The NFL certainly didn’t disappoint in Week 5, one of the wildest weeks in the young year. Five games featured the game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime and eight were determined by one score.
This was also the first day in NFL history where the league had two defensive touchdowns of 100+ yards on the same day, while there was also a game where the league had the most combined points (79), total yards (962), and passing touchdowns (9) in a game this season — the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Washington Commanders have scored 30+ points in three straight games and are second in the NFL in scoring (31.0 points per game).
On a wild NFL Sunday, there are plenty of overreactions to go around. Which ones will stick?
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Playing a Brian Flores defense doesn’t do a quarterback any favors (ask C.J. Stroud how that went in Week 3), but Aaron Rodgers looks like a 40-year-old quarterback coming off a ruptured Achilles. Rodgers was a putrid 29 of 54 for 244 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions (54.9 rating) in the Jets’ loss to the Vikings. He averaged 4.5 yards per attempt and was 6 of 14 for 81 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions on third and fourth down.
Rodgers and the Jets are 2-3 and have as many points scored in 2024 as they do in 2023 (93). Rodgers has just 1,093 passing yards, 6.0 yards per attempt, and a passer rating of 81.6 — all the worst through the first five games of his career.
Perhaps “Father Time” has caught up with Rodgers. This certainly isn’t the Rodgers we are accustomed to seeing.
Commanders will win the NFC East
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Another week the Commanders keep rolling, this time crushing the Browns in a game that really wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Jayden Daniels may be a top-10 quarterback in the NFL already as he threw for 238 yards and rushed for 82, becoming the third quarterback in NFL history with 1,000 passing yards and 300 rushing yards through five team games (Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson are the others).
The Commanders already have as many wins as last season and are second in the league in scoring (31.0 PPG) and the defense has held three of five opponents below 20 points this season. Why can’t Washington win the NFC East?
Washington belongs in the conversation, but let’s see how the Commanders fare against Philadelphia and Dallas. The way the Commanders are going, it may not matter.
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Quite the performance from Trevor Lawrence on Sunday, as he threw for a career-high 371 yards with two touchdowns as Jacksonville earned its first win of the year. The Jaguars quarterback threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to rookie Brian Thomas Jr. and led Jacksonville to points on seven of 12 possessions.
In Lawrence’s first four games, he completed 53.3% of his passes and had a 78.9 passer rating. He completed 82.4% of his passes and had a 110.9 passer rating. Is this enough to say he’s fixed?
The Colts entered Sunday 25th in pass yards allowed, which will only go up. This was encouraging for Lawrence, but there needs to be a larger sample size than a game against a bottom 10 pass defense.
Brock Bowers is the best rookie pass catcher
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Malik Nabers is still around, but him not playing Sunday brought Brock Bowers into the conversation. Bowers finished with eight catches for 97 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders’ blowout loss to the Broncos. Bowers is a bright spot in the Raiders offense, having two games with 90+ yards and 161 yards after the catch.
Bowers leads all tight ends with 28 catches and 313 yards after five games. Maybe the topic should be if Bowers is already the best tight end in the league? He’s pretty close to that as well.
Bengals will miss the playoffs
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Sunday’s loss to the Ravens was not good for the Bengals’ playoff chances, as they fell to 1-4 on the season. Overcoming that 0-3 start seems improbable, especially when Cincinnati loses a game where Joe Burrow throws five touchdowns.
The Bengals are 0-3 in the conference and are 0-4 in one-score games. This isn’t a recipe for the playoffs, even though they don’t play a team with a winning record until Week 10 (Ravens).
The schedule gets easier, but playing the Ravens in Baltimore and the Steelers twice doesn’t help. The Bengals likely have to go 10-7 to make it, so they would have to finish 9-3. Hard to ask out of this team right now.
49ers will miss the playoffs
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
A Week 5 loss to the Cardinals isn’t good for the 49ers, who are 0-2 against NFC West opponents and 0-3 in the conference. The 49ers are banged up, but the NFC West isn’t out of reach. San Francisco is only one game behind Seattle and the 49ers get to play the Seahawks twice (including on a short week in Week 6).
San Francisco does play a gauntlet of a schedule in Seattle (road), Kansas City (home), Dallas (home), Tampa Bay (road), Seattle (home), Green Bay (road) and Buffalo (road). This is a stretch where the 49ers have to go 4-3, and they have the talent to execute that.
The 49ers have gotten off to slow starts before. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt, but it would help if Christian McCaffrey returns.
Ravens have the best rushing duo in the league
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson are two of the top seven rushers in the league. Henry has 572 yards and is averaging 6.0 yards per carry after five games while Jackson has 363 yards and averaging 6.8 yards per carry. Both are top five in yards per carry, while Henry is on pace for 1,945 yards and Jackson for 1,234.
Jackson is the best running quarterback in the league. The Ravens have 150+ rushing yards in all five games and 175+ yards in four of the five.
Jackson and Henry have 935 rushing yards this season, the most by QB/RB duo through five team games in NFL history. They are the best rushing duo in the league, no matter what position Jackson plays.
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