2024 NFL Week 6: The best Sunday games and the standout storylines

CNN
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As the leaves turn brown and the clocks turn back, the importance of NFL football increases. And Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season is no different, with playoff hopes fading and jobs on the line.

The week started with the San Francisco 49ers' victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.

Sunday's action begins with the one in London de facto The team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, are returning to the UK for the first time this year to play their first of two games, the opener against the Chicago Bears.

Full of football from morning to night, here are the three games you shouldn't miss.

The best photos of the 2024 NFL season

Washington Commanders (4-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (3-2) – 1:00 p.m. ET

It's been a long time since the Battle of the Beltway had such significance.

For the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens – whose stadiums are just 32 miles apart – Sunday's game comes at a crucial time in the season.

The Ravens are currently on a three-game winning streak as they bounce back from a stuttering start, while the Commanders look to continue their rise from upstart to serious playoff contender.

The match will feature a showdown between two of the NFL's most exciting quarterbacks; On one side is reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and on the other is rookie Jayden Daniels.

Jackson is ranked by NFL.com as the No. 1 quarterback of the season through five weeks, while Daniels is sixth after getting off to a historic start to his rookie season.

Jackson showed every facet of his skills, precise when throwing and elusive when running, in the Ravens' dramatic overtime win over the Bengals in Week 5. This became even more evident when he dropped the snap and fended off Cincinnati defender Sam Hubbard twice before finding tight end Isaiah Likely in the end zone in one of the best plays of the season.

Reigning NFL MVP Jackson led the Ravens to a three-game winning streak.

Daniels, on the other hand, is breaking records seemingly every week for his accuracy in throwing the ball and his ability to run it.

The last time there was this much excitement surrounding a Washington quarterback was in 2012 with Robert Griffin III's Offensive Rookie of the Year season.

And even though Baltimore is the much more experienced team, head coach John Harbaugh was quick to praise Washington and Daniels.

“I can tell you that Jayden is playing at a very high level,” Harbaugh told reporters Wednesday. “He has his team; They built it around him. (Commanders offensive coordinator) Kliff (Kingsbury) did a great job there as far as building the offense around Jayden.

“They have talented players; They have a really good running back and an experienced offensive line. They did a great job – you can see it on the tape… There's a lot of space out there that they created with all the chemistry between them. We have our hands full. It definitely starts with Jayden, but it’s the whole offense and we have to get to the point.”

Despite being in his rookie season, Daniels is one of the early contenders for the MVP award after a historic start to life in the NFL.

Cleveland Browns (1-4) @ Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) – 1:00 p.m. ET

The Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles were two teams that started the season with high hopes. But they both flattered themselves to deceive.

The Browns had poor quarterback play from Deshaun Watson as the team fell to an opening 1-4 due to negativity and question marks surrounding the franchise.

NFL.com has ranked Watson as the league's worst quarterback for five weeks, with writer Nick Shook saying, “He's no longer a starting-caliber quarterback, and until the Browns decide to move, they'll continue to struggle.” powerful. It’s simply time to put him on the bench.”

However, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanksi resisted calls to cut Watson, saying as long as he is healthy, the eight-year veteran will be the team's starter.

Watson struggled through the first four games of the 2024 season.

The Eagles also begin Week 6 with clouds hanging over them. After a disappointing end to last season, head coach Nick Sirianni needed a quick start to convince his doubters.

Although they won their season opener in Brazil against the Packers, Philadelphia lost in the last minute at home to the Atlanta Falcons, while they suffered a convincing loss on the road to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.

They're coming off their bye week, which gave their two star receivers – AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith – a chance to get healthy after missing the last few games.

Without his top two targets, QB Jalen Hurts suffered seven turnovers in his four games. And Sirianni said Thursday that the team dealt with dealing with the turnover battle during its week off.

“I think broadly speaking, our turnover difference is that we train a few things, approach some things, how we train a few things and practice a few things in different ways,” he told reporters.

Both teams could really use a win on Sunday to get their season back on track.

Sirianni is under pressure after a 2-2 start to the season.

Sunday offers both the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys a chance to get their fourth win of the season and solidify their playoff ambitions.

The Lions' start to the season has been impressive so far. They last played in Week 4 with a 13-point win against the Seattle Seahawks before a bye.

Head coach Dan Campbell's team is getting into better shape as time goes on, with quarterback Jared Goff not missing a single pass against Seattle. The two-headed running attack of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery also keeps opposing defenses on their toes, and the plethora of pass-catching talent is a threat on every snap.

The Lions offense appears to be picking up steam through the five weeks of the season.

In contrast, the Cowboys are off to a 3-2 start. QB Dak Prescott has been accurate, but “America's Team” has struggled at home, losing two games so far at AT&T Stadium in convincing fashion.

One problem the team faced was getting star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb involved in the second half of the game. Lamb has only four catches for 25 yards in 10 second-half quarters through the first five weeks of the season.

But Prescott sees the defense's focus on Lamb as an opportunity to utilize the rest of his offensive weapons.

“I mean, it’s the NFL,” Prescott told reporters. “They’re not going to let you come in and hit you with their fastball early and late if you want to accomplish that; They’re going to make you change it, and that’s a credit to those guys, not just the defensive coordinators, understanding that we want to get the guy the ball.”

The Cowboys will likely be without star pass rusher Micah Parsons due to injury for Sunday's game in Arlington, Texas, but ending their poor home record will be crucial if they have any hopes of a solid playoff success.

And as the pressure mounts on head coach Mike McCarthy's shoulders after back-to-back subpar postseason losses, that's the expectation for Dallas.