Only one team remains in the winless or undefeated column, the New York Jets.

It has been a rough week for New York professional sports teams. The Jets are just a bad team, no way around it. The defense is playing at a subpar level, and the offense is arguably bottom five. That being said, with their game this week being overseas, they may have a chance to win–probably not though. 

In the week six slate of games, the two chosen for this feature include the 2023-24 season opener on SNF and a Monday Night matchup between the top two picks of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Uniform Matchup of the Week features two throwback jerseys in the early Monday Night game. 

*All stats and standings come from https://www.espn.com/nfl/standings, https://www.espn.com/nfl/stats, https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-playoff-predictor,  https://www.nfl.com/stats/player-stats/ and https://sumersports.com/players/running-back/.* 

Lions and Chiefs meet again under the primetime lights for the first time since the 2023-24 season

A new team has claimed the title as the best team in football: the Lions. Not only is the offense still churning out insane production, but so is the defense. 

Offensively, it has not mattered who gets the ball; they are scoring. Quarterback Jared Goff is making a case for the MVP award. Through five games, Goff sits at 1,187 passing yards (10th), 75.2% completion (first), 12 passing touchdowns (first) and just two interceptions (tied for second). In Goff’s most recent game against the Bengals, he threw for a league-high 82.6% completion on 23 throws. 

Now moving on to some of the weapons. Running back David Montgomery returned to his high school days as a quarterback. Early in the second, Montgomery took a direct snap from the center and threw the ball to tight end Brock Wright for a three-yard touchdown. This also marked the second time a tight end scored in this game as Goff found tight end Sam LaPorta for a 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter. 

While they were playing the Bengals, the Lions defense still put out a very impressive outing. It starts with the team intercepting Bengals quarterback Jake Browning three times–safety Kerby Joseph, cornerback Amik Robertson and off-ball linebacker Alex Anzalone. Then we move to the front four, where superstar pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson had an insane game. Hutchinson led the NFL in pressures at eight in week five–three of them coming in under 2.5 seconds after the snap. He also managed to get to their quarterback several times with five quarterback hits and one sack. 

On the home team’s side of things, this is the worst start for the Chiefs since the 2021-22 season–that team also started 2-3 but would finish the year 12-5. There is no way to explain it other than the team is just not the same as we have seen in recent years. One quick note, the defense is playing well outside of maybe defensive tackle Chris Jones, who has been battling the loss of a family member. 

On a flip note, quarterback Patrick Mahomes still looks like a quarterback who can bail you out nine times out of 10. The team around him is significantly underperforming, whether it is from injuries or regression.

For the offense, tight end Travis Kelce is showing his age, and other than his touchdown against the Jaguars, has clearly demonstrated this could be his last season in the NFL, or possibly as a Chief. On the flip side of the receiving end, the wide receivers are either hurt, suspended or a player few teams would have as their starter. 

Former Patriot wide receiver Tyquan Thornton has been the engine of this passing game, leading the team in receiving–let it be known he has already reached a career high in receiving yards (272) and receiving touchdowns (three). Long-time veteran Juju Smith-Schuster has found a niche role in this offense. Second-year wide receiver Xavier Worthy is slowly working his way back into the offense after missing time due to a shoulder injury suffered in week one against the Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil. Oh, and speaking of the suspension, that belongs to wide receiver Rashee Rice, who will not be back until the team’s week seven game against the Raiders. All of this being said, the passing game is not the issue for this offense.

Mahomes is currently the team’s rushing yard leader at 190 yards. This is mostly–if not all–coming off scrambles from the pocket on passing plays. It is not that the Chiefs have not tried to run the ball either, as veteran running back Kareem Hunt has 43 carries, and running back Isiah Pacheco has 39 carries. Hunt has been what most expected, a goal-line back who comes in for short yardage situations. Pacheco has been the real disappointment. Now he is coming off an injury, one he is potentially still dealing with, but he has not been good this year. Pacheco ranks 35th in rushing success rate–among running backs with 35 or more carries–via https://sumersports.com/players/running-back/. 

The Lions should win this game, but instead the Chiefs have their get-right game and start moving in the right direction. 

Final Score: Lions 30 – Chiefs 37

Caleb Williams versus Jayden Daniels: Part II

“It comes down to one last play, and it is going to be longer by the second back at the 30-yard line. Now you can step into it. Here comes the Hail Mary with the game on the line. And the ball is CAUGHT! CAUGHT! IT’S A MIRACLE. IT’S NOAH BROWN. OH MY GOODNESS. THIS TOWN IS GOING CRAZY,” said CBS Sports play-by-play commentator Jim Nantz on Oct. 27, 2024, during the final moment of the Bears at Commanders 2024 game. 

One play changed two teams for what feels forever. The Bears, 4-3 after that game, would fail to win another game til week 18 against the Packers. The Commanders, 6-2 after that game, would go on to make a historic playoff run all the way to the NFC Championship game, where they lost to the Eagles. 

Now in 2025, the NFL has set the Bears and Commanders to face off under Monday Night Primetime. 

The Bears are coming off an early and much-needed bye week. The team is getting healthier on defense and offense. First off, they have been without star slot cornerback Kyler Gordon due to a hamstring injury, and he is expected to make his 2025 debut. Then off-ball linebacker T.J. Edward, one of the team’s signal callers on defense, has yet to play a full game. He played some of week two against the Lions but failed to finish the game due to re-aggravating a hamstring injury in the third quarter. Right tackle Darnell Wright missed the end of week three versus the Cowboys and all of week four against the Raiders due to an elbow injury. Wright is believed to have a chance to play but did not practice on Oct. 7, 2025, and was seen with a trainer on Oct. 8, 2025.

To kick things off, the Bears have a lot of momentum going into this game thanks to their most recent win, where cornerback/special team ace Josh Blackwell blocked what could have been the game-winning field goal attempt by the Raiders. Blackwell earned NFC Special Team Player of the Week honors for week four for the block.

Pick one and nine from the 2024 NFL Draft. Quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze have been tearing the league up this year. Williams sits at 20 in passing yards (927) and is tied for ninth in passing touchdowns (8). Odunze sits at 21 in receiving yards (296) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (five). The really impressive stat from Williams and the Bears offensive line has been the sack percentage cut in half from 10.7% (last) to just 5% (11th). 

Defense is a different tale. On first and second down, the Bears ranked dead last between 27th in success rate (depending on the source, whether it be ESPN, PFF or another sports outlet). Third down is where things get interesting, as the Bears rank first in success rate. Quite the interesting story from a defense that has been missing multiple starters. Another negative note is that the Bears rank 27th in run defense–this will be important later on. 

The Commanders are coming off an impressive blowout win over the Chargers of 27-10. Quarterback Jayden Daniels made his return after missing weeks three and four due to a knee sprain he suffered in the team’s week two loss to the Packers. In that return, Daniels looked smart, efficient and knew when a play was still alive or dead–in the sense of not risking it. Daniels threw for 231 yards and one touchdown, but could have had a better game if not due to a few drops by his weapons. 

The real spotlight here belongs to 2025 seventh-round pick “Bill” Croskey-Merritt, who rushed for his first 100-yard rushing game and added two touchdown runs to the fold. Croskey-Merritt has been quite the surprise for this season–going from a seventh-round pick to earning the starting job come preseason. Croskey-Merritt was also named Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week for the second time in his young career. In another award, he was also named the FOX LFG Player of the Week by soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. 

Through Croskey-Merritt and Jayden Daniels, the Commanders have the number one rushing attack in the NFL. Who do they play this week again? A bottom-feeder rushing defense. Now that is not to say the Bears cannot stop this insane rushing game, but it will definitely pose a challenge for the team. 

Back and forth is the way this game will go til Williams finds Odunze for the go-ahead game-winning touchdown. 

Final Score: Bears 27 – Commanders 24

UMOTW: Bills and Falcons continue throwback versus throwback trend

For back-to-back weeks now, the NFL has given us throwback uniform versus throwback uniform. Some history for this uniform matchup.

For the first time since Oct. 31, 2021, the Bills will be wearing their famous Standing Buffalo Throwbacks. The uniform is very similar to the base away uniforms, while being a little more minimalistic. The uniform features a white base coloring with red and blue accents. What makes it stand out compared to the base Bills uniforms is the Standing Buffalo logo on the helmet.

The Falcons honestly need to make these throwbacks their full-time uniforms–or at least base new uniforms off of them. This matchup marks the first time the Falcons have worn red helmets against the Bills since 1983. The Falcons are 5-2 since introducing the Classic Throwbacks in 2022. The uniform features a black base with red, white and yellow accents and a red helmet featuring the Falcons’ throwback logo, worn from 1966 to 1989. 

Remaining Games:

TNF Eagles at Giants: The Eagles manhandle the young Giants in an unsurprisingly blowout game. Final Score: Eagles 34 – Giants 14

Broncos at Jets | In London, England: The Jets almost do it, but thanks to a last-second field goal, the Broncos escape London with a third straight win. Final Score: Broncos 23 – Jets 21

Seahawks at Jaguars: In a defensive showdown, the Jaguars run away with it in the second half. Final Score: Seahawks 17 – Jaguars 30

Chargers at Dolphins: The Chargers drop their third straight, which leaves fans questioning whether Jim Harbaugh is the solution at head coach. Final Score: Chargers 22 – Dolphins 24

Rams at Ravens: The Rams offense bounces back after a disappointing finish versus the 49ers the previous week. Final Score: Rams 29 – Ravens 14

Cardinals at Colts: Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor add to their MVP cases in a straight second blowout win. Final Score: Cardinals 17 – Colts 37

Cowboys at Panthers: The Cowboys become the second team this season to drop 50-plus points. Final Score: Cowboys 56 – Panthers 10

Patriots at Saints: After beating the Bills in the previous week, the Patriots almost drop a close one versus the Saints. Final Score: Patriots 21 – Saints 20

Browns at Steelers: The Browns defense proved to be too much in rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s first career win. Final Score: Browns 16 – Steelers 13

Titans at Raiders: In what some believe will be a close game, the bottom-feeder teams get into a shootout with pick one earning his second career win. Final Score: Titans 33 – Raiders 30 

49ers at Buccaneers: “Titans” clash under the Florida heat, but the Buccaneers come out on top. Final Score: 49ers 20 – Buccaneers 31

Bengals at Packers: Newly acquired quarterback Joe Flacco pulls off his second upset against the Packers, just with a new team. Final Score: Bengals 33 – Packers 30

Teams on Bye and their next Opponent:

Texans | travel to the Seahawks on MNF

Vikings | host the Eagles 

Standings after Week Five: Conference Ranking | Overall Record | Divisional Record

AFC South

1 Colts 4-1 | 1-0

5 Jaguars 4-1 | 1-0

9 Texans 2-3 | 1-1

15 Titans 1-4 | 0-2

AFC East

2 Bills 4-1 | 2-1

7 Patriots 3-2 | 2-0

13 Dolphins 1-4 | 1-2

16 Jets 0-5 | 0-2

AFC North

3 Steelers 3-1 | 0-0

8 Bengals 2-3 | 1-0

12 Ravens 1-4 | 1-0

14 Browns 1-4 | 0-2

AFC West

4 Chargers 3-2 | 3-0

6 Broncos 3-2 | 0-1

10 Chiefs 2-3 | 0-1

11 Raiders 1-4 | 0-1

NFC East

1 Eagles 4-1 | 1-0

8 Commanders 3-2 | 1-0

12 Cowboys 2-2-1 | 1-1

16 Giants 1-4 | 0-2

NFC West

2 49ers 4-1 | 3-0

6 Seahawks 3-2 | 1-1

9 Rams 3-2 | 0-1

13 Cardinals 2-3 | 0-2

NFC South

3 Buccaneers 4-1 | 1-0

10 Falcons 2-2 | 0-2

14 Panthers 2-3 | 1-0

15 Saints 1-4 | 0-0

NFC North

4 Lions 4-1 | 1-1

5 Packers 2-1-1 | 1-0

7 Vikings 3-2 | 1-0

11 Bears 2-2 | 0-2

Power Rankings:

1. Lions | +2 9. 49ers | +6 17. Bears | -1 25. Ravens | -13

2. Bills | -1 10. Broncos | +9 18. Texans | +3 26. Titans | +6

3. Buccaneers | +4 11. Patriots | +7 19. Cowboys | +1 27. Cardinals | -4

4. Colts | +6 12. Commanders | +2 20. Chiefs | -14 28. Raiders | -1

5. Jaguars | +3 13. Packers | -2 21. Falcons | +1 29. Bengals | -1

6. Eagles | -4 14. Steelers | -1 22. Panthers | +4 30. Giants | -5

7. Rams | -3 15. Chargers | -6 23. Saints | +7 31. Dolphins | -2

8. Seahawks | -3 16. Vikings | +1 24. Browns | N/C 32. Jets | -1

N/C: No Change

Biggest Risers: Broncos 19 → 10 | Patriots 18 → 11 | Saints 30 → 23

Biggest Fallers: Chiefs 6 → 20 | Ravens 12 → 25 | Chargers 9 → 15