Week 5 NFL Takeaways

Credit: New England Patriots

By Tucker Harlin

Week 5 of the NFL season turned out as a strong one.

There were shootouts aplenty in the 1 p.m. and a surprising amount of upsets in the late afternoon window Sunday. Prime time didn’t have its usual strength on Sunday or Monday, but the slate delivered the best performance we’ve seen in a long time on a Thursday night.

Here are my three biggest takeaways from Week 5.

THE AFC EAST AND NFC WEST ARE MUCH WEAKER THAN ANTICIPATED

If you had asked me preseason which division would be the weakest in each conference, I’d say the AFC West and NFC South.

While I don’t think the AFC East is necessarily the worst in the AFC, its much weaker than I anticipated. The NFC West is definitely the weakest in the NFC right now.

Jerod Mayo had one of the biggest rebuilds in the league ahead of him at New England, so the Patriots’ struggles were expected. The Dolphins losing Tua Tagovailoa derailed playoff talk early on.

But the Jets and Bills are surprising for the wrong reasons.

The Jets’ two wins are against the rebuilding Patriots and terrible Titans and they’ve dropped two stinkers since. I figured 2024 was a hot seat season for Robert Saleh, but a spiral out of control in Week 5 is shocking to say the least.

Buffalo lost its last two to Baltimore and Houston, two teams that should contend for the playoffs.

But the three wins are over a slowly improving Cardinals team, a quarterback that can’t ever beat it in Miami, and a miserable Jaguars squad. It’s also beginning to look like a lack of proven talent at receiver is hindering some of Josh Allen’s production.

As for the NFC West, I would’ve pegged the Seahawks as the third best team in the division before the season began. They currently sit in first, but they haven’t been terrific on the defensive end.

I like what the Cardinals are building but I can’t bring myself to pencil them in as a playoff team.

I’d be very concerned if I was a 49ers or Rams fan right now.

The 49ers are getting healthy on offense, but the injury to Christian McCaffrey is still a lingering concern. In two of the three losses, the defense has collapsed after sitting with double-digit leads.

The main concern for the Rams is offensive injuries. Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua’s extended absences are limiting what Matthew Stafford can do through the air, and they need that component to stay relevant in a playoff race.

THE BRONCOS DEFENSE COULD MAKE THEM PLAYOFF CONTENDERS

Bo Nix hasn’t impressed the league in his first month and change, but his defense has willed the Broncos to three consecutive victories.

It’s understandable for such a defense to overpower the a Raiders team without a franchise quarterback, but Tampa Bay and the New York Jets are in the thick of division playoff races.

The schedule ahead is a favorable one for Denver.

In the AFC West it still has to go through Kansas City twice, but a pair of battles with the Chargers and a trip to Las Vegas can definitely turn into wins.

A trip to Baltimore and home game against the Falcons next month are the only two games I wouldn’t give this team a shot in outside of the division.

The Saints, Panthers, and Browns all have flaws on offense, the Colts are a Jekyll and Hyde team through five weeks, and the Bengals are finding creative ways to lose.

THE BACKUP CYCLE HAS RUN ITS COURSE IN CAROLINA

The performances Andy Dalton put together in the three weeks after the Panthers benched Bryce Young are typical of every journeyman backup quarterback in the NFL.

You get two strong outings in the win over the Raiders and loss to the Bengals while the third is an atrocious performance against the Bears in Chicago.

In Dalton’s defense, the Bears have one of the best defenses in the league, but Denver and New Orleans will pose similar threats to the Panthers defensively.

Ryan Fitzpatrick did this in all nine of his stops, you’re seeing it with Gardner Minshew in every place he ventures to, and Andy Dalton is no different in Carolina.

The trade with Chicago in 2023 looks worse by the week for the Panthers. Finding yourself in the market for a new quarterback two years into a rookie deal is never ideal.