Last week’s Tale of the Take was rough. Marvin Harrison Jr. was involved early, then the Cardinals offensive coordinator admitted he didn’t know why he went away from him in that embarrassing loss to Tennessee. Woody Marks? Nowhere to be found in a game where Houston hung 44 points on the Ravens. Right read, wrong player. Thanks Nick Chubb. Drake Maye had his moment under the lights, leading an upset over Buffalo on Sunday night but didn’t score any touchdowns. Justin Fields finished QB10. You just had to add a zero to the QB1 prediction and Malik Washington was a ghost.

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That’s behind us. It’s Week 6 and we’re starting off with a banger.

The Tale: The Baltimore Ravens defense is in trouble and honestly I feel bad for what Ravens fans are about to witness on Sunday. Puka Nacua is set to go absolutely nuclear. This man is playing on another level. He and Matthew Stafford are connecting to a degree you only see when a wideout is putting together one of those special type of seasons. And that’s exactly what we’re watching right now with Puka.

The Ravens are banged up again. Kyle Hamilton practiced Wednesday but Lamar Jackson didn’t and key defenders like Roquan Smith, Marlon Humphrey and Chidobe Awuzie remain questionable. Even if they suit up, it doesn’t matter because this defense is broken. Six different Baltimore defenders have already allowed at least 100 yards and a touchdown in coverage this year, which is the most in the league. Humphrey and Alexander alone have given up 20 receptions for 332 yards and two scores on 24 targets.

Baltimore keeps running man coverage on nearly 39% of opponent dropbacks, which is the sixth-highest rate in the NFL, and they’ve already given up a league-high nine touchdowns versus that look. That’s a recipe for disaster when you’re facing a receiver who thrives in motion.

Nacua leads the league with 212 scrimmage yards and a touchdown when used in motion this season, including 160 receiving yards. He’s gained nearly 43% of his total production that way, which shows how lethal Sean McVay’s scheme is at isolating him to confuse coverages and defenders. He’s playing like the best wide receiver in football right now and Davante Adams is playing like one of the best No. 2s. This could get ugly fast against a Ravens defense giving up over 35 points per game and more than 100 deep receiving yards in fourth quarters alone.

The Take: Puka Nacua smashes the Ravens for 200 receiving yards and a score in Week 6.

The Tale: Drake Maye looked good on Sunday night but the fantasy box score didn’t show it. Stefon Diggs finished as the WR5 in half-PPR with 19.6 fantasy points. He was a monster in that matchup and the only receiver inside the top-13 finishes who ran fewer than 29 routes. Efficiency through the roof. He commanded a 40% target share and posted one of the highest Trinity Scores of the week, per the usage model at DD Fantasy Football.

Maye didn’t cash in on that performance for fantasy. He finished outside the top-23 quarterbacks with just 12.12 points. No touchdowns, limited rushing production, but the film told a different story. Maye looked every bit like the future of New England football.

This week that performance translates to the fantasy column. The Saints defense has been getting after quarterbacks with heavy blitz volume but not with any real success. They’re blitzing at the 10th-highest rate in the league but generating pressure on only 25.4% of dropbacks, the second-lowest mark in the NFL. When they do blitz, the pressure rate drops to 28.1%, third-worst in football.

That’s a dream setup for a quarterback like Maye. He’s thrown for 904 yards from a clean pocket, seventh-most in the league, and all seven of his touchdowns have come when he isn’t pressured. Against standard four-man looks, he’s averaging 8.4 yards per attempt, second-most in the league. When he’s protected, he’s dangerous.

Diggs continues to be the engine. He caught 10 of 12 targets for 146 yards and 61 of those came after the catch, his most in a game since 2022. He recorded a reception against seven different Bills defenders and was targeted on over 54% of his routes, his highest mark in any game since joining the league. Diggs looks healthy and that’s the most important takeaway.

I faded Diggs in drafts because of the knee injury but it was never about the talent. What we’re seeing is a veteran receiver giving a young quarterback exactly what he needs — reliability and trust. In 2020, Diggs elevated a young Josh Allen. Now he’s doing it again with Maye.

The Take: Both Drake Maye and Stefon Diggs finish as top-10 options at their positions in Week 6.

The Tale: The Arizona Cardinals have turned into a drama-fest. The head coach just got fined for putting hands on Emari Demercado and had to make public apologies. The offensive coordinator is apologizing for not throwing the ball more to Marvin Harrison Jr. and QB Kyler Murray is dealing with a foot injury. Now, they get to go on the road to face one of the hottest teams in football, the Indianapolis Colts. Good luck Arizona.

Jonathan Taylor is a beast. He scored a hat trick against the Raiders last week with three touchdowns on 20 touches. It was his second three-score game of the season and Taylor turned just 86 yards from scrimmage into 31.6 PPR points. He now leads the league in carries with 94, rushing yards with 480, rushing touchdowns with six and rushing yards after forcing missed tackles with 194. He’s punishing defenders every week and doing it behind one of the most balanced offenses in football.

This Colts unit is humming. They have the league’s leading rusher, rookie Tyler Warren leads all TEs in receiving yards and Daniel Jones ranks top five in quarterback efficiency. Shane Steichen has them rolling and the Cardinals pose no real threat to slowing it down.

Arizona ranks 12th in total yards allowed per game and fourth in points allowed at just 19.2, but they haven’t faced an offense like this one and haven’t seen a running back like Taylor.

Taylor’s usage has been elite, his goal-line work is locked in and his vision looks back to peak 2021 form. If the Cardinals can’t get off the field offensively, he’s going to get volume and if he gets volume, he’s going to score. It’s that simple.

The Take: Jonathan Taylor punishes the Cardinals for another multi-touchdown game and finishes as the RB1 in Week 6.

The Tale: We’ve got a fun one on deck. The 4-1 San Francisco 49ers travel to Tampa Bay to face the 4-1 Buccaneers in a matchup that screams fireworks.

We might not see Ricky Pearsall or Jauan Jennings for the 49ers; both players did not practice Wednesday but honestly it doesn’t matter. Kyle Shanahan will find ways to get the ball to No. 23. Christian McCaffrey is the engine of this offense. He’s second in the NFL in rush attempts and even though he hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown yet, he’s been dominating as a receiver. CMC has 52 targets, 39 receptions, 387 yards and three receiving touchdowns. That’s almost 10 yards per catch, which would be a career high. He’s their running back, their slot weapon, their hammer wideout all rolled into one.

Mac Jones is doing exactly what Shanahan wants him to do, which is get the ball out quick and let the playmakers go to work. Jones has been pressured on just 27.2% of his dropbacks, fifth-lowest in the league, and he’s been one of the most efficient quarterbacks under pressure with a 102.7 passer rating. Tampa Bay’s defense brings heat more than anyone with a 45.7% pressure rate, so this will be a true test, but I trust Shanahan’s system to win.

On the other side, Baker Mayfield is absolutely dealing. He’s playing MVP-level football with 10 touchdowns to just one interception. He’s been locked in with rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka while still flashing that backyard playmaking we’ve seen before. Even without Mike Evans and Bucky Irving this offense hasn’t missed a beat.

Tampa Bay leads the league in yards after the catch with 722. More than half of their passing production has come post-catch at 56.3%. That’s how they move the ball — quick hitters, physical receivers and run-after-the-catch playmaking. San Francisco has only allowed 451 YAC all season, which is top five in the league, so this will be strength on strength.

I don’t expect either team to lean heavily on the ground. Tampa Bay is tough to run against and Rachaad White shouldn’t scare San Francisco’s defense. This one comes down to the quarterbacks and I think both put up points.

The Take: Mac Jones joins Baker Mayfield and finishes as a top-12 QB in Week 6.

The Tale: The Miami Dolphins aren’t a great football team right now, but they can still cause problems for the Los Angeles Chargers. Miami should have beaten Carolina, but this week the Dolphins get another shot to prove they can hang with high-end offenses. The Chargers are banged up, sloppy up front and walking into a dangerous matchup.

Justin Herbert just faced pressure at an average of 2.2 seconds per dropback against Washington, one of the fastest times to pressure any quarterback in a game this season. He was sacked four times on just 12 pressures and completed only 8 of 24 passes under duress. The Dolphins defense averages the sixth-fastest time to pressure in the league and converts pressure to sacks at a strong clip. That’s a real issue when your offensive tackles are in question.

Rookie RB Omarion Hampton is already on injured reserve and both OL Joe Alt and Mekhi Becton are questionable for this matchup. If either one sits or both, Herbert’s going to be under siege again. Miami can heat him up from different looks, and that’s when Herbert’s play dips. He’s completing under 50% of passes that travel 10 or more yards downfield.

The Chargers offense leads the NFL in pass rate at 66.7%, but it’s hard to sustain that volume when you can’t keep the quarterback upright. Losing Hampton, possibly playing without both tackles and depending on practice squad-level depth is not the recipe for a clean fantasy day from Herbert.

The Take: Justin Herbert finishes outside his top-10 Yahoo Week 6 QB ranking.