The New York Jets’ 0-6 start feels worse with two of their castoff quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold, combining for an 8-3 record so far. Throw in the rival New England Patriots’ 4-2 start under a new coach and Jets fans cannot help but question their direction.
It’s not that anyone really thought the Jets should have brought back Rodgers. Darnold wasn’t going to return. It’s just that 0-6 is rough, no matter how low the preseason expectations should have been. And those former quarterbacks’ success, coupled with New England’s best start since the Tom Brady era, is part of the emotional calculus.
“I can’t process it now,” Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner said of the winless start.
The Pick Six column asks tough questions of the Jets while weaving in thoughts on Rodgers’ Steelers and the Mike Vrabel-coached, Drake Maye-quarterbacked Patriots.
Who else was going to pay $20 million per year for Justin Fields? What was the rush for handing out top-five contracts to relatively unaccomplished holdovers? How is coach Aaron Glenn going to elevate this team?
The full Pick Six menu this week:
• Jets 0-6 while Patriots roll
• Chiefs’ best since ’22 season
• Panthers on verge of history
• Cardinals’ looming questions
• Eagles’ offensive regression
• Two-minute drill: Is Puka OK?
1. The Jets are 0-6. Their head coach does not sound like he’s 0-6. That is good. But we have questions.
Rodgers’ Steelers (4-1) have as many victories as the rest of the struggling AFC North combined. It’s early, but with Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow sidelined by injury, The Athletic’s projection model gives Pittsburgh a 72 percent chance of winning that division.
Darnold’s Seahawks (4-2, 64 percent chance at playoffs) won at Jacksonville in Week 6 and could be dangerous once they get key defensive players back from injury. Darnold ranks third in EPA per pass play (.27) and first in yards per attempt (9.6). His 11 touchdown passes match the total Fields has thrown in his last 14 starts dating to his days in Chicago. Darnold has taken seven sacks all season, two fewer than Fields took Sunday.
Pittsburgh and Seattle could plausibly win playoff games for the first time since the 2010s.
Even the Patriots have an 81 percent shot at the postseason, per The Athletic’s model. Like the Jets (0.2 percent playoff chance), they have a defensive-minded CEO head coach in his first season, with a play-calling defensive coordinator working under him.
The Patriots rank 12th in defensive EPA per play, compared to 28th for the Jets. The schedule is part of that, but New England did beat Buffalo on the road, 23-20. The Patriots are getting much more from a longer list of defensive additions in free agency, from Harold Landry to Milton Williams to Carlton Davis to Robert Spillane.
New England is not getting as much from its additions on offense beyond Stefon Diggs, but Maye is making up the difference. He’s the first Patriots quarterback since Brady in 2011 to string together five consecutive games with a triple-digit passer rating, 200-plus yards passing and 0.1 EPA per pass play, per TruMedia. Brady’s 2011 streak lasted six games. He had an eight-game streak during New England’s 2007 undefeated regular season.
Maye’s five-game run is already the third longest for the Patriots since Brady was drafted in 2000. By the way, Ryan Fitzpatrick owns the Jets’ longest such streak this century: three games in 2015, when Todd Bowles, currently coach of the 5-1 Buccaneers, was in charge.
As for the Jets, where to begin after their 13-11 loss to Denver in London? The quarterbacking was atrocious. The end-of-half game management was dubious or, at best, a reflection of Fields’ limitations. The result was a sixth consecutive defeat to open Glenn’s tenure as head coach.
First, the good: Glenn sounds like he’s built for this, even in the NFL’s toughest market.
How is Glenn processing 0-6?
“The same way I processed it when I was in Detroit,” Glenn replied. “It is what it is. We gotta keep working. No one is going to feel sorry for you.”
Glenn’s boss in Detroit, Dan Campbell, started 4-19-1 with the Lions. Campbell owns the NFL’s best winning percentage since that terrible start (.780 at 39-11).
“You have to win enough to put your program in,” an exec from another team said.
Campbell’s Lions rallied from a 1-6 start in his second season to finish 9-8. Five of the Jets’ previous six coaches dating to 2001 got a third year. Adam Gase was the exception. But four of the five to get a third season — Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan and Bowles — had winning records in Year 1.
Glenn’s 0-6 start amplifies questions this team carried into the season:
• Why pay $20 million per year for Fields? Before Sunday, Fields was the only player in the past 15 seasons to take at least nine sacks in a game without completing more than nine passes, per TruMedia. He did it with Chicago in 2021 against the Browns. He did it Sunday against the Broncos.
No one should be shocked. Thirty-one of 50 coaches and executives polled for 2025 QB Tiers saw Fields as a quarterback who ideally would not serve as a full-season starter.
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The Jets paid Fields near the bottom of the scale among QBs who were handed starting jobs. Rodgers was the only veteran to sign for less last offseason ($13.7 million) without having to compete for the No. 1 job. Daniel Jones got $14 million to compete with Anthony Richardson.
But it was a market-moving contract for a bridge starter. A year earlier, Darnold got one year and $10 million from the Minnesota Vikings. Fields doubled that in annual value and tripled it in guarantees. The Jets fully guaranteed $10 million of his 2026 salary, giving Fields more job security beyond 2025 than Darnold got in Seattle.
The table below shows veteran QBs in their first seasons with new teams (minimum three starts in 2025). Fields ranks higher in APY (third among the nine) than he does in EPA per pass play (sixth).
In the Jets’ defense, how many veteran quarterbacks were eager to come their way? Darnold and Jones weren’t angling to play in that market again. Still, who else was going to pay Fields as much as the Jets paid him?
• Why pay Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner near the top of the market? The Jets made Gardner the highest-paid cornerback by APY. They made Wilson the fifth-highest-paid receiver. Is either a top-five player at his position? Had either built equity with the team’s new leadership?
“They haven’t won s— with these guys, and they have already given them top-of-market deals early,” an exec from another team said. “I get it if you get a good deal, but why are bad teams giving good players top-of-the-market deals? That is a recipe for disaster.”
Best-case scenario, the deals bought goodwill with those players as Glenn seeks buy-in to implement his program.
• How can Glenn differentiate? Though the Lions ranked 10th in defensive EPA per play during Glenn’s final season with the team, they ranked 32nd across his four-year tenure in the role (31st, 31st and 24th in his first three seasons). Can Glenn elevate a Jets defense that ranked fifth in five games under Robert Saleh last season before dipping to 31st in 12 games under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich?
The Jets ranked 29th in defensive EPA per play entering Week 6 before shutting down Denver.
Detroit’s reversal required strong drafting, not just a clear vision from the head coach. There was also the small detail of inheriting an upper-tier quarterback in Matthew Stafford, whom the Lions traded for draft picks and Jared Goff. The Jets’ QB options appear slim. (Glenn dismissed the idea of benching Fields.)
“Remember last year around draft time when everybody was saying how many good quarterbacks would be coming out next year?” an evaluator from an NFL team said. “What a crock.”
• Can anyone overcome the Jets’ organizational culture? While the Jets continue to give off Same Old Jets vibes with a sexual misconduct investigation and players-only meetings, Rodgers has assimilated into the Steelers without incident. No more “Pat McAfee Show” for him. No more blaming the coaching staff for false starts (the Steelers have only two, tied for fewest in the league, while the Jets have 10, sixth most). No more Ryan Clark calling Rodgers a “fraud” for his antics. What antics?
“Did you see the Rodgers TD on Sunday?” a coach from another team asked. “Out of the pocket, on the run, directing receivers in the scramble drill, slicing his 500th-and-whatever touchdown pass, while the supposed-to-be mobile Justin Fields can’t get away from Denver’s rush. Nine sacks with minus-10 yards passing!”
It’s a lot for an 0-6 Jets fan to stomach.
2. Travis Kelce was supposed to be washed. He is certainly in decline. Sunday night showed what he and the Chiefs’ offense could do against a depleted Lions defense, at least.
Dan Campbell told NBC he thought the Lions needed 30 points to win at Arrowhead Stadium. They actually would need 31, but the point stood. Detroit’s defense was hurting, and it showed in this 30-17 Chiefs victory.
That didn’t matter to Kansas City.
The Chiefs won without their impressive rookie left tackle, Josh Simmons, who was a late scratch for personal reasons. They won while producing their best EPA-per-play performance in 47 games, dating to their Super Bowl victory over Philadelphia after the 2022 season, per TruMedia. They won while finally leaning into a conventional ground game (season-high 12 designed runs from under center). And they won with Kelce catching six passes for a season-high 78 yards, plus 14 yards on the first pass-interference call he’s drawn since 2023.
The chart above compares Kelce’s per-game receiving yardage by age against the averages for the other tight ends with at least 9,000 career yards: Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates, Shannon Sharpe and Rob Gronkowski. Kelce outproduced the average into his 30s, but he has regressed to the mean in recent seasons.
Top receiver Rashee Rice’s return from suspension in Week 7 could help everyone.
3. Only the 0-6 Jets stand between the Carolina Panthers and a most unexpected three-game run.
Three weeks ago, the Panthers looked hopeless during a 42-13 defeat at New England.
They have gained 828 yards in two games since then, including 455 on the ground, while pounding out victories over Miami (27-24) and Dallas (30-27). The Dolphins and Cowboys are struggling on defense. That is one huge variable in Carolina’s over-the-top production.
But after ex-Cowboy Rico Dowdle carried 30 times for 183 yards against Dallas in Week 6, I wondered how long it had been since the Panthers finished a game with at least 400 total yards, 200 rushing yards and 25 first downs. Turns out, it happened just last week, against Miami.
It’s the only time Carolina has hit those benchmarks in back-to-back games since entering the NFL as an expansion team in 1995, per Pro Football Reference.
The 1983 Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team to hit those marks in three consecutive games. The Panthers can join them if they can do it against the Jets. Buffalo had 403 total yards, 224 rushing yards and 25 first downs against the Jets in Week 2.
The rushing production for Carolina is notable because some in the league questioned whether the Panthers could flourish on the ground. They noted that while coach Dave Canales was successful in his one-year stint as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator in 2023, the Buccaneers ranked last in rushing yards, yards per carry and rushing success rate that season. Tampa Bay then jumped to top-10 rankings in all three last season, after Canales departed to become the Panthers’ coach.
Carolina leads the league in rushing yards this season while ranking among the top five in yards per carry and success rate. Dowdle, who led the Cowboys with 1,079 yards last season, is a major reason why.
Dowdle, signed in free agency, is averaging 5.8 yards per carry. That includes 3.9 yards per carry after contact. Both averages lead the NFL’s 24 running backs with at least 50 carries this season.
4. The Cardinals amassed 400 yards and 25 first downs without Kyler Murray. They lost for a fourth successive week anyway. What will it mean for the coach and quarterback?
When Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill fined coach Jonathan Gannon $100,000 for how his coach confronted Emari Demercado on the sideline following the running back’s fumble, it had the look of a former federal prosecutor building a case (Bidwill served in that prosecutorial role from 1990-96).
More likely, it was a case of the Cardinals sparing the league from taking action under pressure from the NFL Players Association.
Whatever the case, the loss to Tennessee and the fallout begged for an upset win at Indy to change the subject.
But after leading by a touchdown through three quarters against the Colts, Arizona lost. Again.
The Cardinals became the 10th team since 2000 to lose four in a row after leading or being tied in the fourth quarter each time. The improbability suggests things might even out over the course of the season. The evening out cannot happen quickly enough for a 2-4 team with a coach getting deeper into his third season.
Gannon improved from 4-13 in his first season to 8-9 in his second. Blowing a 15-point fourth-quarter lead against previously winless Tennessee last week was the type of defeat that lingers in an owner’s mind.
The last four Cardinals coaches to return for a fourth season — Kliff Kingsbury, Bruce Arians, Ken Whisenhunt and Vince Tobin — had winning records in their third years. The other coaches over that span — Dave McGinnis and Dennis Green — did not.
Nearly beating Indy on the road with backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett behind center might count in Gannon’s favor. But what does it say for Murray, whose $230.5 million contract becomes easier to escape after this season?
The chart below shows the Cardinals’ cumulative EPA on offense, defense and special teams in the 30 Gannon-era games Murray has started.
The Cardinals’ 0.04 EPA per play on offense with Murray in the lineup over the past three seasons would rank ninth in the NFL over that span. Their EPA per play in 10 starts without him (-0.11) would rank 29th. However, the offense has leveled off some, while the defense has stabilized (the team ranks 15th on offense and 20th on defense this season). And Murray’s limitations from the pocket work against his consistency, especially over a full season.
Big decisions loom.
The 2-4 record and four-game skid are what matter most now, heading into a Week 7 home game against Green Bay, which handled the Cardinals 34-13 in Week 6 last season.
5. The Eagles’ first six games under offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo fall short of the first six under the team’s previous four OCs. Is there a fix?
The Eagles’ 4-2 record feels more like 2-4 after their 34-17 loss to the previously 1-4 New York Giants on Thursday night.
Most fingers point to Patullo, the new offensive coordinator, after right tackle Lane Johnson, who ranks fifth in franchise history with 179 total starts for the Eagles, made the dreaded “we are too predictable” declaration after the upset loss to the Giants. Specific criticisms suggest the Eagles use presnap motion without purpose.
“This is Brian Johnson 2.0, just earlier in the season,” a coach from another team said, referencing the Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 2023.
Johnson lasted one season in the role after replacing Shane Steichen, who left to become head coach of Indianapolis. The 2023 Eagles started 10-1, then lost six of their final seven, including to Tampa Bay in the wild-card round. Patullo is in his first season after replacing Kellen Moore, who left to become head coach of New Orleans.
The Eagles promoted Johnson and Patullo from within after neither had been a primary play caller in the NFL (Johnson, now assistant head coach and pass game coordinator for the Washington Commanders, had been a coordinator in college). Philly hired Steichen and Moore from the outside after both had called plays as NFL coordinators.
Some regression from last season should have been expected after the Eagles won the Super Bowl following Saquon Barkley’s historic 2,005-yard regular season.
Barkley’s decline in production — he is on pace for 921 yards, just 46 percent of his total from last season — appears more symptomatic of the Eagles’ issues than reflective of Barkley himself.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts hinted at Patullo’s lack of play-calling experience when the coach, on staff since 2021, was a candidate for the OC job.
Jalen Hurts back in February when asked about Kevin Patullo potentially becoming the OC. pic.twitter.com/4OV0dPF8Qx
— O.J. Spivey (@OJPhilly) October 10, 2025
It wasn’t much of an endorsement. Recent history suggests the Eagles either have an established offensive coordinator they like (Steichen, Moore) or they go look for one. Having the patience to develop one over the course of a season or two might be easier if Philly were not such a highly leveraged contender.
6. Two-minute drills: Pausing to appreciate Puka Nacua
Puka Nacua’s 34th career game began like any other might, with the third-year wideout getting open for a 5-yard reception on third-and-2 during the Rams’ opening drive at Baltimore. Nacua added a 23-yard reception on third-and-9 in the second quarter.
Business as usual.
But after Nacua elevated in the end zone to battle Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey for a pass from Matthew Stafford, he landed hard. Nacua rolled onto his right side in pain. He rose to his feet, took a few steps and returned to the ground, rolling over and clutching his lower left leg.
One of the most productive young receivers in NFL history played only six snaps in the second half without catching another pass. His two receptions for 28 yards were both season lows, but he still ranks third behind Odell Beckham Jr. and Justin Jefferson for most receiving yards through the first 34 games of a career, per Pro Football Reference.
So, how is Nacua’s ankle? Coach Sean McVay said he wasn’t sure.
The Rams visit Jacksonville in Week 7 before their bye. They could use Nacua for a Week 10-12 stretch against San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa Bay. New Orleans is on the schedule immediately after the bye.
Nacua’s 34-game receiving yardage pace to start his career exceeds those for any player enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
• Not Fred Warner, too: The 49ers were already playing Sunday without four of their six highest-paid players, so when Warner suffered a season-ending ankle injury that will require surgery, the consequences were devastating. That injury wasn’t necessarily the difference in the 49ers’ 30-19 loss at Tampa Bay, but perhaps only Baltimore can relate to the 49ers in terms of losing the most important players this season.
The only healthy player among the six top-paid 49ers by APY: 37-year-old left tackle Trent Williams. Quarterback Brock Purdy, receiver Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle will return this season. Subtracting Warner and Nick Bosa from the defense until next season is rough.
• Saluting Baker: Baker Mayfield was already my early MVP favorite entering Week 6 for leading Tampa Bay to so many close victories in the absence of multiple offensive linemen and receivers, and without a top defense or running game. His team feeds off his energy.
Part of me does wonder whether the Buccaneers will be able to sustain their fast start. They have made the fifth-largest jump in win rate from last season while experiencing the eighth-largest drop in EPA per game, with most of that regression on special teams.
But with five games remaining against relatively weak NFC South teams and some players returning from injuries later, Mayfield should remain in the MVP chase all season.
• Sinking Dolphins: The Dolphins’ season began with a 33-8 defeat to Indianapolis in Week 1, after which coach Mike McDaniel said the good news was, things could not get much worse. They might have Sunday when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, speaking after a 29-27 defeat to the Chargers, said teammates have been late to or even skipped players-only meetings. It was such a curious comment coming from a team captain and veteran franchise quarterback.
Woof…. 🙈
That’s on you bud https://t.co/mF3PFBnLDr
— Andrew Whitworth (@AndrewWhitworth) October 12, 2025
Retired Pro Bowl tackle Andrew Whitworth was not the only one wondering what Tagovailoa was thinking.
“He says it starts with leadership, and it’s like, ‘Do you mean your head coach? Yourself? Other teammates?’” a veteran coach from another team said. “It always starts with leadership. It is hard to think about a dynamic turnaround without a dynamic leader.”
• Seattle’s push: With Arizona falling to 2-4, San Francisco losing another elite player (Warner) and with Nacua hurting, the Seahawks emerged from Week 6 in strong position after winning at 4-1 Jacksonville. Two veteran offseason additions — Cooper Kupp on offense, DeMarcus Lawrence on defense — seem to be paying off.
Kupp scored his first touchdown of the season while supplementing No. 1 receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the league in receiving yardage. Lawrence’s return from injury helped Seattle’s front collect seven sacks against Trevor Lawrence. The Seahawks face Houston on Monday night before their bye. If they can win that game to reach 5-2, they could be in prime position with multiple key defenders expected to return down the stretch.
• Don’t bury the Chargers yet: Forgive the dirt analogy, but coach Jim Harbaugh made it first after the most incredible play of the season for his team, a 42-yard pass play to set up the winning field goal in the final minute against the Dolphins.
“Yeah, I’m going to remember that play until they throw dirt over the top of me,” a smiling Harbaugh said after the victory. “That’s how great I feel about that.”
justin herbert how ???? pic.twitter.com/j7pD9kV2EO
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 12, 2025
Harbaugh’s play-by-play on the sequence should be a soundtrack for the video above: “Justin Herbert back to throw. Defender wrapped around him. He was able to ‘Mighty Man’ it and shake it off and hit Ladd McConkey. Ladd does his stop, fly by, and starts getting that necessary yardage. And here comes Zion Johnson flying ahead of Ladd. I mean, just the type of effort, the want-to, the great desire to win.”
With the victory, Herbert and the Chargers are 3-0 under Harbaugh when taking over possession with between 2:00 and 30 seconds remaining in regulation while tied or trailing by no more than three points, per TruMedia. The team had a 6-5 record in those games with Herbert in the lineup previously.