NFL Week 6 kicks off today, Oct. 18, with two star quarterbacks sidelined and two others coming back. Lamar Jackson is out for Baltimore, and Jalen Hurts is on injured reserve in Philadelphia. Caleb Williams returns for Chicago, and Michael Penix Jr. is back for Atlanta. The Rams are the week’s biggest favorites, laying 12.5 points against Arizona. The Chiefs, Patriots and Ravens are also popular expert picks.
That is the short version. The longer version is stranger, because one team is walking into a scheduling spot that has never once worked out for anyone who faced it. We will get there.
Which quarterbacks are out for NFL Week 6?
Start in Philadelphia, where the news is scary for reasons that have nothing to do with football. The Eagles first said doctors found a superficial blood clot and cleared Hurts to play in London. A follow-up ultrasound on Wednesday night showed the clot had moved. After talking with several medical experts, the team reversed course Saturday and placed Hurts on injured reserve, which keeps him out at least four weeks. Tanner McKee takes over under center. Hurts has carried this franchise on his back for years. Seeing him sidelined by a health scare instead of a hit hurts in a different way.
In Baltimore, Jackson looked close to returning from his ankle injury but was ruled out, so Tyler Huntley gets a second straight start. Coach Jesse Minter said the decision was made with Jackson’s best interest in mind.
Tampa Bay keeps riding Jalon Daniels, the undrafted rookie who helped upset Dallas last week. Pittsburgh’s defense will be the toughest test he has seen yet.
Who are the experts picking this week?
The Rams are the safest call on the board. The SportsLine projection model has Los Angeles covering in 77% of its simulations, and CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco expects a big day from Matthew Stafford. Kansas City, coming off a bye, hosts a winless Chargers team that lists half its starters as questionable or worse. That has the Chiefs as a popular pick despite a big spread.
The Patriots are favored by 7.5 at home against the Jets, and CBS’ Tyler Sullivan likes them to cruise. New England has won 10 of its last 11 at Gillette Stadium.
Can the Giants keep dodging disaster?
The Giants are the strangest story in the league right now. Over the past three weeks they won on a goal line interception, won on a 98 yard pick six, and tied Washington after the Commanders ran out the clock without trying a field goal. That leaves them first in the NFC East with three wins, a loss and a tie. Now Jameis Winston faces the Saints, the team he backed up for four seasons. Dave Blezow of the New York Post made the Giants his lock of the week, and Prisco also picked New York in a close one.
Which upsets could shake up Today?
Watch Atlanta. Bijan Robinson and Penix get a Bears defense that has allowed 30 points in three straight road games. Watch Houston in London, where C.J. Stroud is quietly playing good football and Marvin Harrison Jr. makes his Texans debut. Then there is ‘Sunday Night Football,’ where Dallas visits Green Bay in a matchup experts see as close to a coin flip.
What trap is waiting for the Eagles?
Now for the stat. Philadelphia flew home from London to host a Carolina team coming off its bye. CBS Sports’ John Breech found this setup has happened only four times in NFL history. A team coming off an international game against a team coming off a bye has never won, going 0 for 4.
Breech picked Carolina before the Hurts news broke. Now the Panthers are road favorites by 3.5 points, and the Eagles have a backup quarterback, no healthy running backs and a three-game losing streak. History is not on their side, and neither is the injury report. We will know by this evening whether the Eagles become the first team to escape it.
