Week 5 of the NFL season is in the books. The main storyline from this past week is officiating – mainly two awful roughing the passer calls. The first one was in Tampa Bay were Grady Jarrett sacked Tom Brady, but was flagged for roughing the passer. An egregious call. If anything, Brady should’ve been flagged for trying to kick Jarrett after the sack. The second call happened Monday night in Kansas City when Chris Jones caused Derek Carr to fumble and recovered, but was flagged for falling on top of Carr. There was literally nothing that Jones could’ve done. The NFL must fix this issue. It is a clear overreaction to the Tua situation. Defenders are going to hit the quarterback and sometimes falling on them is inevitable. Quarterbacks are going to get injured no matter how much the NFL tries to prevent it. If this trend continues it is going to cost a team later down the road. This is football and if the NFL is going to continue to overreact, then put flags on the QBs.
Here are the key storylines from week five…outside of the officiating.
Chiefs come back to beat the Raiders:
Things couldn’t have started off better for Las Vegas – jumping out to a 17-0 lead versus Kansas City. Whatever was wrong with Kansas City, the Chiefs figured it out. Pat Mahomes led his team back by throwing for 292 yards, including four touchdowns to Travis Kelce. The Raiders had several opportunities to tie the game or take the lead. After a 48-yard Devante Adams touchdown Josh McDaniels attempted a two point conversion, but the Raiders couldn’t punch it in the end zone. On the Raiders’ next possession Devante Adams attempted to reel in a pass, but was ruled out of bounds on 3rd down. Then Carr’s pass on 4th down was incomplete. Kansas City hasn’t played their best, but are still sitting at 4-1.
Cowboys’ defense is legit:
The Dallas Cowboys beat the LA Rams despite only gaining 239 yards of offense versus the Rams. Dorance Armstrong strip-sacked Matthew Stafford and DeMarcus Lawrence scooped the ball up and scored for Dallas – setting the tone for how the game was going to go. The Rams’ offensive line struggles continue and the defending champs are now 2-3. Despite Dak Prescott’s injury, the Cowboys are now sitting at 4-1 heading into their showdown with the Eagles.
Eagles remain undefeated:
The Philadelphia Eagles remain the lone unbeaten team after defeating the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Matt Ammendola’s field goal attempt sailed wide right. Jalen Hurts ran for 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory. This win by Philly sets up a big NFC East showdown versus Dallas on Sunday.
Brian Daboll is the coach of the year:
Nobody would’ve had the Giants at 4-1 after five games coming into the season, but New York keeps finding ways to win games with their latest over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in London. The Giants were down 20-10 before scoring 17 unanswered points. Rodgers had the packers in position, but his pass on 4th down was batted down at the line of scrimmage – sealing the Packers fate.
Week 6 Games to Watch:
3-2 Jets vs 3-2 Packers (-7): The New York Jets are another surprise team, while Green Bay hasn’t looked great to start the season. The Packers could really use a win here.
3-2 Ravens (-5) vs 4-1 Giants: The Ravens are coming off a tough win against the Bengals and will face a Giants team that is playing hard for Brian Daboll.
4-1 Bills (-2.5) vs 4-1 Kansas City: This is a rematch of one of the wildest playoff games in NFL history. Kansas City has been a place of horrors for Buffalo over the years. Patrick Mahomes versus Josh Allen should lead to fireworks Sunday afternoon.
4-1 Cowboys vs 5-0 Eagles (-5): An early season NFC East battle could come down to the Dallas’ defensive front versus the Eagles’ offensive line. Cooper Rush only threw for 102 yards against the Rams, but he will need more than that to beat this Eagles team on the road.
UNC Continues to Shine into the Final Stretch