Week 5 featured SOME surprise outcomes, but none bigger than the 32-point BEATDOWN the San Francisco 49ers put on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. That was a game that was supposed to be the best game of a young NFL season, but it never actually felt close after the 49ers marched down the field to score on their first drive like the Cowboys’ then league-best defense was just like the other 4 teams they had boat raced in the weeks before.
The Lions’ offense is also proving itself as one of the league’s best units. After Sunday’s results, it is very apparent after the Philadelphia Eagles and the 49ers, it is the Lions and NOT the Cowboys who are the cream of a very mediocre next tier of the NFC. It still remains to be seen how this unit and Jared Goff will look against elite defenses such as the Philadelphia’s, San Francisco’s, and yes, still Dallas’. If the Lions can keep this up, they could compete for and win a Super Bowl berth in a weak NFC, granted they can get past either or both the 49ers and Eagles, which is a tall task.
Winners
The Cats Are Roaring (The Panthers Are Snoring)
Week 5 was a great week for the cat teams across the NFL, except for the Panthers. Let’s start with the Bengals, who for the literal first time all season showed signs of life. Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow seemed to have figured out that getting the ball to Ja’Marr Chase was a good idea to get their offense going. And sure enough, Mr. “I’m always open” was indeed always open, catching 15 passes for 192 yards and 3 touchdown receptions.
Burrow INSTANTLY looked like the 255 million dollar quarterback that the Bengals thought they were getting, throwing for 317 yards, 3 touchdowns, and finished with a 108.1 QB Rating. This game shows exactly why the Bengals need to do everything they possibly can to get Chase the ball and pull out all the stops to get him signed long-term.
The Jaguars can best be described as really, really, REALLY confusing. Some weeks, they just slink into the darkness and some weeks they jump out with their teeth showing and they bite your face off. Week 5 was more of a bite-your-face-off type game. The Jaguars’ offense and Trevor Lawrence looked way more like the offense that overcame a 27-point deficit to beat the Chargers on Super Wild Card Weekend and kept it close with the Chiefs until late in the Divisional Round.
Lawrence, after 2 very mediocre weeks, looked great against the ferocious Bills defense, even if the box score may not reflect his greatness. I just don’t know what to think about this team. One week, they fall flat on their faces against the Houston Texans (who made Desmond Ridder like a legit NFL quarterback) and the next they’re beating the Buffalo Bills.
Can they string some games together will be the question. We saw what they can do when they are firing on all cylinders. Can they keep this up? If so, they will be a legitimate contender in the AFC and if not, I’m not sure where they can go after this season as they get closer and closer to having to pay Trevor Lawrence a lot of money.
The Lions entered the season, carried on a wave of expectation. They are 4-1. Their offense might only be second to San Fransisco’s juggernaut. The Lions are out there making plays like:
And very cool and fun stuff like this completely unhinged play:
And yet. Here we are in Week 5. Through 5 weeks, the Lions have met and exceeded all of their preseason expectations. Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson is certain to be a head coach next season, as the offense has blossomed under him and Jared Goff has improved, becoming better than he ever was in Los Angeles. This means that Johnson managed to develop Goff much more than Sean McVay ever did. That’s one heck of an achievement if I say so myself.
But the media seems to be silent. Almost every story I see is about how Brock Purdy is a pure system quarterback and *insert bad quarterback here*, including one who leads the league in Pick 6s with 3 in 5 weeks (at least try, Mr. Orlovsky), would be doing the same thing Purdy’s doing in his situation.
Stories such as the “feud” between Sean Payton and Nathaniel Hackett, about how Robert Kraft needs to fire Bill Belichick, and how the Brotherly Shove should be outlawed just because the Eagles know how to execute it have also caused a news storm. A very stupid conspiracy theory that the referees are somehow rigging games in favor of Kansas City is also generating hype, but not the Detroit Lions.
Nobody wants to talk about the Detroit Lions. Well, guess what? We all should be. Because they’re firmly on the level of the Eagles and the 49ers in the NFC.
The San Francisco 49ers
Well. I was originally going to include only tight-end George Kittle on the list, as he had his best game as a pass-catcher in a while. But how could I? The entire team played on Sunday night. All of them. Offense, defense, and even special teams as punter Mitch Wishnowsky pinned the Cowboys inside their own 10-yard line on 2 of his 4 punts.
Brock Purdy was immaculate. A season after he struggled and had his worst game as a pro against these same Cowboys in the divisional round, he picked them apart over and over again. Some plays were easy competitions to the almost never-ending stream of wide-open 49ers receivers and others were actual elite plays, like these 2 pinpoint throws to Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
What can anyone say about these 49ers, other than…they’re good? Even when you hold Christian McCaffrey to 2.7 yards per rush attempt, you still get blown out by 32. We’re running out of words to describe this team. The December 3rd showdown between the 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles cannot get here soon enough for anyone who calls themselves a football fan. It’s really a shame that it’s not a Primetime game and we instead get to watch the Chiefs and the Packers on Sunday Night Football, who aren’t bad but it’s not a titular clash between the 2 best teams in football.
Losers
Josh McDaniels
It somehow keeps getting worse and worse for Josh McDaniels, even in Weeks that his Raiders won. He just makes baffling decision after baffling decision. This week, it was kicking a field goal up 4 on 4th and 1 with 2 minutes left in the game. What exactly was a field goal going to do? The Packers would’ve needed a touchdown to win anyway, with or without the 3 extra points. The Raiders, who have Josh Jacobs in their backfield, could’ve ended the game by gaining one yard. Awful. McDaniels got bailed out by his defense, but if he and Brandon Staley are going to be making decisions like this, they won’t be around for much longer.
Bill Belichick
The Patriots look like they’re being coached by some amateur. Almost every week, they look woefully unprepared and sloppy. The Patriots haven’t had a wonderful post-Brady Era, but it has never looked this bad. Their defense has always been there and there is always been effort on both sides of the ball. This is a serious indictment on Bill Belichick. He looks old and washed up this season. Robert Kraft may have to make a tough decision or two at the end of the season. But hey, maybe this is the Emperor’s strategy of getting Caleb Williams and rule the AFC for another 20 years? Woah. The thought makes me shiver
The Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys were embarrassed on Sunday Night Football, and caused most of the NFL world to go “Same Old Cowboys”. Beat up on bad teams, run up your stats, and then get exposed when you play someone good. The moment the Cowboys’ defense wasn’t getting turnovers, pick-sixes, and scoop and scores, Dak Prescott reverted back into the quarterback he was last year. The turnovers had returned.
The 49ers are a bad match-up for the Dak and the Cowboys offense. Prescott is a statue in the pocket, can’t move, and doesn’t get rid of the football quickly, making it easy for the 49ers’ vaunted pass rush to apply easy pressure. The 49ers’ run defense, centered around getting to the ball carrier and getting him in the grass as quickly as possible, also made it impossible for Dallas to get Tony Pollard going due to the unbelievable linebacker play of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. Warner and Greenlaw are far and away the best linebacker duo in the NFL.
