Fansided

Cowboys roll, AFC West is best and Eagles crash

By Matt Williamson

Aug 25, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) rushes against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 25, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) rushes against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 13, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) talks to Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib (21) during the third quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) talks to Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib (21) during the third quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

We are now six weeks through the NFL’s regular season. The landscape is becoming clearer, including many playoff pictures starting to shape up.

Below are several observations from Week 6, a very competitive and exciting slate of games:

The AFC West is the NFL’s best and most competitive division. Unlike the NFC West or AFC North (which went 0-4 this week!), there is not a bottom feeder. But also unlike those divisions, there probably is not an elite team either. We should never put too much stock in a Thursday night performance by a road team and Denver was without its head coach for medical reasons when they visited San Diego. Still, this is two straight weeks that the Super Bowl champions have been clearly outplayed.

The Chargers are a far better team than their record indicates and have the best quarterback in the division, but is behind the 8-ball in the standings. This, even though they could be playing the best football in the division. Meanwhile, Denver is clearly the worst in the West at the most important position on the field. Contrary to what it did last year, it is extremely difficult to win in this league with a quarterback that is unwilling to pull the trigger or is incapable of making big throws.

The Raiders and Chiefs met in Oakland in a driving rainstorm. Andy Reid’s record when coming off a bye is impeccable and that impressive trend continued. The weather helped, but this was a very Chiefs-like style of game, not turning the ball over and a lot of running with Jamaal Charles back in the fold. But it was Spencer Ware that carried the load, racking up 131 yards on the ground compared to just 33 from Charles. That was the difference in this game, as Kansas City out-rushed the Raiders by a whopping 118 yards.

Despite Marcus Peters’ amazing career interception numbers (and he picked off yet another on Sunday), he exclusively lines up on the left side of the defense and was in and out of the lineup in this game due to injury. Amari Cooper abused this secondary, usually on the opposite side of Peters. But that was not enough. This was a gigantic win for the Chiefs to stay above .500. Meanwhile, Oakland needs to be better than this to compete in this division, but remains tied for first place.

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