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Divisional upsets defined Week 6 of the NFL season, with the Browns upsetting the Ravens, the Cardinals knocking off the Rams, the Titans earning their first win over the Colts and the Texans beating the Jaguars in London.
In the case of the Ravens and Colts, they not only lost, they blew double-digit leads to their rivals, with Baltimore falling 13–10 to Cleveland after failing to score a single point in the second half and close out a game once again.
“That’s the type of game where [in] all three phases, you have chances to create more separation in the game with where the score was at and we weren’t able to do that really from our own self-inflicted things,” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said after the loss.
Starting with Baltimore, here are this week’s winners and losers.
After the Ravens came back to force overtime and defeat the Falcons on Sunday Night Football last week, All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton notably said, “That’s a game that we’ve lost many times, whether it’s some fluky stuff happening. … That was just like us getting over some sort of hump or dark cloud.”
The dark cloud appears to still be looming over the Ravens after their 13–10 loss to the Browns. Baltimore held a 10–0 lead over Cleveland at the half and appeared to be on their way to a second consecutive win behind backup Tyler Huntley. Instead, old habits cost them in the fourth quarter as Tyler Loop missed a field goal and Derrick Henry fumbled. The Browns scored a touchdown off the fumble to tie the game 10–10, and later hit a game-winning field goal to take down the Ravens.
“I got to take care of the ball,” Henry said after the game. “There’s no excuses for that. I got to be better. I put the team in harm’s way. I sound like a broken record with this, but I got to go back to work on it. I told the team to put this one on me and I just got to be better. Can't put the team in that situation.”
This time Hamilton said after the game, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, “I’m going to sound like a broken record. It’s Groundhog’s Day.”
It took Todd Monken 60 years to become an NFL head coach, and though he landed at a “less desirable” location, he has made the most of the opportunity through six weeks. He responded to Mike Tomlin’s “Browns is the Browns” quote following their Week 1 blowout loss to the Jaguars by going 4–1 since. Monken’s offense still has plenty to improve upon, but after defeating the Ravens 13–10 on Sunday, his Browns now stand atop the AFC North at 4–2. As Scott Hanson said during the Red Zone broadcast, this is the latest in a season that the Browns have held the division lead since 2014. It was far from pretty, as the Browns threw for only 164 yards and allowed five sacks, but it didn’t matter. The Browns won anyway—something they haven’t done often over the past 12 years.
After fumbling in overtime and costing the Giants a game-winning field goal attempt against the Commanders last week, Cam Skattebo did not see a single carry in New York’s 34–27 loss to the Saints on Sunday. Instead, Devin Singletary, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Najee Harris combined for 34 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, averaging just 2.4 yards per carry.
John Harbaugh said after the game that “it was not by design” that Skattebo did not receive any carries, as they’re looking for one of their four backs to elevate and win the job.
“One of those guys needs to step up,” Harbaugh told reporters. “Somebody needs to step up and be the back. None of those guys have done that yet. When one of those guys steps up to be the back, then they’ll be the back.”
When asked a follow-up question about Skattebo not receiving carries as a result of him fumbling, Harbaugh got defensive. “I think it's been pretty clear the whole story,” he said. “I don’t even know what else to say. That's the best answer you could ever get on that in 1,000 years. There’s not a coach in the world that would give you a better answer than that. If you’re not thrilled with that answer, I got nothing else for you, honestly.”
Skattebo said of his lack of carries, “I got punished for what I did. I understand it, so I gotta be ready when Coach calls my name, and that wasn’t today.”
Outside of Skattebo, Harris felt it wasn’t easy to get going as they all split carries. “It’s hard to get in a rhythm with one or two plays,” he said, via Greg Johnson of The Trentonian. “The first couple runs will be like, ‘OK, how are they playing it?’ And then the next ones will be, ‘OK, this is how you attack it.’ But if you’re getting a play here and then get taken out for a series, there’s nothing you could do. … I’ve never been through none of this before.”
Travis Hunter was on the losing side in the Jaguars’ loss to the Texans on Sunday, but he did achieve a notable feat: He recorded a receiving touchdown and interception in the same game. Coming out of Colorado, the Heisman Trophy winner faced plenty of doubt regarding his ability to play on both sides of the ball in the NFL. While he hasn’t played on both sides of the ball on a full-time basis, he has been able to contribute both offensively and defensively.
According to Stathead, he is just the fourth player since the AFL-NFL merger with a receiving touchdown and interception in the same game, joining Roy Green, Brian Dawkins and Keyshown Johnson (the feat was achieved numerous times in the pre-Super Bowl era when it was more common for players to play both ways, including by Hall of Famers Don Hutson, Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch and Dick “Night Train” Lane). Hunter finished the game with four receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown, as well as three tackles and the pick.
What a game for @TravisHunterJr.
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
HOUvsJAX on NFL Network
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/XOlzBq18zl
The Falcons forged a late-game comeback attempt against the Bears, but the final score was misleading—Chicago dominated Atlanta in all three phases of the game. The Bears controlled the clock offensively, holding the football for 40 minutes and eight seconds while the Falcons held control for less than 20 minutes of the game. On special teams, rookie returner Zachariah Branch fumbled a punt and kickoff. Offensively, Atlanta gave up five sacks and struggled to get into a rhythm until late in the game. They went 0-for-3 on fourth-down conversion attempts—including twice when they were in field goal range early in the game. Perhaps the most egregious mistake in the game is that Bijan Robinson carried the ball only nine times. Nine! Despite the fact that he was averaging 6.8 yards per carry. In no game with a healthy Robinson should he ever fall short of double-digit carries.
C.J. Stroud has had a strong start to the year, and it’s finally being reflected in the win column after he led the Texans on a game-winning field goal drive to defeat the Jaguars and improve to 2–4 on the season. Stroud played well throughout the game, though he did throw an interception to Hunter in the end zone when the Texans had the chance to take a two-possession lead. He bounced back, matching the Jaguars’ field goal with the game-winning drive. Overall, he finished the game 24-of-34 for 312 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. As a bonus, he wasn’t sacked a single time.
Colts GM Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen entered the 2026 season on the hot seat. There are few better ways to heat that seat up than by losing to the previously winless Titans, costing them the chance to move to 3–3. One of the Colts’ two big offseason moves, re-signing Daniel Jones, has not paid off as Jones completed only 52.4% of his passes for 269 yards, one touchdown and two picks. The season is still a long way from over and the Colts could make a postseason push, but at this point, they appear much closer to a teardown behind a new regime.
Steichen responded to a question about his job security after the game by saying, “Obviously, my job is to get this team ready. That’s what I’m focused on right now.”
#Colts HC Shane Steichen full postgame presser. pic.twitter.com/icHtEAWU1I
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 18, 2026
Art of Play could learn a lesson from the Saints and Titans: The customer is always right.
Both the Saints and Titans addressed their fans before Week 6, acknowledging that their teams needed to play better. Per ESPN, Saints owner Gayle Benson called the team’s performance “not acceptable” and that their fans deserve better after losing games by double digits on the 20th anniversary of the “Domecoming” and on the day Drew Brees was inducted into the Ring of Honor. Meanwhile, Titans CEO Burke Nihill apologized to Titans fans during the week as well, acknowledging that they deserve a “competitive football team.”
The Saints and Titans each responded with wins. After taking a 34–10 lead, New Orleans had to fend off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt from the Giants, which it did to break its three-game losing streak. The Titans scored 26 second-half points to earn their first win of the season after an 0–5 start. The Saints and Titans have a long way to go before they fully satisfy their fans, but this was a nice start toward building some good morale.
A.J. Brown might have had some rust in his first game back from an IR stint due to a sprained ankle. During the Patriots’ win over the Jets, Brown was targeted 10 times but hauled in only three passes for 27 yards as he dropped a couple throws. He also failed to come up with the Jets’ onside kick attempt. Fortunately for him, the Patriots recovered the kick anyway. Brown will look to get back into a rhythm in New England’s next game against the Bears on Thursday.
aj brown cant catch the ball pic.twitter.com/1Z6XOaj9TU
— wok (@wokdior) October 18, 2026
“There's no excuses,” Brown said after the game. “Short week, just trying to get going again, best foot forward, put this to bed really fast.”
It should come as no surprise that when the Titans finally earned their first win of the season, special teams played a key role in the victory. John Fassel, the Titans’ special teams coordinator, has been one of the best at his position in the NFL for over a decade. As such, the Titans’ comeback win was naturally fueled by a 58-yard punt return by All-Pro returner Chimere Dike and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Before joining the Titans in 2025, Fassel previously was the special teams coordinator for the Cowboys and Rams, the latter of whom could certainly use his expertise these days.
Warning: The Peanut Punch is harder than it appears
Amid a flurry of Peanut Punches in the NFL these days—the fumble punchout popularized by longtime defensive back Charles “Peanut” Tillman—CBS announcers J.J. Watt and Jim Nantz decided to do a demonstration of how to protect the football from the punchout from the broadcast booth. After Watt told Nantz to give the football a punch “as hard as you got,” Nantz punched the football harder than Watt expected. He appeared to hurt his hand in the process, and was seen clutching it after the punch.
JIM NANTZ JUST TRIED TO PEANUT PUNCH @JJWatt 🤣
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 18, 2026
"I did not think you were gonna go that hard"
"my wrist is broken" 😭 pic.twitter.com/ocdRBn282r
Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. made sure to back up his preseason talk on Sunday as Arizona took down the Rams, 18–16. Back in June, Wilson said of the Rams bringing in Myles Garrett, “At the end of the day, they gotta deal with us,” per Adam Schefter. The comment was not taken too seriously at the time, especially since the Rams had just acquired the Defensive Player of the Year and were the clear Super Bowl favorites. The Cardinals, meanwhile, weren’t favored to win a single game. Now they’ve won two, with one of those wins coming against the Rams in their home stadium. Wilson did his part in the win, leading the Cardinals with nine tackles.
L.J. Collier had the opportunity of the lifetime when he recovered Matthew Stafford’s fumble. After Josh Sweat forced Stafford’s fumble on the Rams’ two-point conversion attempt, Collier picked up the football and had the chance to return it the other way. Midway through his run back toward the opposite end zone, it became clear that Collier, who is 6’2” and 300 pounds, was not going to make it all the way for two points. Collier had the opportunity to lateral the ball to a faster teammate to try and get the score, but Collier kept the football, clutching to the dream of scoring himself. He fell short, getting tackled by a Rams defender around the Los Angeles 35-yard line. At least the Cardinals ended up getting the win.
LJ Collier wanted to take the two-point conversion return all the way 😅
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
AZvsLAR on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/CCOkklUaau
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