There weren't a lot of offensive fireworks around the NFL through the first four weeks of the season, but that changed in Week 5 with quarterbacks taking over. Over the first four weeks, there was only one instance where a QB threw for at least 330 yards with three touchdowns (Jordan Love), but that changed in Week 5 with FOUR quarterbacks hitting those marks so far, including two in the same game.
Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow put on a show during Baltimore's wild 41-38 overtime win in Cincinnati. Jackson threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns while Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns (Kirk Cousins and Joe Flacco are the other two quarterbacks who threw for at least 330 yards and three touchdowns in Week 5).
Basically, it's been a wild week so far. There have been 12 games played through 4 p.m. on Sunday and we're grading them all, so let's get to the grades, starting with Baltimore's big win.
The Ravens defense couldn't stop Joe Burrow, but that didn't matter, because Lamar Jackson was around to save the day. The Ravens QB had one of the most impressive passing days of his entire career on Sunday with 348 yards and four touchdowns. Every time it looked like the Ravens might be out of it, Jackson would get them back in it. He kept the Bengals defense guessing by completing his 26 passes to nine different receivers. Seven of those were caught by Zay Flowers, who had a monstrous game with 111 yards. If Jackson continues to throw the ball like this, the Ravens are going to be nearly impossible to beat. Baltimore also got a confidence-boosting performance from Justin Tucker, who hit a 56-yard field goal to tie things in the fourth quarter before hitting the game-winner in OT. With three straight wins, the Ravens suddenly look like the best team in the AFC North.
The Bengals let this one slip away. Joe Burrow threw a career-high five touchdown passes, but those went to waste due to some late mistakes, some conservative coaching and a defense that couldn't stop Lamar Jackson. Although Burrow played perfect football for nearly 57 minutes, he threw an interception late in the game that led to a game-tying field goal. The defense did a great job of bottling up Derrick Henry for most of the game, but then gave up a 51-yard run in OT that set up the game-winning field goal. Zac Taylor called a great game on offense, but then the Bengals went totally conservative in overtime with three runs, which forced Cincinnati to settle for a 53-yard field goal that Evan McPherson missed due to a bad hold. This team is good, but it's not good enough to overcome mistakes like that. At 1-4, the Bengals season is now hanging on by a thread.
It looks like the Raiders officially have a QB controversy. Antonio Pierce decided to bench Gardner Minshew in a move that came after Minshew threw his second interception of the game. The problem for the Raiders is that Aidan O'Connell wasn't much better: His first two drives ended with a three-and-out and an interception. As old adage goes in the NFL, if you have two quarterbacks, you have none, and it will be interesting to see what Pierce decides to do going forward. The quarterbacks didn't get any help from a Raiders defense that missed quite a few tackles, but the bottom line is that the QB play has to be better.
The Broncos gave Patrick Surtain a $96 million extension before the start of the season and he showed why they're paying him the the big bucks. Surtain had two interceptions, including a 100-yard pick-six in the first quarter that started a run of 31 straight points for Denver. Offensively, Bo Nix had another efficient game. He's not wowing anyone with this throws, but he's not making many mistakes. He threw for 206 yards while totaling three touchdowns, including one on the ground. With three wins in a row, the Broncos are quietly starting to look like one of the better teams in the AFC.
The addition of Xavier McKinney is suddenly looking like the best defensive free agent signing of the year. McKinney forced two turnovers against the Rams, which both came in the second half. The Packers were able to get 14 points off those turnovers to put the game out of reach. McKinney was one of the few bright spots for a defense that did struggle some to slow down the Rams. Offensively, Jordan Love threw an early pick-six, but he made up for it by throwing a 66-yard TD to Tucker Kraft in the third quarter. The Packers weren't perfect, but sometimes you don't need to be perfct to win in the NFL.
The Rams had this game in their grasp, but then they came out of halftime and fell flat on their face by turning the ball over on each of their first two possessions, with both turnovers coming in Green Bay territory. That was the story of the game for the Rams: They were able to move the ball, but they just couldn't finish their drives. Besides the two turnovers, they also had two failed fourth downs with one coming at the 4-yard line in the first quarter and the second one coming on their final offensive play of the game in the fourth quarter. The Rams just couldn't get a big play when they needed one, and now, at 1-4, their season is on the brink of disaster.
The Cardinals pulled off a stunning win thanks to a rushing attack that gashed up the 49ers and a defense that came up with some big plays in the second half. James Conner (86 yards) and Kyler Murray (83) combined to average 6.5 yards per carry and their success on the ground seemed to wear down the 49ers defense late in the game. Defensively, the Cards came up with three turnovers in the second half that set up two field goals from Chad Ryland. This was a solid win for a team that didn't give up. The Cardinals had lost four straight to the 49ers, but after pulling off a wild comeback, this feels like a win that could turn around their season.
With the 49ers leading 23-10 at halftime, this game looked like it was going to turn into a blowout, but then San Francisco had a second half meltdown. The offense fumbled the game away with three turnovers over the final two quarters, including a fumble by Jordan Mason that came inside of Arizona's 10-yard line. Brock Purdy also threw two interceptions on a day where he struggled with his accuracy. The 49ers red zone offense was a disaster with San Francisco scoring just one touchdown on six trips inside Arizona's 20. It didn't help the 49ers that Jake Moody got hurt, which meant that kicking field goals wasn't an option. This was a bad loss for a team that's regularly been blowing leads under Kyle Shanahan. Since he was hired in 2017, the 49ers have lost six games where they led by double digits in the fourth quarter, which is tied for the most in the NFL over that span.
The Giants might have found a star in Tyrone Tracy. The rookie fifth-round pick ran for 129 yards and his performance helped propel the Giants offense. With the Seahawks worried about Tracy, that opened things up for Daniel Jones, who had an impressive game, throwing for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Dexter Lawrence was the defensive hero for the Giants as he racked up three of their seven sacks. The win wasn't sealed until the Giants blocked a Seahawks field goal attempt in the final minute. The Giants thoroughly outplayed the Seahawks in every phase of the game and if New York hadn't given up a 102-yard fumble return TD in the first quarter, this game might have been a blowout win for the Giants.
The Seahawks' high-powered offense was shut down and that happened because Geno Smith spent most of the game running for his life. Smith was sacked seven times with six of those coming in the second half, including four in the final quarter. Rayshawn Jenkins came up with the biggest play of the day for the Seahawks when he returned a fumble 102 yards for a TD, but other than that, Seattle's defense seemed to struggle with a Giants offense that didn't have Malik Nabers. After starting the season 3-0, the Seahawks' season is suddenly starting to fall apart.
If Josh Allen struggles, it's almost impossible for the Bills to win and Allen had one of the worst games of his career. The Bills QB completed just nine passes on 30 attempts (30%), which was the fewest completions by a QB with at least 30 passing attempts since 1992. The Bills defense came up with multiple big plays, including an interception and a strip-sack of C.J. Stroud that both came in the fourth quarter, but the offense couldn't capitalize. Also, Sean McDermott made a questionable decision to call for three passes from his own end zone with 32 seconds left when he simply could have played for overtime. If Allen plays better, the Bills probably win, so no one in Buffalo should be panicking, but this was a brutal loss for the Bills.
Not many defenses are able contain Josh Allen, but the Texans managed that in this game and that's a big reason why Houston was able to win. The Texans had Allen on the run, which led to quite a few erratic passes from the Bills QB, who totaled just 185 yards. Offensively, the Texans weren't perfect. C.J. Stroud turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter, but he did throw for 331 yards, including a short pass that set up Ka'imi Fairbairn's game-winning 59-yard field goal. With this win over the Bills, the Texans are probably feeling like they can beat anyone in the NFL.
The Panthers offense got a big spark after Andy Dalton was given the starting job, but it seems like that spark has now been extinguished. The Panthers actually had an impressive opening drive that ended with a Chuba Hubbard TD, but the wheels fell off the wagon after that. It also didn't help that the Panthers defense got carved up by Caleb Williams, who threw for 304 yards. At this point, it feels like it doesn't matter who's at QB for Carolina, this team just isn't going to win too many more games this season with the talent it has.
This game went about as perfectly as possible for the Bears: Caleb Williams had a breakout day and the defense looked dominant. For the first time this season, Williams looked to be in TOTAL command of the Bears offense on a day where he completed 69% of his passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns, which both went to DJ Moore. Williams had a strong connection with Moore who caught five passes for 105 yards. With Williams looking better every week, the Bears could turn into a surprising playoff contender this year, especially when you add in the fact that their defense has also been strong.
The Dolphins made a lot of big mistakes in this game, but since they were playing the Patriots, it didn't matter. On special teams alone, they had a missed field goal, a botched field goal attempt after a bad snap and they gave up a blocked punt, but the defense played so well that Miami was able to overcome that. In his second start, Tyler Huntley struggled some, but he did lead an 80-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Alec Ingold scoring what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. With their performance, the Dolphins probably wouldn't have beaten too many teams, but they played well enough to beat the Patriots.
With the roster they have, the Patriots aren't going to win unless they play a nearly perfect game and they didn't come close to playing a perfect game. Jerod Mayo continues to stick with Jacoby Brissett, but maybe he'll change his mind after this loss. The Patriots had four straight possessions in the second half where they could have taken control of the game, but the offense sputtered each time. If the Patriots can't beat this Dolphins team, they might not win another game.
It might be time for the Browns to blow everything up and start over. This team seems to hit a new low every week and in Washington, it hit rock bottom. Deshaun Watson had another ugly performance that included a lost fumble and an interception. At some point, the Browns have to think giving someone else a chance. The Cleveland offense couldn't move the ball against a Commanders defense that had surrendered the seventh-most yards in the NFL through five weeks. The Browns defense had been the one bright spot for Cleveland through the first few weeks, but it got dominated by a Commanders offense that piled up 434 yards. This was a nightmare performance for a team that doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
The Commanders were so good in this game that they were able to bench Jayden Daniels for the entire fourth quarter. Before he left, though, he terrorized the Browns defense on a day where he totaled 320 yards with 238 of that coming through the air. Daniels thoroughly outplayed Deshaun Watson, who was the one that looked like the rookie QB in this game. As good as Daniels was, Washington's defense was better. Although the defense had struggled some this season, it played nearly perfectly against Cleveland, shutting the Browns down on third down (they went 1 of 13) while holding them to 212 yards. That's now two straight games where the defense has looked dominant and if the defense keeps playing as well as the offense, there's no reason this team can't win the NFC East.
It's hard to crush Indianapolis for this loss. The Colts were down to their backup QB and they ALMOST still won. Joe Flacco diced up the Jaguars secondary for 359 yards and three touchdowns. The Colts had six different receivers catch at least three passes with Alec Pierce leading the way (134 yards and a TD). The problem for the Colts, though, is that their defense couldn't stop the big play. The Jags had THREE plays in the game that went for 60 yards or more and when you're giving up that many home runs in the NFL, you're going to lose.
The 0-4 Jaguars were desperate for a win and they played like a desperate team. Doug Pederson put this game in the hands of his quarterback and Trevor Lawrence responded by throwing for a career-high 371 yards and two touchdowns. Lawerence came up especially clutch during a fourth quarter where he went 10 of 12 for 117 yards and a TD. The Jaguars had a well-rounded offense with Tank Bigsby going for over 100 yards on the ground (101) and Brian Thomas Jr. going over 100 yards through the air (122 yards). If the offense looks like this, the Jaguars might be able to scratch and claw their way into the playoff race by late November, but the defense will certainly need to play better if that's going to happen.
At the start of the 2024 season, Aaron Rodgers was the oldest player in the NFL and he's playing like the oldest player in the NFL, which isn't a good thing for New York. The Jets offense continues to look totally out of sync and a big reason for that is because Rodgers is struggling with his accuracy. Rodgers completed just 53.7% of his passes while also tying a career-high with three interceptions, including a pick six in the first half. The Jets defense forced two turnovers while holding Minnesota to one offensive touchdown, but that wasn't enough because Rodgers and the offense are playing so poorly. Garrett Wilson caught 13 passes, but it took 22 targets to get him there. This was the kind of offensive performance that might be enough to convince the Jets that they need to make a trade for Davante Adams.
The Vikings have been piling up points this season, but even when their offense doesn't show up, they proved that they can still win games. Minnesota improved to 5-0 thanks to a defense that beat up on Aaron Rodgers. Not only did the Vikings sack him three times, but the opportunistic defense also came away with three interceptions, including a pick six by Andrew Van Ginkel in the first quarter. Stephon Gilmore also had an impressive game-sealing pick on New York's final offensive possession in the fourth quarter. Although the offense wasn't flashy, the Vikings proved they can beat you in multiple ways and they continue to look like one of the best teams in the NFC.
The Buccaneers looked to have this game in hand until they absolutely fell apart in the fourth quarter. The Bucs had the chance to put the game away with just under three minutes left, but Bucky Irvin lost a fumble at Atlanta's 25-yard line. They got another chance to put the game away after a Lavonte David interception at Atlanta's 28-yard line with under two minutes left, but they blew that opportunity. It was that kind of day for the Buccaneers, they were in control for most of the game before they completely lost control. The biggest concern for Todd Bowles is that his defense got gashed up for 509 yards by Kirk Cousins. Atlanta's receivers were running open all game and Tampa couldn't do anything to stop it. This was the fifth-highest yardage total (550) that the Buccaneers have given up in franchise history and if they continue to look like this, it could be a long season for a team that plays the Saints, Ravens, Falcons (again), Chiefs and 49ers over the next five weeks.
It took five weeks, but Kirk Cousins appears to now be completely comfortable running the Falcons offense. Cousins had the biggest game of his career, throwing for a franchise-record 509 yards. The Falcons QB was perfect in overtime, going 3-for-3 for 69 yards, including the game-winning TD to KhaDarel Hodge. Cousins ability to spread the ball around kept the Buccaneers defense guessing: There were a total of seven receivers who caught at least two passes, including Drake London (154 yards) and Darnell Mooney (105 yards), who became the just the fifth Falcons duo to both go for over 100 receiving yards in a game. This wasn't a perfect game by any means -- Younghoe Koo missed two field goals and Cousins had an ugly interception in the fourth quarter -- but the Falcons came away with an impressive comeback win, and right now, Cousins has put the rest of the NFL on alert that Atlanta is the team to beat in the NFC South.