Week 6 Sunday produced a statement win for Houston in London, a decisive return for Caleb Williams in Chicago and another late-game escape by the AFC North-leading Browns. Tennessee also claimed Robert Saleh’s first victory as head coach, while New England reached 4-2 behind another three-touchdown performance from Drake Maye.
Texans edge Jaguars as AFC South race tightens
The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-31 at Wembley Stadium on Ka’imi Fairbairn’s field goal as time expired, handing Jacksonville its first game this season allowing more than 20 points.
- C.J. Stroud completed 24 of 34 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, continuing a sharp stretch reminiscent of his 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign.
- Newly acquired receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. made his Houston debut after last week’s trade and caught three passes for 34 yards, with each reception producing a first down.
- Jaylin Noel broke out with four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, including a 50-yard deep completion from Stroud under pressure. Nico Collins also delivered key plays, while tight end Foster Moreau caught two first-half touchdown passes.
- Houston used a heavier front frequently, lining up with at least six offensive linemen on 35.6% of offensive snaps, the highest single-game rate in the league this season. The Texans rushed for 114 yards, with Woody Marks posting 56 and Jawhar Jordan adding 43.
- Jacksonville had not allowed an individual 40-yard rusher in its first five games, but Houston’s backfield combination ended that streak.
- Stroud threw his first interception of the season when Travis Hunter picked him off in the end zone. The takeaway helped set up a Jacksonville comeback after Hunter had caught a fourth-quarter touchdown from Trevor Lawrence on a route out of the backfield.
- Hunter became the third player over the past 40 years to record both a receiving touchdown and an interception in the same game. He finished the day after contributing at both receiver and defensive back.
- Houston responded to the interception by leaning on its ground game before Fairbairn hit the winning kick at the horn.
Jacksonville’s missed opportunities proved costly. The Jaguars failed on a fourth-and-3 rather than attempting a long field goal, then saw Lawrence throw an interception in the red zone. A Brenton Strange holding call erased a Bhayshul Tuten touchdown, and a defensive pass interference penalty against Hunter helped Houston score before halftime.
The Jaguars were flagged only six times for 66 yards after taking 26 penalties across their previous two games, but a too-many-men violation on a Texans punt extended a Houston possession that ended with Noel’s touchdown. Cam Little’s 60-yard field goal helped Jacksonville remain in contention, but the division picture changed dramatically with the defeat. Houston scored 34 points against a Jacksonville defense that had entered Week 6 having kept every opponent at 20 points or fewer. Since Week 10 of 2025, the Jaguars have surrendered 35.0 points per game to Houston and 14.3 against all other opponents.
Williams returns as Bears control Falcons
Caleb Williams returned from his hamstring injury to guide the Chicago Bears to a 31-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Chicago opened with a 154-3 advantage in total yardage during the first quarter and built a 14-0 lead.
Williams was 30-for-36 for 305 yards and a touchdown. His 83% completion rate was the best by a Bears quarterback with at least 30 attempts in franchise history. From a clean pocket, he was flawless, completing all 24 of his throws for 248 yards; no quarterback has had more clean-pocket attempts without an incompletion in a game since at least 2018.
The quarterback ran four times for three yards but consistently escaped pressure and extended plays. It was his fifth career game with at least 300 passing yards and no interceptions, moving him past Brian Hoyer for the most such outings by a Chicago quarterback.
- Luther Burden III recorded eight receptions for 95 yards.
- Colston Loveland caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
- Chicago went 4-for-5 in the red zone and held the ball for 40:08, compared with Atlanta’s 19:52.
- The Bears committed 12 penalties for 133 yards.
- Nickelback Kyler Gordon returned from a calf injury and produced three sacks in his first game since Nov. 28 of last year.
Atlanta trailed 31-7 before a late rally. Rookie Zachariah Branch muffed a punt late in the second quarter when the Falcons had a chance to tie the game, then lost a kickoff return fumble in the second half. Atlanta also failed on a fourth-down attempt after gaining field position through a roughing-the-kicker penalty.
Michael Penix Jr. lost a fumble with three minutes remaining after the Falcons had trimmed the deficit to eight. He took five sacks, his season high. Bijan Robinson managed 61 rushing yards on nine carries and had two catches for minus-8 yards.
The Bears improved to 4-2 entering Week 7, having won three of their last four games. Atlanta has lost two straight home contests and will host the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers next week.
Browns rally past Ravens in defensive AFC North battle
Cleveland defeated Baltimore 13-10 behind two fourth-quarter scoring drives from Deshaun Watson. The Browns moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC North through six weeks, holding tiebreakers over both the Ravens and Steelers.
Baltimore jumped ahead 10-0 after opening with inventive offensive design, including a Josh Cuevas touchdown catch on fourth-and-goal. But Cleveland’s defense kept the Ravens from pulling away, allowing 235 total yards and limiting Baltimore to 6-for-16 on third down.
- Baltimore had a chance to protect its fourth-quarter lead, but Derrick Henry fumbled on a handoff forced by linebacker Carson Schwesinger.
- The turnover gave Cleveland favorable field position and led to the tying touchdown.
- Watson then led the Browns into field-goal range late in the game, with Jerry Jeudy gaining 33 yards on a critical over-the-middle completion.
- Cleveland converted the chance into the deciding points.
Schwesinger finished with 13 tackles and nine defensive stops, both twice the total of the next Browns defender. His four run tackles all counted as successful defensive plays, producing minus-6.6 expected points added across those stops.
Watson now has four game-winning drives this season, tied with Bo Nix for the league lead. It is the most in one season by a Browns quarterback since Baker Mayfield’s rookie year in 2018. Watson had recorded only one game-winning drive in his Cleveland career before 2026.
Jeudy led the Browns with 69 receiving yards, an important contribution for an offense that has increasingly featured rookie receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston along with tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
Saleh earns first Titans win as defense turns game against Colts
The Tennessee Titans beat the Indianapolis Colts 26-20 for Robert Saleh’s first win as head coach, ending a six-game losing streak against Indianapolis and an 11-game skid within the AFC South.
Tennessee gained only 186 yards and was outgained by 213, its largest negative yardage margin in a victory since a Week 15 win over Jacksonville in 2006. Yet the Titans forced timely turnovers, created short fields and made enough defensive stops to overturn a 13-0 halftime deficit.
- Amani Hooker stopped Indianapolis’ opening 77-yard drive by intercepting Daniel Jones in the red zone. He later finished with a game-high 13 tackles.
- Jeffery Simmons forced a Jonathan Taylor fumble on the first offensive snap of the second half, setting up a short 22-yard Titans drive for a field goal.
- Tennessee blocked a punt for a touchdown and got a 58-yard Chimere Dike punt return to create more short-field chances.
- Jermaine Johnson II’s second sack forced Indianapolis into a fourth-and-17 attempt with just over a minute left, and the Colts failed to convert.
- The Titans defense made one final stand after Tennessee could not run out the clock.
Simmons had two sacks and seven pressures, tying Johnson for the team lead in pressures. He faced double-teams on 24 pass-rush snaps, producing four pressures and both sacks against those blocks, the most pressures by any defender against double-teams this season.
Cam Ward completed 11 of 22 passes for 102 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Rookie receiver Carnell Tate supplied nearly all of the productive passing output, catching six balls for 70 yards and the first touchdown of his career. Ward had a 147.9 passer rating when targeting Tate, while every other Titans receiver combined for 32 yards on five catches.
For Indianapolis, Jones completed 52.4% of his passes with one touchdown, two interceptions and a 60.5 passer rating. He now has four touchdown passes and six interceptions on the season after returning from last year’s Achilles injury.
Patriots overcome injuries to beat Jets
The New England Patriots handled the New York Jets 26-19 despite losing multiple offensive linemen during the game. The victory moved Mike Vrabel’s club to 4-2.
New England’s defense stopped the Jets twice on fourth down early, helping establish a 17-3 cushion. Drake Maye directed an offense that accumulated 383 yards and 22 first downs despite two fumbles and injuries to Morgan Moses, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Ben Brown.
Maye was especially effective in key situations, going 6-for-10 for 87 yards and two touchdowns on third down for a 127.9 passer rating. He threw three touchdown passes for the third consecutive game, joining Tom Brady and Butch Songin as the only Patriots quarterbacks with a streak of at least three such games in one season.
Corey Kiner led New England’s rushing attack with 57 yards on 11 carries. Receiver A.J. Brown returned from injury but endured a difficult afternoon, catching three of 10 targets for 27 yards and dropping several chances. Brown also could not secure a late onside kick, though the Patriots still recovered it.
Geno Smith gave New York a path back into the game with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr., while Braelon Allen generated several hard-running gains. The Jets, however, went 3-for-10 on third down, failed on both fourth-down tries, went scoreless on three red-zone possessions and saw Smith throw his first interception of the season.
Other Week 6 Sunday results and remaining schedule
- New Orleans Saints 34, New York Giants 27
- Carolina Panthers 25, Philadelphia Eagles 14
- Pittsburgh Steelers 26, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19, overtime
Sunday’s late-window schedule features the Arizona Cardinals at the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Chargers at the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Buffalo Bills at the Las Vegas Raiders. The Dallas Cowboys visit the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
