2026 Week 6 Standalone and Late Games Preview: Cowboys-Packers on SNF, Texans-Jaguars in London, Chargers-Chiefs Rivalry and more!

I'm Greg Rosenthal. It's the late and island game preview. So we got Monday night. We got Sunday night. We got the London game, which is a spicy one. But yes, we're going to start with Cowboys Packers and Cowboys fans don't want to hear about it. Oh, look at everything that we got to sign in the meantime and all the different assets and we could spread it out.

Yeah.

How are those assets doing for the last ranked defense? The fact that Micah Parsons tore his ACL and has been out for a year and unfortunately won't be back for this game has been out this long. And yet I still consider it a total success for the Packers. It was worth it. And they were a great defense when he was healthy and they have at least have a chance to be. That's that's my soapbox that I just decided to stand on to start the show. But here's what we're going to do. Jordan Rodrigue is joining me.

I'm here.

Every show. We're going to talk about each game. This is the Sunday night football game. The Packers are favored by one and a half. And we're going to have one word that can describe something related to this game.

I actually put disappointed because I think this is a fantastic game. I cannot wait to watch it, but I am disappointed that we're not going to see the Michael Parsons revenge game. That's my, that's my main thing here. That's really my, my only negative plot point about this game, which I'm fired up to watch because in training camp, all of the chatter locally. And then, you know, I, I went and visited them in training camp and heard the same, like, that he was, he had this date circled on the calendar and, you know, obviously, especially with the way the Packers played last week, it is so much smarter to not rush him back, uh, to say, okay, we actually think we've got something here. We're, we're cooking

a little bit now and getting the offensive line figured out on the Packers side a little bit, not, not great, but still a little bit better and noticeably better enough to get some of these concepts off that, that, that they wanted to and really push the explosive passing game. The vision is starting to come together for the Packers in exactly what they intended before this position catastrophe injuries all along the offensive line derailed the start to their season.

And that is explosive pass plays, especially with Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, who I really want to talk about.

In a minute, but also.

Barely a run game, but just enough to, you know, get you a north to south touchdown every once in a while. And just enough of the idea of a run game to get your, what they call transportation schemes going, which is all that side to side stuff that they love to do. And the side to side stuff is what actually sets up their play.

Action passing game down the field.

And so all of it going hand in hand, then with Jonathan Gannon scheming pressure, schemed enough of it over the last couple of weeks that the defensive line is starting to play more confidently and more together and They've kind of got a little something to me here. And I know it's one game, one small sample size, but I could see actually all the things they talked about coming to life.

No, they are the most improved team of the last two weeks where it looked like it was falling apart and it feels different now. Now, the Cowboys... should look at that offensive line and look at the resources that they put into their defensive line. The Quinn and Williams contract, the Rashawn Gary contract, the Malakai Lawrence pick, the Donovan Ezeraku pick. And you should look at this matchup and you said should eat. You should absolutely feast. But their defense just isn't doing that against anyone. And so they decide to make a change this week. Or in addition, Mike Pettin said, The former Jets coordinator, the former Browns head coach comes from the Rex Ryan tree, once had Christian Parker on his staff. The reporting in Dallas was

that Christian Parker, their new defensive coordinator, actually wanted to hire Mike Pettin in the offseason. Pettin wasn't too sure about it. And now he's joining, which now that conveniently comes out. It was out a little before to just make it look like they're not, you know, losing faith in Christian Parker. Let's listen to his head coach. How's that dynamic? Petty's here, came in yesterday. How's that dynamic going to work? Is CP still going to have the final say or are they going to work together?

Christian Parker's our defensive coordinator, and everything, all decisions will run through him. We're supporting him. I support him.

I believe.

So strongly in the guy.

I do.

I think the guy's an incredible football coach. We have to coach better. We've got to play better. I think our players will be the first ones to say, You know, there's things that they need to do better. There's things I need to do better. And so no one is sitting here pointing the fingers at Christian Parker.

I think that's the right thing for him to do in this scenario is to be that adamant. When a senior coach is brought in like this, that is the right question to ask Clarence Hill, longtime great Dallas Cowboys reporter and podcaster. And It just, to me, they just have to improve. They're not the worst in the league anymore.

Big deal, right?

But in so many... They actually are, efficiency-wise.

In the simpler stats, the efficiency stats, but in terms of things like, you know, you dig in a little bit more... points per game and, and, uh, you know, defensive EPA per play. We don't need to get into all of this because it is apples.

They're in the mix.

It's just like splitting hairs because they are terrible.

Right.

So it really is splitting hairs. They didn't have Joey Porter jr. Last week after making the big move, you know, they have to structurally get better. It is a hard thing to do when on the backend, you have to make up for.

Deficient personnel. we'll see what it starts to look like with Joey Porter jr. If they start.

And also if they start getting guys back and healthy, they, to me, they weren't that talented in, to begin with in that phase. Um, but that front, like you said, absolutely has to play better than what it has been. And sometimes I wonder if it is, you know, just setting guys up maybe in, in better positions, or maybe, you know, there was a big question a couple of weeks ago about scheme fits and those types of things.

To me, it's like, you know, as a collective and Will McClay in that front office, I don't think you pay the guy if you don't think he's a scheme fit for what you want to do moving forward.

I think that's just silly to think about.

But you need more production out of that entire group, side to side, all along that front.

Yeah, and look, they can... not feel great about how their secondary fits or is playing. They've used incredible resources on all this in this entire defense. Ron Bland is a very highly paid cornerback. Caleb Downs is a first round pick. Malik Hooker is a veteran on a decent contract. Joey Porter, they just traded for. So these are guys that they've invested in that aren't working out. Before we go, I do know you want to hit like how golden...

is playing and how Kristen Watson is playing right now.

Well, it just, it's, it's nice when something really does hit the ceiling or the expectation or the vision that you hope to see out of this tandem. The entire conversation was giving more clarity, having a one and a two, a one and a two tandem. And that is exactly what these guys are doing right now.

They are fit.

Sorry.

They are both top 10 right now in yards and combined. They are the highest productive team. receiving tandem in the NFL right now. They were so good over the last couple of weeks together that the Packers went from 21st, the Packers are overall 21st in offensive EPA per play.

In week five alone, they skyrocketed up to fifth.

This entire plan is built out of the ability to push the ball down the field and create explosive passing plays. Matthew Golden has really started to become the player that they really hoped for when they drafted him in the first round last year. And he's a perfect fit with Christian Watson. Demeanor-wise, they're great together. It's just, it's working right now.

They are dynamic. They have so much speed and just there's so many teams that do not, like have the vertical threat that they possess. And they have two guys doing that right now at a really high level. Good shout out there. Let's go to London. I'm really looking forward to this Texans Jaguars game. The Jaguars are only favored by two and a half. Now it's a neutral site game, despite, you know, the, the location it's going to be Wembley this time, not, Tottenham. They have the one Wembley game every year. It's a different NFL network crew.

It's Bob with shoes in and Louis Riddick for the first time. So we will check out that crew and my one word here. And this was just for me, it was word association with all these games. What popped into my head first? And it was Donnybrook. It's a good old fashioned Donnybrook. And I was like, is that definition going to hold up? It absolutely did. I went and looked it up in an ordinarily wild fight or contentious dispute, a brawl, a free for all. And that's what I think the Texans need to make. This is a Donnybrook because I think they can win a Donnybrook maybe up front, but Last week, I feel like the Eagles dragged the Jaguars down in the mud and should have escaped there with the win. And I think they

helped to expose what's, to me, the number one Jaguars issue, which is the offensive line. So a big test against Houston.

Left tackle Anton Harrison is not going to be playing. He's going to be getting a knee surgery with some interesting reporting around it to have to wait until they're back in the States to get the knee surgery.

And then the.

according to the reports at ESPN and NFL Network, they won't know how significant the repair needs to be until.

They actually get into the knee itself. So that's a little stressful, right?

Because you don't know if you're going to get him back in a couple of weeks or he's going to miss the entire season.

It has been a problem. And with Will Anderson Jr.

Playing like the best defensive end, pass rusher, tone setter, mood booster in the entire NFL right now. It's just going to be a fascinating matchup to watch.

It is.

I really wanted to note this stat that I thought was super interesting. when you say the word Donnie Brooke, because under Liam Cohen, this is prosumer sports under Liam Cohen. The Jags have only fallen below the 25th percentile in offensive EPA per play four times, and two of those were.

Against the Texans.

Wow. And they must have been flirting with it for parts of last week. Certainly their run success rate was as low as it's been all season. And that's where, again, I think the physicality of the offensive line was a little exposed. And so I'm curious to see if Houston can hold down that running game because I'm really stuck on that fourth down line play where Trevor Lawrence threw the ball away and I on fourth and goal he threw the ball into like the crowd and I'm thinking man that was the old Trevor for a minute they kind of scrambled them and he responded with a great drive that ended with the go ahead touchdown like right after that so he's been great this year but that that game was A little bit of the old Trevor,

just because I think they got after him so well without having to send extra rushers. And then the running game wasn't helping him out that much. Now, the Texans will not be whole, most likely, on the back end this week. Jalen Petrie, who is such a skeleton key for them, their slot cornerback slash safety is probably out for this game. So is David Montgomery. Again, these are probabilities, but they were mentioned as week to week, which usually means...

You don't have a chance to play. And so that that's a big advantage, I think, for Trevor Lawrence and this diverse passing attack with Josh Cameron really getting into the mix as like a difference maker, as a receiver, just adding another weapon to their group.

Yeah, it's interesting too when you look at these two defenses because the Jaguars are second in points allowed in terms of limiting points allowed, just 14. Texans are allowing 22.4 points per game. The Jaguars defense is also third in defensive EPA per play while the Texans are 10th. So if you look at the advanced stats and honestly, some of the tape too for large swaths of the season so far, opponents are different. I understand all of that, but the Jaguars defense is has been outperforming the Texans defense right now. And to me, one of the interesting parts of this is the Texans, they have showed that they're going to push the ball down the field, trading for Marvin Harrison Jr., only like further reiterated that, that

they're going to try to do that, but they still can't run the ball. They haven't been able to run the ball. The Jaguars are basically the top rushing defense right now. I just think that this is so ripe for chaos and for a really, really low, low, low scoring game.

It's a tough way to live. I know, I know CJ Stroud has played well considering the circumstances this year, but you're going into each game being like, all right, let's just spread and shred, bro. Let's just spread and shred. Like let's, let's be vertical. Let's have our big ball winners go in and let's, In this matchup, look, Buster Brown's had some issues. I think if there's a weakness, it's probably in the secondary where the Jaguars have had some issues. And so they're going to try to get those one-on-one matchups. Other than Travis Hunter, maybe Jordan Lewis, like they've had some struggles at cornerback for Jacksonville. And so now you've just got another guy in Harrison Jr.

to throw out there.

The interesting thing too, though, is like I've noticed over the last couple of weeks, like Nick Cayley is calling a little bit more dimension to the passing game too. It's not really as much of a feast or famine. CJ Stroud is taking that, those options and what's available. So there are a little, a few more layers, but when he pushes the ball, it's a, it's a Really pretty thing to see. I know you're trying not to laugh because Eric's probably getting really annoyed at this for talking.

Oh, I'm thinking like we're three weeks away from CJ Stroud being on QB Island.

It's just playing like I know he's he's playing great. The thing that's sort of misleading about the Jags, though, with the defense is they are that it does look like a vulnerability.

They are allowing volume in the passing game.

But they're not allowing passing touchdowns and they're not allowing explosive plays. And so I think that's where you really are going to see the testing of is that dimension in this passing game real for the Texans? Can they actually sustain? Can they, like we said with others, be patient? Can he be patient? And I think it'll be tempting to try to get the ball in those tight windows to Marvin Harrison Jr., but this might be one of those where you do have to play a little bit more of that ball control.

Yeah, and.

You can't do it with a run game because you don't really have one.

It's a good call. And look, I think... The middle of the field is where Trevor Lawrence has improved the most. And he loves throwing there now under Liam Cohen. And it's just not going to be the same for the Texans on defense without Jalen Petrie there. I was ready to pick the Texans this week. I feel less confident without Petrie there. Let's go to the Bills and the Raiders.

Another Jordan game. You've got Jim Nance and J.J. Watt calling it. The Bills are heavy favorites in Las Vegas. Five and a half points. What is your one word? Hinge.

Because I think that both of these teams just played a game that might sort of hinge them into what they're going to be here on out, depending on how they do in this game. The Bills getting a very definitive, like tight, but still really exciting win in a big spot over the Rams in primetime, a win they really needed after some struggles the previous couple of weeks. And then the Raiders getting their asses kicked the way that they did after such a promising start. To me, it's like both of those teams have this opportunity to seize this momentum that they've created momentum that they've created and use it as a hinge to carry them forward into what they're going to be for the.

Rest of the season.

So not a date, not the dating site. Not, not the dating site. Um, that's a scary place.

Okay. Yeah. Uh, I was trying to think every once in a while, which, uh, I was like, which, you know, is Fernando Mendoza, is he a young single man in Las Vegas? Who knows? I'm not sure. Not sure about his status. Um, we know Josh Allen's accounted for it. A rare shot. Yeah. They don't usually catch her there.

Haley Steinfeld. Look, the Bills are in a weird spot. Look, they both had to eat some humble pie after playing the 2026 Patriots back-to-back weeks. Oh, my God.

Your face when you say that.

It's just a fact that the two of them both were scrambling after that game. The Bills are a weird team to me because they have so many... things you could pick at, like the passing game. We're now at the point where Josh Allen's passing game has been struggling for longer than it was playing well. Like it had two great weeks. And then we've now had three weeks where he's like been a little scattershot. The defense... statistically has had an extremely tough schedule, which I think is a big part of their bad numbers, but they're towards the bottom of the league. And yet they're four and one because their strengths in terms of like their high level players and especially their running game with Josh Allen

Keene are so strong that it's overwhelming everything else.

Do you know what I was thinking about that meme where it's the guy sitting on the bus and like one side of the bus is like, he's looking at like side of boulders, the other side, he's looking into sunshine and he's happy. And it's like, Josh, the entire operation lives and dies with Josh Allen. And one guy watching it is unhappy. And one guy watching it is happy.

It's the same exact thing that has been happening. It's just that, Oh, this was, this is the new coach. And so now it's fine. And it's happy if he's doing it, but the previous coach doing it for as long as he did, let me be clear, Bill's fans. that's you know that's the huge issue so for me yes getting dj more back at some point is going to be so important to see what this passing game is is actually made of because we saw the potential we saw the promise i have zero issues with this run game i would like james cook to hold on to the ball a little bit more but i i this is my favorite running game in the nfl right right now so far this year i i love what they do with it i love how it's designed i

think it is fantastic it's it's it's created by that incredible offensive line up front. James Cook is the, is such a fun runner to watch. And I think the Raiders defense last week that has played well under Rob Leonard so far, they, uh, really got exposed in terms of when they take bad angles, they really take bad angles and they come in bunches. When they miss tackles, they really miss tackles and they come in bunches. And so for me, I'm curious to see how he, you know, how that, that group sort of tries to stand up to a very overwhelming force on the other side.

Yeah. They are now down to 29th in terms of their overall efficiency, stopping the run, the Raiders defense and, Even the Patriots were breaking off some runs like Corey Kiner and Ramondre Stevenson, who you don't think of as getting explosives. We're getting it against them. And then you flip about how hard it is for their running game.

And Clint Kubiak said Ashton Gentry is actually healthier, that he's feeling better. He's not going anywhere. He's starting.

And....

I don't know. He, if he's playing through an injury, it's not helping the Las Vegas Raiders, but ultimately like, I don't know if it's not that he fits, but they just haven't been able to get anything going on the ground. And part of it is the team build because they don't have wide receivers that scare you. And other than Bowers in terms of taking away one-on-one matchups, they face the most eight man boxes in the league.

And it's not like you're afraid of the Raiders running game. It's just because we don't really worry about your receivers.

Yeah.

I don't really buy that from Kubiak on Jante. You know, he's kind of had us a couple of times Kubiak has since the.

Start of the season.

And, and I'm not, so I'm not saying that as a, as a criticism, every single coach in the league does it, including his old boss, Kyle Shanahan. So I think that's like directly where he gets it from. I, I just, I really don't, he looks like he's.

Playing hurt to me.

And to the point where, you know, you see the whispers come out from various, whatever, where they're even thinking about, okay, do we spell him for a little bit? And for me, I think that there's no harm in that. You have another really good number two running back in Mike Washington.

They've gone the other way. They're giving him less time lately.

Which I guess I don't... fully understand unless he's backslid or maybe he's dealing. Anyway, my tiny table take this is actually that I just have this hunch and it's not based on anything. It's just that feeling that you get sometimes when a coach does say things like that. So publicly, which is the other guy is going to get more playing time. I think he's going to score two touchdowns. That is my tiny table.

Mike Washington. Well, yeah. Okay. So he said something. And he's going to do not the opposite, but he's almost covering it up.

Covering for a player who I personally, when I watch him play, I don't think he is healthy.

Now, I'm not there. I'm not in the building, whatever.

But when I watch him play, it looks difficult enough or painful enough at times where I don't think he is fully healthy.

I heard that last year about Genti too, and yet all the Genti bros and fans will point out like he's been among the league leaders in forcing missed tackles both seasons. I just don't think he's that explosive. I don't think he's a guy, at least in their team build, that. Is a top 10 looking running back. That is that much of a difference maker. And he might, he might prove me wrong, but right now he's just kind of there.

You're right. And it's not happening for him. Like he makes people miss in a small area, but then it's just like one or two extra yards. And, uh, it's definitely the blocking too, that is not making it happen. They're losing upfront. And I, my tiny table take last week was about, you know, the bills defense and, kind of waking up the Rams offense. By the way, we both got our tiny table takes last week.

I got the ball ran on him though, which is why it would buy two different running backs, which is why I made this tiny table take prediction is, is I do think that even if it's the other running.

Back, this feels personal going against the bills, back-to-back weeks with tiny table takes against Eric. I mean me last week.

And then I was going to say, I certainly did.

It feels like, I think that this Raiders defense with Darian Porter and Hezekiah masses, who got a lot of deserved love for picking off some, some passes in this first month as a rookie, I think they're going to wake up this bills passing attack. I see, I see like a 40 burger and Josh Allen is back to being like, let me be clear. Stop making those stats where it's just like rushing passing. I'm breaking different records.

Let's get a 300 yard passing game back into the mix.

Let me be totally clear too. I do think the bills are going to handily win this game. I'm just saying for a little juice in the tiny table take.

Yeah, I like that.

I saw what, as much as I like the Bills right now, I did see the vulnerabilities that they have. And it is the two back system.

Five and a half points is a lot of points. And the Raiders generally in the NFL, a good way to do these things. When you hit a low, you usually play better than the next week.

Hinge.

Yeah. What goes down does not stay down. Let's take a break. Do you think it hinges at all? I think it does hinge. I think this is a hinge game. This would be a bad loss for the Bills. And if the Raiders lose, yeah, that 3-0 start will seem like a distant memory.

I like how your words are like really good words and mine are very basic.

I mean, you're the writer. You would think.

I'm taking an L on this one.

I was an English minor at Tulane University. Back in a minute. Back on NFL Daily with our week six late and island game preview here. Last three games of the week we're going to be previewing. You know, maybe I oversold it to start the first preview show, but it's a creditable week of games. I am more excited about this Commanders 49ers game on Monday Night Football than the seven and a half point spread would indicate because I think it's a very pivotal game. That's not my word, but it could have been a moment here for the Dan Quinn commanders who I think are better than all the analytics say this year to my eyes. Like there's something here. The word is fester. And that's why it's a big word. Ooh, because this is the type of

loss that they just experienced. And it was a, it was a tie, but Dan Quinn keeps calling it a loss. I noticed that, that Dan, That can ruin a season. The definition of fester is to putrefy or rot. Or to rankle as a feeling of resentment. Like deteriorate. And there's a clip of Sam Cosme, who's one of their best players, veteran, been there forever, screaming and yelling and so upset walking off the field of like, what just happened?

And I have heard former players talk about, some that have been with that organization say something This is something that could be a problem in the locker room if they don't nip it in the bud. And Dan Quinn has great people skills. But the most important thing you can do to nip that thing in the bud is go beat one of the last unbeaten teams on the road.

And I actually think the way Jaden Daniels played in that Giants game in a tough situation in the rain gave me hope that he could do it. That was the rookie Jaden Daniels. it's been interrupted by injury, but we've seen that Daniels this season. And I think it's gotten distracted by the injuries and everything else that's happened with that team.

It is also Jaden Daniels responsibility to not let this fester.

Well, that too, like it's on him. And that, that is absolutely true.

And the highs are so high with him, especially when he is creating and, and he looks smooth and fluid and explosive and, and throwing the ball or running. And, and it's, It can be so fun. And then you have this moment like this at the end of this game last week, and you realize just how low the lows are for this entire team. And I think that is startling in a way, because I think we wanted to believe in the commander's progress and especially getting him healthy and back this year. And we like Dan Quinn as like a human. A lot of people around the league do. And we want to see these new coordinators be successful. We like some of the stuff that they're throwing out there. you know, I, I really don't want

to see like a double, like double flea flicker again with a backup quarterback.

Okay.

But like, I, I just think that there's so much on paper, like you should be moving in this direction. It's such a perfect word. I, it grosses me out. So I don't want to say it again, but it's such a perfect word.

Why is Fester a gross word? Fester is not a gross word.

It's just, it makes, it just makes me think of like wounds.

It's an, it's a great onomatopoeia. Speaking of great words. I mean, fester.

Onomatopoeias do have, I have.

Does that even make sense? Like it does, it does sound, maybe it's not an onomatopoeia, so I did a bad job using it, but it is a word that sounds like it means to me. Like it just, fester is what, is what you do. Okay. They're festering. Fine. Great.

We've established that. Moving on from that word.

Well, now I'm going to use it every show.

No, but I just think it's such an apt way of what the danger is, to describe what the danger is here.

And this is a dangerous spot. You know, you go to San Francisco against a team that would never happen to. Look, it would never happen to... maybe just about every team because it's never happened. So that's, it's a tough look.

I can't believe it happened.

I can't either. So Jaden Daniels was electric last week, accurate and ripped off two long touchdown runs. That's all great. He was also two for eight for 23 yards on straight drop back. So it's really a schemed up like play action offense using his scrambling and They blitzed him. The Giants did late in that game. They did not early.

And when they did, the offense went in a shell. It was not just the defense. I think getting too conservative. And this is where I think you see a little bit of inexperience from the coordinators calling the games and how to manage the games because both coordinators sort of turtled up at the wrong time. They should have won that game before it ever got to that point in regulation.

And yet when I look at this 49ers team, as good as they are on offense, defensively, I do think the commanders could make some hay and make this game fun. Yes.

And also Raheem Morris.

The commander's offense against the 49ers defense, to be specific.

Yes.

And Raheem Morris, you know, and on the other sideline, his old friend and mentor, Dan Quinn, by the way, also. But this, this to me, I, I actually, I agree with you that there is potential there, but I just think that Raheem Morris is getting so much out of this young defense. You know, we mentioned it on the, on the recap show this, this last week, guys who are young, younger, certainly than their veteran core that is established there led by Fred Warner. They're showing up and they're making these plays with this play energy that is striking.

And I think that when an offense has lost some of its confidence, as you're hoping you don't see from the commanders, but would be really understandable after a situation like this, when you are facing an opponent that is coming out there to hit you in the face, the way that the 49ers, they don't always land the punch perfectly, but they swing really hard, that young group of defenders do, and those defensive backs too.

And so I think that.

Raheem Morris, whose history is really in the secondary and mixing up all these different types of things in the secondary, I think he can use them similarly to how we saw the Giants start to which was try to confuse the heck out of the quarterback and frazzle this offense. And that's where I do think that the 49ers maybe do have on defense, maybe the advantage if they can get them off their spots early.

Good call there. Terry McLaurin and the commander's wide receivers have a tough matchup against a really underrated secondary. Terry McLaurin kind of made his name on a Monday night football game that really made the namesake of this studio, our friend Chris Wessling, fall in love with him. And I thought he had good moments last week. And I really did think they made some positive progress with Jane Daniels back. And yet for the season, next gen stats points out he is having the worst yards per target of his career, worst yards per target. I believe of any receiver in the entire NFL this year, it has not been efficient. And then you look at Mike Evans on the other side, who has the most yards per

route run of his entire career. He is more efficient than ever, despite playing with these injuries. And yeah, it's a, it's going to be a mismatch for him against these commander's Defenders, that number is a big one, seven and a half in terms of how San Francisco is favored. I think they are really a team to me that goes as the running game goes. And I'm talking about the design success rate running game. They are much better this season overall than they were a season ago. And it's just what I'm keying on is like, is McCaffrey getting five, six yards per carry? Because in those games, I feel like they're unstoppable. They're just not going to lose. Yeah.

And it'll be really fun, in my opinion, to see Kyle Shanahan- loves doing this thing where he really wants to try to test, especially your young or maybe, you know, non high caliber linebackers and, and Sonny styles is young, but he is a high caliber linebacker.

And so I'm so excited to.

See how he moves with those motions that, you know, the 49ers are going to throw at them, how he sort of responds or reorganizes the field at that point. That is the one, the biggest part of this game that I'm excited for, whether or not the 49ers are ripping off five, you know, seven yards of carry, like they were in week one, when that run game was really humming the way that it was, that remains to be seen, but he will circle that inside spot. He will try to target the perimeter with those receivers and he'll try to create that space and widen that space open in the middle, give the linebackers more to do and try to move them off their spots and change their gaps before he even hits the line of scrimmage.

So I could be wish casting, but I think we'll have a good Monday night football game here. I hope so. We'll see. Uh, Eric's saying I'm getting soft in my dotage, not picking on these teams. But with the commanders, I do see the vision, the defensive line playing a little better.

You said fester.

The Chargers are a team that we've hammered so much that I'm almost sick of it at this point. This is not that relevant a team. And yet they are because of the players that they have and the division that they're in. They are going to Kansas City where the Chiefs are seven and a half point favorites. This is a Kevin Harlan, Trent Green game. Big return for Trent Green to Kansas City. Get excited for that. What is your one word?

Desperation okay um and obviously that as it pertains to the chargers and own five team at the bottom of the league and basically every offensive metric now faces a team that has looked so much better earlier in the season than we expected even those of us who did expect them to be good this year and they look.

Better i had them winning the division one of the only things i predicted well this year so far we'll see what happens.

There you go had we have to make sure to document that Um, and better than I think a lot of people, uh, both of us included earlier on defense, especially, and we talked a lot about their front. I really also like, um, how no Williams and Mansour Delane are playing. No Williams is really exciting player, especially by the end of, of last season, one of their corners, Mansour Delane. Compliments him very, very well. In my opinion, they've got that entire front to back, back to front. However, they want to attack an offense that week. They've really got it humming in, in my opinion, much better than I think we thought it would be earlier because it was a partial rebuild on that side of the ball. So for me,

this is sort of even bigger of a danger zone than maybe at this time of the year we thought it was going to be for the Chargers. We thought the Chargers would be the ones humming on offense right now. And instead, it just has this potential to be a totally overwhelming game for that offense.

The one... saving grace for them could be the fact that it's a division game. I was wondering if that would equal things out a week ago against the Broncos. And it did. They really played them even when I went back to watch that game. It was just a struggle fest for both offenses. And the Chargers have enough talent on defense to win these games. These have been a good, I think it's been a good rivalry in the Harbaugh era and generally the Herbert Mahomes era. And they did sweep the Chiefs last year. It was obviously a down year for the Chiefs. and a relatively up one for the Chargers, which started with that week one.

So I do think the familiarity maybe helps them out just a little bit, at least on the defensive side with the Chargers matching up with the Chiefs offense and just trying to keep the game close.

A desperation team is incredibly dangerous.

We know that.

We've seen that time and time again. factoring in the division normally I think would, would be a point, you know, a good point to make, but in that Bronco, the Broncos are just playing to type in that game. Broncos offense is not good this year.

That was the worst they looked, though. They did not top 300 yards. I just think the Chargers were killing them because they are the worst offense in the league, and they're incredibly disappointing. But if you look at the last three weeks, it's not a team that's given up. They really outplayed the Bills, lost that game because they're dumb.

They battled back at the end to get a chance in Seattle, and it's a coin flip game with the Broncos. So these are three decent teams that they're showing up for it, and then they find a way to blow it.

But what I was going to say is that the Chiefs offense is so potentially overwhelmingly good. Now, they're going to probably be without Rasheed Rice, whose hamstring is an issue.

I think he's not practicing still to start the week.

And, you know, but this off of a bye week, a healthy Kenneth Walker, you know, the Chargers defense, some of the games you mentioned, is part of the reason they've been in these games when they forced the turnovers or they've made mistakes teams create mistakes or whatever. The Chargers defense has been not good, but okay. Not, not the main problem here.

Right.

They've been fine, but not amazing. Yeah.

And so for me though, the, the, the evenness of all of this would typically make sense, I think, but this is such an atypical year for the Chargers and it's a Chiefs plus, plus, plus year on their offense, which is why I just, I don't know that it's that much knowing each other is not that much.

Of a factor. Well, especially if, if, Joe Alt is not back, which it doesn't sound like he's going to be back. And Rashawn Slater is on injured reserve. And we don't know who's going to play wide receiver. McConkie was active last week, but never played. He could be back. Quinton Johnston has been out. Derwin James was out last week.

It's just it's just for everyone. Rasheed Rice is not going to play this week, according to Andy Reid. It could be one or two more weeks. But Josh Simmons, their left tackle, is practicing for the first time in a long time. So that is something to watch. Will they even start a healthy Josh Simmons? I think they would.

because of his ceiling. But Khalil Benson has done a nice job for that offensive line. And great shout on Kenneth Walker with the week of rest. I mean, look at what he was doing with 30 touches a week. Now you give him a week off, like big plays are waiting to happen. I know.

Think about that.

I am thinking about that. I can't wait. You know what else I'm thinking about? The Rams Cardinals NFC West game wrapping up here. It's Kenny Albert. It's Greg Olson and Pam Oliver. The Rams are 12.5 point favorites here. And did I forget to have a word for this game?

It is your word.

It's right. I was thinking about this one and was trying to find the perfect word for the Rams not resting on their laurels, which you wouldn't think that they would do. Do you have a word for me? I. I think off putting you on this.

I think just off. I think everything with them is felt off.

I think that they've been, you know, incongruous, whether their defense shows up one week or their pass rush shows up one week, or they're playing a certain way or they're. They have this energy or their offense, you know, it's, it's sort of start stop. And then when it looks good, it's the top of the league. And right now it is actually top five in the league and significant categories, but the vibes have also felt off.

You know what, Greg, you flagged.

This in the off season where you were like, all of this seems great, but.

Doesn't doesn't it feel a little off?

Doesn't it?

Don't the vibes feel a little bit a little bit iffy, especially when Pukunukua was going through the crux of his of his off the field issues when Alaric Jackson was, you know, dealing with the first wave of the problems that that are self-inflicted that he has. Like it's to me, I just think off because it's showing up on the field, too.

Our like expectations are so tough in life, in sports, especially they make such a difference of how much fun you're having. I was hemming and hawing and not throwing out one word. Cause I knew I had one specific word that I would get to and I forgot it, but it was speed bump. And that was, that was what the Cardinals are in the NFC West. Damn. Um, since the Rams, it's just like, stop being a speed bump.

Just try.

Yeah.

Since the Rams won that playoff game against the Cardinals in the Kyler Murray makes the playoffs, you know, barely at the end of that season, I went and checked three, of their four seasons. They've only won four games or less in those three seasons. Plus this one, they are one in 19 in the division. They have lost eight straight.

They're just like a free victory. And Mike LaFleur has shown something. I always want to like, have a coach show me something. What do you do here? Do you bring any advantage to the table? They're 13th right now in offensive efficiency. I know it hasn't looked like that. They've been okay, but they've been a little better than you would expect. So he's an offensive coach. He's shown me something. Give me a moment, like at least make the Rams sweat this game out, put it to the fourth quarter. Cause this is a Rams team. We're Sometimes you just have one of those teams where bad things just start happening to you in big moments. And so make them sweat it out. It's a 12 and a half point spread, but I think that's what the, that

Mike Lafleur and the Cardinals fans are looking for here. Just have a couple moments in this season winning. And so far, I would obviously be that moment. Uh, yeah.

I mean, I don't, I wouldn't even go so far as to say that's going to even come close to happening, but I think it could, but the reason it could, and the reason we're thinking about it as a possibility, even here is because when this passing game for the Cardinals is on still no run game to speak of, by the way, um, despite using, you know, a top five pick on Jeremiah love in the first round of this year's draft, like The fact that this passing game is so, can be so effective and explosive and deadly when it is on, when things are clicking, when Jacoby Percet is either protected or moving inside the pocket, you know, a little bit better than he has been. And he's done this sort of statuesque thing, especially recently. I do

think that it can be dangerous against a defense, Greg, when I watched them in the first half against the Bills, and I'm watching Ty Johnson catch the catch and run up the sideline, and I'm watching some of these contain breaks by James Cook, I'm only seeing one player in the tackling area. I'm not seeing that play energy from this defense. I think this defense has such a high ceiling, certainly will help when Myles Garrett gets back, when Aaron Donald is fully feeling back to being a football player, which is just going to take some time, it seems like.

If at all.

And like, Saw it a little bit better, like the get-off was great, that pass rush that didn't count was great.

I thought he was significantly improved. He kind of looked like just the guy the first couple games, and I thought in this game he looked like a plus player, not Aaron Donald, but a plus player.

I'm just searching for that. You know, we talked about how those 49ers young players fly to the ball under Raheem Morris the way that they do. Like, I'm still looking for that with these veteran, very, very talented players. And I think that when you have a team like this, I am, if something adverse happens during a game, we saw them, you know, have a comeback win a couple of weeks ago, like, but when something adverse happens to them during a game or just in general, it just doesn't seem like they're, they're handling it well. And like, I'll say one last thing.

About the Rams.

Cause I've gotten a lot of messages and people wondering, you know, what my opinion is. I covered them for, for five years. And for me in life and in an organization and in a team culture, like you are who you actually choose to be. And right now the Rams have looked like bad losers. They've looked like bad winners.

They've looked undisciplined. This Alrick Jackson stuff being the latest in all of that. Um, they look like they lack identity, but for a few key moments where if you build the whole plane out of Blake Corum, Kyron Williams, and Matthew.

Stafford, like that works like.

That it's a problem to me that starts with the head coach and some of the unforced errors he's had, not just.

On the field, but at the podium as well.

Um, he's contributed to these issues at times in my opinion, I think they need to clean their house up and figure out who they actually are.

And it starts there right now.

To me, it feels like it's a lot of talking out of both sides of their mouth of like, this is who we think we can be and who we want to be. But down to down, quarter to quarter, half to half, action to action, on the field and off, they are not living.

Up to it. Yeah, they're frustrated. They are a team that thinks they're better than they have shown, and they just keep not showing it. It's tough. That was a 99th percentile performance in terms of EPA per play by the offense, according to Shiel Kapadia. It was actually... in his research, the first time a team with that high level of a performance on offense lost the game. It has been a tough few weeks for Sean McVay. That should have been my, that should have been my word of the day. That was actually Sean McVay making fun of me in camp. Knowing the Rams, they'll probably, you know, put up a 40-burger in this game and treat the Cardinals like the speed bump that they have been for so long. But we'll see. This is my game, 4-0-5.

So I'll be watching it closely. 4-0-5 on the East Coast. 1-0-5 here on the Best Coast. That's it for... The preview of the late games, the Island games, Jordan Rodriguez killed it again. We will be in your feed next on Thursday.

Festering in the feed.

No, this is so much better than that. It's power players with Jordan Rodriguez and Peter King. One of the goats in terms of football writing in this country, a lot of great stories there. So we are looking forward to that. Check that out on Thursday, then Thursday night football, myself and Nick Chuck live on YouTube.

Landed the plane.

2026 Week 6 Standalone and Late Games Preview: Cowboys-Packers on SNF, Texans-Jaguars in London, Chargers-Chiefs Rivalry and more!

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