And then there were none.
Despite being undefeated at 5-0 rolling into Cleveland, the San Francisco 49ers were stunned as they fell to the Browns, marking Brock Purdy’s first loss as a starter, and San Francisco’s first loss this season.
Starting the game 10-0, the 49ers found themselves ahead coming out of the half, through a three-point margin is never a comfortable one. The Browns may have had just one touchdown, but Dustin Hopkins’ 12 second-half points were enough to secure the win.
The game started out promising, as Christian McCaffrey hit 15 consecutive games with a touchdown, which ties two Pro Football Hall of Famers, John Riggins and O.J. Simpson, for the second-most games in a row with a touchdown in NFL history, including the post-season.
But Cleveland’s defence proved too much for San Francisco’s offence to power through – especially when losing McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel to injury – as Purdy threw his first interception this season and finished going 12-of-27 for just 125 yards.
Rookie kicker Jake Moody missed a 41-yard field goal with six seconds left, ending the 49ers’ regular-season winning streak at 15 games.
The Philadelphia Eagles looked to be the lone undefeated team standing, though a rocky game against the New York Jets didn’t see the Eagles’ offence firing on all cylinders like previously this season, falling 20-14 to the Jets on the back of four turnovers.
Around the league, low scoring games were scattered across the Sunday slate, with the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars as the only teams to score more than 25 points.
Here are some other takeaways from the Week 6 afternoon slate.
Detroit Lions: Still juggernauts
There are few teams who look like they’re having as much fun as the Lions are playing football these days – and that’s because they are playing really good football.
Leading the NFC North for good reason, the Lions held the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to just two field goals as they dominated in a 20-6 win and improved to 5-1 on the season, in a game fuelled by the strength of their defence.
Detroit has scored 20 or more points in 14 consecutive games, a franchise record and quarterback Jared Goff is playing some of the best football of his career. It was the work of Isaiah Buggs, however, tipping a Baker Mayfield pass meant for Mike Evans and Will Harris grabbing the interception to stop a potential touchdown and instead go up 3-0 early.
Offensively, even with multiple key players like running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs out with injury, fill-in Craig Reynolds made a key block on third-and-13 to spark Amon-Ra St. Brown for a touchdown.
Jameson Williams, in just his second game back from suspension, also caught a 45-yard touchdown pass, his second career touchdown, and Jared Goff finished going 30-of-44 for a season-high 353 yards for the Lions, to catapult the Lions to their fourth straight win.
Jets defence calls game to ruin Eagles’ undefeated streak
With the 49ers handed their first loss of the season during the 1:00 p.m. slate, the Eagles were the lone undefeated team standing heading into their matchup with the Jets.
In 12 prior meetings against the Eagles, the Jets had never won. In a year where they lost their starting quarterback on the first drive of the season, it seemed like an impossible feat to take down the defending NFC champions.
In a game where New York’s offence was average at best and down two with two minutes left to play, Jets safety Tony Adams jumped a route, snatched a ball meant for Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert and returned it 45 yards, and the momentum seemed to run in the Jets’ direction with him. Hurts finished 28-of-45 on the day for 280 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Running back Breece Hall scored the go-ahead touchdown on a nine-yard play, and quarterback Zach Wilson found Randall Cobb in traffic for the two-point conversion to all but secured the 20-14 win.
Hurts and the Eagles had one last chance to make a play on 4th-and-8 with 1:24 to play, but the Hail Mary throw from Hurts was broken up by Jordan Whitehead to seal the victory for New York.
Now? The Jets head into their bye week 3-3, and seem to be in good position going into their next matchup in two weeks against the New York Giants.
The Jaguars rule the AFC South kingdom
On the outside, the AFC South probably doesn’t look like the most glamorous of conferences, but three teams sit at .500 or higher with at least three teams notching three wins this season.
Jacksonville has had the production from Travis Etienne Jr. leading the way the last two weeks, playing 82 per cent of offensive snaps, handling 44 of 51 carries and converting all four of the team’s goal-to-go rushes. During that span Etienne has five carries of 10 or more yards, and is the likely RB1 moving forward.
Etienne scored 14 points in 16 seconds during the game, and Christian Kirk got in on the touchdown fun with a 29-yard score in the win. Trevor Lawrence also connected with rookie tight end Brenton Strange for a 10-yard score as Jacksonville led 31-6.
On Indianapolis’ side, with first-round pick Anthony Richardson out with injury, Gardner Minshew returned to face his old team, but turned the ball over four times. The Jaguars now lead the league in takeaways with 15.
Carolina remains only winless team in the NFL
Despite going up 14-0 on the Miami Dolphins early, the Carolina Panthers couldn’t hang on to win as the Dolphins scored two touchdowns on three drives and Tyreek Hill caught six passes for 163 yards to bring his NFL-leading season total to 814 receiving yards.
Miami scored 35 straight points before Mike White replaced Tua Tagovailoa with four minutes left, though White threw an interception that was returned by cornerback Troy Hill for a touchdown. The Dolphins quickly responded as Salvon Ahmed ran in a nine-yard score.
Now 0-6 on the season, the Panthers showed some bright spots as rookie quarterback Bryce Young finished 23-of-38 for 217 yards, but was also sacked four times. Adam Thielen topped 100 yards receiving for the second-straight game with 115 yards on 11 catches.
But Carolina had no answer for Hill and Jaylen Waddle through the air and Raheem Mostert on the ground, who had 17 carries for 115 yards, including a 48-yard run that put the Dolphins in position to set up the tying touchdown from Waddle.
The NFL’s leading rushing team, the Dolphins had 169 yards on the ground, and Tagovailoa threw three touchdowns going 21-of-31 for 262 yards. He now has an NFL-leading 1,876 yards passing this season.
CJ Stroud keeps boosting OROY chances
The Houston Texans have won three of their last four games, and much of that is thanks to the work of rookie quarterback CJ Stroud, who threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-13 win over the New Orleans Saints.
With the win, Houston has already matched their win total from last year, as they went 3-13-1. Stroud threw his first interception of the season, setting an NFL record by throwing 191 passes without an interception, passing Dak Prescott.
Even despite the interception, which Zack Baun grabbed from Dalton Schultz, Nico Collins hit Baun and forced a fumble which gave the Texans the ball back. Stroud later found Schultz for a one-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Houston goes on bye before facing the Panthers in Week 8 and gives Stroud plenty of time to continue to perfect his game before the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2023 draft face off.
Rams show off their options in division win
Let’s start by saying the NFC West is not the juggernaut it once was – and the Kyler Murray-less Arizona Cardinals are not exactly a threat. The 49ers lost their first game to the Browns, and the Seahawks were in the red zone five times against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and only scored once.
So when the Rams and Cardinals had a lacklustre first half, it seemed quite on brand for a division that seems to have little excitement other than what the 49ers produced through the first five weeks.
But the Rams have a lot of excitement on their roster, and while Puka Nacua has rightfully gotten a lot of that attention, a second-year running back by the name of Kyren Williams has been just as important.
In an overtime victory against the Colts, Williams rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Against the Cardinals, Williams rushed for a career-high 158 yards and a touchdown. Touching the ball only twice in the first half, Williams exploded for 18 touches in the second half.
Star receiver Cooper Kupp, who is playing through his hamstring injury, tallied 148 yards receiving and a touchdown, and the Rams scored 20 unanswered points after trailing 9-6 at halftime.
Defensively, rookie Byron Young and Jonah Williams sacked Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs, Aaron Donald recorded three tackles for losses, linebacker Christian Rozeboom grabbed an interception and Young made another big play forcing a fumble in the second half.
With multiple receiving threats, an explosive ground game and multiple defensive players who can make game-changing plays, the Rams have the pieces to continue to move forward and build something special.
