Week 5 Takeaways for the 2024 NFL Season
We’ve reached our first byes of the season, so no Lions, Chargers, Eagles, or Titans this week. Even without them, we witnessed several interesting occurrences. Miami won without QB Tua Tagovailoa or RB De’Von Achane (concussions). The 49ers lost, all because K Jake Moody got hurt. Vegas benched QB Gardner Minshew again (we’ll discuss this if it sticks), while Cleveland didn’t bench QB Deshaun Watson. New GB S Xavier McKinney recorded his 5th straight game with an INT. Denver and Seattle BOTH had 100-yard defensive TDs. With all that and much more happening, here are my week 5 takeaways for the 2024 NFL season!
TNF: Cousins Strikes Again, Throws Falcons Past Buccaneers in OT
Finally: a Thursday night game was simply fantastic. We’ve had a few clunkers to start the year, but this one delivered immediately. After scoring no offensive TDs last week against the Saints, Atlanta marched right down the field on the opening drive and scored one with ease. Tampa did so as well, and we had a 7-7 game within 7:30. The Falcons marched downfield again, but K Younghoe Koo missed a 46-yard FG. An offsides penalty give him another crack from 41 yards, but he missed that one wide left…just like the first one. Other than that, the teams traded scores all half, with TB leading 24-17 at the break.
Atlanta had no excuse for the poor defense, but Tampa did. S Antoine Winfield Jr was still out with an injury, so the middle of the field was unsurprisingly wide open time after time. WRs Drake London (12/154/1) and Darnell Mooney (9/105/2), Ray-Ray McCloud (6/66) and even TE Kyle Pitts (7/88) feasted. Mooney has been a revelation; formerly just a deep threat, he was clearly wasted in Chicago with Justin Fields as his QB. Kirk Cousins is not making the same mistakes. The game slowed down after halftime, but it remained neck-and-neck. The Buccaneers held a 30-27 lead midway through the 4th quarter.
TB had just as simple of a time offensively. QB Baker Mayfield (19/24, 180 yards, 3 TDs; 6/42 rushing) had another excellent game, and that meant good nights for WRs Mike Evans (5/62/2) and Chris Godwin (5/64). Evans’ 2 TDs were wide open catches, giving him 100 for his career (99 receiving and 1 fumble recovery). Poor backup CB Antonio Hamilton got burned for two of Mayfield’s scores in place of Dee Alford, who left with a concussion. Bucs RB Rachaad White (10/72) had a deceivingly good day; he had one 56-yard run and not much else. I still want to see more Bucky Irving, as the rookie has more pop.
As well as the offenses played, both made some late mistakes that nearly cost them the game. With 6:42 left in the game, Mooney dropped a wide open pass on 3rd and 6. It probably would’ve been an Atlanta TD if caught (CB Jamel Dean fell down), but the drop led to a 54-yard FG attempt. That was promptly blocked by a free rusher that nobody stopped. Tampa went into clock churning mode, but Falcons S Jessie Bates stripped Irving of the football at Atlanta’s 25 (this was Bates’ second FF of the game). However, the Falcons did nothing, with a Cousins prayer on 4th and 15 being picked off by LB Lavonte David for a 4-and-out.
Starting at Atlanta’s 28 after the pick, Tampa Bay botched their drive. A holding penalty and two negative plays brought them back to the 42 and forced them to punt instead of kicking an FG. Thus still needing just an FG and not a TD, Cousins did what he has done so well, especially this year. He drove the Falcons right down the field, setting Koo up at the TB 29 with 1 second left after a fire drill spike. A boneheaded delay of game penalty pushed the kick back to a 52-yard attempt, but Koo nailed it and forced OT. When Atlanta won the ensuing coin toss, it felt like the Bucs were in trouble. They very much were.
Cousins kept dealing, but London got hurt after a 3rd-down conversion. He was replaced by KhaDarel Hodge (2/67/1), who scored a 45-yard TD on the very next play to win the game! This 36-30 win was already Cousins’ third 4th-quarter/OT comeback of the season, and he was sensational. He set career-highs in pass attempts and yards, finishing 42/58 for a ridiculous 509 yards and 4 TDs. This is the Cousins Atlanta paid for, and he makes them a contender. Can we please put the narrative about him being bad in primetime to bed? Tampa is still a good team, but this was just a “YOU LIKE THAT!?!?” kind of night for Captain Kirk.
London’s Season Debut: Jets Can’t Capitalize on Vikings’ Worst Game
It’s the first week in October, which means London football! No, the Jaguars didn’t play in this game (that’s next week). In typical fashion for the poor Brits, the game they watched wasn’t high on execution. Maybe that’s a product of the travel or two good defenses, but this was an ugly contest. Jets QB Aaron Rodgers (29/54, 244 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) had a first half to forget. He flung two INTs, including his 5th career pick six to OLB Andrew Van Ginkel. His connection with WR Garrett Wilson (13/101/1) finally looked good, and he hit 60,000 career passing yards in the 3rd quarter, but not much else went well.
Minnesota jumped out to a 17-0 lead without much offense of their own. In one funny sequence, QB Sam Darnold (14/31, 179 yards, INT) hurt his rib and left for a play. Backup Nick Mullens threw a 24-yard pass on his lone snap. Darnold then came back in but fumbled on bad exchange with his center. The Vikings did strike before half on a TD run by FB CJ Ham. Alas, Ham got that carry because RB Aaron Jones (53 scrimmage yards) hurt his hip and did not return. The offense became completely stagnant without him, earning just 2 second-half FGs amid Darnold’s worst day as a Viking. Ironically, that came against his former team.
The Jets’ defense deserves some credit for keeping Darnold under constant duress (they sacked him 4 times), but they made one critical mistake. It’s the same mistake most teams make: they could not cover WR Justin Jefferson (6/92), who drew 5 flags for 61 penalty yards. For vaunted CBs like Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed, those penalties simply cannot happen. Regardless, Rodgers and the offense came back despite a scare. On one drive, he went down for a minute with a knee injury but returned after a roughing the punter penalty extended the drive. He led the team to an FG on the possession, sparking a bit of a comeback.
Down just 6 (23-17) with 3:07 to go, New York actually had plenty of time to drive for a win. Rodgers drove the team to the Minnesota 26, but he attempted a back-shoulder throw to WR Mike Williams. Williams must not have read the coverage the same way, but CB Stephon Gilmore did: he picked the pass off and ended the game. This team still struggles to run the ball and makestoo many mental mistakes. It’s beginning to reflect poorly on HC Robert Saleh and his staff. Meanwhile, Minnesota can’t lose (5-0), particularly in London (4-0 all time). They need their upcoming bye though to get healthy and fine-tuned.
Bills, Bengals Lose via Mismanagement in Tight Finishes
Sometimes, you lose because you got outplayed. Other times, bewildering decisions can be the difference. For two teams, that was the case this week. First, we had Buffalo, who was lucky to be in their game against Houston at all. QB Josh Allen (9/30, 131 yards, TD; 4/54 rushing) was abysmal. He had 49 of his yards on one play (a catch-and-run TD to WR Keon Coleman), and I haven’t seen this poor of a completion percentage with this many attempts in ages. RB James Cook (20/82/1) was the entire offense, and Buffalo fell in a 20-3 hole with the Houston offense rolling.
Former Buffalo WR Stefon Diggs (6/82) loved every bit of it in his revenge game, but fellow wideout Nico Collins (2/78/1) got hurt and caused the Texans’ offense to sputter. Two turnovers by QB CJ Stroud (28/38, 331 yards, TD, INT, FUM) allowed the Bills to come all the way back to 20-20. Allen and the offense got the ball back with 32 seconds left but at their own 3. Instead of trying any runs, Buffalo tossed three incompletions on deep shots. That enabled Houston to see the ball one more time before OT. The mistake became even costlier, as Houston hit a pass and, and K Ka’imi Fairbairn knocked a 59-yard FG through for the win.
Cincinnati lost a game that was much more of a heartbreaker against Baltimore. This is the last time that I’ll talk about them for a while unless something notable happens, as their season is practically lost at 1-4. Maddeningly, that shouldn’t be the case. The Cincy offense is back. QB Joe Burrow (30/39, 392 yards, 5 TDs, INT) and WRs Ja’Marr Chase (10/193/2) and Tee Higgins (9/83/2) were elite and in sync. Unfortunately, their 38 points came up short because the Bengal defense was so inept. A few DTs came back, but the secondary became a complete sieve.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (26/42, 348 yards, 4 TDs; 12/55 rushing) carved them up all afternoon. WR Zay Flowers (7/111) found himself seemingly always open, as Cincinnati focused too much on stopping the run. Eventually the game went to OT with a score of 38-38. Baltimore won the coin toss and drove past midfield, but he dropped a snap and lost the ball to LB Germaine Pratt, who brought it back to the Ravens’ 38. HC Zac Taylor then confounded all who watched. He called three consecutive runs, which netted 3 yards, instead of trusting his QB. Burrow was stellar, so that doesn’t make much sense.
If Taylor’s argument is that he trusted K Evan McPherson to make a 53-yard FG, that’s fair, but his kicker wasn’t the one to worry about. LS Cal Adomitis flung the ball wide, and then P/holder Ryan Rehkow dropped it, forcing McPherson’s kick wide left. With the way Cincinnati’s defense was playing, the game felt over. It was indeed finished 2 plays later. Ravens RB Derrick Henry (12/92/1) broke free for a 51-yard dash, and K Justin Tucker knocked his 24-yard FG through to win 41-38. Baltimore is explosive, but the Bengals had this win if not for the incredibly weird choice made by their head coach.
Winless No More: Jaguars Win First Game on Lawrence’s Birthday
It took a while, 10 starts to be exact, but Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence finally led his team to a victory. On his 25th birthday, he received a home game against a damaged Colts team missing several defenders, RB Jonathan Taylor, and QB Anthony Richardson. Actually, that last one hurt the Jags, as backup Joe Flacco is currently a better signal caller than the youngster Richardson. The 39-year-old was sensational, completing 33 of 44 passes for 359 yards and 3 TDs. He even looked spry on a 21-yard scramble. However, even 34 points including a furious 4th-quarter comeback weren’t enough.
Jacksonville’s offense really earned this win. Their defense did nothing but sack Flacco. They did so 4 times, including 3 sacks from former #1 pick Travon Walker. The slow-developing edge rusher also forced a fumble, and it’s clear that he’s improving bit by bit. Otherwise, Indianapolis moved the ball at will, so Lawrence’s unit had to do the heavy lifting. In typical fashion, the QB had an INT, but he played really well aside from that turnover. He completed 28 of 34 passes for a career-high 371 yards and 2 TDs. WR Christian Kirk (4/88) got involved for the first time in a while, and rookie WR Brian Thomas Jr (5/122/1) starred.
On the ground, it’s becoming clearer to me that Tank Bigsby (13/101/2) is playing better in this offense than former first-rounder Travis Etienne (6/17). Bigsby’s 2 TDs encapsulated what he offers: good speed on one and bruising power on the other. Etienne just looks indecisive and unable to set up blocks. The balance provided by Bigsby enabled the Jaguars to stay in a rhythm. That keyed their 17 fourth-quarter points, especially their FG drive at the end of the game to win 37-34. The Colts’ injured defense didn’t put up much of a fight, but this is something to build on for HC Doug Pederson’s group.
Bears’ Blowout of Panthers Brings Bryce Young Trade Front and Center
It feels like Carolina and Chicago made their fateful trade so long ago, but it was actually just a year and a half ago. So much has happened since, with most of it negative on the Panthers’ side of things. To recap, in exchange for the pick that eventually became QB Bryce Young, Chicago received picks that turned into QB Caleb Williams, RT Darnell Wright, CB Tyrique Stevenson, P Tory Taylor, and most importantly, WR DJ Moore. All five of those players are starters, Moore is elite, and Williams could be the franchise QB the Panthers thought they were getting. Facing the talent they passed on, Carolina got wrecked.
Early on, when Carolina marched down the field for the game’s first TD, things seemed like they could be different. In reality, the Panthers would only score 3 more points the rest of the way. Chicago dominated in a 36-10 game, but what hurts is how the players they acquired from Carolina impacted this game. Williams (20/29, 304 yards, 2 TDs) had his finest outing as a pro by far. He took care of the football, made good decisions, and demonstrated accuracy. The Panthers are a poor (and injured) defense, but this was still an excellent step forward for the rookie. RB D’Andre Swift (21/73/1; 2/47 receiving) helped, but Williams shined.
His main target was of course DJ Moore (5/105/2), who repeatedly burned his former team. Wright kept Williams clean, and Taylor punted will but didn’t have a busy day. Over on defense, Stevenson made 6 tackles and had 2 PBUs, helping to frustrate the Panthers’ offense. Carolina QB Andy Dalton took such a beating that Young (4/7; 58 yards) actually played. Insultingly, HC Dave Canales said that switched QBs to protect Dalton, implying that Young is worth much less. Overall, this was an ugly matchup that showed Carolina what could’ve been: the team facing them on the opposite sideline.