The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsThis week saw the pool of unbeaten teams go down from 6 to 5 after the Saints beat the Falcons 31-21 on Thursday. 10 teams have now had their bye week and 28 teams played over the weekend.
With teams starting to show their dominance and divisions starting to look like they are going to be a close call, lets look at what we learn from week 6.
The AFC East and North are the divisions that are hard to call.
In the AFC East things are hotting up with the Patriots and the Jets both looking like they are going to have good seasons. The Patriots are on of 5 teams who are unbeaten with a 5-0 record whilst the Jets have a 4-1 record. They both look like they are obvious choices for a playoff place but the Bills may also creep up on them. The Bills are a good team with a fairly easy schedule ahead of them. They could easily take a playoff place should the Patriots or the Jets slack off towards the end.
Another division like this is the AFC East. The Bengals have surprised many people and have a 6-0 clean record. The Steelers are also another team who could win this division. They have a 4-2 record but they managed to beat the Cardinals who had been looking a strong and dominant team in the first few weeks. However in this division it doesn’t seem like any of the other teams will be up there fighting for a payoff place unless something drastic happens.
The Packers are very versatile.
After quarterback Rodgers conceded that his offence were struggling, the Packers defense were hit with some big injuries like B.J Raji, Morgan Burnett and Nick Perry. These are all first team starters for the Packers. Alongside long term absentee’s Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams you would be correct in thinking that the Packers have a depleted roster. However this isn’t showing. With a 27-20 win over the Chargers who are a hard side to face, it showed that nothing is starting to weaken.
As long as the replacements are capable, the Packers side will be a good side with Rodgers as quarterback. The only injury that the Packers have to worry about is an injury on Rodgers as if he gets injured (like he has done in the past 2 seasons) then the Packers suddenly don’t seem all that dominant. However with a full team, even without Rodgers they are a good side.
The Lions Can Win.
Before this week the Detroit Lions were the only team that hadn’t won a game this year and had a 0-5 record. That was until they beat the Bears 37-34 at Detroit this week. Though it wasn’t the best performance by any of the 2 teams, the Lions still won and that is all that meant to them. Their defense needs to strengthen up if they wish to win more games as 34 points past them, 1 interception and 1 sack it needs to change.
An over time Field Goal secured a first Lions win of the year. The Offence looked good against the Bears defense, but whether or not this will mean that the Lions will do well against other teams will have to be seen. However 405 yards and 4 touchdown will give Stafford an all important confidence boost that he needs.
What has happened to the Ravens?
3 years ago Joe Flacco led the Baltimore Ravens to Superbowl XLVII and they had a good season all around. An offence who could pass through strong defenses with ease and a defense who could defend the points that the offence had gained. They now are quite a dysfunctional team who are struggling.
They managed to shock everyone in week 4 by beating a Steelers team who looked quite strong but since nothing has gone well for the Ravens. They are currently 1-5 and their season wont get any easier. With the Cardinals who are looking to be a dominant side this year and the Chargers who are also hard, the Ravens don’t look like they will have a good season. Their offence is all over the place and teams are ripping through their defense like it isn’t there.
Are the Cardinals too inconsistent to win the Superbowl?
To win the Superbowl you have to have a good season to make sure you carry some good momentum into the post season. You have to be consistently winning, though having 1 or 2 off games isn’t a bad thing as it can prove a reality to the team. However the Cardinals team who was dominating their games in the first few weeks have dipped off.
The managed to lose to division rivals the St.Louis Rams in week 4 22-24. They managed to get back to winning ways last week but a 25-13 loss to the Steelers may be the indication that the Cardinals may prove inconsistent throughout the season. Not that they wont make the playoffs, they are a really dominant side in the NFC West, but they may not have the much needed momentum to go all the way.
All stats, scores and fixture’s are from NFL.com
