by Blake Krantz
Week 6 of the 2015 NFL season saw several upsets and surprising efforts from unexpected teams, such as the New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles.
With their season essentially on the line, the New Orleans Saints beat the previously undefeated Atlanta Falcons at home during Thursday Night Football in a resounding home effort which included a punt block eerily similar to Steve Gleason’s famous play for the Saints in 2006.
The Saints are now 2-4, barely remaining in the playoff picture.
The Browns also put up a surprising effort in Week 6, taking the undefeated Denver Broncos to overtime before dropping the game 26-23. Cleveland’s defense intercepted Denver quarterback Peyton Manning three times Sunday including one in overtime, keeping it close to the very end. Unfortunately for the Broncos, their undefeated record is unlikely to hold up if Manning does not improve his play under center this season.
Sunday afternoon, Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers put up a statement win in Seattle, with Newton throwing a game-winning pass to tight end Greg Olsen with just 32 seconds left to put the Panthers up 27-23, the eventual final score.
Carolina is now 5-0 on the year and emerging as an increasingly threatening contender, while the Seahawks fell to 2-4 and are becoming less relevant in the playoff picture each week. The big storyline for Seattle this year has been the “legion of boom,” the secondary of a once-formidable defense which has blown four fourth quarter leads for the Seahawks already this season.
Finally, in a Monday Night Football matchup worth turning off in favor of the MLB Playoffs, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants 27-7, making the Eagles the new favorite to take the NFC East.
Quarterbacks Eli Manning and Sam Bradford combined for five interceptions in the sloppy contest, but ultimately, the Eagles were simply less horrible on offense, and Manning’s pivotal pick-six in the second quarter proved to put the Eagles up for good in this contest. Philadelphia and New York are now both 3-3, with the Eagles obviously holding the tiebreaker to this point.
In Week 7, the Seahawks and 49ers will face off in Thursday Night Football, the first time since 2009 that both teams will go into the matchup under .500, at 2-4 apiece. Although the game is in San Francisco, Seattle should bounce back on the road, improving to 3-4 in a “statement win.”
Elsewhere, the New York Jets and New England Patriots will face off in Foxboro, and although the Pats are obvious favorites at home in this one, I see the Jets keeping this one extremely tight.
The Jets offense has been far more effective this year with the addition of explosive playmaker Brandon Marshall, and New York’s defense is one of the toughest in the league.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis will look to shut down New England’s passing attack in his first game against the team that he won the Super Bowl with last year, and I see him intercepting Tom Brady once during this contest.
Nonetheless, the Patriots’ offense will prove to be too much, and their undefeated campaign should survive another week, despite what looks to be a divisional scare at home.
Finally, the Eagles and Panthers will face off during Sunday Night Football, a matchup between two hot teams. The game is in Carolina, and the Panthers defense is elite and once again dominant with linebacker Luke Kuechly back from injury.
Unless Philadelphia has a big game on the ground, this one could potentially get out of hand, and I see the Panthers winning comfortably by roughly 10 points to finish off another Sunday of NFL Football.