2021 What To Look For - Week 6

THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: On Thursday Night Football (8:20 PM ET, FOX/NFL Network/Amazon), TOM BRADY and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-1) visit JALEN HURTS and the Philadelphia Eagles (2-3).

Brady, the league’s all-time leader in passing yards (80,971) and touchdown passes (596), needs four touchdown passes to become the first player all-time to reach 600 career touchdown passes.

Brady, who has thrown at least four touchdown passes in three of his first five games this season, has 36 career games with at least four touchdown passes and can tie DREW BREES (37 games) for the most such games in NFL history. He can also tie Brees (97 games) for the most games with at least three touchdown passes in league annals.

Hurts will be making his 10th-career start and can become the fifth player ever with at least 3,000 total yards (combined passing and rushing) and 20 offensive touchdowns (passing and rushing combined) in his first 10 starts.

The players with at least 3,000 total yards and 20 offensive touchdowns in their first 10 career starts in NFL history:

Hurts has 12 touchdown passes and six rushing touchdowns in nine career starts and needs three touchdown passes on Thursday to become the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era with 15 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns in his first 10 career starts, joining DAUNTE CULPEPPER (20 passing, five rushing).
 

STAR GAZING: The DALLAS COWBOYS (4-1), led offensively by quarterback DAK PRESCOTT and running back EZEKIEL ELLIOTT, rank second in the NFL in both scoring offense (34.0 points per game) and total offense (439.6 yards per game).

Prescott ranks second in the league in passer rating among qualified passers (116.9) and is one of four quarterbacks with a passer rating of 100-or-higher in four of his first five games this season. Scheduled to make his 75th career start against New England (4:25 PM ET, CBS), Prescott has 38 career games with a passer rating of 100-or-higher and can surpass PHILIP RIVERS (38 games) for the third-most such games by a player in his first 75 career starts in NFL history.

The players with the most games with a passer rating of 100-or-higher in their first 75 career starts in NFL history:

Elliott, who ranks fifth among running backs in scrimmage yards (507) this season, has 8,848 scrimmage yards in 76 career games. With 152 scrimmage yards on Sunday, he can become the fifth-fastest player to reach 9,000 scrimmage yards in the Super Bowl era, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famers THURMAN THOMAS (79 games), BARRY SANDERS (79) and EMMITT SMITH (79).

The players to reach 9,000 scrimmage yards in the fewest games in the Super Bowl era:

New England rookie quarterback MAC JONES ranks fifth in the NFL this season with a 71.1 completion percentage and has a completion percentage of 70-or-higher in four of his first five career starts. On Sunday, he can become the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to record five games with a completion percentage of 70-or-higher (minimum 30 attempts). The only other rookies with four such games were JUSTIN HERBERT (2020) and DAK PRESCOTT (2016), who both were named Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year.

BACK IN LONDON: The MIAMI DOLPHINS (1-4) and JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (0-5) square off in the second of two 2021 international games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (9:30 AM ET/2:30 PM in the UK, CBS).

Jaguars quarterback TREVOR LAWRENCE, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, leads all rookies in touchdown passes (six) and ranks second in passing yards (1,146). This week, he looks to become the first rookie quarterback to ever win a game in London and can become the first rookie quarterback to register multiple touchdown passes in an international game.

The rookie quarterbacks to start an international game since 2005:

Jacksonville running back JAMES ROBINSON registered a career-high 149 rushing yards last week. Undrafted in 2020, Robinson has 1,889 scrimmage yards in 19 career games and can join ARIAN FOSTER (2,245 scrimmage yards) as the only undrafted players in the common-draft era with at least 2,000 scrimmage yards in their first 20 career games.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will recognize individual and team “Milestones” throughout the 2021 season. Joining the Hall in celebrating the year’s accomplishments will be 11 of the health systems that are network providers providing quality medical care and services across the country in partnership with Hall of Fame Health. They are Baylor Scott & White, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, HonorHealth, Flagler Health , Tampa General Hospital, OhioHealth, NorthShore HealthSystem, Providence St. John’s, HCA Gulf Coast, UCSF Health and Array Behavioral Care.