NFL Game Recaps: Week 6, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

49ers 36, Seahawks 24

The 49ers have dominated the Seahawks in recent years, and that once again continued the latest matchup. Though this final score indicates that this was a somewhat close battle, it was a lopsided affair.

San Francisco led this game 23-3 before some shenanigans allowed the margin to tighten. Jordan Mason, who had a brilliant opening half, got hurt just prior to halftime. He reentered the game for one play following intermission and ran for eight yards, but exited again and never returned. With Mason gone, the 49er offense stalled more frequently because the rushing attack was diminished. The Seahawks also scored a touchdown on a kickoff, and then the 49ers recovered a fumble on a punt, but replay review made the incorrect ruling because they didn’t have the proper angle, according to the official in the booth.

This was suddenly a 23-17 affair, but the San Francisco defense shut the door quickly. Geno Smith, who had issues with his accuracy throughout the night, heaved an interception on a telegraphed pass. This set up a George Kittle touchdown, which expanded the 49ers’ lead and effectively clinched the victory.

The 49ers bounced back from their Arizona loss to improve to 3-3 with a win over Seattle, but this was almost yet another blown lead. Mason getting hurt was the key factor in that regard. His shoulder injury was also the reason why we didn’t win our same-game parlay, with the other three legs hitting!

Seattle had a chance to jump out to a huge lead in this division, but Smith struggled with some poor throws. The Seahawks had a chance to win near the end, but they were down big and got lucky to get back into the game.

Bears 35, Jaguars 16

The Jaguars are very familiar with playing in London, and it seemed as though they would end up winning this game. They forced Chicago into a punt immediately and then drove down the field into the red zone. They nearly scored a touchdown, but Gabe Davis dropped a touchdown. Still, the Jaguars led 3-0 and seemed in command, especially when Caleb Williams was intercepted on a deep shot to D.J. Moore.

Jacksonville’s dominance did not last very long. The Bears began moving the ball well in all facets against Jacksonville’s dreadful defense. The Jaguars couldn’t tackle D’Andre Swift, and they had no answer for Williams’ passes to Cole Kmet, Rome Odunze, and Keenan Allen. The Bears scored 14 points in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead into intermission.

Things only got worse for the Jaguars in the second half. Evan Engram lost a fumble over midfield, setting up a Williams touchdown to Allen. Lawrence was also intercepted, and he severely underthrew an open Brian Thomas Jr. for what should have been a deep touchdown. Meanwhile, the defense couldn’t get off the field, thanks in part to numerous penalties in the secondary. The Bears eventually went up 35-10 before removing their starters.

The Jaguars might be the first team in NFL history to fire a head coach in between London games. Doug Pederson is completely clueless, opting to call terrible plays and failing to utilize Tank Bigsby. Travis Etienne was given the first carry of this contest even though Bigsby has been so much more impressive. Pederson, at the very least, needs his awful defensive coordinator to fall on the sword to temporarily save his job.

The Bears were extremely impressive for the second week in a row, improving to 4-2. This is obviously not the same team that should have lost to Tennessee in Week 1.

Ravens 30, Redskins 23

This matchup was billed as one that would feature plenty of offensive explosive plays. This was not apparent in the early stages of the game when both teams had to settle for field goals. Each quarterback made mistakes. Lamar Jackson tossed an early interception when he threw way wide of his mark, and then Jayden Daniels heaved a third-down incompletion on a throw behind Olamide Zaccheaus.

We finally saw signs of life in the second quarter when Jackson began delivering passes to Zay Flowers, who made tons of electric catches in the opening half of this contest. When Jackson wasn’t throwing to Flowers, he was handing the ball off to Derrick Henry. It took a little while for Henry to establish himself as a forceful runner, but he began trampling Washington’s poor run defense beginning in the second quarter.

The Ravens eventually got out to a 27-13 lead entering the fourth quarter. Daniels couldn’t keep pace with Baltimore until the final frame, but by then, it was too little, too late. Daniels led some scoring drives, but following a field goal to draw to within seven, the Redskins needed one stop to give themselves one more chance. Instead, they saw Henry rush for gains of 27, four, and then five to move the chains on a couple of occasions, which allowed Baltimore to go into victory formation.

Baltimore was once 0-2, but has reeled off four consecutive victories. Jackson, Henry, and Flowers were all terrific in this game following a slow start. Jackson misfired on just six occasions.

The Redskins failed their first major test of the year, but they were able to at least remain competitive with the Ravens. Their defense had played better since Week 3, but they couldn’t get off the field in the final three quarters. The Ravens won the time of possession by 13 minutes.

Packers 34, Cardinals 13

When “No Cookie” Jordan Love suffered an injury in the opening game of the season, it was announced that he would miss approximately five weeks. He returned early, but wasn’t quite himself in his first two games back from the injury. This game, however, was his original timeline of return, so there was a chance he would finally revert to peak form, especially with Christian Watson being available after his own health issues.

Sure enough, Love was tremendous in this game. It helped that he was battling one of the worst defenses in the NFL, but Love was precise on most of his throws. He began 16-of-21 for 194 yards, establishing a 24-0 lead against the Cardinals, who lost Marvin Harrison Jr. to a concussion in the second quarter. Arizona showed no signs of life until Kyler Murray finally engineered a touchdown drive where he found Michael Wilson for a touchdown midway through the second quarter. Love then made his first mistake of the afternoon via an interception, but all Arizona could muster was a field goal.

This ray of hope the Cardinals had proved to be short lived. The Packers put the clamps on Arizona’s offense following intermission, limiting Murray and company to just three points. The Packers offense, meanwhile, was able to ram the ball down Arizona’s throat, controlling the game and winning the time of possession by 13 minutes.

Aside from the interception, Love had a flawless game. He finally looks healthy, so there should be high expectations with Green Bay as the season progresses. The Packers look like one of the best teams in the NFL.

The Cardinals once again couldn’t sustain success. They’re now 0-2 straight up and against the spread following their upset victories. As great as their win over San Francisco was, it almost means nothing in the wake of this blowout defeat.

Texans 41, Patriots 21

The Patriots had a tall task going up against the Texans in this game. Not only were they battling the superior team with a rookie quarterback making his first start; they also had to overcome some one-sided officiating.

New England appeared to hold Houston to a pair of field goals on the first two drives of the game, but the officials threw flags after both third-down incompletions. There were a pair of pass interference flags called on New England even though the first throw in question was uncatchable. These apparent field goals transformed into touchdowns, giving the Texans a 14-0 lead instead of a 6-0 advantage.

The Patriots held the Texans down rather well after that despite a 59-yard Joe Mixon run. However, their offense did nothing either. Drake Maye saw tons of pressure, and when he had a chance to throw, he sailed a pass over his receiver’s head for an interception. Maye eventually did something positive, hitting Kayshon Boutte for a 40-yard touchdown. The Patriots received first possession in the second half, down 14-7, but Maye imploded with a lost fumble on a strip-sack. The Texans recovered and scored a quick touchdown without the help of the officials this time, as C.J. Stroud found Stefon Diggs in the end zone to give Houston another two-touchdown advantage that it wouldn’t relinquish.

Houston’s offense was ranked just 22nd in EPA heading into this game. Part of the problem has been the play-calling, as Bobby Slowik went with too many early-down runs with terrible reserve running backs. That issue resolved itself this week because Joe Mixon was back from injury. Mixon made a huge difference in Houston’s offense.

Maye had an uneven debut. He made some mistakes, but showed impressive flashes as well. Unfortunately for Maye, he took way too many hits in the backfield behind his dreadful offensive line.

Buccaneers 51, Saints 27

This was a Buccaneers blowout victory that originally looked like a Buccaneers blowout victory, but then seemed like a potential Saints upset before becoming a Buccaneers blowout victory again.

Confused? You’re not alone. This was a wild game with lots of twists and turns.

The Buccaneers established a 17-0 lead, thanks to Chris Olave losing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Just when it seemed like this game would get out of hand for the Saints, Rashid Shaheed scored on a punt return touchdown to trim the margin to seven. The Saints defense did some great work to intercept Baker Mayfield thrice prior to halftime. On one of the picks, Mike Evans got hurt on the run back. The second interception set up Spencer “Silver Snake” Rattler’s touchdown pass to rookie Bub Means to put New Orleans ahead, 20-17. The third pick wasn’t Mayfield’s fault, as the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

The Buccaneers got their act together in the second half. Defensively, they intercepted Rattler twice, with one pick occurring on a severely underthrown ball. Offensively, they did whatever they wanted against New Orleans. Chris Godwin couldn’t be stopped by a New Orleans defense that has handled slot receivers poorly all year. Running backs Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker then trampled the Saints. Irving had one of the most impressive runs of the year when he broke some tackles and juked some defenders to pick up an 18-yard gain to set up his own touchdown. Before long, the Buccaneers were winning in a blowout despite trailing heading into halftime.

This would have been an embarrassing loss for the Buccaneers, but they rallied in the second half to improve to 4-2. Evans turned out to be OK, returning in the second half.

“Silver Snake” Rattler had quite the debut. He made some nice throws and had a 16-yard scramble, but he hurt his team with some turnovers. Given the rough shape of New Orleans’ offensive line, Rattler composed himself relatively well.

Eagles 20, Browns 16

The Eagles welcomed back all of their offensive weapons in this game, as A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Lane Johnson all returned from injury. This, however, did not translate to thr scoreboard. Philadelphia looked sloppy at times, including one sequence prior to halftime when Saquon Barkley failed to reach for a first down on a lazy run. Jalen Hurts then took a sack on the next play, resulting in a 57-yard field goal attempt that was blocked and returned for a touchdown. The Eagles, who looked to go up 13-3 with the successful kick, found themselves tied at 10 heading into intermission.

Philadelphia’s defense also did not play well. The Browns didn’t do much in the opening half, but they couldn’t be stopped following the break. Deshaun Watson, who had both of his tackles on the field for the first time all year, played his best half of football in 2024, as he completed his first 11 passes in second half. Cleveland sat on the ball following intermission, negating opportunities for the Eagles to extend their lead.

The Browns had a chance to tie the game when they were down 20-13 with about four minutes remaining. Watson drove inside the Philadelphia 10-yard line, but one of his tackles, Jedrick Wills, false started on fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line. Kevin Stefanski deemed a 13-yard fourth-down to be too improbable, so he settled for a field goal. This drew the margin to within 20-16, but it proved to be a costly error because the Browns never relinquished possession. Hurts picked up six yards on a third-and-2 scramble, and then he found Jahan Dotson and Brown for 10- and 40-yard gains to move the chains and seal the victory.

The Eagles weren’t very impressive as nine-point favorites, but they were able to improve to 3-2. This was a very weak opponent they should have beaten following an embarrassing defeat, so this was certainly not a good look for Philadelphia.

The Browns lost yet again, but at least they were competitive this time. As mentioned, Cleveland had its two tackles on the field for the first time, which helped Watson go 11-of-11 to start the second half. Perhaps this is a good sign for Watson, who was dreadful heading into this contest.

Colts 20, Titans 17

The Titans didn’t have much postseason success under Mike Vrabel, but they would always be coached well and would often contend for a playoff spot. These are not your older brother’s Titans, as Vrabel’s departure means that Tennessee no longer makes all the best decisions.

This was a tight game throughout the afternoon. Will Levis was solid in the opening half, but struggled following intermission. He even had his trademark weekly interception amid his second-half meltdown. New Titans coach Brian Callahan must no have had any faith in Levis to convert a fourth-and-7 with 2:40 remaining in regulation. He decided to punt the ball away with two timeouts.

Callahan didn’t see the ball again until there were 12 seconds remaining. Joe Flacco, who was the opposite of Levis in that he struggled early with a poor interception on an overthrow, delivered a 16-yard connection to Michael Pittman Jr. This allowed the Colts to bleed the clock and pin the Titans down on their own 3-yard line. This effectively ended the game, as Callahan’s poor decision didn’t give his team a chance of prevailing.

Flacco wasn’t as sharp as he was the prior week versus Jacksonville, but he got the job done to help the Colts improve to 3-2. Josh Downs continues to be the best receiver for the Colts, but it remains to be seen how productive he’ll be when Anthony Richardson returns.

Levis started well, but as mentioned, he imploded in the second half. He finished with just 95 passing yards against a defense that allowed Trevor Lawrence to snap out of his funk. He wasn’t able to connect with Calvin Ridley, who didn’t catch a single pass despite seeing eight targets. Levis stinks, but he should continue to start because he gives Tennessee the best chance of losing in order to secure the top pick in the draft. Check out the 2025 NFL Mock Draft.

Chargers 23, Broncos 16

The final score says that the Chargers barely survived the Broncos with a seven-point victory, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This was a lopsided affair in which Denver was not competitive for about 50 minutes.

The Chargers established a 23-0 lead prior to the end of the third quarter by dominating on both sides of the ball. J.K. Dobbins had some powerful runs, but it was backup running back Kimani Vidal who made the big play with a 38-yard reception. Justin Herbert was highly effective in moving the chains, converting 11 third downs. The defense, meanwhile, swarmed Bo Nix despite not having Joey Bosa. Nix saw pressure frequently and didn’t have a chance to sustain drives.

This all changed in the fourth quarter, though the Chargers didn’t exactly put forth their best effort in their prevent defense. Nix finally started moving the ball, leading three scoring drives. He got it to 23-16, but the Broncos failed to recover the onside kick, allowing Herbert to kneel down in victory.

The Chargers looked like a completely different team coming off the bye. Teams usually want a bye later in the year, but it came at the perfect time for the Chargers, given how many injuries they had.

Denver’s three-game winning streak was snapped. The Broncos had some misleading victories, so regression to the mean seemed very likely to happen.

Steelers 32, Raiders 13

It may seem odd to say that a team that lost 32-13 had a chance to win, but that is the case in this game. The Raiders were crushed based solely on the final score, but they sabotaged a potential victory with countless mistakes.

The trouble began for the Raiders when backup running back Dylan Laube lost a fumble that was forced by T.J. Watt. This set up a Pittsburgh field goal. The Raiders were then down 12-7 when they had a punt blocked that set up another three-point try for the Steelers. The Raiders defense then appeared to get the Steelers off the field on a third-and-18, but they roughed the passer to give Pittsburgh a free first down, setting up a Najee Harris touchdown. This opened up a big lead for the Steelers, who led 22-7 when Harris crossed the goal line.

The Raiders had a chance to get back into the game when they appeared to score a touchdown, but the score was nullified by an ineligible man downfield. They still had a chance to breach the end zone, but Ameer Abdullah lost a fumble at the goal line. The Raiders had a touchdown, an interception, a big third-down play, and many other positive instances negated by penalties.

The Steelers snapped their two-game losing streak, but there’s still cause for concern because of the diminished offensive line. They were gifted a win because of the Raiders’ sloppy play.

The Raiders sabotaged another potential victory, and they have to go back to the drawing board at quarterback because Aidan O’Connell was not an upgrade over Gardner Minshew.

Falcons 38, Panthers 20

The Falcons won by three scores, but this was a tight affair for three quarters. The Panthers got out to a 7-0 lead and kept the margin to 22-17 at halftime. They were also within striking distance heading into the final frame, down 28-20. They imploded, however, because of numerous mistakes.

Penalties were the primary culprit. The Panthers were flagged for eight infractions in the first 40 minutes of the game, one of which negated a first-and-goal situation in the third quarter that forced Carolina into settling for a field goal. A shanked punt also hurt, as a 19-yard punt by Carolina gave Atlanta a very short field in the second quarter. The Panthers trailed 15-10, but the short touchdown drive allowed the Falcons to open up their first double-digit lead of the afternoon.

The final nail in the coffin occurred when the Panthers were trailing 28-20. They ran the ball so well with Chuba Hubbard, with the announcers referring to him as the “Canadian Express.” Despite this, Andy Dalton felt the need to throw the ball late over the middle of the field. He was picked, and that was the last time the Panthers had possession in a one-score game. The Falcons were incredibly efficient offensively in the fourth quarter, and they scored a couple of times to put this game away.

The Panthers had a chance to pull the upset here, but shot themselves in the foot too many times, causing them to drop to 1-5. They’ve been more competitive with Dalton, but the Red Rifle’s poor decision-making in this game could prompt Dave Canales to at least think about turning back to Bryce Young if this continues.

The Falcons avoided a letdown spot off their overtime win against the Buccaneers. They improved to 4-2 with some great offensive play. Their defense, however, remains a major concern.

Lions 47, Cowboys 9

The Lions dominated this game from beginning to end, but this win is not the major storyline in Detroit. That would be Aidan Hutchinson’s gruesome leg injury that he suffered in the third quarter on a sack of Dak Prescott. It was so bad that FOX refused to show instant replays of it. Hutchinson was carted off the field, and it’s safe to assume that his season is finished. If so, that will obviously highly diminish Detroit’s defense.

The Lions otherwise had a great victory over the Cowboys. They did whatever they wanted offensively, stemming from their rushing attack. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs picked up big chunks of yardage, with the former scoring twice. Jared Goff, meanwhile, continued to stay hot, with three touchdowns. The only thing Detroit’s offense did wrong was have some miscues late in the afternoon when the Lions tried to get a tackle-eligible player a receiving touchdown to avenge the Dan Skipper situation from last year.

Speaking of Skipper, it was amusing that this was the final play of the game:

Meanwhile, Detroit’s defense stymied Dallas every step of the way. The Cowboys had their best chance to score a touchdown while down 7-3, but Prescott telegraphed an interception into the end zone. Prescott took four sacks and was able to convert on three third downs.

It’s a shame that the Lions have such a dark cloud over their victory. Not having Hutchinson would really derail their chances of winning the Super Bowl, though that would still be possible.

The Cowboys were ranked as the seventh-worst EPA team heading into Week 6, which doesn’t even factor in Micah Parsons’ absence. Given that poor rating, this result can’t be any sort of surprise.

Bengals 17, Giants 7

Joe Burrow was asked what kind of a win this was during the post-game interview. He replied with one word: “Ugly.” That is the perfect way to describe this victory for Cincinnati. The Bengals jumped out to a 7-0 lead with an improbable 47-yard touchdown run by Burrow, but there wasn’t any other scoring until the third quarter.

Both teams, particularly the Bengals, spent time shooting themselves in the foot. Ja’Marr Chase dropped a deep pass, while Zack Moss lost a fumble in field goal range. Chase Brown had a touchdown negated by a hold, forcing Cincinnati to settle for a field goal despite having the ball at the New York 1-yard line on the previous play. The Giants, meanwhile, saw a 56-yard Darius Slayton reception negated by Andrew Thomas being ineligible downfield. New York also squandered a timeout in the second half and saw Greg Joseph miss two field goals.

It looked like the Bengals were going to win 10-7 and fail to cover the four-point spread. However, Cincinnati bettors lucked into a victory when Brown sprinted into the end zone. Brown could have taken a knee once he broke past the first-down marker, but he opted to score to the delight of Bengals supporters. Perhaps he felt he was owed after his previous touchdown was negated.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Bengals saved their season by improving to 2-4. They should have played a cleaner game, given how important this contest was for them.

The Giants lost, but were very impressive defensively. In three consecutive weeks, they’ve limited the Cowboys, Seahawks, and Bengals offenses.

Bills 23, Jets 20

The Jets made a coaching change, so they were expected to play a much better game than they did against the Vikings in London. They managed to do so, yet still came up short. It wasn’t a matter of talent, however, as mistakes and horrible officiating capsized a potential victory.

New York had issues stopping the run on the opening drive, but fixed that issue as the night progressed. The Jets fell behind, but their efforts to take the lead were thwarted when a long pass interference flag was negated by an illegal shift penalty. The Jets were then flagged for countless pass interference flags, even on one throw that, according to Troy Aikman, was “six yards out of bounds.”

The Jets proceeded to blow an opportunity to force a turnover when Allen lost a fumble. A teammate recovered, and on the next play, the Bills scored a touchdown to go up 20-10. Aaron Rodgers, however, drove to midfield and then sailed a Hail Mary to Allen Lazard that was caught to cut the margin to three.

There was just a sample of the Jets’ misfortune in the first half, but there was much more of it following intermission. A Braelon Allen touchdown was nullified by a hold. Garrett Wilson then dropped a touchdown pass, which would have put the Jets up 27-20. It was OK though because New York was still in position to take the lead with a 32-yard chip-shot field goal, but Greg Zuerlein missed by hitting the upright.

The Jets were able to force a punt, and they answered with another successful drive. They stalled going the other way to give Zuerlein a 43-yard try. This kick seemed like it had a chance because the wind was worse on the other end of the stadium, but the result was the same. Zuerlein hit the upright yet again.

The Bills, stuck at 20 the entire half, finally did something offensively when they engineered a scoring drive that also stalled in the red zone. Their kicker naturally connected, giving Buffalo a 23-20 lead. The Jets had one more chance with Rodgers, but the possession concluded with an interception because Mike Williams slipped coming back to the ball, allowing Taron Johnson to snatch the pick.

The Jets threw this game away. They outgained the Bills, 393-359, and averaged 0.7 more yards per play, but they had two missed field goals from 32 and 43, and they committed 110 yards’ worth of penalties.

Buffalo was able to rebound from its losses to Baltimore and Houston to stop its two-game skid. The Bills ran the ball well despite missing James Cook, as Ray Davis looked excellent.