Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season kicked off with a jaw-dropping upset.
The New York Giants (2-4) shocked the defending Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) in a 34-17 victory Thursday night. How stunning was Thursday night’s result? Well, the Giants were 4-18 in the last two seasons, and the Eagles were 18-4 in the last two seasons, entering Thursday night. New York also snapped an eight-game divisional losing streak in the victory. All of this went down a week after the Giants embarrassed themselves in a 26-14 defeat at the previously winless New Orleans Saints in Week 5.
Given the unthinkable kicked off Week 6 in the NFL, pretty much anything could happen in the rest of this week’s action. Let’s zoom in what that “anything” could be with a brand new, five-pronged edition of bold predictions.
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Entering Week 6 versus the 3-2 Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is 3-14 (.176 win percentage) against teams entering with a winning record, above .500, and 26-13 (.667) in all other games. That’s the largest win percentage gap (.491) by any head coach in NFL history, minimum 50 games as an NFL head coach, per CBS Sports Research.
It would be wild if the Dolphins were able to somehow upset the AFC West-leading Chargers in Week 6, but here’s why it could happen. Los Angeles is extremely beat up right now. Left tackle Rashawn Slater (patellar tendon tear) is out for the season. Fill-in left tackle Joe Alt suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 4 and didn’t play in Week 5. First-round rookie running back Omarion Hampton is now on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Likely as a compounding effect of all the injuries, Los Angeles has committed an NFL-most 24 penalties since Week 4. Injuries have likely contributed to the penalties and poor pass protection (38.8% quarterback pressure rate allowed, eighth-worst in the NFL this season), which is why quarterback Justin Herbert has thrown four interceptions this season, all of which have come in the last three games.
The good news for the Dolphins is they are starting to find their groove offensive the last two weeks: tight end Darren Waller’s three receiving touchdowns since making his season debut in Week 4 are tied for the most in the NFL, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has thrown five touchdowns (tied for the fourth-most in the NFL in this span) and no interceptions since Week 4. Playing at home, where Tagovailoa is 26-9 as a starter, Miami shocks the Chargers to hand them their third consecutive defeat.
When current Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon worked as the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2022, he faced Daniel Jones’ New York Giants three times, twice in the regular season and once in the postseason. Gannon’s Eagles won two of the three matchups, including the sole playoff showdown 38-7 in the 2022 NFC divisional round. Those three matchups had an aggregate score of 93-42 in favor of Gannon and Philadelphia.
The two will face off once in Week 6, and Gannon’s Cardinals (2-3) will give Jones’ Colts (4-1) their first home loss of the season. Arizona has been oh so close the last three weeks, becoming the first team in NFL history to lose three consecutive games by a game-winning field goal as time expired. Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat, who was also part of those Eagles teams that tormented Jones, ranks tied for fourth in the NFL in sacks (5.0) with Gannon in Arizona this season. He’ll get after Jones, and Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray will make just enough plays to help get Arizona over the hump in Week 6.
Yes, this sounds like an insane thing to categorize as a bold prediction, but let’s walk through why it actually makes sense to include in this column. Buffalo, who is fresh off their first loss of the season (a 23-20 defeat vs. the New England Patriots in Week 5 on “Sunday Night Football”), will be out for blood against the Falcons. They’re averaging 30.6 points per game this season, third-best in the NFL, and 395.8 total yards per game this season, third-best in the NFL. Their season average is literally over 30 points per game.
Another important note, the Bills have scored 30 or more points in eight consecutive games against NFC teams, the longest streak ever in interconference games, per CBS Sports Research. All the signs point toward 2024 NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen and running back James Cook, the NFL’s second-leading rusher this season with 450 yards rushing, dropping a 30-bomb on the Falcons, an NFC team.
However, that won’t happen. The Falcons defense leads the NFL in both total yards per game allowed (244.0) and passing yards per game allowed (135.0). Atlanta’s offense also won’t give Buffalo enough time to drop 30 points on them: the Falcons average the second-longest time of possession per game this season (33:30) behind only the Bills themselves (34:09). Allen and Co. won’t have enough time nor the ability to drop 30 points on a much-improved Atlanta defense in 2025 despite their season average being up above 30 and being fueled by one of the best quarterback-running back duos in the NFL as well as rage in Week 6.
Denver Broncos won’t sack Jets QB Justin Fields multiple times
New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields plays behind the worst offensive line in NFL New York has allowed an NFL-worst 50% quarterback pressure rate and an NFL-worst 95 quarterback pressures. That’s a horrific situation for Fields to be in since he’ll face Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto, who co-leads the NFL with 7.0 sacks along with Giants edge rusher Brian Burns, and a Denver pass rush that collectively leads the NFL in sacks (21) and quarterback pressures (89). The Broncos defensive line vs. the Jets offensive line when Fields drops back to pass is very much the varsity team versus the junior varsity team.
|
PPG Allowed |
16.8 |
2nd |
|
Total YPG Allowed |
288.6 |
5th |
|
Sacks |
21 |
1st |
|
QB Pressures |
89 |
1st |
|
QB Pressure Rate |
44.7% |
2nd |
|
Passer Rating Allowed |
83.3 |
7th |
However, Fields will use his dual-threat capabilities and the experience of being sacked five times against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5 to somehow avoid being sacked multiple times in Week 6. He is off to a historic statistical start to his 2025 season as the first player in NFL history with at least 750 yards passing (754), 200 yards rushing (204) and no interceptions through four games played in a season.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence ends five-game interception streak at home vs. ballhawking Seahawks defense
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has thrown an interception in five consecutive home starts dating to last season. This season, Mike Macdonald’s Seattle Seahawks defense’s seven interceptions are tied for the second-most in the NFL this season. However, Lawrence has been playing better football of late with a 94.0 passer rating (395 yards passing, two passing touchdowns, one interception on 69.6% completion percentage) the last two weeks. He’ll continue to play high level football and end his five-game streak with an interception in home games despite facing one of the best ballhawking secondaries in the league.
