Week 6 Action Report

Week 6 saw some divisions experience a lead shift, while other leads were locked down even tighter. Before we get into the other scores, let’s talk about the Burlington Coat Factory Game of the Week: San Diego (Eric) vs New England (Mark).

The San Diego Chargers entered the game at (4-1) after beating Patriots’ division rivals, the Miami Dolphins a week earlier. New England came in at (3-1) just one week after the return of new American citizen Coach Mark “USA” Angleberger. That week the Patriots trounced the San Francisco 49ers, 59-14.

Both of these coaches knew how important this game was going to be, not necessarily for the regular season, but as a likely playoff preview. Familiar opponents, Coach Eric and Coach USA were both rather conservative in this game, hoping to feel out their opponent for weaknesses to be used in this game and further down the road.

Both coaches diverged significantly from their usual game plans; The Chargers’ pass-heavy offense was carried instead by QB David Garrard and HB Felix Jones on the ground, while the typically run-heavy Patriots turned to QB Joe Flacco’s underused arm for offense.

The result was a close game with as many lead changes as there were scores. In the end, however, the Chargers were able to gain control of the ball late in the 4th quarter and run out the clock after taking a 17-14 lead. The Chargers improved to (5-1) and increased their lead in the AFC West, while the Patriots fell to (3-2) and remained tied with the Dolphins in the AFC East.

But Coach USA’s wasn’t the only user team to lose in week six…

Coach Sam’s Minnesota Vikings were outscored in their game by division rivals, the Detroit Lions, 28-36. Despite a +12 overall points differential on the season following this loss, the Vikings now find themselves (2-4) and in last place in the NFC North. The Lions, however, were able to capture the division lead with their 3rd division win, bringing them above .500 for the first time this season.

Coach Bill’s New Orleans Saints found themselves in familiar trouble this week. Coming into week six with two wins in a row, the Saints found themselves in overtime again, this time with the Oakland Raiders. New Orleans hoped to repeat their week 4 overtime magic against the 49ers that got them their first win of the season, but the Raiders were able to score a field goal in overtime to seal it, 16-13. New Orleans fell to (2-4) and is already way behind the Falcons (5-1) in the NFC South.

The Cleveland Browns under Coach Mike remained undefeated following their victory against the New York Giants. The final score was a comfortable 34-17, despite several bad turns for the Browns during the game. On the opening play of the game, Giants HB Brandon Jacobs broke 3 tackles on a 78-yard run for a touchdown, similar to Brian Westbrook’s 77-yard TD run against the Brown’s earlier this season (Is this a concern?). But after that, New York’s offense was stifled. The Browns, however, showed their poor conditioning in this rain soaked game as the offense suffered a myriad of injuries. Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, and 2nd string QB Sage Rosenfels all left the game with minor injuries, and TE Kellen Winslow was temporarily sidelined twice during the game due to injury. This left a large portion of the game in the hands of 3rd string QB Rex Grossman and 2nd string HB Warrick Dunn. Despite limited snaps in practice, Cleveland’s backups played well enough; Grossman scored two passing TD’s. All three Browns QB’s threw for over 100 yards in the game. The Browns are now (5-0) and well ahead in the AFC North; the next best team is Cincinnati at (3-3).

Following a heartbreaking 10-13 loss in week 5, the Houston Texans were able to hang in there with the Miami Dolphins in week 6 and win it, 17-14. Coach Brian’s solid defense continued to keep the Texans in the game this week, and this time the Houston offense was able to pull it out. The Texans improved to (4-2) and stayed atop the airtight AFC South, where the last place team is Jacksonville at (3-3).

Finally, Coach Brandon’s Rams were also able to remain undefeated (5-0) in their game against the Washington Redskins. This was a close one, and though St. Louis may never have trailed, they never quite put their opponents away either. But, the Redskins were unable to muster a comeback and the Rams held on, 24-22. The Rams are now well ahead of everyone else in the NFC West.

That’s it for week 6.

With week 7 already about to wrap up, let’s go ahead and take a look at the monster matchup coming in week 8: St. Louis vs New England.

This may very well be a Super Bowl preview in the middle of the season. Coach Brandon’s Rams appear unchallenged in the NFC, and although Coach USA’s Patriots are (3-2) and have recently lost to Coach Eric’s Chargers, they’re still the AFC team to beat in my opinion. Even among Coach Mike’s undefeated Cleveland Browns, Coach USA’s postseason record is undeniable. His teams have always had one or two hiccups during the regular season, but I can’t remember the last time they lost a playoff game. Somehow, whatever weaknesses they show in the regular season all but disappear come postseason time. We might see these two face each other again in February.

So, let’s hear some opinions on those polls! I’ve also included the other week 8 user vs user game: the San Diego Slaughters vs the New Orleans Lambs.