Injuries can either make or break seasons for NFL contenders.
Both the 49ers and Buccaneers have made it work despite the injury waves. But it seems San Francisco could soon be fading after the devastating loss of star linebacker Fred Warner, who broke his ankle Sunday in Tampa Bay.
As for the Buccaneers, they have thrived during adversity and are now sitting atop the NFC standings after the win over the 49ers.
Occasionally, injuries create opportunities for unheralded players to become stars. That’s been the case for Rico Dowdle, who has taken off for the Panthers since replacing the injured Chuba Hubbard in the starting lineup.
For the free-falling Bengals, it’s been all bad since Joe Burrow injured his toe, and there doesn’t seem to be much optimism even after the trade for Joe Flacco.
Here are four things we learned from Week 6 in the NFL.
Mayfield didn’t need a game-winning drive this week, but he still showed why he’s the frontrunner for MVP during the Buccaneers’ 30–19 victory over the 49ers.
Mayfield stole all the momentum for his team and crushed San Francisco’s spirits after avoiding a sack on third-and-14 to magically produce a 15-yard run. Two plays later, Mayfield threw a hanging dime to rookie seventh-round pick Tez Johnson, who made an improbable catch to complete the 45-yard touchdown, giving Tampa Bay the 27–19 advantage with 2:49 left in the third quarter. The game was essentially over from there.
This might be where the 49ers’ injuries finally caught up to them, especially after losing Warner. But the Buccaneers (5–1) also have had many injuries, including being without Bucky Irving and Mike Evans on Sunday.
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Still, they found a way to dominate a talented 49ers (4–2) squad. Mayfield (17-of-23, 256 yards, two TDs) made it work after star rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka left in the second half due to a hamstring injury. That created opportunities for Johnson, who had a nifty touchdown celebration. For the second consecutive week, Rachaad White (17 carries, 65 yards, TD) was an effective runner, filling in for Irving.
Not only is Mayfield the early MVP frontrunner, he has turned the Buccaneers into legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the wide open NFC, which has seen the Eagles lose two consecutive games. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles deserves plenty of credit for what he’s done in all phases, especially on defense. Mac Jones (27-of-39, 347 yards, two interceptions) was confused by Bowles’s aggressive defense for most of the game.
The 49ers might begin to fade because of the laundry list of injuries. It’s looking like the opposite for Mayfield & Co.
While it’s difficult to gauge the Packers (3–1–1), it’s not hard to see where the Bengals (2–4) are headed, regardless of who’s the starting quarterback.
The 40-year-old Flacco (29-of-45, 219 yards, two TDs) didn’t make much of a difference in his Bengals debut outside of helping Ja’Marr Chase (10 catches, 94 yards, TD) pad his stats in Green Bay. The fourth consecutive loss—a 27–18 set back in Green Bay—of this lengthy skid looked similar to the prior three games with Jake Browning. The Bengals’ offense once again started slow and failed to establish the running game, with Chase Brown rushing for under 50 yards for the sixth time this season.
As for one positive, Flacco did have time to throw, only being sacked once, but it took him three quarters to find the deep ball. The Bengals might be wasting their time trying to rush back Burrow from injury. If Cincinnati loses next week vs. the first-place Steelers (4–1), the team should seriously consider shutting down Burrow for the rest of 2025.
On the Packers’ side, they received another up-and-down performance from Jordan Love, who went 19-of-26 for 259 yards and one touchdown and an interception. The offense, however, was bailed out by Josh Jacobs’s efficient performance, rushing for 93 yards and two touchdowns. It’s hard to take Green Bay seriously as playoff contenders without elite performances from Love.
It’s starting to look like the Panthers (3–3) finally stopped rebuilding with Jenga pieces after beating the Cowboys and Dolphins in back-to-back weeks. Coach Dave Canales’s offense took off once Dowdle took over for the injured Hubbard, perhaps giving Canales a tough decision to make once Hubbard is cleared to return.
Dowdle has thrived running behind this efficient run-blocking offensive line, which is exactly how Hubbard made a name for himself last year to ultimately receive a four-year, $33.2 million contract extension.
But this rushing attack couldn’t get anything going for the first month of this season, which didn’t allow third-year quarterback Bryce Young to establish a rhythm. Now, with the balanced attack, Young has been a different quarterback, going 17-of-25 for 199 yards and three touchdowns, including two to rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan, during the 30–27 victory over the Cowboys. Dowdle got his revenge against his former team, rushing 30 times for 183 yards, along with four catches for 56 yards and one touchdown.
I probably shouldn’t make too much about the Panthers running all over the bad defenses of the Dolphins and Cowboys. But it’s clear how much Young benefits from having a productive ground game. He might never develop into a star quarterback, but the 2023 No. 1 pick can certainly run Canales’s offense efficiently when the offensive line is doing its part. Not only did the unit have sizable running lanes for Dowdle, but it only allowed Young to take one sack vs. the Cowboys.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves here, it’s worth noting that all of the Panthers’ wins have come at home this season. If they can blow out the winless Jets on the road next week, maybe we can seriously talk about the playoffs for this rising Carolina squad.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made some interesting remarks after the heartbreaking 29–27 loss vs. the Chargers, candidly telling reporters that players have shown up late to meetings and even hinting that the team has a leadership problem.
Maybe Tagovailoa was just brainstorming when asked about how the team can climb out of this 1–5 start. Or perhaps he was sending a public warning to his teammates to get their act together weeks before the Nov. 4 trade deadline. The sixth-year quarterback has been around long enough to know that teams with only one win by this point of the season tend to make drastic changes and begin to prioritize the future.
There’s also the possibility of Tagovailoa sending a message to ownership by questioning the team’s leadership, making coach Mike McDaniel look bad in the process. But Tagovailoa also didn’t look good with his honest response because, as the quarterback, he’s the one responsible for making sure his teammates attend the players-only meetings. It also makes you wonder how many player-only meetings have taken place this season.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Miami decides to go full rebuild with how inconsistent Tagovailoa has been throughout his career. Tagovailoa had three costly interceptions against the Chargers and has struggled to ignite the offense since Tyreek Hill’s season-ending injury.
Whether it was intentional or not, Tagovailoa gave the Dolphins plenty to think about as their 2025 season continues to slip away.
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