Balance of Power Was Returned to Normalcy in NFL Week 6

During the first five weeks of the 2021 NFL season, the league was all over the freakin' map.

Just 63 percent of the season's first 80 games were won by the favored team, and the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks found themselves alone in or tied for last place in their divisions.

But on the sixth Sunday of the campaign, there was a return to normalcy throughout the league as good teams and players generally delivered while bad teams and players did not. 

Let's break it down. 

The Baltimore Ravens won an AFC-high six games by three or more scores last season. John Harbaugh's team simply knows how to step on an opponent's throat, and that's exactly what happened as the Ravens stomped the previously red-hot Los Angeles Chargers at home Sunday. 

You could argue that the loss represented a return to normalcy for a Chargers team that has seemed snakebitten for years, but the Bolts' modus operandi is to lose in heartbreaking fashion. This was just demoralizing as they put up just 208 yards in a 34-6 blowout. 

It was Baltimore's first win this season by three-plus scores. And while we're used to seeing Lamar Jackson and Co. put up 30-plus points, it was the first dominant performance this year from a Baltimore D that underwent significant changes in the offseason. 

Now we'll see if they can keep killing it and pull away from the rest of the AFC North, starting with a huge Week 7 matchup with the revitalized Cincinnati Bengals (4-2). 

The Los Angeles Rams posted a negative scoring margin in back-to-back divisional games in Weeks 4 and 5, but they got back to their one-sided ways Sunday with a 38-11 road drubbing of the New York Giants.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed all but six of 28 passes and found the end zone four times, while the Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey-led defense became the first unit this season to truly embarrass Daniel Jones and the Giants offense. 

That also represented a return to normalcy. The notoriously sloppy Jones turned the ball over just twice in his first five games but was intercepted three times and lost a fumble as the G-Men converted just four third downs all day. 

Their injury-ravaged season is probably over for all intents and purposes, while the Rams are very much a Super Bowl contender. Look for them to continue to prove that with easy wins against the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans the next two weeks. Speaking of which...

There's nothing unusual about Detroit and Houston losing, as the two were a combined 1-9 entering Week 6. But the Lions put up impressive fights in their first two home games against the 49ers and Seattle Seahawks before getting completely clobbered by the Bengals in front of their home crowd Sunday, and the Texans had hung with the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots in two of their previous four games before getting hammered by the Indianapolis Colts on the road in Week 6. 

The two lowly franchises were outscored 65-14 in humiliating showings, all but confirming that they'll be in the mix for prime draft picks in the spring. 

With that in mind, do Texans fans really want the competent Tyrod Taylor to take over at quarterback for shaky rookie Davis Mills when Taylor is healthy again. Meanwhile, it's fair to wonder if Jared Goff will last more than a season in that role for the Lions after head coach Dan Campell called out the veteran quarterback following Sunday's dud. 

The Lions are in big trouble as Goff returns to Los Angeles to face his former team in Week 7. You know MVP candidate Matthew Stafford will want to make a statement against his reeling former squad.

In fact, Aaron Rodgers literally told that to Chicago Bears fans as his Green Bay Packers defeated Chicago by a double-digit margin for a third time in a row Sunday. 

It was Rodgers' eighth win in his last nine games against the Bears. He's now 21-5 in his career in matchups with their primary NFC North rival, with one of those losses coming on an occasion in which he was injured after throwing just two passes. 

Rodgers himself has 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last five matchups with Chicago, all of which were Green Bay victories. He and his team consistently blast the Bears. They host them following a bye in Week 14, and by then that division won't likely be up for grabs. They now enjoy a virtual 2.5-game lead in the North courtesy of a five-game winning streak. 

And while they're not truly dominating just yet, they should be expected to easily dispose of the Washington Football Team at home in Week 7 before a huge road trip to Arizona and Kansas City.  

Midway through Sunday's tilt between the Chiefs and Washington, Patrick Mahomes and Co. looked like they were in big trouble. Already behind the eight ball at 2-3, they trailed an inferior team and Mahomes had thrown two more interceptions to bring his season total to eight (already the second-highest single-season pick total of his career). 

And then everything finally changed. Mahomes put on a second-half show in leading the Chiefs on three consecutive touchdown drives, completing all but five of 20 passes in the process as Kansas City ran away from the WFT by a 31-13 margin thanks to a shutout second half. 

It was extremely encouraging to see Mahomes consistently make magic out of structure again, especially on the road against a talented defense after a poor first half. The Chiefs had won 21 of Mahomes' last 22 starts before dropping three of four games between Week 2 and Week 5 this season, but they look back on track now on both sides of the ball. 

A big Week 7 road victory over the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans would establish that Mahomes and the Chiefs are officially back. 

Early this season, it looked like former New York Jets bust Sam Darnold was turning his career around with the Carolina Panthers. The 2018 No. 3 overall pick threw just one interception as the Panthers started 3-0. 

But Darnold has since fallen off a cliff, throwing six interceptions and taking 12 sacks in three consecutive losses. Both he and the Panthers have come back to earth in brutal fashion. And although Carolina nearly salvaged things with a spirited comeback to force overtime Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, they still couldn't overcome a 17-for-41 passing day from Darnold in a 34-28 loss. 

Darnold's leash is likely quite short with his second NFL team, but it's worth pointing out that he and his team fell off this cliff just as they lost star running back Christian McCaffrey. Eventually, they'll get McCaffrey back and the 24-year-old will have one more opportunity to prove he can become a franchise quarterback with the right amount of support. 

But McCaffrey isn't coming to the rescue immediately and Carolina's season is going down the drain rather quickly. They'll have to take care of business the next two weeks against the Giants and Atlanta Falcons.