Welcome to NFL Week 6 Hot Takes. We have information on the Ravens and Rams game, as well as a potential upset in Cincinnati. Check out these and more as we look at the breakout of the Hot Takes for Fantasy Football and the NFL in Week 6 of the 2025 NFL Season.
Joe Flacco Beats the Green Bay Packers For the 2nd Time This Season
Joe Flacco was traded on Tuesday within the division from the Cleveland Browns to the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, Flacco did not beat the Green Bay Packers by his lonesome. It was mostly the defense and Quinshon Judkins popping off against the Packers, but he was the quarterback in week three who took down the Super Bowl Favorites at the time. The Cincinnati Bengals have looked absolutely dreadful since Joe Burrow went out with a potential season-ending injury. Jake Browning, the once serviceable backup, had three interceptions in two games and eight interceptions in the 3.5 games he was the primary QB. Something had to change.
The Bengals were 2-0 heading into week three, Browning’s first start, which was an issue for them in the past few seasons. The front office would have made the trade for a QB for two reasons. They either believe in the team they have and think Joe Burrow has a chance to come back for the playoffs, or they know that Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are extremely angry that the level of quarterback play they are receiving is not what they asked for major help. We have all seen the stat this week that Ja’Marr Chase had more tackles (3) than receptions in the week 5 contest against the Detroit Lions. The public wanted the Bengals to trade for the New York Giants‘ third-string QB, Jameis Winston, but it seems like this was the next best option for the price that they had to pay.
Chase and Higgins needed help to have an uptick in fantasy production this season, a nd this could be the help that they needed. Flacco had a resurgent 2023 with the Browns, taking them to the playoffs, but the veteran QB has had a steady decline over the last few seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and Browns again this season. We will see what he can do with the Bengals for the rest of the season.
The Green Bay Packers’ defense looked very good for the first few weeks of the season, but it absolutely collapsed in week four against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have dynamic playmakers all over the offense, and they were even missing CeeDee Lamb for the high-scoring tie. The Bengals also have dynamic playmakers all over the offense, so if anyone can do it, it could be the Bengals. The Packers are coming out of the bye, so we could see the group come together and play much better this week. We will see as Flacco integrates himself into the lineup. It seems like the Bengals fully intend to try and play Flacco, and with the playmakers that he has, it does not have to be too complicated for the veteran QB.
Baltimore Ravens Beat the LA Rams
The Baltimore Ravens are on the brink of a 1-5 start and need something to turn. Last week, they were destroyed by the Houston Texans 44-10. The Texans’ offense is not what I would call dynamic. The Ravens’ defense has been decimated by injuries, only complemented by the injury to a top-3 quarterback in the NFL, Lamar Jackson. It seems like they will be holding him out again this week against the Rams heading into the bye, which doesn’t bode well for the Ravens.
Something tells me that we will not be seeing the Ravens start 1-5. Now, the Los Angeles Rams are not a bad team whatsoever. They may be a top 6 team in the NFL, but throughout the great run of Sean McVay, he is no stranger to a letdown game. Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua are the best combo in the NFL for fantasy, and I do not anticipate that to disappoint, but Derrick Henry is due for a bounce-back week. Henry has not been good since week three against the Detroit Lions, and even in the second half of that game, he looked like a shell of himself. Side Note, it may be time time BUY on Derrick Henry with the Bye coming up this week.
The Ravens have had a ton of injuries and should slowly be getting better. The stat for them last week was $180 million of their payroll was inactive because of injuries last week. They also just made a trade with the Chargers to part with Odafe Oweh and get help within their decolonized secondary, Alohi Gillman. This is great for them as they move off the struggling Oweh and the money attached to him and grab a safety that should help opposite of Kyle Hamilton. The Rams could easily win this week, but on the other hand, if Derrick Henry and the rest of the Ravens can start hot, they can grab a win and get their season back on track.
Rhamondre Stevenson Loses the Starting Gig
Throughout the whole offseason and early returns on this season were that this take was about as cold a take as you could get, but here in week six, even after his three lost fumbles through five games, Rhamondre Stevenson has remained the starter. The excitement for rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson has dwindled and shone at random times throughout the year. It has been a rollercoaster for shareholders of Henderson.
Stevenson’s Snap % has steadily, but slowly, declined as we go through the season. Only seeing a major duo in week three against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the two fumbles. It has gone from 65% to 52% weeks one through five, respectively. Henderson’s journey to more playing time has not been as linear. His work in the receiving game has been much more of a bright spot than the rushing. Though relatively efficient work for Henderson, I do think that once he gets into a rhythm, it will help his overall production much more.
There was one more roadblock for Henderson this season, and that was the usage of Antonio Gibson, but that ended on Tuesday with the news that he suffered a torn ACL. That should be good news for Henderson (on the fantasy side of things). If he can convince Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel that he is as talented as everyone else in the world thinks he is, he will be an RB1 this season at some point.
