NFL predictions, fantasy sleepers, trends for Week 6: Keep an eye on Sam Darnold?

Kirk Herbstreit joins “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss whether Joe Flacco can beat the Packers again this season, this time with the Bengals. (1:13) Week 6 of the2025 NFL seasonis here, and our NFL analysts have you covered on last-minute prep. Catch up on everything before Sunday’s action. Here’s what we have: First, analytics writer Seth Walder breaks down three stat trends that could be pivotal this weekend. Then fantasy football writer Eric Moody runs through five players who are rostered in under 50% ofESPN fantasy football leaguesas of Saturday and could be started in a jam. That’s followed by NFL analyst Matt Bowen predicting three potentially big surprises and sports betting analyst Pamela Maldonado giving her favorite bet for Week 6. Should we expect another big outing for Seahawks quarterbackSam Darnoldand receiverJaxon Smith-Njigba? Do the Chiefs stand a chance against the Lions’ play-action offense? Could Packers cornerbackXavier McKinneyintercept Bengals quarterbackJoe Flaccofor thesecondtime this season? And is there betting value in theLions-Chiefsmatchup on Sunday night? Let’s dive in. Jump to:Stat trends|Fantasy sleepersPotential surprises|Best bet Can the Chiefs stop the Lions’ play-action offense? Ben Johnson might haveleft to the Bearsthis offseason, but a staple of his offense remains firmly entrenched in Detroit: the play-action. The Lions are running play-action at a 32.1% clip this season, the second-highest rate in the NFL. And that’s potentially bad news for the Chiefs, who are allowing 0.48 expected points added per play (not a typo) to play-action passes — the most of any team in the league. When I see a stat like that, my first reaction is theremustbe one massive play dragging that average up. In this case, not really. Jaguars QBTrevor Lawrence’s 44-yard pass toTravis Hunter(worth 2.3 EPA)this past Mondaywas the No. 1 play. The Chiefs are allowing a 65.8% success rate on play-action plays, second-highest in the league. It should be an easy button for the Lions to press several timeson Sunday. Can the Bengals protect quarterbackJoe Flaccofrom Packers edge rusherMicah Parsons? The good news for Flacco: He has astarting jobagain with Cincinnati. The bad news: He immediately has to deal with Parsons, and he hardly has great protection in front of him.