NFL winners and losers from Week 6, plus grades for each team and picks for the Monday night doubleheader

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I'd like to start things off here by wishing a happy birthday to Jerry Jones. He's turning 83 today and if his birthday wish was for the Cowboys to win in Week 6, then that's unfortunate, because his team lost to the Panthers. And to add insult to injury, the Panthers best player in the game (Rico Dowdle) was a player who the Cowboys could have re-signed during the offseason, but they decided to let him walk in free agency. And based on that decision alone, maybe Jerry's birthday wish should be for his team to get a new general manager. 

The loss by the Cowboys was so embarrassing that the always talkative Jones didn't even want to talk with the media after the game. Fortunately, I'm in the mood to talk right now and I've got a lot to say, so let's get to the rundown. 

As always, here's your reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. 

1. NFL Week 6 grades: Bengals earn 'C+' in Joe Flacco's first game

Welcome to my favorite part of the Monday newsletter, which is where I hand out grades for all 32 teams. Actually, this week, I didn't grade all 32 teams because there were two teams on a bye, and then we have four teams playing tonight, so you're only getting 26 grades.     

Anyway, here are the grades from three notable games that were played Sunday:

Broncos 13-11 over Jets in London (full recap)

• Broncos takeaway: We don't hand out an offensive grade and a defensive grade, but for the Broncos, we should probably do that for this game. The defense gets an "A+" for a dominant performance that saw the Broncos rack up nine sacks. Denver gave Nik Bonitto a $120 million contract at the beginning of the season and he's already looking like a bargain. The Broncos held the Jets to -10 passing yards, which was the lowest total the NFL has seen in 27 years. Patrick Surtain II absolutely shut down Garrett Wilson, who had just 13 yards receiving. Offensively, the Broncos struggled for the second straight week. If the offense can get things figured out, the Broncos could quickly turn into the favorite in the AFC West. Even with the offense struggling, the Broncos are definitely a Super Bowl contender with this defense. Grade: C+
• Jets takeaway: The Jets defense played well enough to win. The Jets special teams played well enough to win, but the offense apparently didn't make the trip to England. The offense seems to be getting worse every week and it hit rock bottom in London in a game where New York had NEGATIVE passing yards (Justin Fields threw for 45 yards, but the team lost 55 yards on nine sacks for a total of -10 passing yards). If the Jets learned one thing from this game, it's that Fields simply isn't the answer at quarterback. The ugly offensive day overshadowed a defense that held the Broncos to just 71 yards in the second half. The Jets are 0-6 and going nowhere. Grade: C-

Packers 27-18 over Bengals  (full recap)

• Bengals takeaway: Joe Flacco only had four days to learn the Bengals' offense, and during the first half, he played like a guy who only had four days to learn the offense. However, the Bengals should be encouraged by the fact that something seemed to click for Flacco during a second half in which he completed 70% of his passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Flacco spread the ball around: He completed at least one pass to eight different receivers, including Ja'Marr Chase, who had 10 receptions for 94 yards. Despite the loss, the Bengals will likely now have plenty of confidence going into their showdown with the Steelers on Thursday night. Grade: C+
• Packers takeaway: This was a surprisingly close game going into the fourth quarter with Green Bay leading just 10-7, and that's when Jordan Love took over. The Packers piled up 17 points in the quarter thanks to 74 passing yards and a touchdown from Love. With the Packers unable to shake the feisty Bengals, Green Bay needed everything Love had to offer. The Packers offense also got a spark from Josh Jacobs, who scored two touchdowns. There are still some major question marks about Green Bay's once dominant defense -- a defense that couldn't stop Joe Flacco in the second half -- but those questions are much easier to ask when your team is winning like the Packers did on Sunday. Grade: B-

Chiefs 30-17 over Lions (full recap)

• Lions takeaway: The Lions had the longest winning streak in the NFL heading into Week 6, but it came to an abrupt end in Kansas City. The Lions offense generally struggles when it can't run the ball and the Lions couldn't the run the ball during a second half where they were limited to just six yards on the ground. Defensively, the Lions went into this game with a banged up secondary and it certainly showed as they got diced up by Patrick Mahomes. When the Lions are healthy, they're one of the best teams in the NFL, but if they don't get healthy soon, it's going to be tough for them to stop any team with a good quarterback. And that's bad news for a Lions team that will be hosting Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers next week. Grade: C-
• Chiefs takeaway: The Chiefs looked beatable through the first few weeks of the season, but they made a statement on Sunday night and that statement is that they're still one of the best teams in the NFL. This a dominant performance, especially by a Chiefs offense that only punted once in the game. Patrick Mahomes had his way with the Lions defense, totaling 289 yards and four touchdowns. Travis Kelce had his biggest game of the season for a Chiefs offense that has now scored at least 28 points in four straight games for the first time in three years. The biggest surprise here was the way the Chiefs' defense manhandled the Lions, holding them to just 112 yards in the second half. The Chiefs will now be getting Rashee Rice back in Week 7 and a team that some left for dead after their 0-2 start once again feels like one of the favorites in the AFC. Grade: A

As for the other 20 grades we handed out in Week 6, you can check those out by clicking here. 

2. NFL Week 6 winners and losers: Backup running backs rule the week

You can't have a week of NFL action without having winners and losers, so we have some winners and losers. Jared Dubin came up with this week's list, and we're going to check out his winners, which featured two running backs who were thrust into the starting job this month. 

WINNERS

• Panthers RB Rico Dowdle. Dowdle talked some pregame smack to his former team, telling the Dallas Cowboys that they should buckle up their chin straps to get ready to play against him and the Carolina Panthers. (Dallas allowed Dowdle to walk in free agency this offseason, choosing instead to sign Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders.) Dowdle came out against Dallas and backed up his talk with his play: he went over 200 total yards for the second week in a row, rushing an incredible 30 times for 183 yards and catching four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.
• Chargers RB Kimani Vidal. The Chargers' second-year running back had a breakout game in L.A.'s first week without either Omarion Hampton or Najee Harris. Vidal went for 124 yards on 18 carries, while also catching three passes for 14 yards and a touchdown. Initially expected to work behind the veteran Hassan Haskins, Vidal was instead the lead back for the Chargers and played a key role in their win over the Dolphins.

If you want to see the rest of Dubin's winners along with his losers, be sure to click here. 

3. Overreactions from Week 6: Will Buccaneers be the top seed in the NFC?

Everyone on the internet loves to overreact to things, and that's especially true when we're talking about the the NFL. With that in mind, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at several things that happened in Week 6 to decide if we're all overreacting. 

Statement: Buccaneers will earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC 
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. Can the Buccaneers get the No. 1 seed in the conference? This is a conversation they belong in, even with the loss to the Eagles. Even though Tampa Bay is in the NFC South, the schedule is brutal. The Buccaneers play the Lions next week, the Bills in Week 11, and the Rams the following week before the schedule gets easier.

Statement: Justin Fields should be benched by the Jets. 
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. The Jets are 0-6 through six games, and the pressure is on Aaron Glenn to change something. Glenn's future as a head coach looks very bleak with his in-game decisions and the way his roster is handled, but should it be at Fields' expense? Fields hasn't been good for the Jets and may be the reason why the offense is so inconsistent week-to-week. Would the Jets be better off with Tyrod Taylor? Probably not with the way this team is run on both sides of the ball.

Statement: Sam Darnold is an MVP candidate. 
Overreaction or reality: Reality. Not many quarterbacks have had success against the Jaguars defense this season. That wasn't the case for Darnold, who finished 16 of 27 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions -- a 121.7 passer rating. Darnold has been excellent all season, completing 70.8% of his passes for 1,541 yards with 11 touchdowns to three interceptions for a 116.0 passer rating. ... There isn't a clear MVP front runner right now. Why can't Darnold be in the conversation?

There are plenty more overreactions, and if you want to check those out, be sure to click here. 

4. Crazy stats from Week 6: Jets offense crashes in London

Every Sunday night, I get an email from our research department here at CBS Sports, and every Sunday, that email always includes some wild stats about the games that were just played. 

With that in mind, here are 13 crazy stats from Week 6: 

1. Jets' passing game crashes. The Jets finished with NEGATIVE 10 passing yards, which was the lowest total that the NFL has seen in 27 years. The last team to go lower came in 1998 when Ryan Leaf and the Chargers totaled -19 passing yards in a game. If you're wondering how the Jets hit their total, Justin Field threw for 45 yards, but lost 55 yards on nine sacks and that 55-yard loss is added to their team passing total. 
2. Broncos beat up on the Jets. The Broncos lead the NFL with 30 sacks on the season and nine of those game on Sunday against the Jets. The Broncos have now tallied at least five sacks in four of their first six games, making them just the third team since 1990 to pull off that feat (They joined the 2000 Buccaneers and 2019 Patriots).
3. McCaffrey is carrying the 49ers. Christian McCaffrey finished with 57 yards receiving during the 49ers' 30-19 loss to the Buccaneers. That makes him the first running back in NFL history with at least 50 yards receiving in each of his team's first six games of the season. 
4. Titans are still bad. The Titans are the only team in the NFL that still hasn't held a fourth-quarter lead this season. The Titans do have one win, but that came on a field goal as time expired. 
5. Rico's revenge: Panthers running back Rico Dowdle had 239 total yards against the Cowboys on Sunday after totaling 234 last week. That makes Dowdle just the seventh player in NFL history to total at least 230 scrimmage yards in back-to-back games. Dowdle accomplished the feat this week against a Cowboys team that decided not to keep him for 2025 after he spent his first four seasons with the team.  
6. Cowboys collapse. The Cowboys became the 79th team since 1970 to average 30 points per game with zero turnovers over a three-game span. The other 78 teams finished with a winning record during that span, but the Cowboys didn't, going 1-1-1. 
7. Browns can't win in Pittsburgh. With their 23-9 loss to the Steelers, the Browns have now lost 22 straight games in Pittsburgh, which is the second-longest losing streak by any team in one city in NFL history. The only longer streak came when the Lions lost 23 straight in Green Bay from 1992 through 2014. 
8. Baker's dozen. Over the past two weeks, Baker Mayfield has thrown for 635 yards while throwing just 10 incompletions. It's the most passing yards (635) on 10 or fewer incompletions in a two-game span since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
9. Joe Flacco joins rare club. The 40-year-old became just the seventh QB in NFL history to face the same opponent twice in one season, but with a different team each time. Back in Week 3, Flacco beat the Packers while playing for the Browns. On Sunday, he threw two touchdowns in a 27-18 loss to Green Bay while playing for the Bengals. 
10. Indiana Jones and Colts crusade. The Colts have scored 194 points through six weeks, which is notable, because that's the most they've scored through six games since 1964 when they scored 203. That means that the Colts are scoring points at a higher point with Daniel Jones than they did during any season with Peyton Manning.
11. Packers shutout streak continues. With the Bengals scoring zero points in the first quarter, the Packers still haven't given up a single first-quarter point this year. Their five-game streak is the longest stretch to start a season since 2015 when the Broncos held their first seven opponents scoreless in the first quarter. The Broncos ended up winning that Super Bowl that year. 
12. Ja'Marr Chase goes off. The Bengals receiver caught 10 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, marking the 12th time in his career that he's caught at least 10 passes with at least one TD. That's the fourth-most by any receiver in NFL history, trailing only Davante Adams (18), Antonio Brown (14) and Tyreek Hill (13). All three of those players took at least 145 games to accomplish the feat. For Chase, it took just 68. 
13. The 67-yard field goal that didn't count. Bengals kicker Evan McPherson appeared to set an NFL record on Sunday with a 67-yard field goal against the Packers, but the kick didn't count, because Matt LaFleur called a timeout just before the play started. McPherson ended up missing his second attempt after the timeout. If you want to see the 67-yard kick that went in, be sure to check it out here. 

If you see any other fun facts, feel free to tweet them at me. 

5. The Monday night doubleheader is back: We've got two games tonight

For the third time this season, we're getting a Monday night doubleheader, which means we'll be getting two games tonight. The NFL schedule included a total of four Monday night doubleheaders this year. This is the third one and the final one will be coming next week. 

The first game of the night will feature Buffalo (4-1) at Atlanta (2-2) in a game that will kick off at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN. 

Here's one reason why each team should be feeling confident going into the game:

• Why the Bills can win: Over the past three weeks, the Falcons defense has faced J.J. McCarthy, Bryce Young and Marcus Mariota, so Josh Allen will be a huge challenge compared to those three. If the Falcons focus on stopping Allen, that should give James Cook a chance to take over. The Falcons are surrendering 4.6 yards per carry this year, which means there should be a lot of holes for Cook to run through. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Bills are 7-0 when he rushes for at least 100 yards, so If Cook goes off, it's hard to see the Bills losing. 
• Why the Falcons can win: The Falcons need to get Bijan Robinson involved early and often and that's mostly because they'll be facing a Bills defense that's surrendering 145.6 yards per game on the ground this year, which is the third-worst in the NFL. If Robinson is running the ball well, that will keep the Falcons offense on the field and Josh Allen off of it. The Falcons are 2-0 this year when Robinson tops 125 scrimmage yards and 0-2 when he doesn't. 

You can get a full preview of the game from Jared Dubin by clicking here. 

In the late game, we've got the Bears (2-2) hosting the Commanders (3-2) at 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC. Here's one reason why each of these teams could pull out the win:

• Why the Bears can win: If there's one way to attack the Commanders defense, it's through the air, which means there's going to be a lot of pressure on Caleb Williams to come up with a big performance tonight. Williams has improved every week while running Ben Johnson's offense and this will be a chance for him to prove on a national stage just how far he's come along. If Williams plays smart football and doesn't turn the ball over, that should put the Bears in a position to win the game. 
• Why the Commanders can win: The Commanders have the top rushing offense in the NFL and they get to face a Bears team that has surrendered the second-most rushing yards per game through five weeks. With receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown both out tonight and Deebo Samuel coming off a week where he was limited in practice, look for the Commanders to try and establish the run early. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Commanders are 11-0 when they rush for 150 yards or more, so if they can hit that magic number, they'll likely walk away with the win. 

You can get a full preview of the game from Cody Benjamin by clicking here.

If you're thinking about betting on the game, here are a couple of props (via BetMGM). 

• ONE PROP I LIKE FROM BILLS-FALCONS: James Cook OVER 71.5 yards rushing  (-115): Cook has gone over 100 yards rushing in three of Buffalo's past four games and has AVERAGED over 100 yards rushing in that same span. I feel like the Bills will do their best to get Cook cooking tonight, which should lead to him coasting past this number and hitting the over. 
• ONE PROP I LIKE FROM BEARS-COMMANDERS: Deebo Samuel OVER 57.5 receiving yards (-115): With Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown out, Jayden Daniels has to throw the ball to someone and I think that someone will be Samuel. With McLaurin out last week, Samuel caught eight passes for 96 yards and although he might not quite hit those numbers again, I do think we'll see him cross 57.5. 
  
• ONE KICKING PROP I LIKE TONIGHT: Matt Prater OVER 6.5 points (-140): Prater has scored at least seven points in all five games that the Bills have played this season and I don't see that streak ending tonight.    

If you're wondering how my props are doing this year, I'm 14-10 (6-5 on kicker props and 8-5 on all other props). 

And now, it's time for some picks. 

BILLS at FALCONS
My pick: Bills 30-23 over Falcons
Dubin's pick: Bills 27-20 over Falcons
Prisco's pick: Bills 33-27 over Falcons

BEARS at COMMANDERS
My pick: Commanders 34-27 over Bears
Cody's pick: Commanders 26-23 over Bears
Prisco's pick: Commanders 31-27 over Bears

Over on our CBSSports.com picks page, all eight of us are taking the Bills to win and cover as a 4.5-point favorite over Atlanta. As for the second game. we're all taking the Commanders to win straight up, but three of use are taking the Bears to cover as a 4.5-point underdog. 

6. Extra points: Lions player starts postgame fight after loss to Chiefs

It was a busy weekend in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• Brian Branch starts postgame fight. The Lions safety could be facing a possible punishment after punching JuJu Smith-Schuster following the Chiefs' 30-17 win over the Lions. If you want to see video of the incident, we've got that here. 
• Puka Nacua expected to miss time. The Rams star injured his ankle on Sunday against the Ravens and it's an injury that will likely keep him sidelined for Week 7 when the Rams play the Jaguars in London. After that, the Rams have a bye, so there's certainly a possibility that Nacua could return in Week 9. You can read more about his injury here. 
• 49ers star linebacker out for the season. The 49ers defense took a huge hit on Sunday with the loss of Fred Warner. The defensive star will miss the rest of the season after dislocating his ankle during San Francisco's 30-19 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday. The 49ers had already lost Nick Bosa for the year, and now, with the loss of Warner, the defense will be missing its two best players for the rest of the season. 
• Anthony Richardson hospitalized after bizarre pregame incident. The Colts QB had to be taken to the hospital on Sunday after suffering an orbital fracture during a bizarre pregame incident that involved elastic stretching bands. One of the bands apparently malfunctioned and hit Richardson in the face. You can read more about the situation here. 
• Lamar Jackson expected back after Ravens' bye. If the 1-5 Ravens are going to save their season, they're going to need Lamar Jackson back on the field, and apparently, that will be happening after their upcoming bye. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the team will be better in Week 8 because Jackson is expected to be back on the field,, "Our quarterback is going to be back. That's probably a big one," Harbaugh said of why the team will be better, via ESPN. After their Week 7 bye, the Ravens' next six games are against the Bears, Dolphins, Vikings, Browns, Jets and Bengals, and those would all certainly be very winnable with Jackson on the field.