Seven notable NFL observations following the Week 6 action

After six weeks, five NFL teams still remain undefeated. Others posted much-needed wins, while a few teams may be losing hope altogether. Also, there have been some underrated players who are truly beginning to stand out due to their personal achievements.

Therefore, here are seven observations worth noting of at this point in the NFL season.

Colts choose best team in the NFL to attempt to fool — really?

The New England Patriots have a rhythm unlike any other team in the NFL, which is why they remain undefeated after five games and are extremely difficult to outwit.

With that said, the Indianapolis Colts went into desperation mode and botched a fake punt attempt in one of the most stupidly orchestrated plays ever attempted in the NFL in Week 6. Worse yet is that the Colts attempted their ridiculous stunt on fourth down late in the third quarter when their team trailed the Patriots by just six points, 27-21.

As we witnessed the horrible play gone bad, we couldn’t help wonder if the Colts actually thought they could fool the Patriots, of all teams, with such silliness. The bumbling fake-out was spotted immediately, and running back Brandon Bolden tackled safety Colt Anderson for a loss of a yard and the possession.

While the Colts’ lame attempt to trick the Patriots was wildly unsuccessful, Indy fans tried to rattle Tom Brady sporting giant-sized posters such as this in the crowd.

Fans likely thought they made a difference when Brady did throw his first pick of the season, but it was mainly Julian Edelman and his mangled finger’s fault. Ultimately, the Patriots got the job done leaving Andrew Luck 0-5 against New England for his career.

Are the Seahawks secretly aiding the undefeated teams?

In Week 5 the Seattle Seahawks lost to the now 6-0 Cincinnati Bengals, and then again in Week 6 to the undefeated Carolina Panthers.

Cam Newton threw a game-winning touchdown into the hands of tight end Greg Olsen, who was wide open in the end zone. All game long, Newton was shooting bulls eyes while the Seahawks defenders looked horribly confused. Obviously, we know that the Seahawks aren’t really throwing games, however their declining level of play offensively and defensively is quite puzzling.

At this point in the season, with only two wins against four losses, the Seahawks sit no better in NFC west than the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers, who also have two wins. The Seahawks’ offense needs sharpen up and the Legion of Boom needs to tighten up and stop game-changing plays from happening.

How many miles can Philip Rivers throw for and not win?

The San Diego Chargers are losing games, but it’s not due to any lack of effort from gun-slinging quarterback Philip Rivers, who threw the ball 65 times for 503 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions in Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers.

According to NFL Network, it has been since 1960 that a quarterback surpassed 500 yards without an interception in a single game.

It must be exasperating for Rivers, who has averaged 423.4 yards per game and has 12 touchdowns and five interceptions to have only won two games. He leads the NFL in passing yards and has almost 400 more than Andy Dalton, who sits next in line.

It’s painful to watch Rivers give it his all while the Chargers keep losing, when at the same time quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, with his sketchy performances, remains undefeated.

Will the Lions be just a one-hit wonder?

The Detroit Lions are temporarily out of hot water due to their awesome overtime win against the Chicago Bears in Week 6, 37-34.

While Matthew Stafford and the Lions should be commended for some excellent play in Sunday’s victory, the fact remains that the team still has five blaring losses on the books. So, will the Lions remain just a one-hit one win wonder in 2015?

Fortunately for Detroit, they got some of their tougher opponents out of the way earlier this season. Even better news is the Lions face some very beatable teams moving forward, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.

They also square off against the Green Bay Packers (twice), the Minnesota Vikings and those unpredictable St. Louis Rams. Surely the Lions, who have already hit rock bottom, have some grander days ahead when we’ll see them post more wins on the board.

The NFC East is back up for grabs

The New York Giants majorly blew a shot at advancing ahead in the NFC East by letting their early seven-point lead slip away on Monday night, resulting in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 27-7.

Off to a rolling start, the Giants engineered a successful first drive, scoring early with an Odell Beckham Jr. touchdown. From there, they basically flushed their game down the toilet. Of course it didn’t help that Rashad Jennings lost a fumble and that Eli Manning threw two interceptions — one resulting in a pick six. Because of those careless mistakes the Giants now sit tied 3-3 with the Eagles in the division.

While the Eagles handily outscored the Giants, let us note it was a messy win and Sam Bradford still committed three terrible interceptions along the way. Fortunately, the team maintained a balanced attack that included a 155-yard team rushing effort and a ground score by DeMarco Murray.

As for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, each team has two wins. With a quarterback change in the works for the Cowboys, the team is looking to turn around their losing status in Week 7 in another divisional game against New York. Situated in the worst shape in the NFC east is Washington, which is stubbornly sticking with Kirk Cousins under center, despite the team’s four losses.

The loss for the Giants has now cracked the door wide open for any of these teams to take charge and dominate the division.

The Kansas City Chiefs should throw in the towel

Things are not looking pretty for a 1-5 Alex Smith-led Kansas City Chiefs team, which lost its most productive offensive player, Jamaal Charles, in Week 5 to a season-ending ACL tear.

So, at this point, it could make sense to throw in the towel and shoot for that 2016 overall first draft pick to prepare for an overhaul at the quarterback position.

While this is not a proud goal to strive for, the reality is that the Chiefs are in terrible shape. Since the departure of Charles, the team has scored only 27 points in two games. And, replacement running backs Charcandrick West and Knile Davis did nothing to impress in his absence, combining for a lowly average of 3.3 yards per carry on 14 attempts in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Regarding the Chiefs defense, it has only managed eight total takeaways and is allowing a generous average of 447.4 yards and 3.6 touchdowns per game. It’s time for the Chiefs to throw in the towel and set their sights on the 2016 NFL Draft.

Brandon Marshall and Chris Ivory are shaping into best WR/RB duo in the NFL

The New York Jets are thriving on offense, with much credit due to Brandon Marshall and Chris Ivory.

Marshall just posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard game, which isn’t too shabby for a guy the Jets gave up for a lousy fifth-round draft pick to the Chicago Bears to acquire. Who’s winning in this scenario?

As for Ivory, whom Marshall refers to as the “best running back in football,” the dude is crazy-fast. So far this season, Ivory is averaging 5.54 yards per attempt. And, in back-to-back games, he torched the Miami Dolphins defense for 166 rushing yards then burned through Washington posting a total of 196 yards.

If you play fantasy football and selected either of these guys in later rounds, then you’re a happy camper. The duo is becoming one of the most productive WR/RB combinations in the NFL. To date, each has scored four touchdowns in five games and the Jets sit pretty in the AFC east at 4-1.

By Rachel Wold

Rachel is a football lover of both the NFL and Fantasy and creator of Fantasyfootballchick.com. When she is not ... More about Rachel Wold