The New England Patriots’ aerial attack in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns has caused their quarterback controversy to reach new heights. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys being grounded against the Philadelphia Eagles allowed any Dak Prescott-related questions to be buried.
Two prominent NFL franchises, led by backup quarterbacks in recent weeks, came out of Week 6 trending in different directions.
Patriots rookie Bailey Zappe earned his second straight win as a starting quarterback in place of the injured Mac Jones, who continues to deal with a high ankle sprain. And Zappe looked pretty impressive doing so, throwing for 309 yards and completing 24 of 34 attempts with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. While Bill Belichick continues to deflect when asked about New England’s current standing at the position, Patriots fans clearly are buying into “Zappe Fever.” No matter where you stand on the controversy, there’s no debating the storyline is growing.
On the other side of the league, any questions the Cowboys had about Cooper Rush vs. Prescott were answered on “Sunday Night Football.” Rush, who certainly had done an admirable job in previous four starts, threw three interceptions in a Dallas loss. Those mistakes just weren’t there in his previous starts, a major reason why he entered Philadelphia 4-0 on the season. It’s a reminder that, despite any recency bias, the reality is the Cowboys have a much higher ceiling with their top 10 signal-caller. It’s not really that complicated. Rush failed to make a few throws that Prescott probably would have, including a potential game-changer to CeeDee Lamb. Prescott is inching closer to a return from thumb surgery with Week 7 marking six weeks since the injury.
It’s quite possible both the Patriots and Cowboys turn the reigns back over to their starters in the short term, but one situation involving the former feels a bit more fluid than the latter.
Here are some more takeaways from Week 6 in the NFL:
— The list of good, playoff-caliber football teams feels rather limited. The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs played yet another thriller starring Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, proving they’ll be there at the end. The Eagles are not only the NFL’s lone undefeated team, but they now have a clear path to 10-0 given their upcoming schedule. From there, though, the mediocrity and parity is quite apparent with 10 of the league’s 32 teams currently .500.
— Given that level of parity, the 3-3 Patriots again look like a playoff contender with their ability to run the ball and play defense. The reality is no matter who is behind center, if the Patriots can put together a defensive performance as they did against the Cleveland Browns and run the ball like they did against the Detroit Lions, they can hang around and make a push in December. The AFC, well, at least behind the Bills and Chiefs, appears to be wide open.
— When is the last time a team lost to the New York Giants and New York Jets in consecutive weeks? Because that uncommon feat took place Sunday with the Green Bay Packers getting dismantled 27-10 by the J-E-T-S. Not great! One week after Aaron Rodgers called out teammates for their postgame comments, the star signal-caller then seemingly undermined the coaching staff and questioned Green Bay’s roster. Again, not great! The 3-3 Packers will need to turn it around in a hurry.
— In a stunning turn of events, Gang Green has four wins in six weeks. New York sits in second place in the AFC East ahead of both the 3-3 Patriots and 3-3 Miami Dolphins. The Week 8 clash between the Jets and Patriots might have some serious long-term implications.
— What in the world is going on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Tom Brady and company were 10-point favorites entering their contest against the Steelers and somehow, despite Pittsburgh being without injured All-Pro T.J. Watt, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and two cornerbacks, still scored just one touchdown in a 20-18 defeat. Tampa Bay’s star-studded defense allowed Mitchell Trubisky to run the clock out as he completed a pair of third-and-longs, which was equally stunning. It certainly wasn’t met fondly by NFL bettors either.
