Denver, hang your head in shame.

On another wild NFL weekend it is sad that the biggest stories seem to be injuries and teams tossing away results (Atlanta, I'm looking at you).

But it's important to remember that the weekend kicked off with an important win in Charlotte and there were also significant victories for Chicago - and Mitchell Trubisky - in Baltimore and the New England Patriots, who got back on track.

So what are the main talking points? I've got that covered....

I think the NFL is missing its best players, and that is never good

Aaron Rodgers’ injury is a bitter blow to the league, not just the Green Bay Packers.

It means that the league is without – and I’ll toss in an arguably here – its most talented: quarterback, wide receiver, running back and defensive player for most of the season and it’s only week six. David Johnson, who appears to be the most likely of those to return soon, is likely to come back to an Arizona team that is already out of the playoff hunt. The same is probably true for Aaron Rodgers, though Brett Hundley shouldn’t be written off immediately.

Aaron Rodgers is taken off injured on a cart after breaking his collarbone (Getty 2017)

With so much off-the-field controversy it would have been great for the league to continue to just put the absolute best product on the field and try to ignore everything swirling around them.

But the absence of players like Odell Beckham Jr, who is the next-gen face of this league, is genuinely damaging because the league is simply less entertaining when shorn of the freak athletes and superstars that can change any game in one moment.

This wasn’t a week short of action, but in a league where it sometimes feels as if the quality is too thinly spread, the absence of these most famous faces could be more keenly felt as the weeks tick on.

I think Brett Hundley is an interesting experiment now

Pre- and post-draft there is so much talk of how 'ready' players - quarterbacks in particular - are for the NFL and that obviously varies for each player dependent on talent, the scheme they have played at college, experience and a host of other factors.

Whether you are Mitchell Trubisky and have started just 13 games at college, a small-school guy like Carson Wentz or a raw project like Patrick Mahomes, everyone will have opinions on whether you should sit for a while to learn your craft or whether you should be thrown right in.

Green Bay drafted Hundley knowing that Rodgers had plenty of years left and that the kid could be groomed as his backup, which is what we see now. But Hundley could also be Rodgers' heir, and number 12 has been helping the young quarterback's development for over two years now - an education any young signal-caller would die for.

Brett Hundley has a big chance in Rodgers' absence (Getty 2017)

So what comes next is interesting for the obvious reasons, in terms of seeing if the Packers completely fall apart without one of the best QBs ever, but also to see if a fifth-round pick coached up behind the scenes has developed into a legitimate NFL starter. He will never be a rule that people can live by if he has, but he will be another data point we can point to down the line if he does.

Any team would prefer to draft and develop a late-round guy for the obvious reasons; 1) it means you already have a starter-quality player in situ and, 2) it is less of an investment, picks-wise, and you can mould them to your scheme and personnel.

Hundley enjoyed great success at UCLA and by all accounts is a great guy off the field. But the only thing certain is that he’ll be a big downgrade on the best quarterback of a generation. It is how much of a downgrade that will be the most interesting thing in years to come - and how that corresponds to the low expectations of him when he entered the league in 2015.

I think the Eagles’ trench warfare completely makes them an NFC contender

The Carolina Panthers were beaten up front by the Eagles (Getty 2017)

Philadelphia seems to always ‘win’ the off-season only for their dreams to come crashing down fairly early in the actual season. But this year they look to be a legitimate contender – in their conference at the very least – and quite probably beyond this year if you consider the likes of Ronald Darby and Sidney Jones will further strengthen their defense when healthy again next season.

Destroying the Carolina Panthers in the way they did on Thursday night, on the road and so convincingly, laid down a marker for a team that probably boasts the strongest defensive and offensive line combo of any in the NFL.

Fletcher Cox was an absolute wrecking ball against Carolina’s O-line, forcing Cam Newton to repeatedly throw with men in his face (if he wasn’t being laid out on the ground). Even without Lane Johnson, a premier offensive tackle, their O-line held back the Panthers’ D and protected sophomore quarterback Carson Wentz.

Wentz declined badly after a good start to his rookie season but this year feels more sustainable. The coaching staff, which is one of the most underrated in the league, is gradually giving him more to do but he’s stepping up and frequently making plays. Even when things break down, he is showing a playmaker’s ability to extend and create which has proven invaluable.

The front office paid big money to secure weapons for Wentz while the coaching staff improved the QB and his favourite target, Zach Ertz. But while the QB will often get the credit, Thursday night’s game was really won in the trenches and having dusted off an NFC powerhouse in their own backyard, the 5-1 Eagles have nobody to be scared of in a conference where nobody can string a run of convincing performances together.

I think it’s been a bad week for Donald Trump again

There are rarely good ones for small-handed Donnie but you fear that even despite his obsession with ratings, there might not be a tweet from him highlighting just how improved they have been in the NFL this season.

Of course, his explanation for this would be that people are watching for the anthem or somesuch.

But, as ever, he is completely wrong. The NFL is one of the best-marketed leagues in the world, its digital media output is outstanding and the television coverage is getting better (thank you Tony Romo).

That makes for improving ratings and a sport that continues to grow, despite the president’s vendetta.

I think Colin Kaepernick must have something solid to be suing the NFL

Kaepernick has kept a respectful silence as his name has been dragged through the mud in the storm that his kneeling protests first spawned.

News today - fairly out of the blue – that he would be taking action against the NFL for collusion was significant because, surely, he would not launch into a process like this without significant evidence.

According to the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the entire CBA would be invalid if two teams could be proven as having colluded. So, should Kaepernick somehow have hard proof that two (or more) franchises have conspired to deprive him a chance of a contract – or even to practice with a team – then this could have a huge, huge impact.

For a full legal breakdown, try this, but it’s a case that needs to be followed by all fans of the sport.

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