NFL Takeaways: Week 5
Photo by Paul Childs from Action Images
I can’t lie.
I had to take a nap on Sunday because of how busy Saturday was with all the college football.
But I still kept my eye on things! So let’s dive in.
Falcons defeat Buccaneers 36-30
This game was artful in both teams not wanting to win.
The Bucs had a brutal fumble that would have put the game away.
The Falcons followed that up with a horrible drive that ended with an interception in their own territory.
The Bucs followed THAT up with losing 14 yards and missing out on field goal range forcing them to punt.
At which point, the Falcons decided to win, got the tie, and got the victory in overtime.
It was masterful.
Vikings defeat Jets 23-17
The Jets defense is really, really good.
The Jets offense is really, really bad.
So it makes a lot of sense that they decided to fire Robert Saleh, the leader of the defense, to fix things.
What a waste of a franchise.
Bears defeat Panthers 36-10
Caleb Williams is really starting to get it together.
If the Bears defense continues to be great, watch out.
Ravens defeat Bengals 41-38
Something that’s often said in NFL mainstream media is that every team needs a quarterback who “can win even if he has to deal with dysfunction or a bad defense or a bad offensive line.”
Guys like Patrick Mahomes. Or Josh Allen.
Or Joe Burrow.
That narrative has to stop.
Joe Burrow is playing the best football he’s played in his entire career, and the Bengals are 1-4.
Football is a team sport.
No matter how elite your quarterback is, it is a team sport.
Dolphins defeat Patriots 15-10
The Patriots looked like they might win this game, and then the Dolphins did something absolutely insane and unprecedented.
They ran the ball.
I know.
I’m as shocked as you are.
Anyway, it worked and they won.
Go figure.
Commanders defeat Browns 34-13
Deshaun Watson is a bad person and a bad quarterback.
The Browns are a bad organization.
They deserve each other.
Jaguars defeat Colts 37-34
An unstoppable force (the Colts never winning in Jacksonville) met an immovable object (the Jags having zero wins this season).
The Jags won, although they sure tried their best to lose it!
The streak, however, continues.
Texans defeat Bills 23-20
The Bills, backed to their own goal line, could have run the ball and taken the game to overtime, even though the Texans had all three timeouts.
Instead, they threw three deep passes, completed none of them, punted, and lost.
Really, really weird.
Broncos defeat Raiders 34-18
Not that the Broncos were in any turmoil, but last week was dreadful from both Sean Payton and Bo Nix, so losing to a messy Raiders team would have been brutal.
Thankfully, they handled it easily.
Packers defeat Rams 24-19
The Rams, as I mentioned last week, does not have it.
But does Jordan Love?
He hasn’t shown me much this season.
Cardinals defeat 49ers 24-23
The Niners blew yet another 10 point fourth quarter lead, but more worryingly, didn’t have a good offensive day against a Cardinals defense who was playing terribly.
The Niners face a beat up Seahawks defense that is not playing well on Thursday.
It’s a get right opportunity for sure.
Giants defeat Seahawks 29-20
I think Geno Smith is excellent. I think he’s playing extremely well.
Of the Seahawks 58 plays Sunday, 51 of them were designed passes.
That’s too many.
Way too many.
Cowboys defeat Steelers 20-17
A bad, bad day for the Steelers offense, and another wide receiver not putting in a good effort.
Messy, messy Sunday night in Pittsburgh.
Chiefs defeat Saints 26-13
I didn’t watch this game I was watching playoff baseball.
Is that ok?
We all knew the Chiefs would win.
