Week Six Takeaways

We have ourselves a legitimate contender in the NFC, a dud in the NFC, and an MVP frontrunner in the Emerald City. What did we see as the season rolls along in the NFL season (this excludes the Monday night game between Detroit and Green Bay)?

• The Niners Are A Real Contender: A 20-7 asskicking of the defending NFC champions, the Los Angeles Rams, showed any doubters why the 49ers should be taken seriously. Holding Jared Goff to just a career-low 78 passing yards and getting four fourth-down stops proved that San Francisco's front seven is one of the scariest in the league. The Niners are also allowing the fewest passing yards per game in the NFL right now (150.2 YPG).
  
• Russell Wilson is the MVP Frontrunner: Willing his Seahawks to a 32-28 victory over Cleveland, Russell Wilson has quietly established himself as the leader in the NFL MVP race. His stats may not be at the level of Patrick Mahomes, but Wilson has maintained consistency and has led the Seahawks to comeback victories in the past couple weeks.
  
• The Cowboys... Are Hurting Right Now: A gimme game versus the hapless Jets turned into a nightmare as the Cowboys lost their third straight after starting 3-0. Dallas may have been a victim of better competition appearing in the weeks leading up, but the loss to the Jets is inexcusable. The upcoming slate doesn't look any more promising, either: the Cowboys have games against Philadelphia, New England, and Minnesota coming up. Jason Garrett's seat is hot right now, whether Jerry Jones wants to admit it or not.
  
• The AFC North is Overhyped: The Browns have shown that skill players don't make much noise without proper blocking in front of them, the Steelers are injured, and the Bengals... just stink on ice. Only the Ravens look decent in this division, where there was talks of potentially having three playoff teams emerge from the division. Not so much right now.
  

My Top Five

1. New England Patriots
   
2. San Francisco 49ers
   
3. Green Bay Packers
   
4. New Orleans Saints
   
5. Seattle Seahawks