Week 6 of the NFL season was filled with wild games, strange plays, and a frustrating amount of injuries, including several major ones to prominent players. While there was no shortage of superb performances, there were also a number of major disappointments as well — both on and off the field.
Here’s a look at the 15 biggest disappointments that came out of Week 6.
Given how bad the Miami offense has been this season, you really would have thought Atlanta’s 17-0 halftime lead would have been fairly secure, especially at home. The offense was scoring, the defense was keeping the Dolphins off the board, and there seemed to be no problem whatsoever. But then something bad happened.
The defense folded, allowing two Jay Cutler touchdown passes in the third quarter and a pair of field goals to tie the game. Miami then took the lead for good with a third field goal. Atlanta’s offense had just four second half drives — two punts, a turnover on downs, and a game-clinching interception. The last one was the only one that gained the team more than 27 yards.
It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that Carr’s back injury played a role this week as the Raiders surprisingly lost to the Los Angeles Chargers. Whatever the reason, this was a game the Raiders should have won, and Carr’s play simply was not good enough. He threw for only 171 yards — the third straight game in which he has failed to throw for 200 yards — and added two picks as the Raiders scored only 16 points. Health may be a part of it, but there is no escaping the fact that Carr is not playing like the same quarterback we saw last year when he was a legitimate MVP candidate.
All Browns employees responsible for passing on Deshaun Watson
Let’s be perfectly clear — there is no guarantee that had he been drafted by the Browns, Watson would be blossoming the same way he is in Houston. It’s telling, however, that Browns coach Hue Jackson has been forced to spend part of his Sunday denying a Watson-related story.
As Kevin Hogan struggled for Cleveland, Watson dazzled again on the other side for the Houston Texans, throwing for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Cleveland could have had Watson at No. 12, and their primary decision-maker said that it was a “difficult” decision to pass on him. Based on the evidence, especially after the close-up view they had on Sunday, it may also prove a regrettable one.
There was nothing elite about Flacco on Sunday. For the third time in his last four games, Flacco failed to throw a touchdown pass, while he threw two interceptions for the third time in 2017 as well. He attempted 41 passes and only racked up 180 yards. The only reason his Ravens took the Chicago Bears to overtime was because of very good special teams play. Flacco was awful and did almost nothing for his struggling offense in this one.
It was not the greatest week for the dynamic Hill, who couldn’t really put together a big play either on offense or special teams. He had five catches, but his 34 receiving yards were a season-low. A week after his first punt return touchdown of 2017, he wasn’t able to do anything big on any of the three punts he handled either.
With the Chiefs offense struggling against the Pittsburgh Steelers for much of the day, it would have been a good game for Hill to break out one of his big plays, but it was not meant to be.
Hue Jackson benched Deshone Kizer for this? After going 16-for-19 with two touchdowns a week ago against the Jets, there was definitely some intrigue to see how Hogan would do in his first career start. The answer was not pretty, as the former Stanford QB displayed no touch, no accuracy, and no real hope. He completed 20-of-37 passes but threw three interceptions — including a pick-six — and only one touchdown, which came in garbage time once the Browns were already down big. Kizer may not be the finished product, but at least there’s something to work with there. Hogan offers nothing of the sort.
It’s hard to disappoint when you’re a stopgap quarterback on a rebuilding team, but Hoyer has managed to lose his starting job to third-round rookie C.J. Beathard in just six weeks. The last straw came on Sunday when he started against the Washington Redskins by going just 4-of-11 for 34 yards. The Niners don’t have a franchise quarterback. We already knew that. But Hoyer couldn’t even hold down the job on a rebuilding team backed up by a rookie quarterback with low expectations. This looks even worse when you consider Hoyer was brought in mostly as a guy who knew head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system. Don’t expect to see him again anytime soon.
Amazingly, Jones has yet to score a touchdown this season. He caught six of only seven targets and went for 72 yards against Miami, but for one of the game’s elite talents, that’s an underwhelming performance. Jones had six receiving touchdowns last season. The only season he’s had fewer than that — 2013, in which he caught two — he was limited to just five games by injury. He’d better get going soon. The Falcons are worse off when he’s not making big plays.
