The 32 things we learned from Week 6 of the 2026 NFL season:
0. Still the total number of wins, combined, by the Los Angeles Chargers, who fell to 0-6 for the first time since 2000, and Miami Dolphins, who were off this weekend. The Tennessee Titans got off the mat Sunday and left the winless ranks just days after team CEO Burke Nihill apologized to fans on behalf of owner Amy Adams Strunk, whom he said was “experiencing tremendous disappointment and grief” amid the 0-5 start. Hopefully she and the rest of the team feel a bit better now.
0. Also, the number of carries New York Giants RB Cam Skattebo had in Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints, a game he didn’t start, either. He claimed he was being punished by coach John Harbaugh for his disastrous
Week 5 overtime fumble at Washington, though Harbaugh claimed otherwise … after an equally disastrous loss for the G-Men. More on that later.
1. But while the Titans and other downtrodden operations may be no threat to lift the Lombardi Trophy this season, there does seem to be something of a changing of the guard theme emerging from various corners of the league. And that starts at the top, the defending champion Seattle Seahawks (3-3) already matching their loss total from 2025 and in jeopardy of already falling three games behind the undefeated San Francisco 49ers, who will improve to 6-0 with a win over the Washington Commanders on Monday night.
1a. And the team that was expected to be No. 1 at the end of this season, the Los Angeles Rams? Pfft. Yes, they still have time to rebound and maybe make a lengthy run. But while it wasn’t necessarily difficult to explain away some of their fairly fluky early season losses and make excuses for Sean McVay and Co., losing at home to the Arizona Cardinals does not qualify. And the Rams, special teams challenges and all, largely outplayed the eminently less talented Cards, who were 0-for-5 in the red zone and didn’t score a touchdown … yet still found a way to prevail 18-16, the sixth of their field goals splitting the uprights on the final play. The guard has changed when it comes to the betting line on Super Bowl 61 favorites, the Niners now with the shortest, per BetMGM. Be better (soon), Rams.
1b. The Seahawks and Rams were the top two teams in my power rankings from Week 10 of the 2025 season, right on through the conclusion of Super Bowl 60. I'm not sure either will be in my top 10 this week ... but check back Tuesday morning.
2. The number of games the Cardinals have won this season, both at SoFi Stadium. They became the first team since the 1932 Green Bay Packers to win their first two road games at the same stadium, the Pack beating the then-Chicago Cardinals and Bears at Wrigley Field. A different time.
3. The number of receptions WR Marvin Harrison Jr. had in his Houston Texans debut, a last-second defeat of the first-place Jacksonville Jaguars in London. And while the Cardinals opted to change their guard at receiver by moving on from Harrison, the early returns from his new squad are positive – Houston QB C.J. Stroud, who was also Harrison’s teammate at Ohio State, saying Sunday, "It felt like old times, and I'm proud of (Harrison), happy for him.”
(0-)4. The Texans’ record to start the season, but they’re now 2-4. They overcame an 0-2 start in 2023 to win the AFC South and an 0-3 start last year to salvage a wild card. Now they’re trying to join the 1992 San Diego Chargers as the only clubs to reach postseason after an unsightly 0-4 start.
5. The number of players during the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to intercept a pass and catch a touchdown in the same game, second-year Jags two-way man Travis Hunter joining those ranks in Sunday’s loss. Both of Hunter’s career touchdowns have occurred during losses at Wembley Stadium.
6. The number of players in NFL history with both 5,000 career rushing and receiving yards, Saints RB Alvin Kamara – even though there was a changing of the guard for the team’s former lead back – entering that exclusive club on Sunday. He’s only the third to manage that feat with one team.
History made in the Meadowlands! 👏
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 18, 2026
Alvin Kamara becomes the sixth player with 5,000 Rush Yds and 5,000 Rec Yds in NFL history. He joins Tiki Barber and Lenny Moore as the third player to reach both milestones with a single franchise. pic.twitter.com/qx90VMRgeO
7. Jersey number of New York Jets QB Geno Smith, who probably has 11 games left in his second hitch with the franchise before his contract expires and a new guard QB arrives to claim his QB1 job next spring. Smith has been passable for the Jets (2-4) but threw his first INT of the season in Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots and was lucky that his moonball TD to rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr., who almost looked like he was fielding a punt, wasn’t swiped, too.
The rookie Omar Cooper Jr. makes the 48-yard touchdown catch!
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
NYJvsNE on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/y88N5gruHa
8. The number of catches (for a game-high 82 yards) veteran Colts WR Keenan Allen had in Sunday’s loss to Tennessee.
9. Allen’s place on the league’s all-time reception list after he passed Anquan Boldin and Hall of Famer Terrell Owens on Sunday. Allen, who now has 1,081 career catches, needs 22 more to climb all the way into fifth place, which is currently held by Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr.
10. Whether Colts GM Chris Ballard or coach Shane Steichen is around to see Allen climb those rungs could become a matter of speculation – changing of the guard – following the defeat at the hands of the lowly Titans, whom Indy outgained by more than 200 yards … before being undone by a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and three turnovers, including two more interceptions by QB Daniel Jones.
11. Colts RB Jonathan Taylor also fumbled. Word of advice to team owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon: Trade Taylor, your organization’s best player, while you can get maximum value to start the rebuild that clearly needs to happen here.
12. There was another changing of the guard behind center for the Chicago Bears – or the return of the king, depending on your perspective – Caleb Williams back in the lineup for the first time since suffering his Week 2 hamstring injury and making him the third QB the team used in a four-week period. Williams, who looked close to returning last week during warmups in Green Bay, passed for 306 yards and a TD as the Bears built a 31-7 fourth-quarter lead in Atlanta before hanging on for a 31-23 victory. 13. There was a changing of the guard in Baltimore earlier this year, Jesse Minter replacing Harbaugh. But the team’s proclivity for coughing up fourth-quarter leads remains, the Ravens, who led 10-0 in the third quarter at Cleveland and 10-3 entering the final period, ultimately falling 13-10 to the (now, technically) first-place Browns. Cleveland is 4-2, along with Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Steelers, but has wins against both of their division rivals in hand.
14. Will there be a(nother) changing of the guard at quarterback for the Giants? They trailed the Saints, who pulled many of their starters, 34-10 in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss following the second interception served up by Jameis Winston, who became QB1 in Week 2 after Jaxson Dart went down. The Giants turned to recently acquired J.J. McCarthy in garbage time, and he made the most of the opportunity – passing for 243 yards and a TD while rushing for a team-high 26 yards and basically a quarter of work, even if it was garbage time.
15. Big win for the Saints, whose owner, Gayle Benson, spoke directly to her fans last week (unlike Adam Strunk) to express her dissatisfaction with her team’s performance. "Words will not restore our fans' confidence. Our performance must do that,” she said at a local event after her team dropped its third straight game at the Superdome. The message was apparently received, though Benson evidently had no plans to change the guard and get rid of second-year coach Kellen Moore.
16. The Saints won’t be in New Orleans next week, either, scheduled to fly from the New York area to Paris for the NFL’s first regular-season game in France – one that is still scheduled to happen despite the current social unrest in the country.
Saints executive Greg Bensel: “We concur with the NFL’s statement and are planning to play the game. In addition to working closely with the NFL, we have also maintained daily security updates with our security partners in France.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 18, 2026
Members of our football operations staff and… https://t.co/Yk9mbkC7QS
17. Thankfully, the Saints won't offend the Parisians by wearing their monochrome alternate white uniforms, the ones with the vanilla bean flecks on the helmet. Glad we're changing those clothes.
18. The Saints are scheduled to host the Steelers, who won the league’s first Ireland game last season, in suburban Paris. Sunday, they won in Tampa … barely. Way to play in pain, Coach McCarthy.
19. Changing of the guard doesn’t do what’s going on in Philadelphia justice … though the Eagles have literally changed their guards, among numerous other positions in what’s shaping up as a disastrous season that will include a changing of the guard atop the NFC East. (Am I belaboring the theme here?)
20. Philly QB Tanner McKee made the first non-Week 18 start of his career on Sunday, apparently the first of many for the fourth-year passer from Stanford after QB1 Jalen Hurts unexpectedly landed on injured reserve with a concerning blood clot in his leg. McKee didn’t exactly look overmatched in the loss to the Carolina Panthers, passing for 215 yards and a TD – though, like Hurts before him, he’s forging ahead with a shell of an offense around him.
21. About to be a changing of the guard atop the Buffalo Bills' all-time leaderboard for TD passes, Josh Allen just one away from dethroning Hall of Famer Jim Kelly.
With that 12-yard TD pass to Keon Coleman, Josh Allen now has 258 passing TDs (including playoffs).
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) October 18, 2026
Allen is now tied with Jim Kelly for the most in team history. pic.twitter.com/zh6CefDawU
22. Though I don't recall Kelly ever making the Favre-ian type of throw Allen did while pulling even with him.
How did Josh Allen make this TD pass to Keon Coleman?
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
BUFvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/CNLw6KW2tC
23. Congratulations to the NFL's RedZone Channel, which aired its 300th installment on Sunday.
Congrats to @ScottHanson and the entire NFL RedZone team on 300 episodes! pic.twitter.com/W0TYVNjW50
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
24. Naturally, it was the day longtime RedZone host Scott Hanson uttered at one point in the late-afternoon window: "I'm sorry, I'm confused here." It happens, Scott. We expect no changing of the guard at your post.
25. Changing of the guard! Rams WR Puka Nacua overtook Michael Thomas for the most receptions ever (350) by a player in his first 50 NFL games.
26. Changing of the GOAT? Not so fast. But Patrick Mahomes is trying to form a small herd with Tom Brady.
Patrick Mahomes ties Tom Brady as the fastest QBs to reach 100 career wins in NFL history (131 starts) 🤝@Chiefs | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/KaRekwS2lv
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) October 18, 2026
27. Changing of the guard? For Offensive Player of the Year? Time will, but Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III, who remains on an All-Pro track, rushed for 128 yards and two more TDs as Kansas City improved to 5-0. He's aiming to unseat former Seahawks teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who's off to another strong start himself.
28. Sunday, Walker became the sixth player ever with at least 750 scrimmage yards and eight TDs from scrimmage in his first five games of a season. Four of the other five are Hall of Famers (Jim Brown, Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith), Priest Holmes being the outlier.
29. Changing of the guard, HC style? Nope. Andy Reid remains the best in the business, 5-0 for the sixth time in his illustrious career. Only Hall of Famer George Halas has done that more times (10).
30. How about a quick nod to the old guard? Ravens DL Calais Campbell, 40, became just the third player in league history to record a sack at 40 years of age or older − at least since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. He joins all-time sack leader Bruce Smith and Clay Matthews.
31. The number of games this season with a game-winning score in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime, the most such games through Week 6 in NFL history.
32. Changing of the guard for best mascot in the league? Probably not ... the NFL is not blessed with a San Diego Chicken or Phillie Phanatic. But we'd nominate Jaxson de ville as the clubhouse leader.
the mascot 😭 pic.twitter.com/HLLVtZ6RHz
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 32 things we learned in NFL Week 6: Rams' loss, QB changes signal changing of the guard
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