Week 6 delivered the kind of chaos that can shake a team’s confidence, and three clubs came out of Sunday with plenty to stew over.
Not every disappointing result belongs in the panic column, though. Teams like the Jaguars, Giants, and Ravens took losses, but there are three others that look a lot more vulnerable heading into Week 7.
The Rams are first up, and their home loss to the Cardinals may have been the most troubling of the bunch. Los Angeles entered Sunday at 2-3 with a game it badly needed to have, and instead dropped to 2-4 in rough fashion.
That leaves very little room for mistakes the rest of the way. The roster also has some obvious pressure points: an aging quarterback, an aging wide receiver, and another star pass catcher who is as gifted as anyone but can’t always be counted on to stay healthy.
If the Rams are going to stabilize, they need full buy-in every week, and that may be a tall order. Next on the schedule is a trip to Vegas to face a Raiders team coming off a close loss to Buffalo.
Seattle is in a different kind of trouble, but the alarm bells are real there too. The defending champs have now lost three straight after Thursday night’s overtime defeat to Denver, a team that has struggled to put up points all year.
Sam Darnold looked out of sync at times, and one costly mistake from the veteran quarterback helped decide the outcome. Questions are growing about why Seattle let Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker walk in the offseason, especially after also losing offensive play caller Klint Kubiak.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been excellent, but he can only carry so much of the load. Mike McDonald’s defense still looks solid, yet that group can’t be asked to win games without more help from the offense.
With losses already piling up in 2025, a run at the division and the No. 1 seed looks like a long shot, and the 49ers could widen the gap even further if they handle business on Monday night.
Then there’s Indianapolis, which had a very manageable chance to get back to .500 and blew it at home. The Colts hosted the winless Titans with an opportunity to move to 3-3, and instead came away with a loss that has to sting.
Division defeats are bad enough. Losing at home to a team with no wins is worse.
Daniel Jones hasn’t looked like the version of himself we saw for the first eight weeks last season, and whether that’s tied to injury or simply his play, the Colts need answers. The offense is also dealing with injuries, with Tyler Warren out this week and Alec Pierce already among the wounded.
Jonathan Taylor is still grinding out yards, but he can’t be the entire operation. Indianapolis needs the offense to pick up the slack because the defense has been a problem, and Sunday’s 26 points allowed to Tennessee underlined that.
Now the challenge gets tougher, with a trip to Minnesota to face the undefeated Vikings after their bye.
In Other News...
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For a fan base that often tracks multiple games on a Sunday, that kind of hiccup matters more than it might seem. The issue cuts right to the promise of the package, which is supposed to make sure subscribers can follow the action they want without timing conflicts getting in the way. Instead, some viewers are finding themselves locked out at the exact moment the game they came to watch is getting underway, a problem that never surfaced in the same way under the old setup. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Face A Trade Deadline Choice They Can't Ignore
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The possibilities are easy to see from Seattles side. A veteran interior defensive lineman could help steady the front, a quality cornerback would give the secondary more flexibility, and a possession receiver could give the offense another dependable option. Names such as Dalvin Tomlinson, Riq Woolen and Jauan Jennings have come up in that discussion, but the larger question is whether Schneider thinks this roster needs a real push or simply a little more time to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Byron Murphy II Is Forcing A Seahawks Debate The NFL Can't Ignore
Through six games, Byron Murphy II has become one of the most disruptive players on Seattles defense, and the numbers back it up. He has 21 tackles, three sacks and 19 pressures, production that has put him among the leagues top defensive tackles in pressure rate and helped him keep changing games from the interior.
Murphys rise also brings back a familiar Seahawks talking point, because he already knows what it feels like to be overlooked. After getting strong fan support and posting impressive numbers last season, he was still left out of the Pro Bowl, and this year he looks like a much stronger candidate to break through. His sack of Brock Purdy in Week 5 only added to the case, and it has Seattle wondering how long the rest of the NFL can keep ignoring him. [Read more 🡒]