What to Look For – Week 6

TOP BILLING: The BUFFALO BILLS (4-1) enter Monday Night Football in Week 6 with the league’s top scoring offense (34.4 points per game) and top scoring defense (12.8 points per game against) and have scored at least 35 points in each of their past four games.

With 35 points against Tennessee on Monday night (8:15 PM ET, ESPN), the Bills would become the fourth team to register at least 35 points in five consecutive games within a single season in NFL history.

The teams with the most consecutive games with at least 35 points within a single season in NFL history:

TEAMSEASONGAMES WITH 35+ POINTS 
Denver Broncos20136 (9/5/13-10/13/13) 
St. Louis Rams20006 (9/4/00-10/15/00) 
Philadelphia Eagles19495 (10/23/49-11/20/49) 
    
Buffalo Bills20214* (9/19/21-10/10/21) 
*Active streak

Buffalo leads the NFL with a plus-108 point differential (172 points scored, 64 points against) through the first five weeks and can become the fifth team in the Super Bowl era to score at least 200 points and allow 100-or-fewer points through their first six games of a season. Three of the four previous teams to accomplish the feat advanced to the Super Bowl.

The teams with at least 200 points scored and 100-or-fewer points against through their first six games of a season in the Super Bowl era:

TEAMSEASONPOINTS SCOREDPOINTS ALLOWED
New England#200723092
St. Louis Rams#199921763
Green Bay Packers#199620472
Dallas Cowboys196821364
    
Buffalo Bills2021172*64*
#Advanced to Super Bowl
*In first five games

— NFL —

ELECTRIC PURPLE: The LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (4-1) visit the BALTIMORE RAVENS (4-1) on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, CBS) in a matchup of two teams that overcame second-half deficits of at least 14 points to win in Week 5.

The Chargers, down 27-13 in the third quarter, scored 26 fourth-quarter points to defeat Cleveland, 47-42. Baltimore trailed by 16 points early in the fourth quarter last week and scored three consecutive touchdowns to defeat Indianapolis, 31-25, in overtime. This marks the first meeting between two teams that are both coming off wins in which they overcame a 14-point deficit since Week 5 of the 2018 season (Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers).

Chargers quarterback JUSTIN HERBERT (315.2 passing yards per game) and Ravens quarterback LAMAR JACKSON (303.8) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in passing yards per game this season. Their matchup on Sunday will be the first game to feature opposing starting quarterbacks who each average at least 300 passing yards per game that season (entering the game) in Week 6 or later since Week 11, 2018 (JARED GOFF and PATRICK MAHOMES).

Jackson, who turns 25 years old in January, earned his 34th-career win as a starting quarterback last week and can surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (34 wins) for the most wins by a quarterback prior to his 25th birthday in NFL history.

The quarterbacks with the most wins prior to their 25th birthday in NFL history:

PLAYERTEAMWINS
Dan MarinoHOFMiami34
Lamar JacksonBaltimore34*
Drew BledsoeNew England32
*turns 25 on January 7, 2022

Jackson leads all players with 1,860 total yards (passing and rushing combined) through the first five weeks and can become the third player with at least 2,200 total yards in his team’s first six games of a season in NFL history.

The players with the most total yards (passing and rushing combined) in their team’s first six games of a season in NFL history:

PLAYERTEAMSEASONPASS YARDSRUSH YARDSTOTAL YARDS
Kurt WarnerHOFSt. Louis Rams20002,260152,275
Steve YoungHOFSan Francisco19982,0222002,222
      
Lamar JacksonBaltimore20211,519*341*1,860*
*In first five games

— NFL —

THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: On Thursday Night Football (8:20 PM ET, FOX/NFL Network/Amazon), TOM BRADY and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-1) visit JALEN HURTS and the Philadelphia Eagles (2-3).

Brady, the league’s all-time leader in passing yards (80,971) and touchdown passes (596), needs four touchdown passes to become the first player all-time to reach 600 career touchdown passes.

Brady, who has thrown at least four touchdown passes in three of his first five games this season, has 36 career games with at least four touchdown passes and can tie DREW BREES (37 games) for the most such games in NFL history. He can also tie Brees (97 games) for the most games with at least three touchdown passes in league annals.

Hurts will be making his 10th-career start and can become the fifth player ever with at least 3,000 total yards (combined passing and rushing) and 20 offensive touchdowns (passing and rushing combined) in his first 10 starts.

The players with at least 3,000 total yards and 20 offensive touchdowns in their first 10 career starts in NFL history:

PLAYERTOTAL YARDSOFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS
Patrick Mahomes3,33231
Cam Newton3,29621
Deshaun Watson3,25728
Justin Herbert3,20026
   
Jalen Hurts2,812*18*
*In nine starts

Hurts has 12 touchdown passes and six rushing touchdowns in nine career starts and needs three touchdown passes on Thursday to become the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era with 15 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns in his first 10 career starts, joining DAUNTE CULPEPPER (20 passing, five rushing)

— NFL —

STAR GAZING: The DALLAS COWBOYS (4-1), led offensively by quarterback DAK PRESCOTT and running back EZEKIEL ELLIOTT, rank second in the NFL in both scoring offense (34.0 points per game) and total offense (439.6 yards per game).

Prescott ranks second in the league in passer rating among qualified passers (116.9) and is one of four quarterbacks with a passer rating of 100-or-higher in four of his first five games this season. Scheduled to make his 75th career start against New England (4:25 PM ET, CBS), Prescott has 38 career games with a passer rating of 100-or-higher and can surpass PHILIP RIVERS (38 games) for the third-most such games by a player in his first 75 career starts in NFL history.

The players with the most games with a passer rating of 100-or-higher in their first 75 career starts in NFL history:

PLAYERTEAMGAMES WITH 100+ RATING
Aaron RodgersGreen Bay43
Tony RomoDallas41
Dak PrescottDallas38*
Philip RiversSan Diego Chargers38
*In 74 starts

Elliott, who ranks fifth among running backs in scrimmage yards (507) this season, has 8,848 scrimmage yards in 76 career games. With 152 scrimmage yards on Sunday, he can become the fifth-fastest player to reach 9,000 scrimmage yards in the Super Bowl era, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famers THURMAN THOMAS (79 games), BARRY SANDERS (79) and EMMITT SMITH (79).

The players to reach 9,000 scrimmage yards in the fewest games in the Super Bowl era:

PLAYERTEAM(S)GAMES 
Edgerrin JamesHOFIndianapolis72 
LaDainian TomlinsonHOFSan Diego Chargers72 
Eric DickersonHOFL.A. Rams, Indianapolis73 
Le’Veon BellPittsburgh, N.Y. Jets75 
    
Ezekiel ElliottDallas76* 
*Has 8,848 scrimmage yards in 76 games

New England rookie quarterback MAC JONES ranks fifth in the NFL this season with a 71.1 completion percentage and has a completion percentage of 70-or-higher in four of his first five career starts. On Sunday, he can become the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to record five games with a completion percentage of 70-or-higher (minimum 30 attempts). The only other rookies with four such games were JUSTIN HERBERT (2020) and DAK PRESCOTT (2016), who both were named Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year.

— NFL —

BACK IN LONDON: The MIAMI DOLPHINS (1-4) and JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (0-5) square off in the second of two 2021 international games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (9:30 AM ET/2:30 PM in the UK, CBS).

Jaguars quarterback TREVOR LAWRENCE, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, leads all rookies in touchdown passes (six) and ranks second in passing yards (1,146). This week, he looks to become the first rookie quarterback to ever win a game in London and can become the first rookie quarterback to register multiple touchdown passes in an international game.

The rookie quarterbacks to start an international game since 2005:

DATEPLAYERTEAMSITESTADIUMTD PASSESRESULT
Oct. 10, 2021Zach WilsonN.Y. JetsLondonTottenham Hotspur0ATL 27, NYJ 20
Nov. 3, 2019Gardner MinshewJacksonvilleLondonWembley0HOU 26, JAX 3
Oct. 29, 2017Deshone KizerClevelandLondonTwickenham0MIN 33, CLE 16
Nov. 9, 2014Blake BortlesJacksonvilleLondonWembley0DAL 31, JAX 17
Sept. 28, 2014Derek CarrOakland RaidersLondonWembley1MIA 38, OAK 14
Dec. 1, 2013EJ ManuelBuffaloTorontoRogers Centre1ATL 34, BUF 31
Dec. 16, 2012Russell WilsonSeattleTorontoRogers Centre1SEA 50, BUF 17
Dec. 3, 2009Mark SanchezN.Y. JetsTorontoRogers Centre1NYJ 19, BUF 13

Jacksonville running back JAMES ROBINSON registered a career-high 149 rushing yards last week. Undrafted in 2020, Robinson has 1,889 scrimmage yards in 19 career games and can join ARIAN FOSTER (2,245 scrimmage yards) as the only undrafted players in the common-draft era with at least 2,000 scrimmage yards in their first 20 career games.