Week 6 of the 2026 NFL season arrives with a strange little wrinkle: four teams are off, including one of the league’s three unbeaten clubs and one of its three winless ones. After a Week 5 that delivered a season-high three overtime games, a stunning tie and a pair of road wins in prime time, the slate turns again and the matchups carry plenty of bite.
The action opens Thursday night with Seattle at Denver, a rematch of sorts between two teams that were sitting on 14-3 records last season and finished as the top seeds in their conferences. That’s a long way of saying the loser here will already have matched last year’s defeat total, unless the game somehow ends in a tie. Seattle, meanwhile, has coughed the ball up eight times over its last three games.
Sunday’s schedule starts early with Houston and Jacksonville meeting in London, and the Jaguars keep rolling after their latest stunner overseas against the Eagles. Jacksonville has won 12 of its last 14 overall games. Houston comes in after DeMeco Ryans’s team handled the Titans in Nashville, and Will Anderson Jr. has been a force up front with 7.5 of the Texans’ 18 sacks.
The Jets head to New England trying to do something they rarely manage in this matchup. A win would match their total from last season, but they’re 2-18 in their last 20 games against the Patriots. Drake Maye has been lighting it up for the Pats, throwing seven touchdown passes with only one interception in his last two games.
Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay brings together two teams with very different kinds of inconsistency. The Steelers are 3-0 at home but 0-2 on the road, and they still haven’t won back-to-back games this season.
On the other side, Mike McCarthy’s club has been all over the map through five weeks. The running backs should be worth watching here: Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren and Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving.
Carolina returns after a week off and heads into Philadelphia looking to keep its win-loss pattern going after a prime time win over the Lions. The Panthers have been alternating wins and losses, while the Eagles’ promising 2-0 start has turned into three straight defeats. That’s the club’s worst opening stretch since Nick Sirianni’s first season in 2021.
Chicago visits Atlanta with the Bears trying to bounce back from their loss at Lambeau Field in Ben Johnson’s second straight road game. The Falcons, meanwhile, let one get away in Sunday night’s loss to the Ravens, and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is dealing with a rib issue. Atlanta has given up 64 points in two home losses.
Tennessee’s trip to Indianapolis is the second half of an AFC South doubleheader, and the Titans are still chasing relief on two fronts: ending a seven-game skid and snapping an 11-game losing streak against their division rival. The Colts’ defense had no answers for Jaylen Warren last Sunday in Pittsburgh.
New Orleans at the Giants features a Saints team that entered the season with some optimism after its late-2025 finish, but that mood has cooled quickly. Kellen Moore’s group has struggled badly on defense, and Tyler Shough has already turned it over eight times. The Giants stand as the only NFC East team with a winning record.
Baltimore’s trip to Cleveland is one of the day’s more important AFC North games. Jesse Minter’s club pulled off a Houdini act Sunday night in Atlanta and sits alone atop the division.
The Browns, meanwhile, couldn’t pull off another fourth-quarter comeback from Deshaun Watson in a loss to the Jets. Baltimore has gone 3-0 on the road and scored 105 points in those wins.
Arizona heads to the Rams after dropping a fourth straight game, and the damage has been real: 31 or more points allowed in each of those losses. The Rams are coming off overtime frustration against the Bills, with special teams letting them down on Monday night. Big Red has also lost eight straight against its NFC West neighbor.
Then there’s the Chargers and Chiefs in a lopsided-looking AFC West showdown. Los Angeles is 0-5 for the first time since 2003, has scored nine offensive touchdowns and given the ball away 13 times. Kansas City, first in the division and the AFC’s only unbeaten team, comes in rested and in control.
Buffalo closes out Monday night’s early-week buzz with a visit to Las Vegas. Joe Brady’s club survived an overtime shootout at SoFi Stadium against the Rams, while the Raiders have gone from stingy to vulnerable fast. After opening with three wins and allowing just 54 points in that stretch, Las Vegas has given up 75 combined points in back-to-back losses to the Chiefs and Patriots.
Sunday night sends Dallas to Green Bay, where the Cowboys are trying to recover from the embarrassment of a home loss to the then-winless Buccaneers. The Packers, fresh off a lopsided win over the Bears at Lambeau Field, have a Dallas defense in front of them that has already allowed 16 offensive touchdowns in five games.
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McVay also said Jackson is expected to appeal, which leaves a familiar kind of uncertainty hanging over a position group the Rams can ill afford to destabilize. For a team trying to keep its offense on track, the on-field answer may be straightforward for now, but the broader fallout from the incident is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals QB Decision Could Change Rams' NFC West Race
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ESPNs Dan Graziano reported that Mike LaFleur could eventually turn to rookie Carson Beck later in the season, potentially after the trade deadline, if the teams results and schedule point that way. Jacoby Brissett has been steady enough to keep the door from opening just yet, but the possibility of a midseason quarterback pivot adds another layer to a division race the Rams will be watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Kyren Williams Controversy Has Rams Fans Debating More Than His Numbers
Kyren Williams latest outing against the Bills became a talking point for reasons that went well beyond the Rams offense. The running back was credited with 49 rushing yards on 16 carries, and while that kind of line usually fades quickly into the weekly stat sheet, this one has lingered because it sits so close to a round number that plenty of viewers thought had been reached.
The dispute has mostly lived in the world of sports gamblers and social media, where frustration has been aimed at sportsbooks and the official measurement of the run. Williams has still given the Rams steady production through five games this season, with 343 rushing yards and four touchdowns, but the lingering debate shows how one yard can take on a life of its own when the numbers are tight and the stakes feel bigger than the box score. [Read more 🡒]