The NFL season is well under way, with Week 6 set to mark the point where over a third of the regular season has been played.
Playoff hopes are starting to rise and crucial games are on the horizon, with the Minnesota Vikings looking to provide a further boost against a Miami Dolphins side that have lost their rhythm after a perfect start.
Elsewhere, revenge is on the cards for the Buffalo Bills against the Kansas City Chiefs, who have shattered their dreams in back-to-back seasons, while there is plenty on the line in the NFC East contest between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys.
With a wealth of entertainment on offer, Stats Perform has crunched the Opta data to preview this weekend's contests.
Minnesota Vikings (4-1) @ Miami Dolphins (3-2)
After starting the season 3-0, the Dolphins have suffered back-to-back defeats by 12 and 23 points respectively, becoming only the second team in the Super Bowl era to start a campaign 3-0 but then lose their next two games by at least a dozen points – the other being the 1994 Chiefs.
However, the Dolphins have won their last three games against NFC teams by double-digit scores, marking the first time they have had such a streak against the NFC since a five-game stint from 1978 to 1979.
With quarterback duo Tua Tagovailoa not expected to return this weekend and Terry Bridgewater out due to concussion, rookie Skylar Thompson looks set to make his first career start against the Vikings and will need help from Tyreek Hill, who is the only player in NFL history with at least 7,000 receiving yards, 7,000 rushing yards and 700 punt return yards in his career.
The Dolphins' clash with the Vikings could go down right to the wire, with Minnesota having trailed with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and come back to win in each of their last three matches for the first time in their franchise history, as well as being the first time any team has done so since the Lions in 2014.
The only team in NFL history to have such a comeback in four straight games was the Denver Broncos in 2011, led by quarterback Tim Tebow.
Buffalo Bills (4-1) @ Kansas City Chiefs (4-1)
The Chiefs have ended the Bills' season in each of the last two campaigns, including a 42-36 overtime win in the divisional round in 2021. In the last eight meetings, including the post season, Kansas City are 6-2, but one of those losses came at home in Week 5 last season.
Patrick Mahomes continues to be the leading man for the Chiefs, with the 30-29 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders last week marking the 40th time the Chiefs have had a game with at least 30 points since he became full-time starter in 2018. The only other team with more than 30 such games is the New Orleans Saints (35).
A tough test against the Bills defense awaits, however, with Buffalo allowing just three broken tackles this season, only the Washington Commanders having fewer (2). In contrast, the Chiefs' defense has allowed 12 broken tackles, only Houston and Las Vegas (both 15) having more.
Offensively, the Bills head to Kansas City on the back of a 38-3 triumph against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5, marking their second win by at least 34 points this season, having beaten the Titans 41-7 in Week 2. Only in 1992 and 2021 have they had multiple such wins in a season (twice in each).
Dallas Cowboys (4-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (5-0)
For the first time, the NFC East rivals will face off with both teams entering the contest on the back of a single-season winning streak of at least four games, and the Cowboys have a historical edge after three consecutive wins by a margin of 20 or more points.
The Cowboys have held each of their five opponents so far this season to 20 points or under for the first time since 1972, while only two teams in the last 10 years have done so in six straight games to start a season – the 2013 Chiefs (9) and 2019 New England Patriots (8).
Keeping Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense at bay will be a stern test though, with Hurts setting an NFL record by becoming the first QB to have a five-start span, at any point, where he passed for 250+ yards per game, rushed for 50+ yards per game, rushed for 5+ touchdowns and went undefeated.
From the first five games of the season, the Eagles have averaged 400+ yards of offense and have not lost a single fumble during that span.
Elsewhere…
The Los Angeles Rams host the Carolina Panthers on the back of a 22-10 home defeat to the Cowboys in Week 5, with all three of their losses this season seeing the Rams score 10 or fewer points and lose by at least 10 points. From 2017-2021, they only had five such games.
The Arizona Cardinals head to the Emerald City boasting a strong record against the Seattle Seahawks, sitting 6-3 in the last nine road games. That is tied for the best record by any teams with at least two games played in Seattle since 2013 (Atlanta and New Orleans both 2-1).
The Cleveland Browns face the Patriots, having led at the start of the fourth quarter in all five games so far this season. However, they sit 2-3 (.400) in comparison to the rest of the NFL, which combines for 51-15-1 (.769).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady is tied with Charlie Conerly for most career passing touchdowns against the Steelers (29 each), who he faces in Week 6. With one more, the Steelers would become the fifth team Brady has thrown at least 30 TD's against – joining the Colts, Jets, Dolphins and Bills.
Bills, Chargers grab WRs to start NFL Draft Day 2
The run on wide receivers continued during Day 2 of the NFL draft, which began Friday with the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers using picks to fill glaring needs at the position.
Buffalo, which made two trades to move out of Thursday's first round, started the second by selecting Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman with the 33rd overall pick. The Chargers then moved up three spots to nab Georgia wideout Ladd McConkey at No. 34.
Both teams sustained significant losses at wide receiver this offseason. The Bills traded four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans earlier this month, while the Chargers moved on from two accomplished veterans in March by trading Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears and releasing Mike Williams to clear salary cap space.
After the first round saw a record-tying seven wide receivers go off the board, the second saw three taken with the first five picks. After working a trade with the Chargers to move down from pick No. 34, the New England Patriots chose Washington's Ja'Lynn Polk with the 37th overall selection.
On the flip side, this draft didn't have a running back taken until the Carolina Panthers ended the drought by trading up for Jonathan Brooks with the 46th overall pick. The former Texas standout was the lone running back picked in the second round, though the Arizona Cardinals selected Florida State's Trey Benson with the second pick of the third round (No. 66 overall).
Two more running backs did go later in Round 3. Blake Corum, the leading rusher on Michigan's 2023 national champion team, was taken by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 83 overall, while the Green Bay Packers chose USC's MarShawn Lloyd at No. 88.
Another former Michigan player will be playing for his college coach after the Chargers nabbed Junior Colson with the fifth pick of the third round (No. 69). The linebacker reunites with Jim Harbaugh after Los Angeles hired away the former Wolverines' boss in January.
Defensive tackles were also popular on Day 2, as seven went off the board in the second round after the Seattle Seahawks made Texas' Byron Murphy the lone player at the position chosen in the first.
Interior defensive linemen accounted for four of the first seven picks of the second round. The Atlanta Falcons started the run by trading up for Clemson's Ruke Orhorhoro at No. 35, one pick before the Washington Commanders chose Illinois' Jer'Zhawn Newton. The Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Rams then used back-to-back selections on Texas' T'Vondre Sweat and Florida State's Braden Fiske, respectively, at picks No. 38 and 39.
Fiske's selection was followed by four straight cornerbacks - Iowa's Cooper DeJean (Philadelphia), Alabama's Kool-Aid McKinstry (New Orleans), Georgia's Kamari Lassiter (Houston) and Rutgers' Max Melton (Arizona) - at picks No. 40-43.
Lassiter was this year's first draft choice of the Texans, one of three teams without a first-round selection along with the Bills and Cleveland. The Browns did not have a pick until taking Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. at No. 54.
No quarterbacks were taken in Rounds 2 and 3 after six went in the first 12 picks of the first round.
Patriots select QB Maye with third overall pick
The New England Patriots hope they now have their franchise quarterback after selecting North Carolina’s Drake Maye with the third overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft.
Maye was the third straight quarterback selected after the Chicago Bears took Caleb Williams at No. 1 and the Washington Commanders chose Jayden Daniels second.
Since Tom Brady departed New England following the 2019 season, the Patriots used Cam Newton as their primary quarterback the following season before drafting Mac Jones 15th overall in 2021.
Jones had a strong rookie season with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions but tailed off to 24 TDs and 23 picks combined the past two seasons and was traded to Jacksonville in March.
Maye likely won’t be the Patriots’ starting quarterback at the start of the 2024 season after veteran signal caller Jacoby Brissett was signed to a one-year contract in March. Brissett has appeared in 79 NFL games with 48 starts and figures to serve as a mentor to Maye.
There is also the belief that Maye simply won’t be NFL ready in a few months and would be best served to sit a season, like what Patrick Mahomes did for the Chiefs in 2017.
Maye was the ACC Player of the Year in 2022 in his first season as a full-time starter at North Carolina, also being named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. He broke Mitchell Trubisky’s school record and set an FBS freshman record with 4,321 passing yards and tied Sam Howell’s mark for passing touchdowns with 38 and threw just seven interceptions. He also displayed his mobility with nearly 700 yards rushing and seven scores.
This past season wasn’t as productive for Maye, who before the season lost offensive coordinator Phil Longo and receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green to the NFL. Maye was still named to the Second Team All-ACC team as he passed for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games.
Maye has all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL, namely excellent arm talent and good mobility for someone of his size (6-foot-4, 223 pounds). He made a host of impressive touch throws in college and understands where to deliver a ball for a receiver to make a play on it.
There are some issues with Maye’s footwork and his tendency to trust his arm strength almost too much and force some throws. His weaknesses, though, seem like the kind that can be improved upon rather quickly and sitting for a full season - or at least most of one - would help greatly in this area.
Maye has drawn comparisons to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers.
He isn’t quite the natural athlete that Allen is and probably doesn’t have Hebert’s arm strength, but it’s not far-fetched to think Maye could put up similar numbers to those two at the next level given the right coaching and situation.
Commanders take QB Jayden Daniels second in NFL draft
The Washington Commanders are confident that they have found their franchise quarterback.
With the second overall pick, the Commanders selected LSU’s Jayden Daniels, one of the most electric dual-threat quarterback prospects in recent memory.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner led LSU to a 10-3 season last year and threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He added 1,134 yards on the ground and 10 rushing touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Daniels downplayed reports that he was unhappy with the Commanders conducting a group interview with other top quarterback prospects.
“I'm blessed to go wherever I'm called,” Daniels told reporters. “Whoever calls my phone, whoever gives the card to the commissioner that says my name, I'm blessed to go and they're going to get my all.”
Daniels later clarified that he was “one hundred per cent” heading to Washington.
Despite gaudy production in his senior year, scouts were split on Daniels’ professional prospects, with some wondering if he possesses the pocket passing skills required for the NFL.
At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Daniels is larger than most dual-threat prospects, and his ability to avoid turnovers his senior year was very promising.
But Daniels’ Heisman season is an outlier among his five seasons in college – three at Arizona State and the final two at LSU.
In his first 43 NCAA games, Daniels had a 143.8 passer rating. That number skyrocketed to 208.0 last season.
Due to his extended college career, Daniels will celebrate his 24th birthday during his rookie season in the NFL, making him significantly older than fellow top quarterback prospects Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.
Daniels joins a Commanders squad that went 4-13 last season with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.
Dan Quinn replaces Ron Rivera as Washington’s head coach, and former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury will take over as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator.
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