Things change fast in the NFL but, by Week 6, we are starting to get a clearer picture of who some of these teams are, and not all of those pictures are pretty to look at.
The Eagles (2-3) look even worse than their middling record suggests, and things are likely to get even uglier with the news last week quarterback Jalen Hurts is out indefinitely with a scary blood clot situation.
If things truly bottom-out in Philly, and the three-game losing streak stretches to four with a home loss against the Panthers (2-2), head coach Nick Siriani’s seat will be scorching.
The Jaguars (4-1) sure contributed to Philly’s woes with that bonkers win in London last week, but Jacksonville is not without their own problems.
They looked out of sorts on offence and also lost left tackle Anton Harrison to a knee injury, which is bad news with Houston (1-4) edge rusher Will Anderson on the docket next.
Meanwhile, the Texans might actually be turning a corner after a rough start, and this week added wideout Marvin Harrison Jr via a trade with the Cardinals (1-4), who had underwhelmed since Arizona took him with the No.4 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Guess who was throwing passes to Harrison when he had his best year in college? Texans QB CJ Stroud.
Talking about college QBs, we got to see this year’s No.1 pick, Fernando Mendoza, in wop-up duty in the Raiders’ 45-17 drubbing at the hands of the Patriots (3-2) last week.
Facing the Bills (4-1) is an even taller task, so expect to see veteran Kirk Cousins back under centre for the Raiders to start the game.
Buffalo’s 37-34 win over the Rams (2-3) was the best game so far this season, and reminded us why Bills QB Josh Allen is one of one.
We used to say that about Chiefs (4-0) QB Patrick Mahomes, and might start doing it again the way he’s been playing lately.
Hard to imagine the winless Chargers putting up much resistance at Arrowhead, but division games are always weird.
You can apply that theory to Ravens (4-1) at Browns (3-2) and Cardinals at Rams, which look like contests that should be handily won by Baltimore and Los Angeles (even if backup QB Snoop Huntley starts for the Ravens), but these intra-division matchups always produce surprises.
It would be more than a surprise if the Commanders (1-3-1) upset the undefeated Niners in San Francisco.
That said, after last week’s embarrassing overtime loss to Dallas (2-3), anything less than a strong showing by Washington here could see head coach Dan Quinn get the boot.
Talking about potential firings, Dallas defensive coordinator Christian Parker will not last much longer in that role if the Cowboys get torched by Green Bay (3-2).
In a Week 5 demolition of the Bears (3-2), Packers QB Jordan Love had six completions longer than 30 yards, and it’s hard to see how a Cowboys defence allowing a league-worst passer rating of 120.5 is going to stop that.
Texans@Jaguars (London), tonight, 9.30pm, ESPN
Ravens@Browns, tomorrow, 1am, 7MATE
Panthers@Eagles, tomorrow, 1am, ESPN
Cardinals@Rams, tomorrow, 4.05am, ESPN2
Chargers@Chiefs, tomorrow, 4.25am, 7MATE
Bills@Raiders, tomorrow, 4.25am, ESPN
Cowboys@Packers, tomorrow, 8.20am, ESPN
Commanders@49ers, Tuesday, 8.15am, ESPN