Tom Brady led the Patriots to victory over the previously-undefeated Saints on a touchdown pass with five seconds remaining. (Wikimedia Commons)

Thursday Night

Bears 27, Giants 21

This is the first stretch of mistake-free football Jay Cutler has had in recent memory. He’s in line for a nice pay day after this season if he keeps this up.

The Giants' offensive line played one of its best games (if not the best) of this season. Brandon Jacobs got the running game going. But still, the Giants lost. This is mainly on Eli, and he has to play better. It is, however, a little fun to ponder the possibilities as to what the Giants will do in an effort to rebuild should they continue this losing streak--will they trade Hakeem Nicks? Or even trade Eli Manning? Fire Tom Coughlin? Put Jason Pierre-Paul on injured reserve? Or possibly cut/trade Justin Tuck, who hasn't been good for two years? The possibilities are intriguing and nearly endless (for everybody except Giants fans).

Sunday

Packers 19, Ravens 17

Way to go Dom Capers, who stymied the Ravens with blitzes from the second level (three sacks for AJ Hawk) and shut down the Ravens' most dynamic offensive weapon in Torrey Smith.

The Ravens' offensive line is not playing well, which might be an understatement. The presumed upgrade to Eugene Monroe over for the inconsistent Bryant McKinnie at left tackle was expected to make a dominant line even better, but when the interior players Kelechi Osemele and Marshall Yanda get whipped like they did Sunday, Flacco has no pocket to step up into.

Bengals 27, Bills 24

What is with the Bengals' defense? They held the Patriots to six points one week, and then let the Thad Lewis-driven Bills put up twenty-four the next? Good game for Andy Dalton though, and if Cincy ever puts it together consistently, watch out.

Good to see the young Bills receivers step up without Stevie Johnson active on Sunday.

Lions 31, Browns 17

Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy is incredibly athletic. I’m not just saying that because he had two interceptions on the day—at 240 pounds, he chased down the speedy Travis Benjamin on a reverse and made the tackle. He’s a player to watch.

The Browns' pass rush was less than ineffective. For the resources they spent on the front seven last offseason, they have to play better.

Rams 38, Texans 13

There’s that ball-hawking Rams defense! Good to see one of the most talented young teams in the NFL get on track in this game.

The Texans are in full melt-down mode. Whether they continue to fight through it will determine whether or not Gary Kubiak keeps his job. And seriously, can we please see JJ Watt get some snaps on the offensive side of the ball? Please?

Panthers 35, Vikings 10

If only Cam Newton would play this efficiently all the time—the Panthers would be a perennial playoff team.

Matt Cassel did a fantastic job playing backup quarterback at USC, but now I’m not so sure he can even fill that role in the NFL. Those interceptions were atrocious.

Steelers 19, Jets 6

Have I mentioned that Dick LeBeau is good at what he does? The Steelers dropped into a defense that had Ike Taylor playing disguised coverage in the flat and Troy Polamalu running over the top to pick up Taylor’s man, Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill. While Hill ended up making a great catch, that defensive play call would likely result in a Polamalu interception more times than not because of the disguised coverage of Taylor and the range of Polamalu. And the punishment Hill took from Polamalu on that play undoubtedly made him think twice about catching a sideline pass for the remainder of the game.

Bad games from Geno Smith and Antonio Cromartie. But even though they lost, the Jets are only a couple players away from being a playoff team.

Eagles 31, Bucs 20

Nick Foles’ more-than-solid play might very well keep Michael Vick sidelined for more than a few weeks.

The Bucs signed $137.25 million worth of free agents in their secondary last offseason. Yet Greg Schiano still refuses to use Darrelle Revis where he plays best, one-on-one with the opposing team’s best receiver. Dashon Goldson and Mark Barron’s play on the back end against Philadelphia was also very shaky, to say the least.

Justin Houston is tied for the league lead in sacks (9.5) and is as deserving an anyone of the Defensive Player of the Year award. (Beall/Wikimedia Commons)

SEE MORE: NFL Week 6 Predictions

Chiefs 24, Raiders 7

Not only is Justin Houston a beast of a player, but he is smart and unselfish, too. On multiple occasions, instead of rushing directly at Terrelle Pryor and trying to aggressively make the sack, Houston sat back and contained the athletic Pryor in the pocket. Not only did this keep Pryor from escaping the pocket where he is at his most dangerous, but it also allowed Tamba Hali to repeatedly clean up the sack from the blind side (Hali had 3.5 sacks on the day). Houston is already one of the best players in all of football.

Broncos 35, Jaguars 19

Peyton Manning still refuses to take sacks, while teammate Malik Jackson keeps getting them.

Justin Blackmon will ensure that the Jaguars will not be the second 0-16 team in NFL history.

Seahawks 20, Titans 13

The Seahawks’ receivers just can’t get open. Good thing Percy Harvin’s return is “just around the corner,” in the words of Pete Carroll during the post-game press conference.

The Titans’ secondary, meanwhile, is extremely underrated and might be the second-best in football.

Patriots 30, Saints 27

Is Tom Brady clutch? Last week, against the Bengals, he wasn’t. But in this game he was. About two minutes after throwing a terrible interception deep into double coverage, his defense gets him the ball back and he finds Kenbrell Thompkins for the game-winning touchdown with five seconds left.

49ers 32, Cardinals 20

Monster games from Frank Gore and Vernon Davis. That 18 play, 89 yard drive to essentially seal the game was a thing of greatness.

While the rest of the secondary couldn’t cover Davis, Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu both played lock-down defense.

Sunday Night

Cowboys 31, Redskins 16

Nice job in all three phases by the Cowboys. I wouldn’t want to face them in the playoffs, especially if they get Demarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff back.

The Redskins got the running game going, which is a good sign. But their passing game leaves much to be desired, as does their special teams.

Monday Night

Chargers 19, Colts 9

It’s hard to find good interior pass rushers. But the Chargers have two of them in Corey Liuget and Kendall Reyes, which is why they are able to sustain the losses of edge rushers Melvin Ingram, Dwight Freeney, and Jarrett Johnson without missing much of a beat. If Phillip Rivers stays consistent, a wild card spot is not out of the question. Also, great job by King Dunlap on Robert Mathis.

One week they beat the Seahawks in Indianapolis, and the next week…this? And after playing the Broncos next week on Sunday Night Football, it’s very possible that the Colts will fall to 4-3 after a 4-1 start. By the way, Trent Richardson looked like the third most explosive running back on the field last night behind Ryan Mathews and Donald Brown(!). But if he’s not going to be a dynamic playmaker, he needs to at least be reliable—completely missing a pass blocking assignment and letting Andrew Luck get sacked is unacceptable. Good news for the Colts: they still have Luck.

Reach Staff Writer Andrew McKagan here.