Six weeks in, mediocrity name of game
Six weeks into the NFL season and each conference has only six teams with a winning record.
A league that prides itself on parity is loaded with mediocre and poor teams.
Five clubs have one win, the Lions are winless and four division races are all but over, barring major injuries to the first-place teams. Even the two-time defending AFC champion Chiefs are just 3-3.
At least the race for the No. 1 overall draft pick will be intriguing.
The Lions (0-6) are the front-runner, but the Texans, Dolphins, Jaguars, Giants and Jets each have a real shot with only one win.
The Dolphins traded the pick to the Eagles, so they can’t even benefit from losing. Passing up Justin Herbert for Tua Tagovailoa may haunt the Dolphins for a decade.
The Lions may be the best of this bunch despite a 34-11 loss to the Bengals. They were close to two wins before losing to the Ravens on Justin Tucker’s record-setting 66-yard field goal and to the Vikings on a 54-yarder as time expired.
The Texans should be the favorite to finish with the worst record if they stick with rookie Davis Mills when Tyrod Taylor returns. The Texans have been outscored by an average margin of 13.3 points per game and still haven’t resolved the Deshaun Watson dilemma.
The Jags had to leave the country to finally earn their first win with Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence. Meyer’s transition to the NFL hasn’t been smooth, but he has a franchise QB in Lawrence.
The banged-up Giants keep losing players as the losses pile up. They had no chance against the Rams, who weren’t satisfied with a 38-11 rout over the Giants.
The Jets (1-4) had the week off.
The East is the least in both the NFC and AFC.
The Cowboys (5-1) have won as many games as the Washington Football Team (2-4), Eagles (2-4) and Giants combined after rallying for an overtime road victory against the Patriots. If Dak Prescott stays healthy — he underwent an MRI on Monday after straining his calf on the winning touchdown pass against the Patriots — the Cowboys should wrap up the NFC East by Thanksgiving.
Same for the Bills (4-1) in the AFC East, as long as Josh Allen doesn’t go down. The Bills would surpass the combined win total of the Patriots (2-4), Dolphins and Jets with a road win over the Titans on Monday night, which ended too late for this edition. The Patriots are 0-4 at home for the first time in Bill Belichick’s 22 seasons as coach.
The Buccaneers (5-1) and Packers (5-1) each have two-game leads and should cruise to division titles, barring injuries. The defending Super Bowl champion Bucs haven’t even hit their peak yet. Tom Brady is off to an excellent start and the offense still is improving. The Bucs had the weekend off.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers still own the Bears following a 24-14 victory at Soldier Field. The Bears (3-3) and Vikings (3-3) aren’t in the Packers’ class.
The Panthers (3-3) and Broncos (3-3) each started 3-0, but lately they’ve proven they’re not serious contenders.
The AFC South could give both East divisions a run for futility. It’ll be a two-team race between the Titans and Colts (2-4) for the top spot after Carson Wentz looked more like his old self in the Colts’ win over the Texans. But the division winner should end up with a winning record thanks to four games against the Texans and Jags.