CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns lost on Sunday to the Eagles, 20-16, to fall to 1-5 on the season. But there was more happening around the NFL in Week 6 than the matchup in Philadelphia.

Every week, we’ll go through the biggest storylines and examine narratives from around the NFL.

To help us examine these storylines and narratives, we’re following in the footsteps of the 1990s show, “Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction,” which you may know better from the memes of host Jonathan Frakes.

In an homage to Frakes, we will decide every week whether several of the top storylines from around the league are fact or fiction.

Here are this week’s five biggest storylines:

1. Deshaun Watson’s struggles are pushing the Browns back towards drafting a quarterback

Verdict: Fact.

Another game for the Browns, another game where the offense can’t get going. The Browns once again failed to reach 300 yards of total offense, 200 yards passing or 20 points.

Deshaun Watson did not turn the ball over, but he also did not lead a touchdown drive. It’s the first time this season he and the Browns offense failed to score a touchdown.

Kevin Stefanski said after the game that the Browns are sticking with Watson again for Week 7 vs. the Bengals. But at 1-5 with the entire AFC North and a matchup vs. the Chiefs left on the schedule, there is just about nothing left to salvage.

The offense continues to not be good enough. Even though Watson isn’t the only one to blame, he’s still not doing enough to pull the Browns out of their offensive tailspin. In fact, he is worse than any quarterback since 2000 in expected points added through six weeks according to Austin Gayle of The Ringer.

It may be bad enough where the Browns need to at least consider drafting another quarterback in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Of the other teams with only one win so far this season, only the Panthers, Rams and Titans are ones who could realistically draft a quarterback early right now. The problem also right now is Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders right now looks like the only quarterback worth a top-five pick.

Maybe someone like Alabama’s Jalen Milroe or Texas’ Quinn Ewers can climb into that range in the final months of the college season.

But the fact that this might even be a possibility says a lot about just how badly Watson and the Browns have played.

This was not at all what was supposed to happen when the Browns traded for Watson and paid him what they did. However, barring something miraculous happening, it’s hard to imagine that the Browns won’t be at least thinking about going for a college quarterback again.

2. The Ravens are now the heavy favorite to win the AFC North again

Verdict: Fact.

It feels like such a long time ago that the Ravens were in trouble with an 0-2 start. They’ve quickly turned into the best version of themselves as they’ve rattled off four consecutive withs, including 30-23 win vs. the equally impressive Commanders.

Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass, and Derrick Henry ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

While there are still questions about their defense, it’s pretty clear right now that the Ravens are the team to beat in the AFC North.

The Browns look to be out of the mix right now, and the Bengals need a lot to go their way to give themselves a shot.

The Steelers, as they always do, will continue to hang around as they are now 4-2 after a 32-13 rout of the Raiders on Sunday. But they haven’t exactly played a difficult schedule, with a visit from the Cowboys in Week 5 being arguably their toughest game. They lost that one, 20-17.

That schedule that looked very tough for the Ravens appears to have really lightened up. Jackson has also appeared to regain his MVP form with the help of Henry, who is really benefiting from less attention being paid towards him.

3. All four NFC North teams will make the playoffs

Verdict: Fiction.

The AFC North in 2023 because the first division in NFL history to have all of its teams finish the season better than .500. Three of those four teams made the playoffs with only the 9-8 Bengals missing out of the postseason.

The NFC North is threatening to make the 2023 AFC North look pedestrian in comparison.

All four of its teams are 4-2 or better. The 5-0 Vikings were on their bye week, and the Bears, Lions and Packers all improved to 4-2 on Sunday.

While all four have been really good, thinking they will all get in the playoffs just isn’t realistic.

Each of those teams have concerns to watch.

The Lions could be without Aidan Hutchinson for a while because of a tibia injury that he suffered against the Cowboys on Sunday.

In Minnesota, Sam Darnold is not likely to keep up his high level of play, and the defense will be hard-pressed to be as stingy as it has been.

The Packers have hardly been tested this season with their toughest game being at home vs. the Vikings.

As for the Bears, as good as Caleb Williams has been of late, there are those inevitable bumps in the road for any rookie to try and overcome in a long NFL season.

All four NFC North teams have a great shot right now to get in the playoffs. But it’s almost unlikely we’ll see all four in the postseason.

4. Drake Maye should start the rest of the season for the Patriots

Verdict: Fact.

The Patriots were probably going to be no match on Sunday vs. the Texans regardless of who started for New England at quarterback. Considering it was Drake Maye’s first start, it wouldn’t have been shocking if the Pats got blown out.

They did as the Texans won, 41-21. But Maye did very well all things considered, completing 20 of 33 passes for 243 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

He was sacked four times and has one of the worst supporting casts around him.

However, he should still start the rest of the season for the Patriots.

There’s no such thing as an ideal matchup for a rookie quarterback. That first defense they will face in the NFL is always the toughest of their career and the circumstances are almost never ideal. Waiting for the ideal moment is a flawed thought process.

At some point, those young quarterbacks have to play, and you have to see how they do. Maye and the Patriots may struggle to win more than a couple of games the rest of the season because of how early they are in their rebuild. But Patriots fans should be encouraged by what Maye showed, and it’s more than enough reason to keep him on the field for the rest of the season if possible.

5. Promoting Antonio Pierce was the wrong move for the Raiders

Verdict: Fiction.

The Raiders decided to make Antonio Pierce their full-time head coach after an impressive 5-4 record as the interim when they fired Josh McDaniels eight games into the 2023 season.

But 2024 hasn’t been quite as good for Pierce and the Raiders as they fell to 2-4 following a 32-13 blowout loss at home to the Steelers.

The Raiders gave up 183 yards rushing to a Steelers team that hadn’t scored more than 24 points in a game this season.

Las Vegas is in last place in the AFC East after the loss and has dropped three of its last four games.

But anyone thinking the Raiders made a mistake promoting Pierce is wrong.

It’s hard to have consistent success without great quarterback play in the NFL, and the Raiders couldn’t exactly do much to improve that room. They weren’t in a position to draft any of the top-six quarterbacks in this year’s draft after Bo Nix went one pick ahead of them to the Broncos.

Outside of Davante Adams, Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby, the Raiders also don’t have a lot of top-end talent. And winning in the NFL is typically about who you have more than what you run.

The Raiders are one of the few teams in the NFL without even a potential long-term option at quarterback whether it was of their own doing or not. They need to find that guy next offseason before you can really start to make judgments on Pierce.