The Colts Outgained the Titans by 213 Yards and Lost, and Other Week 6 Lessons

How do you outgain an opponent 399 yards to 186 and still lose? Ask the Colts, who did it to a Titans team that hadn’t won all season, then fired their general manager Monday morning.

Three turnovers and a special teams touchdown will do that. (Indianapolis also led 13-0 at halftime, which is the part that stings.)

Week 6

Titans 26, Colts 20. Cam Ward went 11 for 22 for 102 yards and the Titans ran for just 76, which does not sound like a winning stat line. It was good enough because the Colts turned the ball over three times and Tennessee scored on special teams. I’m not sure Ward is the guy, and this Titans team is bad. But it got its first win of the Robert Saleh era. For the Colts this is an all-time low, and they responded by firing general manager Chris Ballard after 10 seasons and no playoff trips since 2020.

Texans 34, Jaguars 31 (London). Houston got its second straight win, and its second of the year, by eking this one out. The defense still isn’t playing up to snuff, and giving up 31 isn’t a winning recipe, but C.J. Stroud threw for 312 yards and looked like rookie-year Stroud again. There are a lot of questions about his contract, and he said he’d prove himself. He has played quite a few very good games doing exactly that.

Bears 31, Falcons 23. This one got closer at the end than it should have, but Chicago held on. Caleb Williams went 30 for 36 for 305 yards, and Ben Johnson did a really good job of getting him easy throws early to find his rhythm, the football version of layups. After that the offense just kept moving, the defense played well enough, and the long drives (40:08 of possession) kept Bijan Robinson off the field. The Bears looked good.

Browns 13, Ravens 10. Baltimore led 10-0 after the first quarter and never scored again. Cleveland has a fourth-quarter recipe: it puts Deshaun Watson in high-pressure moments after it seems like he’s played poorly (16 for 26, 164 yards), and he finds a way, this time with Andre Szmyt kicking a field goal as time expired. Tyler “Snoop” Huntley wasn’t great for the Ravens, but the important thing for the Browns is that they found a way to win. Yes, they’re in the thick of the AFC North.

Patriots 26, Jets 19. This one got close near the end too. Braelon Allen followed one good rushing game with another (78 yards), rookie Omar Cooper Jr. had a breakout game (103 yards), and Geno Smith wasn’t all that bad apart from one bad pick. Drake Maye was in control, with three touchdown passes. The Patriots do need to figure out their running back situation, and they need to target AJ Brown more. He’s a new addition, and he had three catches for 27 yards on 10 targets, so the problem is getting him the ball on good looks.

Saints 34, Giants 27. The Saints’ offense had a big day, and turnovers are what killed the Giants (four takeaways). J.J. McCarthy came in late and threw for 243 yards in basically a half of football, which makes 34-27 look closer than the game was; New Orleans led 27-10 going into the fourth quarter. Tyler Shough looked in control, and Kendre Miller and Alvin Kamara are a good duo. Kamara’s 31-yard touchdown catch also made him the sixth player in NFL history with 5,000 career rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards. The Saints are probably the best 2-4 team in the league.

Panthers 25, Eagles 14. What can go wrong will go wrong for the Eagles. Jalen Hurts is out with a blood clot in his calf, which is bad to see, and Tanner McKee wasn’t good in his place (26 for 45, 215 yards). Bryce Young, meanwhile, looked like the draft pick he was supposed to be. His 20-for-39, 281-yard line isn’t flashy, but he was dealing. Chuba Hubbard ran for 120 yards, and the Panthers can keep giving him the ball because he’s productive. Jalen Coker has been a breakout receiver all year. Good day to be Carolina.

Steelers 26, Buccaneers 19 (OT). The Steelers stole this one, no pun intended, after trailing 16-3 going into the fourth quarter. It was a vintage old-man Aaron Rodgers game, the kind where you know he’s going to sling it: 253 yards, two touchdowns, and aside from one interception he made all the right decisions. Jaylen Warren and the running game were neutralized, but the Steelers just keep winning, and that defense wins them games too. For Tampa Bay, the question is how many more years the Bucs get out of Baker Mayfield, who is getting up there in age. Rookie Jalon Daniels, who took over when Mayfield dislocated his thumb, could be the long-term answer: he’s versatile with his legs, he was athletic at Kansas, and while his decision-making needs work (two interceptions in this one), he could be very good.

Cardinals 18, Rams 16. Death by a thousand cuts, or at least by six Chad Ryland field goals. Arizona took no big risks and trusted its defense. And God, that Rams offense is struggling. You have Puka Nacua, you have Matthew Stafford, you have Kyren Williams, you have Davante Adams, and it scored 16. Come on, guys. Jacoby Brissett had a classic Brissett line (24 of 35, 218 yards, no touchdowns), and then the defense let Bam Knight run for 80 yards on 15 carries. No disrespect to Bam Knight, but he’s not a top-30 back in the league. The Rams’ offense was supposed to be really good and so was the defense, and neither has been. At 2-4, that’s rough for what was supposed to be a Super Bowl favorite. They need answers quickly.

Chiefs 22, Chargers 6. Things went from bad to worse for the Chargers, and I don’t see how they get worse, which is what you say right before they do. They’re 0-6 after being a playoff team a year ago, and this is an all-time low. They had no rushing attack to speak of (Omarion Hampton was nowhere to be found), Quentin Johnston caught one pass all day, for 57 yards, and Justin Herbert threw another interception. There was zero pressure on Patrick Mahomes, who had a great game because he’s Patrick Mahomes: 272 yards and no sacks. Kenneth Walker III ran for 128 yards and scored twice.

Bills 33, Raiders 30. There are no moral victories in football, but if you’re the Raiders you kind of have to take one. Yes, they’ve lost three straight, which stinks, but they played the probable Super Bowl and MVP favorite, Josh Allen and the Bills, and it was close. Kirk Cousins actually outpassed Allen, 313 yards to 255, but Buffalo’s rushing attack gets the job done in the end, and the Bills’ defense will have plenty to be critical of this week. The Raiders’ offense is good, and the schedule is tough: the Rams, a strong Jets defense, then San Francisco and Seattle. If they come out of that stretch 5-5, you could be looking at Las Vegas in the playoffs.

Packers 23, Cowboys 13. The Packers dunked on Dallas. Jordan Love’s stat line (276 yards, one touchdown) isn’t super flashy because his receivers dropped a lot of passes, but against a blitzing Cowboys team he was absolutely in control. The Packers’ defense neutralized Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, and no Dallas receiver topped 100 yards. The red-zone turnovers really hurt the Cowboys, too: both of Prescott’s interceptions came inside the Green Bay 20. And I think Matt LaFleur often takes points off the board by going for it on fourth down, but he went for it just once here and otherwise put points up, which built the distance that won it.

Commanders at 49ers (tonight). I’m publishing this Monday afternoon, so we’ll find out tonight. This should be an easier win for the Niners. Jayden Daniels is a dangerous quarterback, so you never know what can happen, but the way Brock Purdy has been moving the ball, the Commanders’ defense doesn’t stand a lot of chance, and the Niners’ defense is pretty good. That’s my lean.

Week 7

Patriots at Bears (Thursday). This should be a great quarterback duel (Caleb Williams threw for 305 yards Sunday, Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes), and it comes down to who can get more stops. Both defenses have looked iffy.

Packers at Lions. Can Detroit’s defense slow down Green Bay enough, at home, to get a win? Jordan Love threw for 276 yards on Sunday night, so the Lions have work to do.

Giants at Texans. Houston is favored by 9.5 and starting to get hot, and this is definitely a game to keep an eye on. The Giants might start J.J. McCarthy, who threw for 243 yards in about a half against the Saints. Sometimes he is that guy. We don’t see it often, but it could make this one interesting.

Rams at Raiders. Both teams need a win, and I like Las Vegas even though the spread favors L.A. The Rams just haven’t done much right, and the Raiders’ offense looks really good (Kirk Cousins threw for 313 yards against Buffalo) while their defense looks suitable enough. This Rams offense has shown it can be stopped.

Chiefs at Seahawks (Sunday night). This is a great one: Kansas City against a really good Seattle defense. It comes down to whether Sam Darnold can move the ball enough to put points on the board, because Seattle managed just 14 at Denver last Thursday and lost in overtime. The Seahawks could use some Kenneth Walker in their lives. Walker, who has a league-high 665 rushing yards, gets a revenge game against his old team.

Cowboys at Eagles (Monday night). Two teams looking for a win, and I’ll take Dallas, mostly because the Eagles have a backup quarterback. Hurts has no timetable to return from the blood clot, and with talk that Philadelphia may treat 2026 as a tank season, it looks like the Eagles are playing for the next two or three years instead of going all in on this one.

Colts at Vikings (saved for last because it’s where we started). A stumbling Colts team, minus its GM and coming off an embarrassing loss, goes to Minnesota to face the undefeated Vikings, and the Vikings are favored by only 5.5. If I were betting, I’d take the under. This is not going to be a high-scoring affair. And if Indianapolis outgains Minnesota by 213 yards again, I’d like to think the final score stays under the total.