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NFL 10 Big Things: Week 6

Here are 10 stories that will impact games across the NFL in Week 6.

Pat Donovan

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Each week, we’ll give you 10 things to keep an eye on during the week’s upcoming games. From one-on-one match ups to players on the mend, we’ll talk about 10 things that could have an impact on your favorite team, or your fantasy team.

1. The Indianapolis Colts offensive Line against the Houston Texans: The Indianapolis Colts have thrown for more yards than any team in football, but that doesn’t mean Andrew Luck has had all day to hang around in the pocket this season. Luck has been sacked six times through the team’s first five games, but has been under pressure more often than that number might suggest. Thursday night the Colts head into Houston to take on a Texans team with the NFL’s most disruptive defender, J.J. Watt without either of their starting guards, Jack Mewhort and Hugh Thornton. While the Texans offense will struggle to keep up with the Colts, if tackles Anthony Castonzo and Gosder Cherilus have to worry about what’s going on inside, it could be a painful night and a sore Friday morning for Andrew Luck.

2. A Massacre at the Meadowlands: Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for the New York Jets offense, they did. The offense looked so poor last week that the team finally turned to Michael Vick. Vick and second year starter Geno Smith combined for 74 passing yards and an interception in the team’s 31-0 blowout loss to the San Diego Chargers. While the Jets struggled last week, this Sunday’s opponent, the Denver Broncos took down the Arizona Cardinals 41-20 on the back of their quarterback Peyton Manning and his 479-yard, four-touchdown performance. Someone please fly Shannon Sharpe to Met Life Stadium so he can call the National Guard when this thing gets out of control.

3. The Cincinnati Bengals try to bounce back, possibly without A.J. Green: Last Sunday night, the Bengals ran into a desperate, angry New England Patriots team hell bent on bouncing back from an embarrassing 41-14 defeat at the hands of Kansas City Chiefs. This week it’s the Bengals looking to bounce back after falling 43-17 in embarrassing fashion to the Patriots. Bouncing back won’t be easy Sunday, as the Bengals could be without A.J. Green, who was carted off the field at practice Wednesday after aggravating the toe injury that’s been bothering him all season, and will likely still be without receiver Marvin Jones who the team is waiting to return from an ankle injury which has caused him to miss the team’s first five games. The Bengals host a good, yet wildly inconsistent Carolina Panthers team on Sunday as the team looks to get back on track after their horrific Week 5 loss.

4. Detroit Lions try to get offense on track without Calvin Johnson: Jim Caldwell has apparently spent some time this week talking about Johnson’s amazing ability to heal quickly and why it could mean he’d be back on Sunday. Don’t buy it for a second. A high ankle sprain is nothing to fool around with, and with the Lions having playoff aspirations, rushing the star receiver back would be nothing short of foolish. The Lions offense, even with Johnson has not lived up to expectations as the team’s defense has shockingly led them to their 3-2 start. Since the Lions 35-14 defeat of the Giants week 1, the team has failed to score more than 24 points, and has looked nothing like the explosive Lions offense we’ve come to expect. This Sunday, new Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi will look to get his offense going against an inconsistent Vikings defense that gave up just 44 points combined to the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons before giving up 42 to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers last Thursday night.

5. The NFC East standings: The NFC East was predicted to be one of the worst divisions in football. A strong start for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants suddenly has the division as intriguing as any, and Sunday could end with a three way tie atop the division. The 4-1 Eagles host the 3-2 New York Giants Sunday night while the 4-1 Cowboys travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. As good as the Cowboys look, it remains to be seen if they have what it takes to hang with the defending Super Bowl champions. A Cowboys loss, coupled with a Giants victory in Philadelphia would leave the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants all knotted up at 4-2. As usual, this division will likely go right into the last weekend of the season to find it’s champion.

6. The Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons trying to record a sack: The Bears have 11 sacks this season which puts them in the top half of the league, but they still can’t be happy with a pass rush that includes zero sacks from Jared Allen and Lamarr Houston. The Bears struggled to rush the passer in 2013, and the pass rush has been inconsistent at best to start 2014, and playing in Atlanta, where Matt Ryan thrives, the Bears really need to find the quarterback if they want to stop the Falcons explosive-when-under-the-dome-offense. The Falcons pass rush has been missing in action. What’s worse than the fact the Falcons have only taken down opposing quarterbacks five times in four games? The fact that three of those four sacks came in their rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night football. Someone buy Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler a smoking jacket, pipe and lounge chair for Sunday, because they’re going to have all day to hang out in the pocket.

7. Cleveland Browns try to avenge opening week loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home: If the Cleveland Browns ever show up in the first half, this will be a tough team to beat. Last Sunday, the Browns were down 28-3 against the Titans before somehow finding a way to come back to pull off the biggest comeback in team history, winning 29-28. Well, the plot thickens again, as the Browns welcome in the Steelers in another game where they are favored to win. The Steelers are banged up and reeling after losing to the then winless Tampa Bay, and barely squeaking by Jacksonville. The Browns were down 27-3 to Pittsburgh in their week 1 battle, but stormed back much like they did a week ago, ultimately falling just short of the Steelers 30-27. These are two teams headed in opposite directions, and this Sunday it will be a minor surprise if the Steelers win.

8. The Cowboys and Seahawks try to ram the ball down each other’s throats: This game might be Sunday’s best, and it will feature two rushing offenses that nobody can stop right now. DeMarco Murray’s 670 rushing yards is 210 yards more than the league’s second leading rusher Le’Veon Bell, and is the reason the Cowboys have started the season at 4-1. While no individual has rushed for more yards than Murray, no team has rushed for more yards than the Seahawks. Seattle averages a league best 167 yards on the ground while throwing for just 201 yards. This match-up is especially interesting because while the Seahawks should find success on the ground against the Cowboys 20th ranked rush defense, Murray and the Cowboys will have to try to pound the rock against the Seahawks, who are the top ranked rush defense in football. This is seemingly the first time Jason Garrett has committed to running the football, and the results have been amazing. It will be interesting to see if he abandons the run if they struggle early on in Seattle.

9.  The New England Patriots try to build offensive momentum: While the Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowl in about a decade, the offense has punished teams throughout that time. The defense just wasn’t good enough to hold up its end of the bargain while Tom Brady and company just kept throwing the ball all over the place offensively. Then this season began, and the world as the Patriots knew it was flipped on its head. Brady and the offense looked so average that someone actually had the audacity to ask Bill Belichick if the quarterback position would be evaluated after Belichick sat Brady during the second half of their blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Last Sunday night, Brady and the Patriots responded by dropping 43 on the Cincinnati Bengals. This Sunday, the Patriots will look to try to build momentum on offense when they travel to Buffalo to take on a much improved Buffalo Bills defense which hasn’t given up more than 23 points in a game this season.

10. Teddy Bridgewater tries to build on impressive debut in return from injury: There was almost nothing negative you could say about Bridgewater’s debut as a starting NFL quarterback. Nothing until the injury he suffered late in the Minnesota Vikings 41-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons which caused him to miss the following game. While Bridgewater didn’t throw a touchdown pass in his first game as the Vikings starter, he ran for one, while throwing for 317 yards, completing 19 of 30 pass attempts. Most importantly for Bridgewater and the Vikings, the young quarterback didn’t turn the ball over, something Vikings fans haven’t often said about their quarterbacks over the years. Bridgewater looked in complete command of the Vikings offense two weeks ago, and the Vikings and Bridgewater will look to build on his impressive start Sunday when the Vikings host the Detroit Lions as Bridgewater returns from his ankle injury.

Pat Donovan has covered the NFL for almost a decade and is a host and producer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers radio flagship 620WDAE/95.3FM. Pat covers the NFC South and NFC East for Football Insiders. Follow him on Twitter, @PatDonovanNFL.

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