This year our writers are teaming up to bring you weekly football coverage! Each week, a few of our writers will be sharing their thoughts and highlights from games they’ve watched. Who were the winners this week? Who remains undefeated? Which team will come out victorious at the end of the 2013-2014 season?
The laces are tightening as we head into the 6th week of football as only two teams are now left standing undefeated–the Broncos and the Chiefs. With the Saints leading the trio of undefeated teams last week, they lost to the New England Patriots this past weekend after a miracle throw from Patriots QB Tom Brady with five seconds left in the game. A play many didn’t see a last minute drive coming in such short time. This week saw losses from the Colts; a close game for the Giants; and the Steelers’ first win of the season.
As for the Broncos and Chiefs, the two AFC West rivals are looking like the top of the class right now. It may be too early to talk about playoffs but these two teams are definitely generating a lot of buzz and play each other twice in a three-week span, November 17 in Denver, and December 1 in Kansas City. One of them will have to lose, but which team will it be?
But what do you foresee in the NFL future? And what do our writers think of the games from Week 6? This week we hear from Karen Datangel, Andrew Rogers, and Tania Hussain as they team up and share some highlights from their favorite games of the week, what they thought of the plays and what to look ahead for. Which games did you enjoy?
New York Giants at Chicago Bears
Image Credit: AP Photo/Getty Images
Bears, 27-21
Andrew:
I watched this game with friends who cheer for both teams, so I was kind of torn on who I wanted to win. At this point, I’ve just started to take pity on the Giants. They need some major reform, and it may come in the form of firing their infamous coach with the big personality: Tom Coughlin. The Giants were in this game for a while, but Eli still threw way too many picks. At this point, it can only partially be blamed on the fact that his receiving core has changed dramatically since their Super Bowl win two years ago. At some point, it just comes down to the fact that Eli can’t aim for the hands of the players in the same color jerseys as him.
New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots
Image Credit: AP Photo/Stephan Savoia
Patriots, 30-27
Andrew:
I’m still recovering from this game, licking my wounds so to speak. As I’ve said, my whole family on the East Coast are Pats fans, so I got harassed with phone calls after this game, but I knew it could be the one that finally broke our streak and at least the pressure is somewhat off now. But I didn’t like what I saw from Rob Ryan’s defense this time around, or from Drew and the gangs inability to get their usual rhythm. When Brady threw that pick right at the end of the game, that should have been it… good night. But it wasn’t and that’s unacceptable from a team hoping to win the Super Bowl. Sure, there were some bad penalty calls in there too that didn’t help, but going into their bye week, I think the Saints need to re-watch that tape and make sure they don’t make the same mistakes again in the weeks to come. They have “easy” games against the Bills and Jets over the next few weeks, but the Seahawks are still on the horizon.
Tennessee Titans at Seattle Seahawks
Image Credit: AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Seahawks, 30-13
Andrew:
This should have been an easy win for the Seahawks, but it wasn’t and that worries me. I’m hoping they’re not losing that fire they came into the season with. They had all the hype around him and, I still think it was for good reason. The Titans aren’t a bad team this year, at least not as terrible as they usually are, but the fact that the Seahawks were sitting at 10 and all with them for quite a while in this game wasn’t good. I think Wilson, who was praised for being a creative, smart quarterback last season, needs to get together with the offensive coordinator again and regain that title, otherwise he’s going to have to hand it over to Andrew Luck.
Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Image Credit: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle
Chiefs, 24-7
Karen:
I was excited to see this match-up between AFC West teams. The Raiders are my other local team and although my Bay Area allegiance is with the 49ers, I have to say they have a very exciting young quarterback in Terrelle Pryor. However, I wanted to see the Chiefs go 6 and 0. It’s been amazing to see the turnaround of this franchise under the coaching of Andy Reid and I know some people but not everyone knows that I just love Alex Smith, and I’m beyond thrilled to see him flourish with his new team.
However, this was a defensive game all the way through. Both offenses seemed to struggle in this one. Smith had his worst passing game thus far, but Pryor’s three interceptions were costly to the Raiders as the Chiefs took full advantage of them. Pryor was also sacked ten times and the game ended ever so appropriately with him being taken down. The Raiders’ loss snapped a streak of six wins at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Chiefs did end up earning their sixth win of the year and have yet to see a new number in the L column.
Whatever the Chiefs are doing, they can keep doing it. They face the Houston Texans this week and if things continue to go south for them, I don’t think the Chiefs will have a problem.
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Image Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Karen:
What a back-and-forth game! Well, at least for the first half. The 49ers didn’t seem like they were taking advantage of opportunities initially, especially only being able to go for a field goal on a turnover. The Cardinals QB Carson Palmer’s 75-yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown gave AZ the go-ahead, but then they seemed to make a lot of their own mistakes after that.
The 49ers’ Vernon Davis had a HUGE game, putting up 180 receiving yards and connecting with Colin Kaepernick’s passes for two touchdowns. SF also produced the longest drive in football so far this year — 18 plays, 89 yards, and took 9:32 off the game clock. It also gave us the Jim Harbaugh-ism of “grinding some meat.” Overall, both teams looked good but the Niners did better to put the game away and improve to 4-2. Momentum is on their side and I expect to see them grind some more meat against the Tennessee Titans in week 7, although I think the Titans will put up a fight to remain undefeated at home this season.
Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers
Image Credit: Dennis Poroy/AP
Chargers, 19-9
Andrew:
Speaking of Andrew Luck… what happened here? Is this really the Colts team that looked poised to dominate it’s way to the playoffs and keep up with the Broncos and Chiefs? I don’t know what happened in this game, but I will say that Rivers has also been a surprise this season. I’ve always resented the guy because I still can’t fathom how someone chose him over Brees and Eli, but he’s coming into his own lately. Still, the Colts are going to need to pick it up if they hope to even have a fighting chance against their old ruler and master: Peyton Manning next week.
Tania:
Tough game for the Colts this week! The San Diego Chargers put Andrew Luck and the Colts’ offense to rest in what was an interesting game. Indy didn’t even get a chance to score a touchdown as all their points came on three field goals by Kicker, Adam Vinatieri. It honestly looked like the Colts were going to be at the top of their league this season and keep up with the Chiefs and Broncos but that didn’t happen. When the Broncos play the Colts next week in Indiana, I’m looking forward to Manning’s return to the stadium he built and how the two teams play it out. If the Colts can beat the Broncos, then you know the Chargers game was just a fluke. But if not, then perhaps Indy isn’t ready for a team with consistent offense and defense. If there’s anything to take out of this game is that Luck’s defense needs to be better.
As we head into Week 7, who will face their first loss? Will it be the Broncos or Chiefs? Or will they miraculously return undefeated for another week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The Hudsucker 
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