NFL Week 6: Takeaways from Sunday's Action

Another crazy week of the NFL is behind us (Monday Night Football chaos is yet to begin), and there is a lot to talk about.

From the Los Angeles Rams falling to 2-4 to the Los Angeles Chargers having a quarterback problem, here are three headlines you need to know from Sunday’s action.

Rams surprise loss to Arizona

Los Angeles came into the game favored by 13.5 points over Arizona on DraftKings. Didn’t seem to matter, as the Cardinals did enough by scoring six field goals to beat the Rams 18-16. The loss drops Los Angeles to 2-4 with back-to-back losses.

Special teams once again played a part in the Rams’ downfall. New kicker Blake Grupe made a 44-yard field goal, but injured his knee when trying to make a tackle on the ensuing kickoff. That made things hard for Sean McVay. Without a placekicker, the Rams had to go for two and go for it on fourth down multiple times on Arizona’s side of the field.

Week 6 exposed critical weaknesses and surprising strengths across the league. Stay ahead of playoff implications with our in-depth analysis and expert breakdowns.

It didn’t work out, though, as Los Angeles turned the ball over three times in Arizona territory: twice on downs and once via a fumble.

Arizona’s defense was one of the league’s worst units this season, but it rose to the occasion against Los Angeles. The Rams were limited to 286 total yards, but the numbers weren’t that bad in terms of success rate. Los Angeles had a 44.4% passing success rate and a 50% rushing success rate.

It just comes down to making the necessary plays when you have to on game day. Converting forty-and-one opportunities, not turning the ball over, and converting on third down. The Rams haven’t been able to do it when they need it most, unlike Super Bowl-caliber teams. The Rams clearly aren’t that right now.

The Chargers have a quarterback problem

Listen, I’m not saying Justin Herbert should be traded or anything like that, but he’s not playing well at all. Herbert had a pressure-to-sack rate of 22 percent and an EPA per play of -0.69 against Kansas City.

Plenty of things are working against Herbert, including the Chargers having to start four rookie offensive linemen and a limited receiving corps (Ladd McConkey going down with an injury). Things haven’t gone well at all for this Chargers team.

But the one interception Hebert threw in the Arizona game is just a mistake we shouldn’t be seeing from a quarterback in Year 7.

There was no silver lining to this offensive performance for the Chargers. Nothing worked, and the offense as a whole was only 30.2 percent successful. The Chargers now enter their bye week and have to seriously look at themselves in the mirror.

The reality is, this schedule doesn’t get any easier. The next two games are against the Rams and Houston.

Herbert’s confidence looks shot. Every dropback, he’s running for his life, and he’s just struggling to find some sort of rhythm within Mike McDaniel’s offensive scheme. A change of scenery or a new system could spark Herbert, but it’s unclear whether the franchise would want to go that route. One thing’s for certain: something has to change.

There’s an MVP candidate in Houston

If the Houston Texans weren’t 2-4, we’d be talking about CJ Stroud as an MVP candidate right now. Once again, he was lights out while in action today, and this time across the pond in London. Stroud went 24-of-34 for 312 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

In the advanced stats, Stroud led all quarterbacks in Week 6 (before SNF and MNF) in success rate, EPA per pass, and yards, while facing pressure on 40 percent of dropbacks. The most important part of the performance was Stroud’s zero percent pressure-to-sack rate, meaning he didn’t take a single sack.

Houston has won two straight, with the New York Giants next week. Stroud is second in passing yards and third in impact plays among all quarterbacks entering Week 7.

The best part about this Texans offense is that Marvin Harrison Jr’s role will only grow as the weeks go on. He had limited stats in London, but had three receptions for 34 yards on four targets. Just wait for him to get going, and Stroud will have yet another weapon to target.

Houston has started to understand the type of heater Stroud is on by spreading out the field for him and making reads. The Texans ran shotgun 64.4 percent of the time and 11 personnel 50.8 percent of the time.

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