’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.

Sunday’s action starts with that of London de facto team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, returns to Britain for the first time this year to play their first of two games, opening against the Chicago Bears.

With a full football schedule from morning to night, here are the three matches you won’t want to miss.

The best photos from the 2024 NFL season

Washington Commanders (4-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (3-2) – 1:00 PM ET

It has been a long time since the “Battle of the Beltway” had such significance.

For the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens – whose stadiums are just 52 miles apart – Sunday’s game comes at crucial points in the season.

The Ravens are currently riding a three-game winning streak as they rebuild after a stuttering start, while the Commanders look to continue their rise from starter to serious playoff contender.

The matchup features a showdown between two of the NFL’s most exciting quarterbacks; on one sideline is reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, and on the other side is rookie Jayden Daniels.

Jackson is ranked by NFL.com as the No. 1 quarterback through five weeks of the season, while Daniels is sixth after a historic start to his rookie campaign.

Jackson showed off all facets of his skills in the Ravens’ dramatic win over the Bengals in Week 5, precise with his throwing and elusive with his running. This was no more emphasized than when he dropped the snap and was able to fend off Cincinnati defenseman Sam Hubbard twice before finding Isaiah Likely in the end zone in one of the best plays of the season.

Reigning NFL MVP Jackson has led the Ravens on a three-game winning streak.

Daniels, on the other hand, is breaking records seemingly every week for his accuracy in throwing the ball and his ability to run it.

The last time there was this much excitement surrounding a Washington quarterback was 2012, with Robert Griffin III’s Offensive Rookie of the Year season.

And while Baltimore is the much more experienced team, head coach John Harbaugh was quick to praise Washington and Daniels.

“I can tell you that Jayden is playing at a high, high level,” Harbaugh told reporters on Wednesday. “He has his team; they built it around him. (Commander’s Offensive Coordinator) Kliff (Kingsbury) has done a great job there in terms of building the offense around Jayden.

“They have skill players; they have a very good running back, an experienced offensive line. They did a great job – you can see it on the tape… There’s all kinds of space out there that they’ve created with all that chemistry they have together. We have our hands full. It definitely starts with Jayden, but it’s the entire offense and we have to be sharp.”

Despite being in his rookie season, Daniels is one of the early season contenders for the MVP award after a historic start in the NFL.

Cleveland Browns (1-4) @ Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) – 1:00 PM ET

The Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles were two teams that entered the season with high expectations. But they both flattered themselves to deceive.

The Browns have had poor quarterback play from Deshaun Watson as the team has fallen to a 1-4 opening with negativity and question marks surrounding the franchise.

NFL.com has ranked Watson as the worst quarterback in the league through five weeks, with writer Nick Shook saying, “He is no longer a starting-caliber quarterback, and until the Browns decide to make a change, they will continue to do so . fight vigorously. It’s time to bench him, plain and simple.”

However, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanksi has resisted calls to sit Watson, saying that as long as he is healthy, the eight-year veteran will be the team’s starter.

Watson has struggled through the first four games of the 2024 season.

The Eagles also enter Week 6 with clouds overhead. After a disappointing end to last season, head coach Nick Sirianni needed a fast start to win over his doubters.

Although they won their season opener in Brazil against the Packers, Philadelphia lost on a last-minute drive at home to the Atlanta Falcons, while suffering a convincing loss on the road to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.

They are coming off their bye week, which gave their two-star receivers – AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith – a chance to get healthy after missing the past few outings.

Without his top two goals, QB Jalen Hurts has struggled with seven goals in his four games. And Sirianni said Thursday that the team looked at addressing the turnover struggle during their off week.

“I think in general our revenue difference is that we have some different ways that we’re going to coach a few things, approach some things, how we’re going to coach a few things and practice a few things,” he says. told reporters.

Both teams could use a win on Sunday to get their season back on track.

Sirianni is under pressure after a 2-2 start to the season.

Sunday offers both the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys the chance to get their fourth win of the season and the opportunity to realize their playoff aspirations.

The start to the season for the Lions has been impressive so far. They last played in Week 4 with their 13-point win against the Seattle Seahawks before parting ways.

Head coach Dan Campbell’s team is coming into nice shape as time goes on, with quarterback Jared Goff not missing a pass against Seattle. The two-headed attack of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery also keeps opposing defenses on their toes and the array of pass-catching talent poses a threat with every move.

It looks like the Lions offense is hitting its stride through five weeks of the season.

Conversely, the Cowboys sputtered to their 3-2 start. QB Dak Prescott was accurate, but ‘America’s Team’ struggled at home, losing their two games so far at AT&T Stadium in convincing fashion.

One problem for the team was getting star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb involved in the second half of games. Lamb has just four catches for 25 yards in 10 quarters through the second half of the season’s first five weeks.

But Prescott sees the defense targeting Lamb as an opportunity to get the rest of his offensive weapons involved.

“I mean, it’s the NFL,” Prescott told reporters. “They’re not going to let you come in early and late and beat you with their fastball, if that’s what you’re trying to do; they’re going to force you to change it and that’s a credit to those guys, not just the defensive coordinators, who understand that we want to get that guy the ball.”

The Cowboys will likely be without star pass rusher Micah Parsons for Sunday’s game in Arlington, Texas, due to injury, but ending their poor home record will be crucial if they have any hope of making a deep playoff run.

And with the pressure mounting on head coach Mike McCarthy’s shoulders after two consecutive subpar losses, that’s the expectation for Dallas.