NFL Takeaways: Week 5
Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan of the USA Today
Five weeks into the season. 12 more to go.
The picture is starting to get a little bit more clear on who is a real contender and who is not.
Here’s what we learned in week 5.
Rams defeat Seahawks 26-17
Last week, I said the Seahawks defense has only looked good against bad/mediocre quarterbacks.
This week, they faced Matthew Stafford.
It didn’t go well!
But the Geno Smith redemption story begins now.
Falcons defeat Jets 27-20
It is equally unsurprising that A. The Jets lost and B. The Falcons had a large lead they almost blew.
Packers defeat Bengals 25-22
The Bengals in overtime were facing 4th and 1 and decided to kick a 50 yard field goal instead of trusting their young franchise QB and quality running back to get 1 yard when they were averaging 5 yards per play.
The kicker missed. The Bengals lost.
I know these are professional kickers, but 50 yards is still 50 yards.
Vikings defeat Lions 19-17
I just feel bad for the Lions.
They’ll get their win soon. They’re better than 0-5.
Steelers defeat Broncos 27-19
Maybe if Vic Fangio spent less time complaining about a 5 yard gain and more time preparing for this week’s game, the Broncos could have actually won.
Buccaneers defeat Dolphins 45-17
Tom Brady is better in his 40s than he was in his 20s and I’m not even sure it’s debatable at this point.
Saints defeat Washington 33-22
This game was on TV.
But the TV it was on was behind me at the bar, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.
Eagles defeat Panthers 21-18
The “Sam Darnold Redemption” story is starting to crumble a bit.
That was a very bad performance in a very winnable game.
Titans defeat Jaguars 37-19
I’m frankly stunned that Urban Meyer is still the coach of the Jaguars.
Pull the plug on it now. No point putting off the inevitable.
Patriots defeat Texans 25-22
The Patriots won, but they can’t be thrilled that Davis Mills outplayed fellow rookie Mac Jones.
Maybe the Texans will trade him for a bag of chips since they love to do that.
Bears defeat Raiders 20-9
The Raiders lost the game, but they got rid of their racist, sexist and homophobic lifesize Chucky doll who hasn’t been a good head coach since the early 2000s and was taking a job from someone who possibly actually deserves it even if they weren’t on TV and a walking meme for year after year.
So they sort of won in the end.
Chargers defeat Browns 47-42
Justin Herbert might single handily get people in Los Angeles to care about football.
Cowboys defeat Giants 44-20
The Cowboys are a legitimate Super Bowl contender with the way they’re playing right now.
I know, I’m struggling to believe it myself.
Cardinals defeat 49ers 17-10
Something to keep an eye on is Trey Lance’s play.
Like I said last week, he’s raw. Nobody expects him to be a world beater.
But in his limited game time, he hasn’t even looked good at all. And now he’s hurt.
With rookie QBs, you have to see something to give you hope they’ll be great.
I haven’t seen it yet…
Bills defeat Chiefs 38-20
The Bills are the best team in football, but there are lots and lots of people who seem to be writing off the Chiefs because they lost in a monsoon to an extremely good football team.
Those people could be in for a rude awakening. Don’t write the Chiefs off.
Ravens defeat Colts 31-25
I tweeted this last night, but I’ll reiterate it again.
The Ravens are the most interesting team football right now.
They are 4-1. They’re tied for first in the AFC. By all means, they are Super Bowl contenders.
But they beat the Chiefs in part because of a Clyde Edwards-Helaire fumble. They beat the Lions thanks to a 66 yard game winning field goal, something that has never happened in NFL history.
And now, they beat the Colts after a blocked field goal capped off a monumental 2nd half collapse by the Colts.
The Ravens are 4-1, but could easily be 1-4 and staring down the barrel of a brutal season with the Chargers coming to Baltimore next week.
Are the Ravens good? Yeah! Absolutely. I’d never suggest anything otherwise.
But they have also been very lucky (and you do make your own luck to a certain extent).
They are must watch TV now. Even if they aren’t actually Super Bowl contenders and have just been lucky, they’re a blast to watch.
