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The Monday Morning Mashup, Week 6: Lions Suffer a Loss During a Win, the Ravens Offense is Rolling, and Rookie Quarterbacks Take the Field

Here is what you need to know about Week 6 of the NFL season.
by Shawn Syed|October 14, 2024

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Welcome to The Monday Morning Mashup! In this column, I will share all of the things from NFL Sunday that I think are worth your time. It may be good things, it may be bad things, it may be plays or play calls or players, but it will all be rooted in my love for this beautiful, ugly, fascinating, frustrating game we call football.

Jump to:

First Things First: The Detroit Lions left Dallas with a big win and a big loss.

If you only remember one thing from this Sunday, this is what it should be.

The Detroit Lions laid waste to the Dallas Cowboys on the way to a 47-9 win that included trick plays, big gains, and dominance on both sides of the ball. David Montgomery, fresh off a new contract extension, forced 10 missed tackles and even gave Disney Channel a shout out in the end zone. Jameson Williams created explosive plays after a dropped pass, and Jared Goff was 6/7 for 178 yards and two touchdowns when under pressure.

Ben Johnson’s play calling was inspired in this game as he continued to pad his resume as the number one head coach candidate heading into next year. He started the game off with Dan Skipper reporting as eligible in a callback to the Lions game against the Cowboys last season. He used motion to displace defenders and dug into the trick play bag with a reverse pitch back touchdown (more on that later!), a hook and ladder to Penei Sewell, Dan Skipper out at wide receiver, and an attempted red zone pass to Taylor Decker lined up at tight end.

The defense also did their part as the Lions played tight man coverage against Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. Prescott was 5/16 for 86 yards and two interceptions against man coverage while Detroit forced five turnovers, had four sacks, and held the Cowboys to 0/3 in the red zone.

Now for the bad news. Star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken tibia and will be out for the rest of the season. Hutchinson entered Week 6 leading the league in sacks and pressures and was well on his way to a solid Defensive Player of the Year candidacy. He anchored this defense and beat offensive tackles while ruining gameplans.

Hutchinson’s injury is massive for a Lions defense that is already thin at pass rusher. With an injury to Marcus Davenport earlier this year, the Lions will hope Alim McNeil can continue his Week 6 performance and create pressure from the inside. The Lions have a real chance to win the NFC North, the NFC, and the Super Bowl, so expect Brad Holmes to turn the rolodex as he looks to add an edge rusher to a defense that is hitting its stride. Aaron Glenn may also end up calling more blitzes to replace the pressures created by Hutchinson.

The Matter Meter

How much does what we saw on Sunday actually matter?

It Definitely Matters: The Ravens took care of business against the Washington Commanders.

After a close loss to the Chiefs in Week 1 and an odd collapse against the Raiders in Week 2, the Baltimore Ravens are on a four-game tear. The Ravens ran all over the Cowboys and Bills before Lamar Jackson had huge days against the Bengals last week and the Commanders this week.

Jackson entered Week 6 with better advanced numbers (expected points added per play and success rate) than those from his MVP campaign last season. All he did to add to that in a 30-23 win over the Commanders was complete 20 of 26 passes for 323 and a touchdown in a performance that ranked in the 91st and 99th percentile in EPA and success rate per dropback. Jackson found Zay Flowers open over the middle for much of the first half as Flowers set career highs in receiving yards on in-breaking routes and against man coverage in this game. All nine of Flowers’ receptions came in the first half as he jump-started the Ravens offense.

Derrick Henry continued his impressive performance during the win streak as he had 34 rush yards over expectation on 24 carries that led to 132 yards and two touchdowns. Henry is meshing well with this run game as he can make an impact on downhill runs but also be an issue for defenders on the edge. The Ravens controlled the game on offense outside of an early deflection interception, but they also halted the Commanders’ offense on early downs.

The Commanders have had strong early down performances that gave Jayden Daniels manageable third down situations this season. In this game, the Commanders had a rough 27% success rate when running the ball as Brian Robinson Jr. was out with an injury. Those 15 runs produced zero first downs and helped lead to a 4/12 third down day for Washington. Baltimore was able to deal with some of the quick throws that the Commanders have eaten yards up on even though Jayden Daniels was able to make plays in this game (more on that in Awards!).

It Matters: The Green Bay Packers have an explosive offense and an improving defense.

The Green Bay Packers have a beautiful combination between play caller, quarterback, and skill position players on offense. Matt LaFleur finds ways to scheme players open while Jordan Love has no fear putting the ball up for his playmakers. Love’s 2.86 time to throw entered Week 6 as the 10th highest in the league, and he was able to succeed when holding onto the ball against the Cardinals.

Love’s comfort and performance on plays that extend deeper into the down is massive for an offense that wants to attack defenses down the field. LaFleur finds ways to use all of his targets in different spots as Chistian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed all had receiving touchdowns out of the slot while only being targeted once from that position. The designer plays that LaFleur cooks up in the red zone mesh with an explosive offense that is using creative formations and motions to run the ball on the outside.

The offense in Green Bay is impressive, but Jeff Hafley’s defense will need to continue making plays for this team to reach its ceiling. The Packers sprinted to a 24-0 lead that flipped the entire game script, but they did end up recovering three fumbles. The Packers were not able to register a sack on Kyler Murray, and this unit will hope to change that as they prepare for a big matchup with C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

It Didn’t Matter Sunday, but It Will Matter Later: The Eagles have scored ZERO points in the first quarter this season.

The Philadelphia Eagles came off the bye week with their best receivers and future Hall of Fame right tackle returning to the starting lineup. Their first two drives ended up in punts that helped extend their streak of scoring zero points in the first quarter. Now, that is a bit arbitrary since the third drive did take place during the first quarter and ended up in a field goal. The point here is that the Eagles keep finding ways to start slow on offense. Through six weeks that has come in the form of runs for lost yards and tight window deflected throws.

Despite the scoreless first quarters, the Eagles still have top-end playmakers on offense. A.J. Brown made his presence felt in a big way against Cleveland as he was able to win in man-to-man situations and after the catch.

A.J. Brown makes life easier for everyone on the Eagles offense as he can turn a quick throw into a big play and is a plus player in coin flip situations with the ball in the air. Brown’s fellow receiver DeVonta Smith made multiple catches underneath as Kellen Moore dialed up plays to create traffic for the Browns’ man coverage. Cleveland leaned on the blitz as they sent five or more rushers on more than half of Jalen Hurts’ dropbacks, and Hurts was 6/12 with one sack on those plays. Still, Hurts had both of his touchdown throws against pressure as Philadelphia found a way to leave Cleveland with a win.

Even with the odd first quarter happenings, the Eagles offense is still a hyper talented unit that can play hero ball with this talent. The iso situations on the outside make this a tough unit to deal with regardless of the play design.

And the Nominees Are…

Here are the ballots for some very real, very important awards. Cast your vote and let your voice be heard.

Best Performance by a Rookie Quarterback

A total of five rookie quarterbacks started across the league in Week 6. That included Caleb Williams in London, Jayden Daniels in his biggest test yet, debuts for Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler, and a division game for Bo Nix. The five ran the gamut of quarterback production and filled up our NFL Sunday.

1. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams is adding to his game every week after showing his play extension superpowers and deep ball accuracy on the front end of the Bears three game win streak. In Week 6, Williams put on a quick throw clinic as he was 13/14 for 111 yards and three touchdowns on quick throws. Williams had a 4.3 average depth of target (3rd percentile) and threw an interception he would like to have back, but he did make big plays escaping sacks, scrambling for yards, and throwing into tight windows. Though Chicago’s wins have come against teams that will not find themselves at the top of the defensive rankings this year, the Bears should feel great about Caleb Williams as they head into the bye week.

2. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

Jayden Daniels faced a huge test on Sunday as the Commanders made the short drive to Baltimore to play the Ravens. Baltimore bottled up Washington’s rush offense, but Daniels still impressed in a tough situation. His fantastic third down numbers came down to Earth, but there are positive takeaways for Daniels after facing his toughest opponent of the year so far.

3. Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Drake Maye had the unenviable task of making his NFL debut against a Houston Texans defense that has no problem pressuring the quarterback. Will Anderson had five pressures and three sacks as three of Anderson’s pressures fell in the quick pressure category (pressures under 2.5 seconds). Maye also sailed a ball for an interception and had a ridiculous bounce end up in a second, but I promise he did some good things!

Maye is happy to push the ball down the field, stay in the pocket against pressure, and extend the play when needed. He will need to do just that as the Patriots continue to cycle through offensive linemen as they hope Maye finds his footing.

4. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints

Spencer Rattler was a participant in one of the weirder games of the NFL season on Sunday. The Buccaneers ran out to a 17-0 lead that included a quick Rattler throw ending up in a 58-yard fumble return touchdown. The Saints then scored 20 unanswered points including a Rashid Saheed 54-yard punt return touchdown. After trading touchdowns, the Buccaneers tacked on four more touchdowns that resulted in a 51-27 Buccaneers win. This is not to mention Baker Mayfield threw THREE first half interceptions!

Rattler started off hot with a 62.5% success rate on the first six drives of the game before two picks led the way to a 28.1% success rate for the rest of the game. He showed some juice outside of the pocket and seems to be the starter for the next few weeks with Derek Carr’s injury.

5. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos offense hobbled into the fourth quarter down 23-0 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Nix did his best work in the fourth quarter as the Broncos scored two touchdowns and kicked a field goal before falling short, 23-16. Nix pushed the ball down the field in this game and also was the team’s leading rusher. His poor early performance helped dig the large hole in this one, and the Broncos will now prepare for a rookie quarterback face-off with the Saints next week.

Best Flea Flicker
1. Detroit Lions

Should we call this a flea flicker?

A flea flicker usually is just a handoff to the running back before a pitch back to the quarterback, and this call from the Lions adds in extra seasoning with a fake reverse before the pitch back. Who cares what we call it, it was fun, and Ben Johnson has used it (and a more traditional flea flicker) for big gains in the past. I like this design because Amon-Ra St. Brown’s fast motion makes it feel like one of the many pass plays the Lions run off that look. Each week, Ben Johnson cooks up something that adds to his future head coach resume. Week 6 was no exception.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers participated in the flea flicker/not flea flicker play call as they called a shot play that ended up in a check down. You can compare this play to the Lions one above to see the motion difference. I like when shot play calls have logical check downs in case everything doesn’t go right. It helped that Tampa Bay’s jerseys seemed to be covered in butter with some of the broken tackles in this game.

3. Washington Commanders

The Commanders used an actual flea flicker on a screen that ended up in an explosive play. I like the setup here and check Jayden Daniels batting the ball to himself on what could have been a disaster.

Best Improbable Run
1. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

I still think the Bengals can make the playoffs. I said it into a microphone last week and will see if I still believe it after every game.

Despite a rough day on the ground against New York, the Bengals offense is explosive, and the rest of their schedule can be handled. They could knock the Steelers out of Wild Card contention with two games against them, and they started the path to the post season with a win over the Giants on Sunday night. The Bengals’ first touchdown came on a play where Burrow escaped, had open space, had more open space, and then found himself in the end zone. The clip is an example where you assume there will be a player in frame, but Joe Burrow turned this 3rd and 18 into a Cincinnati touchdown:

2. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

Part of my reasoning for the Bengals still being playoff contenders is that they play the Steelers twice and have the chance to jump over them in the standings. That will be made much harder if Pittsburgh continues to find ways to win games behind a tough defense. Despite having no passing touchdowns in this game, Justin Field ran for two touchdowns and Najee Harris added this sweet one:

3. Joe Mixon, Houston Texans

After I lamented the Texans’ early down run game last week, Houston produced a 93rd percentile EPA/rush on 1st and 2nd down against the Patriots. Their 31% success rate was a 33rd percentile performance, but Joe Mixon’s return was positive as his 13 carries went for 102 yards, one touchdown, and 0.22 EPA/rush. His rushing success rate was a mere 23%, which shows the rushing game was more explosive than it was efficient on a down-to-down basis. Still, Mixon was able to create some big plays on the ground, and that is a welcome sign for the Houston Texans.

Special thanks to NFL Pro and RBSDM.com for stats.

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