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Week 6 By Design: Breaking down the best plays from Sunday

Andy Lyons / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Here's a look at the most well-designed plays and schemes from Week 6:

Passing Design of the Week: Big Ben finds Brown

There were plenty of big passing plays during Week 6, any one of which could have been selected for this honor. From Brock Osweiler leading a comeback win over Chicago to Matt Ryan’s production against the Buccaneers (354 yards and three touchdowns), a handful of QBs put up impressive numbers.

Conor McGregor, however, didn't make the cut:

McGregor could learn a lot from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

In a significant divisional game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the veteran passer completed 32 of 46 passes for 369 yards, and his one touchdown throw was pivotal:

This go-ahead passing touchdown to Antonio Brown capped a seven-play scoring drive that put Pittsburgh ahead for good with 10 seconds left.

The Steelers align Brown to the left in a stacked slot, and he runs a slant behind Justin Hunter's release. Hunter comes off the line of scrimmage vertically, but he's just looking to create traffic. The defender assigned to Brown in man coverage can't prevent the completion, and from there the six-time Pro Bowler accelerates into the end zone for the game-winning score.

The play wasn't without controversy, as some pointed to Hunter, who was blocking downfield when the pass was thrown, and said he made an illegal pick. But no flag came, and the Steelers pulled out the victory.

Running Design of the Week: Gurley jets past Broncos

Todd Gurley was the star of the week among running backs. The Los Angeles Rams moved to 6-0 thanks to a huge day from their franchise player, who recorded 208 yards on 28 carries with a pair of touchdowns. He was especially impressive during the Rams’ final drive.

After the Denver Broncos added a field goal to cut the Rams’ lead to seven in the fourth quarter, the visitors began a 13-play, 72-yard drive that milked over five minutes off the clock and ended with the field goal to push the lead back to 10. Gurley ran for 44 yards on that drive alone, with the largest chunk coming on this 26-yard toss play:

The Rams have made jet motion and jet sweeps pivotal parts of their 2018 offense, including this play.

As is often the case, the motion is just eye candy for a defense. Jared Goff takes the snap and fakes the end around to the motion receiver, then he tosses the ball back to Gurley, who is heading toward the left edge. The running back picks up key blocks from left tackle Andrew Whitworth and left guard Austin Blythe, finds a crease, and cuts upfield for the 26-yard gain.

The Rams’ offense is firing on all cylinders right now. The ability to grind the clock down with long drives at the end of games will help the team add to its impressive win total.

Pressure Design of the Week: Ravens rack up sacks

When a team sets a franchise record for sacks in a game, you can be sure it will be featured in this section. That's exactly what the Baltimore Ravens did during their 21-0 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

The Ravens’ defense sacked Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota 11 times during the contest, including six times in the first half alone. Za’Darius Smith notched three sacks, and Patrick Onwuasor chipped in with two.

Many of Baltimore's sacks were impressive, but one that stood out came from Onwuasor on a delayed green dog blitz.

Facing a first-and-10 early in the second quarter, Mariota dropped to pass and quickly faced pressure off the edge from Matt Judon. Onwuasor initially stayed at a linebacker's depth, but when he saw running back Dion Lewis stay in to block on the right, the 26-year-old blitzed late on the other side:

Mariota tries to climb the pocket to evade Judon, but that brings him right into the arms of Onwuasor because of the delayed blitz. Judon delays his blitz too, making the right tackle think he's dropping into coverage. Then he starts his path toward Mariota, which sets this in motion:

Coverage Design of the Week: Texans pick off Peterman

One of the ugliest Week 6 games took place in Houston, where the Texans knocked off the Bills in dramatic fashion.

Points and yards didn't come easy, as the visiting Bills sacked Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson seven times, forcing a fumble and two interceptions.

But the Bills struggled offensively, too. Starting quarterback Josh Allen completed 10 of 17 passes for just 84 yards. Then after Allen left due to injury, backup Nathan Peterman completed six of 12 passes for 61 yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions.

After the Texans hit a field goal to knot the game at 13 with under two minutes remaining, the Bills had a chance to break the tie on their next possession. But Peterman threw the first of those interceptions, and it was a backbreaker:

The Texans blitz from the slot and Peterman looks to the seam and hitch routes on that side of the field. Instead of throwing to the seam route, which is uncovered due to the blitz, he zeroes in on the hitch route to the outside. But cornerback Johnathan Joseph deftly reads the quarterback's eyes, jumps the route, and then coasts into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

After an 0-3 start, the Texans now sit at 3-3 in the AFC South, and with the Jaguars and Titans both losing on Sunday, Houston is in a three-way tie for first in the division. Sunday’s win over the Bills might not have been pretty, but that doesn't matter for the resurgent Texans.

Game Ball: Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale

As noted, the Ravens sacked Mariota 11 times on Sunday, setting a franchise single-game record that was a product of individual effort plays and good scheme execution. We can give game balls out to all involved, most notably defensive coordinator Don Martindale.

Mark Schofield writes NFL feature content for theScore. After nearly a decade of practicing law in the Washington, D.C., area Mark changed careers and started writing about football. Drawing upon more than a decade of playing quarterback, including at the collegiate level, Mark focuses his work on quarterback evaluation and offensive scheme analysis. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two children. Find him on Twitter @MarkSchofield.

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