The Buffalo Bills have a 4-1 record… and a -3 point differential after losing at home by 26 to the Tennessee Titans. The Bills have been winning close games, but against the Titans everything fell apart. The Miami Dolphins are two games back of Buffalo in the AFC East…but have a +23 point differential, as their two wins have been routs, over Jackonsville and San Francisco. In the AFC North, three of the four teams have four wins, as Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland represent half of the teams in the conference with that many victories. The NFC East has a combined record of 4-15-1 through Week 5, with Dallas in the “lead” at 2-3, despite a -17 point differential. Chicago has gone to their second starting quarterback of the year already, which is not what you normally expect out of a 4-1 team. If Tom Brady had remembered the down sequence in the late seconds of the Bucs-Bears game, Tampa Bay might lead the NFC South. There is only one five-win team in the NFL — the Seattle Seahawks.
Can they keep it going? Check out our rundown of the NFL as you plan out your sports betting for the week.
NFL News: Week 6 Rundown
Alex Smith has emerged as the favorite for this year’s NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. He made his first appearance in a game since November 2018, in relief of the injured Kyle Allen, going 9 of 17 for 37 yards and running for one yard. He had to undergo 17 surgeries because of an infection that set in after the initial repair of a broken fibula and tibia. At one time, the infection threatened not just his leg but his life. Allen remains the starter for Washington, if his arm is better.
Joe Flacco will start at quarterback again for the New York Jets, in relief of the injured Sam Darnold. Darnold suffered a sprained AC joint in his shoulder during a sack against Denver two weeks ago, a game in which the Bronco defense seemed to be teeing off on Darnold in ways that stretched the boundaries of sportsmanship. Flacco went 18 of 33 for 195 yards and a touchdown; he spent a lot of the game under pressure, taking four sacks, and several of his incompletions came on bad drops.
In other Jets news, the team released tailback Le’Veon Bell Tuesday night. Bell had engaged in a Twitter war with head coach Adam Gase, questioning Gase’s caution with Bell’s hamstring before the season — and then injuring his hamstring in Week 1, causing him to miss the next three weeks. He inked a four-year, $52.5 million contract before the 2019 campaign and had been mentioned in trade rumors recently. His 2020 salary is a guaranteed $6 million, so the Jets would have had to eat a lot of that in a trade. Bell is obviously looking for redemption elsewhere; in Pittsburgh, he made the Pro Bowl three times before holding out for a year; this year, he had bulked up to 230 pounds; in a season plus a few games as a Jet, he averaged only 3.3 yards per rushing attempt.
Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Marlon Davidson has tested positive for COVID-19; in Sunday’s game against Carolina, he played 18 snaps. This has sent the Panthers into the league’s intensive COVID-19 protocol, moving all meetings online and increasing testing before and on the next game day, putting a cap on people in the weight room, and mandating face coverings or masks at all times. The next few days will prove critical, as positive tests among the Panthers could lead to a postponement of their game with Chicago on Sunday.
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