Seven NFL players who must step up their game in Week 6

Week six has already arrived and there are certain teams that are struggling, due the absence of key players or due to players who are severely under-performing.

We’re going to focus on the latter group.

Here are seven  NFL players who must step up their level of performance in Week 6.

Matthew Stafford must perform or else

There is not one quarterback in the NFL under more pressure right now than Stafford, who needs to step things up if he has any hope of helping the Lions dig out of their 0-5 hole.

Stafford’s game has spiraled downward at an astonishing rate, and he’s taking the whole team down with him. So far, Stafford has nine total turnovers compared to just six touchdowns. His performance in Week 5 was so incredibly dreadful that head coach Jim Caldwell benched him in favor of backup Dan Orlovsky.

In Week 6, Stafford and the Lions face a beatable Chicago Bears team that has allowed 11 passing touchdowns in five games. The Bears defense isn’t great and has only managed four takeaways all season. Stafford should be able to take advantage of Chicago’s weaknesses and start making some magic with the two very talented wide receivers he has at his disposal — Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate.

If Stafford can’t get it together this week in an opportune matchup, then the Lions are truly a lost cause.

Marshawn Lynch is key to Seahawks beating Panthers

Thus far, we haven’t seen much from Beastmode since he has been dealing with a hamstring injury that limited his production severely in the first few games.

Since then, he has sat out, and his absence has been very apparent by the way the Seahawks have been unable to pound the rock and maintain a lead late in games. Reports indicate that Lynch should return to action in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers and “play a lot.” This isn’t great news for a Panthers defense that just allowed 129 rushing yards and a score to the New Orleans Saints running backs in Week 4.

With Carolina’s pass defense limiting opposing quarterbacks to just 5.7 yards per attempt — the least in the NFL, Lynch is going to have to put his game in overdrive and dominate the Panthers on the ground to help the Seahawks avoid loss No. 4 on the season.

Jordan Matthews and Eagles receivers need to stop dropping passes

According to a report by the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Eagles rank fourth-worst in the NFL regarding dropped passes, with 12 to date over five games.

Eagles No. 1 wideout Jordan Matthews is responsible for four of the careless drops.

The multiple dropped passes have hurt the Eagles in every game played so far. Matthews is Sam Bradford’s go-to guy, averaging nine targets per game. Dropped passes have hindering the Eagles from extending their drives, and some cases, from scoring touchdowns.

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Due to the severity of the issue, head coach Chip Kelly has both Matthews and rookie Nelson Agholor working on a JUGS Machine that helps them with the mechanics and fundamentals of catching a football in the proper way.

We’ll see if Matthews shows any signs of improvement in Week 6 in a crucial divisional game against the New York Giants.

Bust is not an option for Andrew Luck

In the best grudge matchup of the season, an ailing Luck needs to put up his performance of the season against a vengeful New England Patriots, who are looking to make the Colts pay for accusing the team of being cheaters.

Before Luck injured his shoulder, he wasn’t playing well. His disastrous performances over his first three games were hardly bearable to watch. During this period of time, Luck had eight total turnovers compared to just five touchdowns. Miraculously, after two losses, he was able to lead the Colts to a narrow win in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans.

Luck absolutely needs to step up his level of play, keep his cool and stop coughing up costly turnovers if there is any chance at beating an undefeated Patriots in Sunday Night Football. Good luck to Luck with this tall task.

Kansas City Chiefs running backs must fill gap left by Jamaal Charles

Sadly for a 1-4 Chiefs team, they got kicked while they were down by the loss of running back Jamaal Charles, who sustained a season-ending ACL tear in Week 5.

The loss of Charles is devastating for a team who primarily relies on the success of its ground game. This is where Charcandrick West and Knile Davis must step in to help to fill the void. West looks to be the back that will assume most of the backfield duties while Davis will see some goal line work.

So far in his short two-year career, West hasn’t done much. However, he did manage 4.43 yards per attempt on the seven carries he had last week after stepping into the game. Davis is a large-bodied running back who did an adequate job filling in for Charles last season when he missed time. His seven total touchdowns coming from 150 touches show how productive he was.

Let’s hope West and Davis can help carry a team and score some points in an offense that is struggling to post scores through the air.

Ameer Abdullah needs to improve ball security

The Lions are in desperate shape and Abdullah’s knack for fumbling the ball (three times in five games) isn’t helping the offense’s ability to sustain drives and remain on the field.

Abdullah has the talent to be a fantastic asset to the Lions offense, as we witnessed by a splashy Week 1 performance when he rushed for 7.14 yards per carry. However, since then, and perhaps due to the overall lack of confidence the team has, Abdullah’s production has taken a cliff dive.

It is clear that the Lions want to feature Abdullah, however this is going to change if he can’t simply hang onto the football.

Ryan Tannehill must help fix the Dolphins

Tannehill and Co. have been stinking up the joint, posting three losses in a row prior to their bye week.

The Miami Dolphins cleaned house over the break and fired an ineffective head coach, Joe Philbin, after the team lost in Week 4. However, the sad state of the Dolphins doesn’t just fall on the shoulders of the former coach. Tannehill has been highly inaccurate and his production has declined so much that in Week 4 he completed only 43.18 percent of his passes in a blowout loss 27-14 to the New York Jets in London.

If Tannehill was a stock, millions would have sold him after such a rapid decline in production this season. It’s now time for him to up his level of play, which hopefully coincides with a winning record for the new coaching staff.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Tannehill rates third-to-last in overall quarterback ranking. Sitting below, him are Colin Kaepernick, who we’ll let catch a break because he improved last week, and Matthew Stafford, who headlines this list.

Tannehill faces the Tennessee Titans in Week 6, and Dolphins fans will be demanding improvement from their potentially overpaid quarterback.