NFL Week 6 winners and losers: Bills, Chiefs are top AFC contenders; Bucs struggle in red zone

With one game left to play, Week 6 in the NFL saw several massive upsets take place that may be indicative of a shifting balance of power, particularly in the NFC.

The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Atlanta Falcons. The New York Jets topped the Green Bay Packers at home. And the banged-up Pittsburgh Steelers took down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That has left room for upstart teams like the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants to make moves up the NFC standings.

In the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens blew another lead, but two teams have separated themselves as the top contenders in the conference: the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. But even though Josh Allen and the Bills took the hyped matchup between the two, these look like two teams destined for a rematch in January.

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Here are the winners and losers from Sunday's Week 6 slate.

WINNERS

The odds of a Bills-Chiefs rematch

These are the best teams in the AFC and, typically when that's the case, they find ways to stay alive deep into the postseason. Obviously, a lot will depend on health, but the Bills (5-1) and Chiefs (4-2) are uniquely built to match up well against each other. That starts at quarterback.

Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are tied for the NFL lead with 17 touchdown passes, four more than Lamar Jackson of the Ravens, the next closest player. Though they combined for 44 points in Buffalo's victory, these are the top two scoring offenses in the NFL and seemingly capable of explosive plays on demand. The coaching staffs are among the most creative. And while Buffalo gained a significant boost in its quest for homefield advantage, the Chiefs have plenty of playoff experience to navigate late-season pressure. Both of these teams are built to make postseason runs. Let's hope we get another round.

Brian Daboll, runaway coach of the year

The Giants, by just about every metric, are far and away a better team this year. New York (5-1) stunned the Ravens and the work coach Brian Daboll has done with quarterback Daniel Jones is not getting nearly enough attention.

Though his overall stats are rather pedestrian, Jones has played well and efficient in high-pressure situations; with Baltimore holding a 10-point lead early in the fourth, Jones (19-of-27 for 173 yards with two touchdowns) completed all five passing attempts for 57 yards to help set up a key touchdown. New York (5-1) has started slow at times this season, but it's finishing games. And while the roster still has holes, that competitiveness until the end bodes well for continued improvement; the Giants have outscored opponents in second halves this season 87-49, including a margin of 48-22 in fourth quarters.

The case for the Patriots to ease Mac Jones back

Two and a half games is not enough of a sample size to supplant a starting quarterback, but Patriots rookie Bailey Zappe is building a case for New England (3-3) to at least consider easing starter Mac Jones (ankle) back from injury. In the victory against the Browns, Zappe completed 24-of-34 passing for 309 yards with a pair of scores.

A couple of caveats: New England's two most recent opponents, the Lions and the Browns, are hardly tough barometers to measure a quarterback's potential. And while the Patriots offense has been more explosive — New England is averaging 33.5 points over its last two games, compared to 16.7 during Jones' starts — that's the expected progression of a unit that has a new offensive coordinator. Zappe, though, has been slightly more calculated with the football than Jones, who's responsible for six turnovers in three starts compared to Zappe's three in two starts.

LOSERS

Buccaneers can't score touchdowns in the red zone

The Buccaneers — simply put — win their game against the Steelers if they don't settle for field goals inside the red zone. Tampa Bay, however, converted just 1-of-4 trips and failed to punch in touchdowns on either of its two goal-to-go attempts. That it came against a defense missing three starting defensive backs, including two-time All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, is even more of an indictment.

In their first three red zone possessions, once they crossed the 20, the Bucs (3-3) ran 16 plays that combined for just 15 yards. Of those, Tampa had three negative plays, including one sack. It also committed two penalties. Tom Brady combined to go 2-of-8 for 20 yards on passes attempted in the red zone. The Buccaneers got as close as the four-yard line (twice) and the one in those drives. Instead, Tampa Bay converted three field goals of 30, 27 and 24 yards.

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Time to P-A-N-I-C

The Packers offense might just be broken and, unsurprisingly, wide receiver is the culprit. Though the team's brass has deemphasized the position, it's merely one area of concern; in Green Bay's (3-3) stunning loss at home against the Jets, the banged up offensive line yielded eight hits to reigning two-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, four of which were sacks.

Aside from Allen Lazard, Green Bay's receivers haven't separated from defenders this season. Lazard had receptions of 35 and 25 yards against the Jets, the latter of which went for a touchdown in the third quarter. The next longest Packers completion went for 16 yards. Running back Aaron Jones ran the ball nine times for 19 yards. Effort on special teams was lacking, as the Jets blocked a field goal and a punt that was returned for a score. The defense, which entered Sunday tied for 26th with only four takeaways, again failed to force a turnover.

The end of the absurd Cooper Rush argument

Credit Jerry Jones for stirring drama and keeping the Cowboys on the minds of NFL media and fans when he suggested several weeks ago that backup Cooper Rush could draw consideration as a long-term starter. Now, as Dak Prescott (thumb) nears a return from an injury sustained in the season opener, we can put an end to a debate that was somehow taken way too seriously.

In the loss against the Eagles, Rush (18-of-38 for 181 yards with one touchdown versus three interceptions) showed he's a very solid backup whose limitations expose him against top-level competition and — more importantly — leave Dallas (4-2) compromised when needing its offense to keep pace in a shootout. Rush wasn't the exclusive reason (or maybe even a predominant one) why the Cowboys ripped off four straight in Prescott's absence; it was Dallas' defense.  If the Cowboys make the postseason this year, Rush will be a key reason why. This team is exponentially better with Prescott under center.

Baltimore on the brink

At this point, Baltimore has no one but itself to blame. The Ravens (3-3) blew their third double-digit lead of the season and are on the brink of a season that could spiral if they don't fix familiar issues: questionable play calls that often go away from the team's strength, penalties, drops and lapses of concentration, untimely turnovers and the lack of a supporting cast.

Against the Giants, the Ravens committed 10 penalties. They converted just 1-of-3 trips inside the red zone. Baltimore's issues have started to impact quarterback Lamar Jackson. At times this season, when no other Ravens have stepped up, Jackson has felt the need to press and do too much. He committed a pair of turnovers on the team's final two offensive possessions, including an interception forced into double coverage that gave New York a short field and led to the game-winning score.

The 49ers as legitimate NFC contenders

If there's one stat that shows just how mercurial the 49ers can be, look at their win-loss splits. After their shocking loss to the Falcons, San Francisco (3-3) has averaged 11.3 points per game in losses; in victories, that number swells to 29.3. The Niners have converted 12-of-35 (34.3%) third-down attempts in their losses; in their victories, they moved the chains 18-of-39 (46.2%) times. In three losses, the Niners' turnover differential is minus-7; in victories it's plus-5.

Atlanta gashed the 49ers for 168 rushing yards and San Francisco had no answer for Marcus Mariota running the read option. The offense faced injuries early in the season. Now it's the defense that has had several starters missing, with Nick Bosa being the most prominent. San Francisco has elite speed and playmaking ability on offense, though quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, like the rest of the squad. is susceptible to stretches of inconsistency.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL Week 6 winners, losers: Bills, Chiefs are class of AFC