It was a day to forget for Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns who once again failed at the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Tennessee Titans remained unbeaten in the NFL after late drama on Sunday.
Both the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Giants finally remembered what it feels like to be on the winning team, but the New England Patriots lost to the Denver Broncos to slip to 2-3 and be under ,500 in October for the first time since 2002.
There was drama as the Tennessee Titans downed the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts moved to 4-2 thanks to a 31-27 triumph over the Cincinnati Bengals.
HURT MAYFIELD STRUGGLES AS STEELERS CONTINUE BROWNS DOMINANCE
The Steelers made it 17 straight wins over the Browns in Pittsburgh with a comprehensive 38-7 mauling of their AFC North rivals, during which the influence of Cleveland quarterback Mayfield was quelled.
Cleveland headed into the fixture on the back of a first four-game winning streak since 2009, but Mayfield – contending with a rib injury that limited his practice time – and the Browns offense never got going.
Mayfield was just two-of-seven passing for five yards with a sack and two picks on third downs, and was sat down for Case Keenum deep into the third quarter. In total he was sacked four times and intercepted twice in a bruising outing.
James Conner was impressive for Pittsburgh, finishing with 101 yards on 20 carries and scoring the Steelers' first offensive touchdown in the second quarter, which made the score 17-0.
Ben Roethlisberger completed 14 of 22 passes for 162 yards and throwing for a touchdown, while Chase Claypool and Benny Snell also scored rushing touchdowns on a great outing for the now 5-0 Steelers.
The Baltimore Ravens are second behind Pittsburgh in their division after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 30-28, and they have now scored 20-plus points in 29 straight games – the second-longest streak in NFL history.
FALCONS, GIANTS UP AND RUNNING
The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff after a 23-16 loss to the Carolina Panthers saw them slip to 0-5 for the season last week.
But under the leadership of interim coach Raheem Morris, the Falcons routed the Minnesota Vikings 40-23 at U.S. Bank Stadium for their first win of the season.
Julio Jones came back into the line-up and collected eight receptions for the return of 137 yards, while also celebrating his first two touchdowns of the season. Veteran quarterback Matt Ryan, whose future in the team was called into question after a poor start, made 30 of 40 passes for 371 yards.
Joe Judge's first win as New York Giants coach came in vastly different circumstances, scraping past the Washington Football Team 20-19.
Washington missed when they opted to go for a two-point conversion with 36 seconds remaining, rather than take the kick for an extra point that would have taken a game riddled with errors into overtime.
It meant only the New York Jets - in action later in the day - had yet to win in the NFL this season.
HENRY, TITANS RALLY PAST TEXANS
The Titans stayed perfect at 5-0 following a dramatic finish to their 42-36 triumph over the Houston Texans.
It did not look like being the Titans' day given they had two turnovers, saw Stephen Gostkowski have a field goal blocked and fail with another, while Houston QB Deshaun Watson threw for four touchdown passes and the Titans defense gave up 335 yards in passing.
The last of those touchdown passes from Watson had Houston up by seven points with one minute and 50 seconds remaining but they crucially failed with a two-point conversion.
Ryan Tannehill consequently drove the Titans 76 yards and found A.J. Brown with a six-yard touchdown pass with only four seconds left to force overtime.
The brilliant Derrick Henry, who finished with 212 yards rushing and 52 yards receiving, then took a direct snap for a five-yard touchdown to win it three minutes and 30 seconds into overtime.
The Chicago Bears improved to 5-1 after defeating the Carolina Panthers 23-16.
Week 6 scores:
Tennessee Titans 42-36 Houston Texans
Baltimore Ravens 30-28 Philadelphia Eagles
Atlanta Falcons 40-23 Minnesota Vikings
Pittsburgh Steelers 38-7 Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts 31-27 Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions 34-16 Jacksonville Jaguars
Chicago Bears 23-16 Carolina Panthers
New York Giants 20-19 Washington Football Team
Denver Broncos 18-12 New England Patriots