Week 5 of the NFL regular season saw two edge rushers emerge and make their mark. Denver’s Baron Browning had never posted more than two pressures in any game in his career. As a rookie, he played 528 total snaps, spending 304 of those in coverage. When Randy Gregory went on injured reserve, Browning moved into edge rushing full time, and he had 10 pressures, leading the league. He added three quarterback hits and a pair of sacks against the Colts, finishing as the highest graded player on the team. Adding him to Gregory and Bradley Chubb means that the Broncos may have the best pass-rushing trio in the league. In Tennessee, Rashad Weaver was pressed into edge rushing action after the losses of Harold Landry III and Bud Dupree, and he responded with two pressures in 32 snaps that involved rushing the passer. He broke up a pass on a key third down, and he had the second-highest grade on run defense (71.1) on the team. He didn’t have the gaudy numbers that Browning had, but he still contributed significantly. Don’t miss our NFL betting projections for Week 6.
NFL News: Sure Losers for Week 6
→ Thursday, October 13
Washington Commanders (PK) at Chicago Bears
(8:15 pm ET, Prime Video)
Last week’s snoozefest between the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos featured seven field goals and ended up droning on into overtime before the Colts emerged as the slightly less incompetent team, 12-9. That led former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III to tweet that people who had watched the game should get a free month of Amazon Prime. This week’s installment may not be much better, with Washington visiting Chicago. Washington coach Ron Rivera had a painful press conference after Sunday’s loss to Tennessee, as he both pointed out that Carson Wentz threw his latest backbreaking late interception AND that he was still on board with Wentz as the team’s quarterback. Wentz’s counterpart, Justin Fields, is also mired in a dreadful offense, and Fields doesn’t even get to throw the ball much. Through five games, the Bears have attempted just 88 passes, the lowest number for any team at this point since 1982, which was a strike year. The Rams’ Cooper Kupp has caught 49 passes; the entire Bears roster has also caught 49. That might change this week, because only one more team has given up more passing touchdowns than Washington has. It might not, though, which could make this an even worse Thursday night matchup than what we got last week. Washington to win.
→ Sunday, October 16
New England Patriots (+3) at Cleveland Browns
(1:00 pm ET, CBS)
These two teams met last year, with the Patriots rolling to a 45-7 laugher. On paper, Cleveland has the better roster, but those three losses by the Browns (by a combined six points) have all involved blowing late leads, a troubling symptom of a locker room that lacks passion. Given the nonsense that roiled the franchise in the off-season, this lack of passion is not a surprise (and was a factor in our prediction that the Browns could come in third or last in the AFC North. Expect New England to load the box against the run, so that Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt cannot simply grind the ball all day long. This means the Patriots will force Jacoby Brissett to beat them through the air. He is only putting up 212 passing yards per game, a pedestrian number in today’s NFL, and he has at least one pick in three of the Browns’ last four games. Patriots coach Bill Belichick is familiar with Brissett from their time together in New England. The Patriots already have one impressive road win against an AFC North team (Pittsburgh), and I see them making it two. Patriots to win outright and cover the spread.
NFL Betting Odds
Love betting NFL football? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date NFL lines
