NFL Week 5 Recap: A 57-Yard Walk-Off in London, a Tie in Landover

I made one rule this season, in writing, on this website: nobody in my house touches the remote until the clock says zero.

I have now broken it twice. The first time, Tennessee recovered an onside kick about a minute later.

The second time was Sunday morning in London. The Eagles were lining up a field goal to take the lead over Jacksonville with about 10 seconds left, and I turned it off. Jake Elliott made the 48-yarder. Eagles 17, Jaguars 16, eight seconds to go.

Then Philadelphia kicked off to Ameer Abdullah instead of kicking it out of the end zone, and Abdullah ran it back 53 yards. That left one second on the clock, and Cam Little hit a 57-yard field goal to win it. Jaguars 19, Eagles 17.

I missed all of it. It’s one of the most stolen games I’ve ever seen, and I didn’t see it.

Nick Sirianni took the blame afterward: “I didn’t make the right decision, and I lost us that game.” That’s two straight weeks a Sirianni call has come back on the Eagles (he passed on a chip-shot field goal in the Rams loss), and Philadelphia has lost three in a row. The whole thing was unhinged from the start, too. The opening kickoff went 90 yards for a touchdown, got wiped out by four penalties, and two players got ejected, Philadelphia’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Jacksonville’s Bryan Thomas Jr.

For the record, I picked the Jaguars. I just didn’t watch them win. They’re 4-1.

The endings

Giants 27, Commanders 27 (OT). Jayden Daniels came back from a dislocated elbow and scored twice, and then he was at the center of the worst final sequence I’ve seen this year. Washington was in field goal range in overtime with 12 seconds left and no timeouts. Daniels scrambled, couldn’t find anybody and went down in bounds. The clock ran out before the field goal unit could get out there. Throw it away and let the kicker try. That’s terrible clock management, and it cost Washington a win against a division rival.

Dan Quinn took the blame afterward, and Daniels said it starts with him. They’re both right. The Commanders are 1-3-1. The Giants are 3-1-1 and still lead the NFC East, with Jameis Winston throwing 54 passes, because of course he did.

49ers 32, Seahawks 29. My MVP, Brock Purdy, led two scoring drives late after Seattle scored 13 straight in the third quarter to take the lead. San Francisco is 5-0, the third time that’s happened under Kyle Shanahan (2019 and 2023 were the others), and he’s doing it through injuries. Sunday added a few more: Deebo Samuel left with a hamstring injury, and George Kittle played through the flu.

Then there was the ending. On fourth-and-10, Sam Darnold hit Cooper Kupp, and Kupp dove for the marker as he went out of bounds. The officials ruled him a yard short, and replay didn’t have enough to overturn it. I’d hate to be the ref on that one. Somebody has to make the call, and it was about as close as it gets.

Purdy played well. Darnold, two interceptions and all, played well enough to have Seattle a yard from keeping it alive. The 49ers’ defense has struggled a little, but these are two playoff teams, and I think there’s a high probability they see each other again in January.

Ravens 30, Falcons 23 (OT). This was the story of two Falcons teams. With Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta led 23-15 in the fourth quarter. Baltimore tied it with a touchdown and a two-point conversion in the final minute, and Penix took a shot to the ribs on the Falcons’ last drive of regulation and didn’t come back. In overtime, Derrick Henry carried the Ravens down the field and Tyler Huntley ran in the winner. Then Tua Tagovailoa came in, and his second pass as a Falcon was intercepted.

If Penix plays the whole game, I think Atlanta wins. He gives that offense a completely different passing dynamic than Tua or Cooper Rush. We’ve seen the versions now: 0-2 with Rush starting, then two wins and 80 points once Penix came back. Tua only played a little on Sunday, and when he did, he looked like he was begging to turn it over.

On the other side, it was cool to see Baltimore lean on Henry late with Lamar Jackson still out. Henry had 102 yards on 24 carries. He’s so good. So good. The Ravens are 4-1.

Jets 17, Browns 12. Deshaun Watson had led a go-ahead fourth-quarter drive three weeks in a row, and he did it again Sunday, hitting Denzel Boston for a 29-yard touchdown and a 12-10 lead with 6:15 left. This time it didn’t hold. Cleveland went three-and-out from midfield after a takeaway, punter Corey Bojorquez fumbled the snap in the rain, and Braelon Allen ran 22 yards for the winning touchdown. Watson got the go-ahead drive. He didn’t get the game-winner.

Allen had a career-high 116 yards on 24 carries. Fantastic game. (He’s a Wisconsin guy. I’m contractually obligated to mention it.) Last week I called the Jets feisty. They’re 2-3.

The statements

Packers 31, Bears 7. Last week the vibe in Green Bay was a sports radio host getting yelled at in Appleton. This week Jordan Love went 25 of 31 for 367 yards, the most ever by a Packers quarterback against the Bears at Lambeau, and hit Christian Watson for touchdowns of 42 and 53 yards. MarShawn Lloyd ran for two scores. The defense forced five turnovers, two of them Xavier McKinney interceptions. And Green Bay got a little revenge for January’s wild-card loss, the one Caleb Williams celebrated by grating cheese on the field.

Williams missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury, and this result pokes a hole in something I’ve heard a lot this year: that Ben Johnson’s scheme is so good it doesn’t matter who plays quarterback. It matters. Tyson Bagent went 12 of 21 for 87 yards and two interceptions before Case Keenum replaced him in the fourth quarter, and Chicago scored seven points.

Patriots 45, Raiders 17. I picked the Raiders. I was very wrong. Drake Maye threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a fifth, and with last week’s win over Buffalo, that’s two big games in a row. He’s back. Both teams are 3-2, and only one of them looked like it on Sunday.

Lions 45, Cardinals 21. Detroit scored 24 points in the second quarter alone. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns, Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes, and Jameson Williams caught two balls, both for touchdowns. That offense is so much fun to watch. They always seem to have something up their sleeve. Even the defense, which came in allowing 31.8 points a game, held Arizona to 21, its best showing of the season, and sacked Jacoby Brissett five times.

Arizona’s offense is bad apart from Jeremiyah Love, and the plan seems to be: Jacoby, go throw it a bunch. He threw it 47 times. Brissett completes plenty of passes, but they don’t go anywhere. He’s averaging about five and a half yards per attempt this season, which is check-down territory. Hand it to Love, or take a 15-yard shot down the field once in a while. Love got 12 carries.

Steelers 34, Colts 22. Aaron Rodgers threw his 580th career touchdown pass, playoffs included, to pass Peyton Manning for sole possession of third all-time. It went 80 yards to Jaylen Warren, which is perfect, because Warren is the most underrated back in the league right now. He also ran for 101 yards on 15 carries. Rodgers finished with three touchdowns in his best game of the season, and he did it without three injured receivers. Last week I asked for a vintage A-Rod game. I’ll take it.

Texans 26, Titans 3. Last week I called this a get-right game for Houston, and it was. C.J. Stroud accounted for two touchdowns, and the Texans have their first win. Tennessee is 0-5 and bad. I think the Titans could go 0-17.

The grinders

Vikings 23, Saints 13. I expected New Orleans to keep this close. Instead the Saints’ offense was terrible. Brian Flores’ defense did what it has done to young quarterbacks all season and stayed in Tyler Shough’s face, and Shough finished 16 of 25 for 96 yards and two picks. Kyler Murray had arguably his best passing day as a Viking: 24 of 30 for 229 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. Minnesota is 5-0 heading into its bye.

Broncos 23, Chargers 17. Bo Nix doesn’t throw the ball very far down the field (16 of 27 for 123 yards), but Denver’s skill players do enough to stay ahead of the chains, and the Broncos keep putting up points. The Chargers’ offense actually got going for a stretch, with 14 points in the third quarter to take a 17-10 lead. Then Denver scored the last 13. Los Angeles is 0-5, and that offense is not looking good. Last week I called the Chargers a dumpster fire. Nobody has put it out.

Bengals 31, Dolphins 24. Joe Burrow threw four touchdowns, and I want to be careful not to make too much of this one. Miami came in averaging 11.5 points a game, the worst in the league, and scored 24, its most this season, including 14 in the fourth quarter. That’s on a Cincinnati defense that needs fixing. And with Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown and all the money tied up in them, 31 points should be the floor for this offense, not a good day. Detroit is what a real shootout team looks like. The Bengals aren’t there. Miami is 0-5.

Buccaneers 24, Cowboys 16 (Thursday). I already owned my Dallas pick on Friday, so briefly: the Cowboys couldn’t move the ball like they usually do, CeeDee Lamb was mostly kept quiet, and Bucky Irving ran for 165 yards against a defense that is just bad.

That’s Week 5. Bills at Rams is tonight, and the remote is in a drawer in a different room. I’m not taking any chances.