Week 5

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (26) vs. LOS ANGELES RAMS (23)

Entering Thursday night, many people expected the Rams to win convincingly at home. With only four days to prepare in their own building, they were going up against an injury-riddled 49ers team that missed several key starters on offense and their best defensive player, so nobody was even thinking that Mac Jones was going to outplay Matthew Stafford. However, that narrative was immediately crushed after the first two drives of the night.

After marching down the field for a touchdown in just eight plays on the opening possession, the 49ers defense forced a quick three-and-out before the offense went on a 91 yard touchdown drive in 17 plays that took over eight minutes off the clock. Jake Tonges got wide open for the first score and then Christian McCaffrey beat Troy Reeder on a quick out route for the second. Shortly afterwards, the Rams turned the ball over off a botched toss and it felt like San Francisco was going to go ahead 21-0! However, zero points were scored off the turnover and when Stafford got the ball back, the LA offense finally got their focus back and they eventually stormed down the field to make it a one score game. That was until Jones dealt again on the final drive of the half, doing just enough to set up a chip shot field goal to put the 49ers ahead by 10. 

As the second half approached, Kyle Shanahan was beating Sean McVay at his own game. Yet once the third quarter started, San Francisco failed to reach the end zone for the rest of the night. They had decent scoring drives and big plays here and there, but the best they could get were field goals and not touchdowns. The more breathing room they gave LA, the more chances they had of getting back into the game. Meanwhile for the Rams, their first two possessions ended with touchdowns, yet they failed to take the lead because of a blocked extra point! Instead of being up by one point, the game was tied at 20 early in the fourth quarter. 

The 49ers eventually kicked another field goal to take the lead again, but Stafford had 2:52 remaining to complete a game winning drive. With a couple of huge plays to Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, along with a 20 yard burst from Kyren Williams down the sideline, the Rams were in business at the three yard line. In perfect position to score a touchdown, LA was going to prove that they were still the team to beat in the NFC West and nothing else would get in their own way. I say this as if there is a catch. You better believe it, baby. 

On first and goal, Williams nearly had the touchdown in his hands, but the ball got punched out and San Francisco recovered! Fumbles have been the biggest law for one of the league’s top running backs and it looked like that one was going to cost LA the game. However, the defense forced a three-and-out with 53 seconds left! This offense was going to have a chance to redeem itself and keep the game alive. Sure enough, Williams redeemed himself with a clutch fourth down conversion to set up a 48 yard field goal attempt that tied the game and sent it into overtime.

The 49ers got the ball to start extra regulation and thanks to a kickoff that was short of the landing zone, it only took a few plays to get into field goal range. Yet the result was another field goal thanks to a sack from Kobie Turner, giving them a three point cushion. On the second play of the final drive for Los Angeles, Stafford launched the ball deep for a huge 38 yard play to Tutu Atwell that drove the offense well into field goal range. Then a few plays later, it is fourth down and one at the eleven yard line. Another made kick from Joshua Karty would even the score again but McVay decided to go for the throat and kept the offense on the field. On a handoff up the gut to Williams, San Francisco’s defense blew the play up from the beginning and forced the game winning stop! 

This was easily the more competitive and more thrilling NFC West matchup on Thursday Night Football, but the Rams lost the same way the Cardinals did the week prior: too many mistakes. Two fumbles, a blocked extra point, and a fourth down stop left points on the board that this team desperately needed to win at home. However, this game proved to everybody watching that the 49ers have a ton of heart on their team. Mac Jones was completely beat up dealing with a knee injury, yet still threw for 342 yards and two touchdown passes. Kendrick Bourne of all receivers was torching LA’s secondary by catching 10 passes for 142 yards. It felt like San Francisco should have won this game by a lot more points, but to their credit, the offense did not make any mistakes and their defense came through with several big plays that gave them the win.

The 49ers take the division lead and are now 4-1, with a trip across the country for an exciting grudge match against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Rams lose in gut wrenching fashion but are still in the playoff mix at 3-2 and will take the road for a chance to bounce back against the Baltimore Ravens.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (21) vs. CLEVELAND BROWNS (17)

In the second NFL international game of the season, Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel made his first start against the Minnesota Vikings in a game where both teams desperately needed to win. Early on, we knew that this was not going to be a walk in the park.

On Minnesota’s opening drive of the day, Jordan Mason fumbled the football AGAIN! This time, there was no review necessary and the Browns immediately capitalized on the ensuing possession. By heavily running the football with Quinshon Judkins, the rookie quarterback found Harold Fannin Jr. for a wide open touchdown pass, putting Cleveland ahead 7-0. The good news for the Vikings was that they immediately scored on the next drive thanks to a reverse pass from Cam Akers to a wide open Josh Oliver for the tie! Both offenses stalled out for the rest of the first half, yet Cleveland was the one that made a chip shot field goal in the final seconds to take a three point lead.

Each team began the third quarter by walking right down the field for go-ahead touchdowns with the Browns holding a 17-14 lead entering the fourth quarter. Throughout the last 15 minutes, it felt like Minnesota was giving the opposition every chance they could to put the game away. Not only did Zavier Scott fumble the football in enemy territory, but Will Reichard missed a 51 yard field goal that kept the Vikings behind. However, Cleveland’s offense was shut down the rest of the afternoon. After their opening possession of the second half, they only totaled 73 more yards of offense and failed to score another point. Despite a 110 yard performance from Judkins and a two touchdown day for Gabriel, the Browns could not make enough plays down the stretch to finish the job.

Minnesota needed to wake up quickly or else they were going to suffer another defeat across international waters and the media would not show any mercy this time. Finally, with three minutes left, their offense woke up. On the second play after the two minute warning, Carson Wentz fired a rocket down the sideline to Justin Jefferson for a dynamic 21 yard catch, leaping over Denzel Ward to get closer into scoring range. After that play, the Vikings controlled the clock and then sealed the deal with 25 seconds left. On second down and five, Wentz floated a pass down the right sideline to a wide open Jordan Addison for the go-ahead touchdown! 

For Addison, this was bigger than just another highlight on the reel. Before the game began, the wide receiver missed a walkthrough practice and the punishment was getting benched in the first quarter. In the second, he was not even targeted. However, Addison finished the day with five catches for 41 yards and the score that won his team the game. He knew he made a mistake, he took accountability, and then responded by making the plays to help his team. That is a warming story to read if you ask me.

As for the Browns, this was definitely their day to make some noise and pull off a surprising upset, but the bottom line was that they did not do enough. Their defense forced a couple of takeaways and a lot of stops, yet they broke on the final drive. The offense looked better with Gabriel, but it proved that they are still just as flawed as they were with Joe Flacco. This is just a bad football team, so while I appreciated the fight, this was about closing the deal and they failed to do that.

The Vikings hang on for the win and will enter the bye week 3-2 while the Browns come up short once again to fall to 1-4, with the road trip continuing as they now have to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon.

HOUSTON TEXANS (44) vs. BALTIMORE RAVENS (10)

This game proved to be far worse than expected. The Ravens were seriously injured on both sides of the ball, but not once did I think that they would let up 44 points to the Houston Texans, whose offense has been one of the worst in the league to start the season. Maybe things would have been slightly better if Lamar Jackson played, yet it is unfair to say that the outcome would have changed.

CJ Stroud easily had the best game of his career since his rookie season. He had the best QBR in the National Football League at 99. He threw as many touchdowns as incomplete passes, which was four. Not only did he throw for close to 245 yards, but they ran all over the battered Ravens defense for 167 on the ground! Houston went seven for twelve on third down, a near perfect four for five in the red zone, and dominated the time of possession 37-23! Stroud led eight straight scoring drives before being pulled in garbage time for Davis Mills and the Texans just put on an absolute clinic against a team that was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender at the start of the season.

We all knew that Baltimore’s defense was atrocious, but their offense just had no momentum whatsoever. Cooper Rush threw three interceptions in his first start of the 2025 season, Derrick Henry was held to 33 yards on 15 touches, and their only touchdown of the game occurred when the team was down 34-3. Heck, it took until the final drive just for Baltimore to total 200 yards of offense! This was by far the most defeated and gutless performance I have ever seen from this football team, especially in the John Harbaugh era. It feels like deja vu from the 2015 season, when every notable player on their roster suffered season-ending injuries and they had to rely on the likes of Matt Schaub and Jimmy Clausen to get them through the year. Scapegoating defensive coordinator Zach Orr might not be enough for this team to get back on track. With the amount of guys on their injury report, knowing how horrible the defense has been all year and seeing that this offense gets in their own way at the worst possible time, it is going to take a miraculous run for this team to even make the playoffs. 

The Texans pull off a statement performance on the road and will enter the bye week 2-3 while the Ravens lose their third game in a row to fall to 1-4, heading back home for a must-win game against the Los Angeles Rams.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (26) vs. NEW YORK GIANTS (14)

After the first two drives of the game, it looked like the Giants were going to win in a heartbeat. Their offense had as strong of a start as you could ask for with a couple of early touchdown passes to Theo Johnson, they were balanced and they did not turn the ball over. The Saints were making enough plays to keep it close, such as the 87 yard touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed that made it a one point game, yet New York still had success moving the football. Unfortunately, not only did they fail to score the rest of the afternoon, but all it took was one play for them to lose their momentum.

With 1:30 remaining in the first half, Blake Grupe missed a 52 yard field goal, the Giants were in position to go down the field and score again, establishing a comfortable lead before the halftime break. However, just three plays into their next drive, Darius Slayton fumbled the football and the Saints recovered it for a key takeaway. Spencer Rattler got to start at the opponent’s 41 yard line as a result, and while they did not score a touchdown, they set up a more makeable field goal attempt for Grupe that put New Orleans ahead by two. 

Throughout the final thirty minutes of play, the Saints offense only scored three points. Rattler completed just five passes for 38 yards with just four first downs picked up. Normally, that would mean the Giants shook off that turnover and got back on track. They did not. On their first possession of the third quarter, Jaxson Dart lost control of the football as he tried to take off for a scramble and Cameron Jordan came up with the second fumble recovery of the afternoon for the Saints defense. That is what led to the easy field goal for Grupe, but it only got worse for New York from there.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Giants offense managed to have a solid drive all the way inside the fifteen yard line, until they coughed up the football for the third time! This time it was on a handoff to Cam Skattebo and not only did safety Jordan Howden recover it, but he returned it all the way to the house for the dagger touchdown. All of a sudden, New Orleans was ahead 26-14 when they were down 14-3 earlier in the game. Although their offense did nothing for the rest of the afternoon, the defense finished the job by picking off Dart twice, both of them in the hands of Kool-Aid McKinstry and they forced the final stop to win by 12. 

This was easily a winnable game for New York but when you turn the ball over five times on the road, it is no wonder you lose by double digits. Outside of one huge play in the second quarter, their defense did everything they could to try to win, but the offense let the team down at the worst possible moments. Give credit to New Orleans for finally having their fortitude pay off, but there are still many questions they need to answer.

The Saints finally get their first win of the season and are now 1-4, staying home for a slightly more challenging matchup as they welcome the New England Patriots. The Giants unfortunately fall back down to Earth as they also fall to 1-4, heading back on a short week to play the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football.

DENVER BRONCOS (21) vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (17)

Ladies and gentlemen, the Philadelphia Eagles finally got exposed this season. They barely managed to squeak out four straight wins to begin the year, but against the Denver Broncos, they blew a 17-3 lead in the fourth quarter and lost in gut wrenching fashion. The worst part about this was that it was at home. There is enough blame to go around for Philadelphia, but my biggest takeaway from this game is very simple: their offense was incredibly one dimensional.

When Saquon Barkley beat Alex Singleton on the double move to put the Eagles ahead by fourteen points, it looked like this was going to be their most promising victory of the season thus far. AJ Brown had his way with Patrick Surtain II on a few plays, DeVonta Smith was more involved in the passing game, and the defense kept Bo Nix out of the end zone for as long as possible. Yet all of a sudden, the Eagles just stopped running the football. Guess how many carries Barkley got in the second half? One. How about the amount of catches Brown made in that span? One. That Broncos defense amplified a good amount of pressure early on, but in the second half and especially in the fourth quarter, they were a brick wall. Jalen Hurts got sacked six times, two and a half of them from Nik Bonitto. In the last thirty minutes alone, Philly only picked up five more first downs and they could not convert on third down. The longer the offense stalled out, the more vulnerable their defense looked.

Bo Nix might not have been perfect on Sunday afternoon, but when it was time for him to show up, he made just enough plays to pull off a resounding upset. He did not turn the ball over, his confidence never wavered, and the team never gave up. Nix completed nine out of ten passes for 127 yards with a passer rating of 152.1 passer rating and it began with a touchdown run by JK Dobbins to make it a one score game early in the fourth quarter. On the next drive, Nix marched his team 72 yards down the field in just six plays for another touchdown thanks to an incredibly athletic play from Evan Engram, but Sean Payton was not playing for the tie. He kept the offense on the field for the two point conversion and the lead. On the play, Nix found his former college teammate Troy Franklin in the end zone and the Broncos now held a one point lead! One drive later, Denver milked enough time off the clock as possible to kick a chip shot field goal to increase their lead to four. Hurts could not pull off the miracle on his last possession and for the first time since 1986, the Eagles lost a home game to the Broncos! 

Denver deserves a lot of credit for showing plenty of resolve down the stretch and making an impressive comeback, but this game said more about Philadelphia’s flaws and weaknesses. Through the first four weeks, we knew that this team was not perfect. Their passing game has not been in sync, the defense loses discipline from time to time, and karma bit them right where it hurts. This is exactly what happened to them in 2023: huge expectations with new coordinators, they get off to a strong start but show their growing pains, and then suffer a catastrophic meltdown to end the year. Two years later, offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is on the hot seat and if this group continues to struggle, he might not make it to the halfway point of the season. 

The Broncos pull off a huge win on the road and are tied for the AFC West lead at 3-2, with a trip up to London for what should be a winnable game against the New York Jets. The Eagles lose their first game of the year but are still 4-1 and will take the road on a short week to visit the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football.

DALLAS COWBOYS (37) vs. NEW YORK JETS (22)

So much for me thinking that the Jets could make this competitive. Even though they had a three point lead early on, they just had no chance against the Cowboys. Dak Prescott was sensational with four touchdown passes, Javonte Williams ran through Jets defenders for 135 yards, and the leading receiver was Ryan Flournoy with 114 yards on just six catches! Dallas did not have CeeDee Lamb, KaVontae Turpin and three of their starting offensive linemen, yet it did not matter whatsoever because New York just looked like they did not belong in the NFL.

It took until garbage time just for the Jets to score their only two touchdowns of the afternoon. They were penalized ten more times for 61 yards and four of them were on the rookie right tackle Armand Membou. The only silver lining on the offense was that Breece Hall had 155 total yards from scrimmage, yet it was a lost fumble from him on a potential game tying drive that opened the floodgates for the Cowboys. Their defense has plummeted all the way to the second worst in terms of points allowed and have still not forced a takeaway this year. Now there are rumblings that Aaron Glenn might be fired when the season is over. It is not surprising that this team is bad because their offense has an incredibly low ceiling and the defense has not been the same since Robert Saleh got scapegoated last year. However, this has been a torturous season for New York and it already looks like they will be eliminated from playoff contention. At some point in time, this organization is going to run out of people to blame and they have to come to the realization that the fish is rotting at the top, but nobody is cleaning up the mess.

The Cowboys dominate on the road and are now 2-2-1, but will stay on the road for a critical matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Meanwhile, the Jets are officially the worst team in the league at 0-5 and will now have to travel to London for a more grueling matchup as they play the Denver Broncos.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (40) vs. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (6)

If there is one thing that the Raiders did on Sunday afternoon, it is that they forced the Colts to punt for the first time at home. Other than that, this team got absolutely destroyed.

Despite taking an early 3-0 lead, their defense immediately responded by allowing an 83 yard touchdown drive with Daniel Jones slicing up the secondary like it was nothing. However, the turning point play of the game came from the special teams. After the Vegas offense punted on the ensuing possession, Segun Olubi blocked the punt from AJ Cole and Indianapolis took over at the eight yard line, in which Jonathan Taylor immediately capitalized with a simple rushing touchdown to increase the Indianapolis lead 14-3. From that point on, the Raiders got absolutely crushed.

Geno Smith threw two more interceptions on Sunday afternoon, maintaining his lead in that category with nine for the year! Even if Brock Bowers was on the field, the outcome would not have changed. Moving the football was not the biggest issue. It was scoring and ball security. All six of their points came off of two field goal attempts from Daniel Carlson, but the defense easily had their worst game of the season.

Daniel Jones was poised from the start with over 200 yards and two touchdowns, he went eight for ten on third down, and a perfect six for six in the red zone! If the Colts did not lose their kicker Spencer Shrader to a season ending knee injury, they might have scored 50 points! After the three-and-out to start the game, Indianapolis’ offense reached the end zone on six straight possessions! Once they took the lead, they never lost it and the only mistakes they made were on a couple of two point conversion attempts that eventually had no weight on the outcome. They were by far the superior football team, but it is time to panic if you are Pete Carroll or Mark Davis.

The Colts bounce back with a dominating performance at home and are still tied for the AFC South lead at 4-1, staying in Lucas Oil Stadium for what should be a fun fight against the Arizona Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Raiders lose four straight to fall to 1-4, heading back home for another must win game as they welcome the Tennessee Titans.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (27) vs. MIAMI DOLPHINS (24)

The Carolina Panthers did exactly what they could not do in week two against the Arizona Cardinals. After putting themselves in a double digit hole due to a couple of costly turnovers, they rallied back to make it a competitive ball game and this time, they finished the job against the Dolphins.

Bryce Young was the biggest reason why Carolina was down 17-0 early in the second quarter. After getting the ball punched out by Bradley Chubb on a strip sack, Young badly overthrew Xavier Legette and it resulted in an interception for Minkah Fitzpatrick, which resulted in the first two touchdowns for Miami. The Panthers were near the brink of disaster but to their credit, those were the only mistakes they made for the rest of the afternoon. What really gave this team the spark they needed happened the next time Young got the ball back. On fourth and five at the Miami 48 yard line, head coach Dave Canales gave his quarterback the green light to go for it and extend the drive. Once the ball was snapped, Young had to dodge out of two sacks and escape to his right, eventually flinging it down the field to an open Tet McMillan for a huge pickup of 21 yards. Not too long afterwards, Young threw an absolute dime of a touchdown pass to Xavier Legette in the corner of the end zone, and the Panthers were officially back in business. Their defense forced a three-and-out on the next drive thanks to a sack from A’Shawn Robinson and when the offense returned to the field, they did enough to set up a 35 yard field goal attempt, officially making it a one score game.

On the first play of the second half, running back Rico Dowdle set the tone with a 53 yard run all the way into the red zone, but a penalty and sack caused the drive to stall out for another field goal attempt. Throughout the rest of the third quarter, both defenses played valiantly and kept the other team off the board, so this was going to come down to which offense was going to show up in the clutch.

At the ten minute mark of the fourth quarter, instead of shutting down, Carolina triumphed and overcame the odds. It started with another long run of 43 yards from Dowdle, who happened to finish with over 200 yards in his first start of the season, capped off with the go-ahead touchdown run at the one yard line. However, just three plays later, Tua Tagovailoa fired a 46 yard touchdown rocket down the left sideline to Jaylen Waddle to put Miami back up by four points! It seriously took until there were five minutes left in the game for this team to reach the end zone on a drive that was not assisted by a turnover, but all the defense had to do was make one stop for them to hang onto the win. Yet, that was clearly not the case.

On the final drive of the afternoon, Rico Dowdle was not the main focal point for the Panthers offense. It was their quarterback. On the second play, Young threw an absolute dot down the left sideline to Legette that already got Carolina within scoring range, but he faced fourth and five at the 33 yard line. From his point of view, the game could not end the way it did a few weeks ago, when he could not complete the comeback against Arizona. This time, Young found the undrafted rookie Jimmy Horn Jr. on the crosser for a clutch 17 yard pickup. On the next play, the third string back Trevor Etienne found plenty of running room on the outside to set up first and goal, in which Young found the tight end Mitchell Evans wide open for the go ahead touchdown! However, Tua still had time to keep the game alive.

Miami got the ball back with 1:54 remaining, but thanks to a couple of clutch pass breakups and a sack from Pat Jones II, the offense was forced to punt with all three timeouts in their back pocket. It all came down to a third down and five for Carolina to officially put the game away but an incomplete pass to Hunter Renfrow stopped the clock. That was until a flag was thrown on cornerback Jack Jones for pass interference, officially putting the game away and giving the Panthers the win!

The biggest reason why I felt the Dolphins gave this one away is because their offense was one dimensional, especially in the second half. It looked like this was going to be a masterful road victory after taking an early 17-0 lead, but it turned out that the two early turnovers from Bryce Young were the only reason why Miami got on the board in the first place. When the third quarter started, they simply just stopped running the football. De’Von Achane only touched the ball three times in that span, but he was held to 16 yards throughout the entire game. Darren Waller caught five passes for 78 yards in the first half with an early touchdown and then did not even get targeted since! The offense only picked up four more first downs, they failed to convert on five third down attempts, and only totaled 103 yards! 

As for Carolina, they were the exact opposite. They did not have Chuba Hubbard on Sunday afternoon but Rico Dowdle absolutely flourished and took advantage of the opportunity he was given. Without him, there is not a chance that this team comes back from that large of a deficit. However, Bryce Young deserves his flowers. He got off to one of the worst starts you could think of as a quarterback, but shook it off and made incredible plays down the stretch that gave the Panthers a needed victory. The minute that he finds some consistency in his approach, especially on the road, then he will be fun to watch for the rest of the season. 

The Panthers pull off a big win at home and bounce back to 2-3, staying home for a slightly more challenging game as they welcome the Dallas Cowboys. Meanwhile, the Dolphins implode once again to fall to 1-4 and will head back home for a grudge match against the Los Angeles Chargers.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (38) vs. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (35)

It is not surprising to see that this was an exciting grudge match between two of the top three picks of the same draft class, but it is always fun to watch a back-and-forth spectacle that came down to the wire. At the end of the day, Baker Mayfield not only showed up in the clutch, but made the least amount of mistakes to win the game.

In the first half, the Buccaneers got off to a strong 13-0 lead with three straight scoring drives, while the Seahawks left points off the board with a missed field goal and a lost fumble on a trick play. After Tampa reached the end zone for the first time, Sam Darnold mastered a successful two minute drive that ended with a dart in the back of the end zone to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, cutting the Seattle deficit to six. It was a strong way to finish the half, but it was even better to start the third quarter because their offense was going to get the ball back.

It only took four plays for the Seahawks to take their first lead of the game, but it would not last long. In just five minutes, the Buccaneers responded with a touchdown drive of their own and a successful two point conversion put them back up by seven. What proceeded throughout the rest of the second half was a back-and-forth shootout. Neither offense could be stopped and both quarterbacks were prolific, so it was going to take one defensive stop for one of these teams to come through with the win.

With close to seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Seattle’s defense forced a punt for just the second time all afternoon! However, the offense got pinned at the one yard line thanks to an incredible punt from Riley Dixon, so scoring was going to be a hard task to accomplish. Yet in only a few minutes, the Seahawks waltzed right down the field like it was nothing and on fourth down at the 21 yard line, Darnold found a wide open Troy Horton for the go-ahead touchdown! Of course that was not the end of the game because just five plays later, Mayfield tied the game at 35 with a touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard. All Darnold needed to do was get into field goal range and he had 1:08 to succeed, so this was an all-or-nothing drive.

Unfortunately, just two plays into the possession, the quarterback threw a back breaking interception to Lavonte David that set the Buccaneers well into field goal range. Eventually, Mayfield controlled the clock and a 39 yard kick from Chase McLaughlin officially ended the game with a Tampa Bay victory.

Nobody is going to remember the fact that Darnold threw for over 340 yards with four touchdown passes, that he went six for nine on third down, or that he scored 35 points against Tampa Bay. Instead, they are going to think of that one interception that cost Seattle the game. This team was in perfect position to win their fourth straight, but they made a few too many mistakes for them to get it done.

At the same time, we cannot dismiss how incredible Baker Mayfield has been all season long. With his third different offensive coordinator in as many seasons, he entered this game without his best running back, top wide receiver and two of his starting offensive linemen. Against a really strong Seattle defense, he threw only four incompletions and had 379 yards with two touchdown passes. His QBR was a 91, which was the second best in the National Football League. He was the one that carried this team to the finish line and it is not sacrilegious to say he should be the leading candidate for MVP. Once this team gets healthier, then they are going to be a scary team to watch, especially if they are back in the playoffs.

The Bucs win a Sunday thriller and bounce back to 4-1, heading back home for another exciting game, this time against the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks lose in heartbreaking fashion but are still in the Wild Card hunt at 3-2, yet they will have to travel across the country for a challenging matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

TENNESSEE TITANS (22) vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS (21)

There is only one word that comes to mind when I think about this game: karma. This is specifically associated with the Arizona Cardinals. The reason why is because after nearly blowing two easily winnable games to the Saints and Panthers, they finally got what they wanted and choked away a 21-3 lead to the winless Tennessee Titans and lost 22-21. Once again, the Cardinals did everything they could to lose and this time, the Titans took advantage and looked like a team! 

If you told me that Cam Ward was going to finish the first half completing five of just sixteen passes, that Arizona would total 168 yards on the ground and that Tennessee would be down fifteen points at the end of the half, I would say that the final score would be 42-13. Instead, right on schedule, the Cardinals offense completely shut down and let the opposition hang around too long. The most jarring stat of the day? Three turnovers. 

The first of them occurred on their first possession of the third quarter. Leading up to the turnover, it looked like Arizona was going to pick up where they left off in the first half and stomp all over the feeble Tennessee defense. It looked like they were going to settle for a field goal after a holding call, but on third and twelve, Kyler Murray completely botched the snap and did not even go after the football. The Titans recovered and the offense could not take advantage, but those were at least three points that the Cardinals left off the board. Wait, it gets better.

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, running back Emari Demercado exploded up the right side and appeared to officially put the game away with a 72 yard touchdown run that would have put his team ahead by over 20 points! However, before crossing the goal line, he dropped the football and it rolled into the back of the end zone for a touchback! I feel like I have seen this happen too many times in the league and the only way to fix it is very simple: WAIT UNTIL YOU GET IN THE END ZONE! Once that play happened, the Titans got some life back in the game and their offense took off.

Before the fourth quarter, Ward only completed eight of 21 passes for 72 yards with zero touchdowns. In the final fifteen, he went 13 of 18 for 193. Not bad for your first breakout performance! It only took six plays and a couple minutes for the first overall pick to reach the end zone thanks to a couple of big throws to Elic Aymanor and Calvin Ridley. At the one yard line, Tony Pollard got the score that Tennessee needed, but Joey Slye missed the extra point and the team remained behind by nine. Fittingly, the Cardinals offense went three-and-out on the next possession, which gave Ward a chance to make it a one score game. 

Once he got the ball back, he led the Titans all the way to the opponent’s 20 yard line, but threw a back breaking interception to Dadrion Taylor-Demerson. Don’t worry, this play is not over. As the defensive back tried to stand up and return it for extra yardage, he lost control of the football! All of a sudden, nobody gets clear possession until it rolls its way into the endzone, which was recovered by Tyler Lockett for an inexplicable touchdown! Just the way Tennessee drew it up!

Arizona really needed to put the game away to suffer a humiliating defeat with a couple more first downs to run out the clock, but before the two minute warning, they went three-and-out. Blake Gillikin managed to pin the Titans at the eighteen yard line and there was still a sliver of confidence left because their defense was capable of getting one last stop. However, a 38 yard shot to Ridley down the sideline got the ball well in the red zone and it set up an easy game winning field goal for Slye. Comeback successful, choke job completed.

I am happy that Tennessee got their first win of the year and that Cam Ward pulled off a tremendous fourth quarter comeback, but we all know that this was all about Arizona. The only way to win that game was hold onto the football and not get in their own way and they predictably failed. They might have been 2-0 to start the year, but we all know that they were fraudulent and not a legitimate contender. Now this is their third straight loss and the cracks are getting wider. If this spirals further out of control, then Jonathan Gannon might have to think about his job security moving forward.

The Titans finally get win number one on the board and are now 1-4, but will stay on the road for a Sunday game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Meanwhile, the Cardinals choke away an easy win to fall to 2-3 and will take the road for a more challenging matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (27) vs. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (10)

Okay now it is time to start worrying about the Chargers. Last week’s loss against the Giants was one thing, but to surrender 27 unanswered points at home to Washington is definitely concerning. The worst part about this is that LA was up 10-0 after the first quarter. Sure, their only touchdown was thanks to an offsides penalty on a field goal attempt, but it felt like they were going to completely bounce back from last week and re-establish themselves as the team to beat in the AFC West. Their defense forced two consecutive punts against Jayden Daniels, who made his return from a knee sprain, so they were setting the tone as well.

All of the momentum swung the other way around the eight minute mark of the second quarter. On a rope from Justin Herbert to Quentin Johnston over the middle of the field, the receiver fumbled the football and Marshon Lattimore recovered it at the 26 yard line! Once the Commanders offense scored on the ensuing possession, not only did they stay in sync for the rest of the afternoon, but the Chargers were completely neutralized. 

Herbert got sacked four times and only threw for 166 yards on 22 completions. When he had a chance to make it a one score game in the fourth quarter, he threw a deflected interception in the end zone to Mike Sainristil that effectively put the game on ice. Just one week after committing 14 penalties for 105 yards, LA got flagged 10 more times for 85 yards. The worst of them was on the last drive of the first half, when a roughing the kicker penalty took away a punt return touchdown from Ladd McConkey and allowed Washington to tie the game at 10. To make matters worse, their rookie running back Omarion Hampton is on injured reserve with an ankle injury, so Jim Harbaugh is not going to have a vital running game for the next month. This has been a sloppy two week stretch for this football team and they better get out of this slump sooner than later, or else they are going to suffer the same fate as they did last year.

The Commanders, on the other hand, looked rejuvenized with Jayden Daniels back in the lineup. One of the things that I said that the Chargers needed to do to win was stop the run, but Jacory Croskey-Merritt turned into a lightning rod with 111 yards on 14 carries with two wide open touchdown runs! Terry McLaurin did not play for the second week in a row but Deebo Samuel really stepped up as the number one wide receiver with 96 yards on eight catches. Washington beat their opponent at their own game and it was the victory that they needed to reassert themselves in the playoff race.

The Commanders pull off an impressive win on the road and are back in the column at 3-2, heading home for a Monday night showdown against the Chicago Bears. The Chargers lose their second game in a row and are tethering at 3-2, with a trip across the country for a must win game against the Miami Dolphins.

DETROIT LIONS (37) vs. CINCINNATI BENGALS (24)

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Jake Browning threw three touchdown passes and Ja’Marr Chase had 110 receiving yards. By the time the Bengals offense got in a groove, they were down 28-3 at the start of the fourth quarter because their quarterback threw three interceptions. Even when Cincinnati reached the end zone, the Lions made sure that this was not going to be a comeback. 

Jared Goff had to overcome four sacks, but still threw for close to 260 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for close to 120 yards on the ground while Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta carried the passing game. Detroit reached the red zone six times on Sunday afternoon and succeeded on five of their trips. To top it off, Derrick Barnes sacked Browning in the end zone for a safety and an extra two points. For the record, the Lions could have had two plays like that if Terrion Arnold did not get flagged for illegal contact. It is no question that after four weeks, this team appears to be the best in football after a dud in week one, so all I can ever hope for is for them to finally get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl.

The Bengals, on the other hand, are nowhere near that point. Joe Burrow is out. That has been a huge loss in more ways than one. However, this team looks like they have given up. After four games played, Browning is second in interceptions behind Geno Smith. The defense is still just as bad as they were last year. The offensive line is just as atrocious. They cannot run the ball to save their lives. When Ja’Marr Chase is the leading tackler in a football game, that is utterly atrocious. The fact that the front office thinks Joe Flacco is going to be a serviceable option to keep this team competitive proves that Zac Taylor is desperate. Now I am starting to think that they sold their souls to not start the year 0-2 again.

The Lions dominate on the road with their fourth straight win to surge to 4-1, but will have a more challenging contest ahead of them as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Bengals drop their third game in a row to fall to 2-3 and will take the road for another brutal matchup as they play the Green Bay Packers.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (23) vs. BUFFALO BILLS (20)

The last of the undefeated teams has fallen. For the 72 Dolphins, this was their Super Bowl. The same can be said for the New England Patriots, who marched into Buffalo on Sunday night and pulled off an incredible three point upset against the arch rival Bills. It was not perfect by any means necessary, but this win gave many Patriots fans something they have not felt for a long time: hope.

In the first half, neither offense could get anything going. Buffalo committed a ton of penalties and coughed up the ball a couple of times, scoring just three points. New England was also sloppy. Rhamondre Stevenson lost yet another fumble midway through the first quarter, yet they were up by three points at halftime! The only problem was that Josh Allen was going to get the ball to start the third quarter so this game was far from over.

Right on cue, the Bills easily walked down the field to begin the second half and it took a wide open touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel to put them ahead by four. However, instead of predictably giving up, the Patriots responded with a go-ahead touchdown drive of their own! It looked like this was going to be a back-and-forth shootout all the way until the end, but on second down at the New England 19 yard line, Allen threw an interception to Marcus Jones! This was the third turnover of the night for Buffalo’s offense and gave the opposition even more momentum! Thanks to a 30 yard catch-and-run from Stefon Diggs along with a walk-in touchdown by Rhamondre Stevenson, New England was now ahead by 10 in the fourth quarter! The Mafia at Highmark Stadium was stunned while the fans in Foxboro were jumping for joy. Yet there was still plenty of time for Buffalo to come back.

When the Patriots defense took the field on the next drive, they started to lose their composure. The penalties piled up, Dalton Kincaid was torching the opposing secondary, and it was not shocking to see Keon Coleman get wide open for a touchdown that made it a one score game again. New England went three-and-out on the next possession and hope was restored in Buffalo for the time being. Allen got his team back in scoring range before the two minute warning, but three straight incompletions that included two clutch breakups from Christian Gonzalez forced a 45 yard field goal attempt to tie the game. 

This final offensive possession for the Patriots was going to tell the world everything they needed to know about Drake Maye. On the first play, minds were absolutely blown. On a play-action pass, DaQuan Jones fired up the middle unblocked and nearly had the quarterback wrapped up for a sack. However, Maye somehow stayed on his feet as he was sprinting to the right and found Diggs for a big first down completion. On the next play, he took a shot to Kayshon Boutte that was caught at the 39 yard line. Buffalo was forced to burn all three of their timeouts but the defense still managed to force a 52 yard field goal for Andy Borregales. However, the rookie kicker did not flinch as the ball sailed right down the middle and effectively gave New England the win!

My big picture takeaway is simple: Drake Maye outplayed Josh Allen from start to finish. In the second half alone, he only threw one incomplete pass. He did not turn the ball over. When he got a chance to close the deal, he put the team on his back. New England barely had a running game, the offensive line gave up four sacks, yet Maye still overcame the odds. There is a reason why I predicted the Patriots were going to make the playoffs and it was because of this guy. However, I would be remiss if I did not highlight another star that shined bright. In his return to Buffalo since being traded last offseason, Stefon Diggs was fantastic. On 12 targets, he caught 10 of them for 146 yards. This was his second consecutive 100+ yard game and the dynamic between him and Maye has officially taken off. This was the win that New England needed to let the world know that they are building something strong and Mike Vrabel deserves a ton of credit for that. After this week, they are looking like a hopeful playoff contender and all they have to keep doing is not lose their way.

Buffalo just simply made too many mistakes to win that game. Give Josh Allen credit for tying the score, yet it should not have come to that for them. They got flagged 11 times for 90 yards, they turned the ball over three times and that is why they lost. However, nobody should completely overreact about this defeat. Unless they enter a slump that looks unfixable, then I will start to worry. Until that happens, this team will be fine moving forward.

The Patriots get a huge win on the road and are finally above 500 at 3-2, staying on the road for another winnable game as they visit the New Orleans Saints. The Bills lose their first game of the year but are still leading the AFC East at 4-1 and will take the road for a chance to bounce back against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (31) vs. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (28)

If you told me that the Chiefs were going to be ahead 14 nothing and Trevor Lawrence would fumble the ball on the goal-line, my response would be that this was a 40 point blowout. However, it was not the case. Not only did Jacksonville stay in the game, but they pulled through in the fourth quarter and pulled one of the most intense upsets of the season! Let’s start from the beginning.

The Jaguars got the ball to begin the first quarter, yet the offense went three-and-out on their first two drives. Right on schedule, Kansas City threw the first punch and took the first lead. When Lawrence got the ball back, he impressively led his team all the way to the one yard line, but tried to go over the top on fourth down and the ball was punched out for a fumble recovery by Kansas City. To nobody’s surprise, the Chiefs offense marched from their own three yard line all the way to the Jacksonville nine, in which Patrick Mahomes took the ball himself on a zone read and walked into the end zone to go ahead 14-0. However, Trevor Lawrence did not lose his confidence at any point. On the next possession, he threw one of the easiest interceptions that got dropped by multiple defenders, but made up for it with two big scrambles to get in the red zone. On first and goal at the three, he found Parker Washington in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, making it a ball game again! The only downside was that it gave Mahomes enough time to get a few more points on the board, but the Jaguars defense forced a three-and-out! The only problem I had was that head coach Liam Coen did not call a timeout to give their offense more time on the clock to score again, but in retrospect, it might have been a good thing.

Kansas City got the ball to begin the third quarter and went three-and-out again, giving Jacksonville a legitimate chance of tying the game! When I was expecting this game to be a predictable victory for the Chiefs, Travis Hunter made a fantastic 44 yard catch over the top of two defenders at the opponent’s 28 yard line, and the opening possession immediately ended with a great breakaway touchdown run for Trevor Lawrence. Now the game was tied again but it did not take too long for Mahomes to get inside the five yard line again. On second and goal at the three yard line, it looked like he had JuJu Smith-Schuster wide open in the end zone for a touchdown! Instead, the pass was intercepted by Devin Lloyd in the middle of the field and the linebacker returned it 99 yards for a go-ahead pick six! All of a sudden, Jacksonville was ahead 21-14 when they were down 14-0! Thanks to a few costly penalties, the Chiefs punted on the ensuing possession and now Lawrence had a chance to put the game away with another score!

However, just two plays later, he threw an interception to Trent McDuffie that immediately set Kansas City up in the red zone. For the record, it looked like the officials should have thrown a flag for pass interference, but the score was eventually tied at 21 nonetheless. The Jaguars offense did a little better on the next drive, yet they stalled out for a 52 yard field goal, only putting them ahead by three with eight minutes left in the game. In vintage Mahomes fashion, he carved up the Jacksonville secondary on a 12 play drive that ended with a go ahead touchdown run for Kareem Hunt, his second of the night.

With 1:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, Trevor Lawrence had a chance to do the impossible: beat Patrick Mahomes at his own game. The odds were stacked against him, but at home on a Monday night stage, anything was possible. It did not start with a sack split by Leo Chenal and George Karlaftis, but on a big third and seven, Lawrence dropped an absolute dime in the bucket to Brian Thomas Jr. for a huge 33 yard completion at the Kansas City 24 yard line. Another solid completion to Dyami Brown brought the ball close to the ten yard line, yet a delay of game penalty forced third and long. On a deep shot to the end zone, Bryan Cook dove for what appeared to be the winning interception, but another flag was thrown. This time, it was defensive pass interference on Chamarri Conner that immediately placed the ball at the one yard line. With no timeouts and 30 seconds left, Lawrence had to get this ball in the end zone. On the very next play, right guard Patrick Mekari stepped on the quarterback’s foot and Lawrence fell to the ground. Getting back up, he got free from two pass rushers and somehow had a wide open running lane into the end zone for the game winning touchdown! It was absolutely mind boggling, literally unbelievable, and Kansas City was flat out stunned. With all three timeouts in his pocket, Mahomes still had a chance to get into field goal range and potentially tie the game, but Jacksonville never bent for a second and sealed the deal on the final drive. 

I thought that the comeback against the Chargers in the Wild Card was the best career game for Trevor Lawrence, but I think this one just vaulted its way to the top. While he was certainly far from perfect, he was absolutely prolific in the clutch and never backed down for a single second. The turnovers might have kept Kansas City hanging around, but Lawrence still did more than enough in the final minutes to get the win and he deserves a ton of respect.

For Kansas City, there are no excuses for this defeat. They have nobody to blame but themselves. Just when you thought this team would get back on the right track, this happens. They were flagged 13 times for 109 yards, their quarterback threw the pick six that played a huge role in Jacksonville winning and Chris Jones decided to loaf in the middle of the field on the game winning touchdown. Right now, the leadership is not there for this football team and there is enough blame to give to everybody. They might have been able to get away with close victories last year, but in three games this season, they failed to get the job done. I guess this is what happens when you do not get to play the Giants or the battered Ravens every single week.

The Jaguars pull off another statement victory and are leading the AFC South at 4-1, staying home for another exciting matchup as they welcome the Seattle Seahawks. Meanwhile, the Chiefs lose their way once again to fall to 2-3 and will head back home for a must win game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football.