Welcome to the Week 5 grades!
If we learned one thing this week, it's that the NFC East might want to send every head coach in the division to some sort of coaching clinic. There are four teams in that division, and somehow none of them won in Week 5, even though there was a game between two NFC East teams.
This entire week has been an absolute nightmare for the coaches in the division.
- It started on Thursday with the Cowboys looking unprepared in their stunning 24-16 loss to the Buccaneers.
- On Sunday morning, the Eagles went to London and lost because Nick Sirianni didn't ask his kicker to boot it out of the end zone after Philadelphia went up 16-14 on a field goal with eight seconds left to play.
- On Sunday afternoon, Dan Quinn topped both of them by letting his team run out the clock when they were in range for a potential game-winning field goal in overtime. The clock hit zero before the Commanders could spike the ball to give their kicker a 42-yard game-winning field goal attempt. Instead, the game ended in a tie.
With that in mind, let's get to this week's grades, starting with the tie in Washington.
Giants (3-1-1) 27-27 tie with Commanders (1-3-1)
| C |  |
| Dominic Zvada might be looking for a new job after this game. The Giants' kicker missed three field goals, including a 46-yarder in overtime. If any one of those kicks had gone through, the Giants would have left this game with a win. The Giants were able to send this game to OT because Jameis Winston eventually showed up. Although Winston and the offense no-showed in the first half, they looked impressive during the second half, where they didn't punt a single time. This team isn't flashy, but they're still in first place within their division heading into Week 6, and it's starting to feel like they're going to stick around all season. | |
| C- |  |
| The Commanders looked like they were going to win this game in overtime, but Jayden Daniels botched the clock management at the end. That's not just on Daniels, though; it's also on the coaching staff. It was an unfortunate way to end the game for Washington's QB, because his return sparked the Commanders' offense. Not only did he throw for 199 yards, but he also added 101 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. As bad as overtime was, Washington also blew this game in regulation. The Commanders appeared to have this won when they held a 27-13 lead with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. However, the defense didn't force a single punt in the second half. The scoreboard might say tie, but this felt like a loss for Washington. | |
Patriots (3-2) 45-17 over Raiders (3-2)
| F |  |
| The Raiders' defense has had some trouble stopping the run this year, but this week, they had trouble stopping everything. This team had no answers for a Patriots offense that racked up 536 yards, which is the most Vegas has given up in a game since 2019. Things weren't any better on the other side of the ball. The Raiders have struggled to get their rushing attack going this year, and that hurt them here. With a non-existent running game, that put a lot of pressure on Kirk Cousins, who was under siege all game. With two straight losses, the Raiders' 3-0 start seems like a distant memory, and things aren't going to get any easier with the Bills and Rams coming up next. | |
| A+ |  |
| If you watched Drake Maye play at all during the first three weeks of the season, you can go ahead and forget what you saw. That was bad Drake Maye, and he doesn't exist anymore. Instead, 2025 Drake Maye showed up and torched the Raiders' defense for 374 yards and four touchdowns. This game is what the Patriots offense looks like when it's at its best: Maye spread the ball around to nine different receivers, and the Pats added 137 rushing yards. Maye was so good that he overshadowed a dominant performance from a Patriots defense that sacked Kirk Cousins three times. If the Patriots look like this going forward, they might be able to get back to the Super Bowl. | |
Packers (3-2) 31-7 over Bears (3-2)
| F |  |
| After this loss, the Bears are probably counting down the days until the return of Caleb Williams. With Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum running the show, the Bears' offense went nowhere. By the time the offense showed any signs of life, the Packers were already up 14-0, and the game felt over. The return of Caleb Williams should fix the offensive problems, but the defense is a bigger question mark. For the second time this year, the Bears allowed an opposing QB to throw for at least 360 yards, and if there's one thing that's going to cost this team down the road, that's probably going to be it. | |
| A+ |  |
| This was a game that the Packers could NOT afford to lose, and apparently, everyone on the roster got that memo. Christian Watson (143 yards) and Matthew Golden (123 yards) became the first Packers receiving duo to top 120 yards in the same game in 10 years. The Packers' passing game was essentially unstoppable because Jordan Love couldn't miss. But the bigger news for the Packers is that their defense finally showed up against a quality opponent. Xavier McKinney was impressive with two of Green Bay's three interceptions. The Packers are suddenly starting to look like the dangerous team everyone thought they were going to be before the season started. | |
Steelers (3-2) 34-22 over Colts (2-3)
| C- |  |
| The Colts had problems all over the place in this game. For one, their rushing attack was non-existent. Jonathan Taylor broke one run for 20 yards, but outside of that, the Colts only had 46 rushing yards on their other 23 carries (Taylor had 14 for 25 outside of the 20-yarder). The lack of ground game was definitely a problem, but the defense was a bigger issue for Indy. The Colts got gashed up by Jaylen Warren in the first half (he had 88 rushing yards in the first two quarters), and then Aaron Rodgers diced up the defense in the second half (he threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns over the final two quarters). The Colts are now 0-3 against teams that currently have a winning record. | |
| A- |  |
| This will forever be known as the Jaylen Warren game. The Steelers running back almost single-handedly carried the offense with 188 total yards. Not only did he rush for 101 yards, but he also added an 80-yard TD catch on a short pass from Rodgers. Speaking of Rodgers, he looked sharp on a day when he threw three TD passes, which moved him past Peyton Manning on the all-time touchdown list. One huge positive for the Steelers offense is how quickly Germie Bernard is coming along. The rookie caught six passes for 80 yards and appears to have earned the trust of Rodgers. After a tough loss in Week 4, this win pushes the Steelers above .500 and allows them to put the past week's drama behind them. | |
Texans (1-4) 26-3 Titans (0-5)
| A+ |  |
| Going into this game, Robert Saleh said the Texans were the best 0-4 team in NFL history, and based on how they played here, he might have been right. In their first game since DeMeco Ryans reclaimed the defensive play-called duties, the Texans responded with their most impressive performance of the season, holding the Titans to under 200 yards of total offense. This is what we thought Houston would look like going into the season, and now, it will be interesting to see if they can dominate teams like this going forward or if they just took advantage of a bad Titans team. | |
| F |  |
| After five weeks, it seems safe to say the Titans are the worst team in the NFL. This team needs Cam Ward to quickly develop, but that's just not happening. If you're wondering how bad the offensive struggles are: This team is averaging just 10.4 points per game on the season, and you're just not going to win games in the NFL when you're averaging barely 10 points in each contest. | |
Bengals (3-2) 31-24 over Dolphins (0-5)
| B+ |  |
| Going into this game, Bengals safety Jordan Battle said that Malik Willis had a tell, and apparently, he was right. Battle picked off Willis twice in a game where the Bengals' defense absolutely shut down the Dolphins' passing game. That being said, this was nowhere near a perfect game for a Bengals defense that got steamrolled for 217 yards on the ground. Offensively, the Bengals did what they normally do: Joe Burrow threw it to Ja'Marr Chase early and often, and not surprisingly, that paid off for Cincinnati (Chase caught six passes for 77 yards, including a wildly impressive 45-yard score). This win was exactly what this team needed heading into their Week 6 bye. | |
| C+ |  |
| There's a reason the Dolphins are winless, and it was on display here. This team turned the ball over three times, including two first-half interceptions by Malik Willis that allowed the Bengals to jump out to a 21-7 lead. The Dolphins also gave up an 81-yard kick return to open the game, and there was also a missed extra point from Riley Patterson. When you make that many mistakes and you have a roster like Miami's, you're just not going to win very many games. | |
Vikings 23-13 over Saints
| A- |  |
| The Vikings' defense has carried the team to a 4-0 record, and they once again came through in another big game. The Vikings played possibly the most dominant second half that you'll see from any team this season: They forced three turnovers while giving up just 48 yards over the final two quarters. The big surprise this week is that the Vikings' offense finally came to play. Aaron Jones did lose a fumble, but he made up for that with 125 rushing yards and a TD. This was a well-rounded win by a team that hasn't exactly looked very well-rounded this season. | |
| C |  |
| After getting off to a hot start through the first three weeks, New Orleans' offense is suddenly sputtering. The Saints couldn't run the ball (55 yards), they couldn't throw the ball (87 yards), and this game probably would have been a blowout if not for a defensive TD by Jonas Sanker in the third quarter. New Orleans totaled just 142 yards, which was the team's lowest total since 2021. The offense was on fire to start the season, but it has suddenly lost its groove. It might be time for Kellen Moore to go back to the drawing board. | |
Jets (2-3) 17-12 over Browns (3-2)
| C |  |
| When Mike Tomlin said "the Browns are the Browns," this is the Browns he was talking about. Sometimes, this team can't get out of its own way. The Browns' defense looked great, but Cleveland ended up giving this game away in the fourth quarter. First, punter Corey Bojorquez had a snap go through his hands. The Jets recovered the ball and scored the game-winning TD just three plays later (there was also another special teams gaffe with a missed extra point). The offensive line also got bullied, with Deshaun Watson getting sacked eight times. That number is even worse when you consider the Browns gave up more sacks than they had first downs (6). Despite all of that, the Browns had a chance to win, but Watson had a final drive that went nowhere. This game was played in ugly weather, so some of the mistakes were understandable, but this is certainly a game the Browns could have won. | |
| C+ |  |
| This game was a coming-out party for David Bailey. The Jets' defense racked up eight sacks against the Browns, and three of those sacks came from New York's 2026 first-round pick, who spent the entire afternoon camped out in Cleveland's backfield. The defense's suffocating performance meant all the offense had to do was play smart football, and that's exactly what it did. Due to extremely rainy conditions, throwing the ball was a nightmare in this game, so the Jets turned to Braelon Allen, who had 116 yards and a TD on the ground. The Jets don't wow you when you watch them, but this team is certainly good enough to win a few more games this season. | |
Jaguars (4-1) 19-17 over Eagles (2-3) in London
| B- |  |
| The Eagles walked into this game knowing they would likely need a huge performance from their defense to win, and they did get that. However, it still wasn't enough due to some questionable late-game coaching from Nick Sirianni. Jalen Carter helped keep the Jags offense in check by sacking Trevor Lawrence twice. The defense kept the Eagles in this game with multiple big plays, including a goal-line stand. The offense was streaky, but Jalen Hurts did come up big with a go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter. In the end, it was bad coaching that ended up costing Philly the game. Whether it was a bad decision on a kickoff or failing to coach players to get out of bounds in late-game situations, this was ultimately on the coaching staff. It's going to be a long flight back to the United States for the Eagles. | |
| B- |  |
| If you want to know what it looks like when a team steals victory from the jaws of defeat in the NFL, just watch this game. The Jags weren't overly impressive on defense, they made some mistakes on offense and they even missed an extra point (due to a bad snap by their backup long snapper), but in the end, this team did what good teams do. They found a way to win. This team has a lot of weapons, and they needed them all to beat Philly. Parker Washington worked up some magic with three catches for 50 yards in the fourth quarter, including a 27-yard TD, and Ameer Abdullah harnessed some magic of his own with a 53-yard kickoff return to set up Cam Little's game-winning field goal. When it comes to playing complementary football, the Jags might be the best team in the NFL at that, and that's one reason why they're so dangerous. | |
Buccaneers (1-4) 24-16 over Cowboys (2-3)
| A+ |  |
| This was basically a perfect all-around game for the Buccaneers, who went into Week 5 with zero wins. The Bucs used big plays to take down the Cowboys. There was a 72-yard run by Bucky Irving (that drive ended with a TD). There was a 64-yard catch by Tez Johnson (that drive ended with a TD). And there were two interceptions by a Bucs defense that bullied the Cowboys. And let's not forget about Jalon Daniels. The undrafted rookie QB played like a veteran: He completed his first eight passes on a night where he completed 76% of his throws and averaged 7.6 yards per attempt. If the Bucs keep playing like this, they could sneak back into the NFC South race. | |
| D |  |
| It's easy to pin this loss on the Cowboys' defense, but Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense also deserve plenty of blame here, if not most of it. Prescott struggled with his accuracy, especially during the first three quarters when he completed only 46.4% of his passes. And he didn't get any help from his pass-catchers: Both of Prescott's interceptions came on well-thrown balls that bounced off his receiver's hands. Kavontae Turpin also made an unforgivable mistake in the third quarter when he fumbled away a kickoff that set up three easy points for the Buccaneers. The Cowboys simply aren't good enough to win when they're making mistakes like that. They're also not good enough to win when their offense isn't playing at a high level, and it wasn't playing at a high level on Thursday night. | |
