5 QUESTIONS HEADING INTO NFL WEEK 6

By Adam Greene

1. IS THE BALTIMORE RAVENS SEASON ON THE LINE SUNDAY?

Right now, the Ravens remain the No. 4 favorite to win the AFC at +850, but if they lose to the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, expect that to plummet. Los Angeles is a -7.5 favorite as it stands, with Cooper Rush getting the start if Lamar Jackson can’t go and it increasingly looks like that’s what’s happening. Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh said there’s no change in Jackson’s status as of Wednesday, in what was supposed to be a three-week absence after a hamstring pull. The Ravens have a bye next week, so Jackson could be back by their Week 8 match up with the Chicago Bears. Barring a miracle on the field Sunday. 

A loss to the Rams would put the Ravens at 1-5 and while Jackson’s return could make anything happen, it’s quite the hole to dig out of in a loaded AFC. The AFC Noth is probably out of reach, so it’ll be a Wild Card push against the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans, who now own a tie-break over Baltimore. 

2. IS MATTHEW STAFFORD PUTTING TOGETHER AN MVP SEASON?

Speaking of the Rams, Matthew Stafford has already put together one of his best seasons in a probably Hall of Fame career. Coming into Week 6, Stafford is No. 1 in the NFL in passing yards (1,503), tied for first in passing first downs (68), tied for first in 300-plus passing yards games (2), No. 2 in passing touchdowns (11), second in completions (122), sixth in pass yards per attempt (8.2) and 7^th in passer rating (107.3). He’s posted a rating over 100 in four of his five games this season and he has his No. 1 wide receiver, Puka Nacua, the frontrunner for Offensive Player of the Year and on pace for the most catches and yards in NFL history. LA is 3-2, but if their kicking unit could block, they’d be 5-0.

With all the questions about Stafford and his back issues this offseason, to continue on this tear would easily put the 17-year vet in the MVP conversation and an NFC West title with a Super Bowl run would probably clinch it. He’s currently sitting at +1600 odds. 

3. WHEN WILL THE NEW YORK JETS WIN A GAME?

Here’s the thing. I think hiring Aaron Glenn as head coach in New York was a mistake and have from the start. You don’t fix a defensive team with a defective offense by hiring your second straight defensive coach. The fact they’ve been competitive at all in some of these games is good, I guess. But they’re the NFL’s only winless team and there are other squads, the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, that have significantly poorer rosters. 

The Jets are +7 dogs this week against the Denver Broncos in the London crack of dawn (or top o’the marnin’) game. But, hey, last week taught us that anything can happen. They’re lucky they’re playing the NFC South this season, because those matchups with the Saints and Panthers might be their best shot at picking up their first dub. I’m not feeling it this week, but they have the Cincinnati Bengals coming up as well as the Miami Dolphins, who might have sold off all their players and fired 75 percent of their coaching staff by the time they face off again on Dec. 7.

4. WHO WILL BE THE FIRST HEAD COACH FIRED?

While Aaron Glenn at least gets to avoid this conversation, plenty of his peers are staring down the bread line just six weeks into the season. The bad teams this year have been absolutely terrible and while Brian Callahan is still the odds-on favorite to be the first coach canned at -125, the Tennessee Titans just won a game. He’s bought some time. Mike McDaniel of the Dolphins has been holding strong on the charts at +105 and could get the boot any day, but might I toss in a new contender for the top spot? Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was fined for literally punching his own player, Emari Demercado, after the idiot fumbled the ball prematurely celebrating a touchdown. 

Yes, Demercado should have been punched for doing that. Every idiot player that drops the ball before crossing the goal line should get his teeth raked, but not by the head coach. It’s a bad look for the Cards, who’ve lost three straight and are staring at the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams all stacked up on the schedule. I don’t see them winning ANY of those games, especially not with Johnny Two-Fists leading the way. Gannon getting fired first currently pays +800.

5. WHO WILL WIN THURSDAY NIGHT’S AMAZON PRIME GAME?

Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants (+8, O/U: 40)

This is bad spot for the Giants, who had reason to hope after a solid win over the Los Angeles Chargers two weeks ago in Jaxson Dart’s first NFL start. They couldn’t follow it up in a game they absolutely should have dominated, if for no other reason than the New Orleans Saints have maybe the worst roster in the league. Instead, the Saints, led by Spencer Rattler, won 26-14 and where New York could be riding a two-game win streak heading into this home contest against the Eagles, now they’re in even more trouble.

Because Philly is in a bad way. They lost their first game of the season at home last week, 21-17 to the upstart Denver Broncos, but more than that, they’ve got all kinds of team issues. Normally, you’d think a team calling a player’s only meeting would spell trouble for that franchise, but the Eagles were an internal dumpster fire last year and all they did was dominate their way to a Super Bowl blowout win over the City Chiefs.  

If Philadelphia was coming in undefeated with that kind of stink, it’s possible the Giants could have caught them, especially if they were hot after back-to-back wins. Now? With both teams coming off a loss? Yikes. 

Eagles 34, Giants 16

Follow Adam Greene on Blue Sky @AdamGreene13, threads @adam.greene and Twitter @TheFirstMan