As we brace ourselves for an exciting Week 6 in the National Football League, just two teams remain winless at this juncture. The Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars are still chasing that ever-elusive first victory.

The Lions have undoubtedly come closer to exiting the winless column of the two teams. They’ve lost three of five games by one score and were defeated in especially heartbreaking fashion in Week 3 and 5 when a pair of last-second 66 and 54-yard field goals stifled what looked to be sure victories. The Jaguars, on the other hand, have been less competitive, losing each game by an average deficit of 11.8 points. Jacksonville has now lost 20 consecutive encounters, becoming just the second team in the Super Bowl era to “achieve” such a streak (the 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 26 straight games).

Let’s dive into the remaining 2021 schedules for each team and attempt to identify when their first win may occur, starting in the Motor City.

DETROIT LIONS

Week 6: Cincinnati Bengals

Week 7: @ Los Angeles Rams

Week 8: Philadelphia Eagles

Week 9: BYE

Week 10: @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 11: @ Cleveland Browns

Week 12: Chicago Bears

Week 13: Minnesota Vikings

Week 14: @ Denver Broncos

Week 15: Arizona Cardinals

Week 16: @ Atlanta Falcons

Week 17: @ Seattle Seahawks

Detroit will encounter quite a few challenges in the coming weeks. The 3-2 Bengals are not the same pushover they’ve been in recent years, and nearly pulled off an upset against the Green Bay Packers in a tough Week 5 overtime loss. The Lions will then travel to Los Angeles to play an inspiring Rams team that has impressed on both sides of the ball this season.

As of now, we are identifying Detroit’s Week 8 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles as their best chance to secure a victory. The Eagles could be reeling after facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in primetime in Week 6, followed by a tough contest against the Las Vegas Raiders a week later. Detroit will square off with a brutal schedule down the stretch of the season following their bye week, including trips to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Denver, and Seattle, four environments of which are often described as incredibly difficult settings to win road games in. Week 8 could represent that now or never phenomenon for the Lions. If things get especially grim, Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons also stands out as a potentially opportune moment.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Week 6: Miami Dolphins (In London, England)

Week 7: BYE

Week 8: @ Seattle Seahawks

Week 9: Buffalo Bills

Week 10: @ Indianapolis Colts

Week 11: San Francisco 49ers

Week 12: Atlanta Falcons

Week 13: @ Los Angeles Rams

Week 14: @ Tennessee Titans

Week 15: Houston Texans

Week 16: @ New York Jets

Week 17: @ New England Patriots

Urban Meyer’s Jaguars certainly face the softer schedule of the two. Sunday morning’s matinee could represent an excellent opportunity for Jacksonville to record its first win since September of 2020. Games across the pond have a tendency to be sloppy and uneven. The Jaguars will make their NFL-record eighth appearance in London on Sunday, whereas the Dolphins will be visiting Wembley Stadium for the first time since 2017. Outside of the experience factor, the 2021 iteration of the Dolphins is a bad football team. They'll enter Sunday's game on a four-game losing streak, including 35 and 28-point drubbings in recent weeks. Jacksonville has several “winnable” contests beyond that one, including a Week 10 date with the Indianapolis Colts (who were the last team they actually beat) and a Week 12 contest against the lowly Falcons. We like Jacksonville’s chances against the Dolphins this Sunday. If they happen to falter for the 21st consecutive time, there will be various opportunities to secure a “W” beyond that, including tasty back-to-back contests against the Houston Texans and New York Jets later in the season.