Anything can happen in the NFL, and the start to Week 6 of the 2026 season certainly hammered home that fact. 

In the Denver Broncos (4-2) 17-14 "Thursday Night Football" overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks, they triumphed at home despite averaging 2.9 yards per play. That's the fewest in Sean Payton's 318-game head-coaching career, and Denver's 168 total yards of offense ranked as their fewest in a victory since Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway's first start as a rookie in 1983. 

Quarterback Bo Nix, who ranks dead last in the NFL in yards per pass attempt at 5.6, improved to a 13-3 career record in games when he averages six yards per pass attempt or fewer, the best of all-time minimum 15 starts per CBS Sports Research, after averaging 4.0 yards per pass attempt on Thursday. All other active quarterbacks have a combined .283 winning percentage in starts where they average six yards per pass attempt or fewer. That's absolutely unfathomable.

What other hijinks could take place across the rest of the NFL's Week 6 slate? Here is a look at five bold predictions. 

Packers run for over 100 yards for first time in 2026 vs. Cowboys 

The Green Bay Packers are back above .500 after quarterback Jordan Love's laser show (367 yards and 2 passing touchdowns while completing 25 of his 31 throws) in a 31-7 beatdown of the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field in Week 5. 

Now that they have a winning record, they're now the owners of the third-fewest rushing yards per game (60.4) by any team above .500 through five games of a season in league history, per CBS Sports Research. Green Bay's NFL-worst rushing offense also ranks as the fewest rushing yards per game through games of any season in the Packers' 106-season franchise history. Some of that has to do with the absence of running back Josh Jacobs, who is on the commissioner's exempt list after being charged with two misdemeanors, and some of that has to do with the team's beat-up offensive line.

However, the offensive line has stabilized with veterans Laken Tomlinson and Travis Glover stabilizing the team's guard play. That's one of the reasons why the Packers will run for over 100 yards as a team for the first time in 2026 against the Dallas Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football." 

The others are that Green Bay running back MarShawn Lloyd is a freight train at 5 feet 9 inches tall and 220 pounds, and the Cowboys have the league's worst run defense (168.4 rushing yards allowed per game). Dallas allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go off for 241 yards rushing, their most in a game since 2024, on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 5. Facing a leaky defense like that and Lloyd fresh off running through Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson's face for a touchdown in Week 5, Lloyd and the Packers cross the century mark on the ground for the first time this season. 

Marvin Harrison Jr. has first 100-yard receiving game since his rookie year

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is quietly playing efficient football: he has the fifth-most passing attempts without an interception (185) through five games in NFL history while throwing for the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL (1,402) this season. 

The Texans (1-4) have a high-volume passing offense this season because of their struggling rushing offense, and that will lead to Houston's newest player, 2024 fourth overall pick wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., thriving in his team debut against the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars (4-1). How much will he soar in his first game back with his former Ohio State Buckeyes teammate in Stroud? 

Harrison Jr. will produce his first 100-yard receiving game since his rookie year in 2024 and just the third overall 100-yard receiving game of his young career on Sunday. He and Stroud were Ohio State teammates for two seasons from 2021 to 2022, and Harrison Jr.'s 14 receiving touchdowns when Stroud was the starting quarterback in 2022 are tied for the third most in a single season in Buckeyes' history.  Harrison Jr. also set or tied career-highs in catches (77), receiving yards (1,263) and receiving touchdowns (14) in that 2022 season with Stroud. Houston will be celebrating their newest trade acquisition's 100-yard game when the clock hits zero at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. 

Justin Herbert ends fourth-quarter turnover streak and multi-passing touchdown drought vs. Chiefs  

The Los Angeles Chargers are injury-plagued and riding the struggle bus at 0-5 to start 2026. Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert is tied for the most interceptions (seven) and turnovers (nine) in the NFL this season, and he has a couple of ugly streaks going against him. He has five consecutive games with a fourth-quarter turnover, making him the first quarterback since Charlie Frye in 2006 to do that. Herbert also hasn't thrown for multiple passing touchdowns in a game in his last seven games, the longest such streak of his career.

However, he will play a clean fourth quarter and throw multiple touchdown passes against the 4-0 Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead on Sunday. The last time the Chiefs were on the field in Week 4, 38-year-old Kirk Cousins threw for 365 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception on 31 of 52 passes in a narrow 30-27 Chiefs win. Herbert will snap out of his funk and raise his level to go toe-to-toe with Mahomes by having a clean fourth quarter and throwing multiple touchdowns for the first time in a while. 

Jets' Geno Smith throws first interception of 2026 at Patriots

Geno Smith is on an incredible public relations campaign in 2026 with the New York Jets. After leading the NFL with 17 interceptions as a Las Vegas Raider in 2025, he hasn't thrown any through five games this season. Smith has six passing touchdowns to no interceptions this season, a stark contrast from his touchdown-to-interception ratio at this time a year ago when he had the same number of touchdown passes (six) but with nine interceptions. He is only the second quarterback in NFL history with no interceptions through five starts, after leading the league in interceptions the previous season, and is tied with Vinny Testaverde, also with the Jets, back in 2001, per CBS Sports Research.

However, Smith will throw his first interception of the season in Week 6 at the New England Patriots. Patriots All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez (shoulder) is on track to return this week, fully practicing on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday. In his first game back after a two-game absence, Gonzalez will intercept Smith for the veteran's first interception of 2026.  

Saints won't cover as road favorite at Giants

Yes, your eyes don't deceive you. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the 1-4 New Orleans Saints are favored by 1.5 points over the 3-1-1 New York Giants on the road at MetLife Stadium. Perhaps the ugliness of the NFC East leader's 27-27 tie at the Washington Commanders in Week 5 is pushing the spread in favor of the Saints. Maybe it's the allure of New Orleans quarterback Tyler Shough, whose 1,299 passing yards rank as the seventh-most in the NFL.

Regardless, that positions the Saints to win on Sunday, as they have covered in seven consecutive road games, the longest active road cover streak in the entire NFL, per CBS Sports Research. However, the Saints' road cover streak will be broken on Sunday because Jameis Winston plays a more efficient brand of football than Shough.

Sure, Winston's 57.6% is the second-worst in the NFL among 31 qualified quarterbacks in 2026, but he is starting to turn a corner and find a groove as an NFL starting quarterback once again. He is the first Giants quarterback with three-plus passing touchdowns in consecutive games since Eli Manning in 2016, and Winston didn't throw a single interception after having two in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals a couple of weeks ago. 

On the other hand, Shough has a turnover problem: his eight this season are the third-most in the league. Winston will outduel Shough and prevent a Saints road cover for the eighth consecutive such game. 

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