NFL Analysis
10/6/24
11 min read
Biggest Winners, Losers From 2024 NFL Week 5
NFL Week 5 might have been the best week yet, with several games coming down to the final kick.
The Sunday afternoon slate featured some incredible comebacks, unbelievable plays, and puzzling coaching decisions. But what players stood out the most? And which coaches deserve a lot of criticism? Here are the biggest winners and losers coming out of Sunday afternoon:
Week 5 Winners, Losers
Honorable Mentions
Winner: Tucker Kraft, Packers
Loser: Brock Purdy, 49ers
Winner: Tyrone Tracy, Giants
Loser: Gardner Minshew, Raiders
⬆️Winner: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
When you watch performances like this, it’s easy to see why Lamar Jackson is already a two-time MVP. Jackson makes electric plays on a weekly basis, and he is the reason the Ravens have an incredible record when he is under center.
Week 5 was just another day at the office for Jackson, and it resulted in a huge divisional win for the Ravens. The raw stats are bonkers, but they don’t even tell the story of how great Jackson was against the Bengals. He finished the day with 348 yards passing, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. He posted a passer rating of 119.9 and added in another 55 yards on the ground to go over 400 yards of offense once again.
Anytime the Ravens need a big play on offense, Jackson converted. There was even a play in the red zone where he bobbled a snap, ran away from the pressure, and threw an amazing touchdown to Isaiah Likely, cutting the lead to three. There might not be another quarterback in the league that can make this play, but Jackson seems like he does it on a weekly basis.
Outside of a fumble in overtime, Jackson had another flawless performance where he made every play and threw when it was needed.
After an 0-2 start, Jackson has played three incredible games, and the Ravens have scored at least 28 in all three wins. Their defense is nowhere near as good as it was last season, and they are asking Jackson to do even more.
Still, just like always, he is delivering. Between Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, this was about as good of a quarterback matchup as you will ever see on a Sunday afternoon.
⬆️Winner: Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears
It was only a matter of time before Caleb Williams was going to have a breakout game. Week 5 was the perfect opportunity to do so, with the Bears hosting the Panthers. Williams was on point right away, completing 20-of-29 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams was accurate on his deep passes, which is something that didn’t happen often enough in the first month of the season. He connected with DJ Moore twice for touchdowns on beautiful throws, including this dime right before halftime:
It was always encouraging to see Williams not take as many sacks (only one in Week 5) and do a better job of playing in rhythm. But what was most noticeable was his confidence.
With every throw, you see Williams trusting himself and the offense more, which is a great sign for things to come. Williams has improved just about every week, and this steady growth is exactly what you want to see from your young quarterback.
There will certainly be some tough outings ahead, especially with the division games starting soon. However, it was encouraging to see Williams play well and get a big win to help the Bears improve to 3-2. It hasn’t always been pretty, but Williams is on the right track, and the Bears are keeping themselves competitive in the deep NFC North.
>> READ MORE: How Caleb Silenced The Critics
⬆️Winner: Brian Thomas, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars needed a win to avoid an 0-5 start, and they got one in thrilling fashion in Week 5. The offense played their best game of the season, and Trevor Lawrence connected down the field with several receivers. The Jaguars are 1-4, but they aren’t really a contender in the AFC. The good news is that it appears that they have found their No. 1 receiver.
Brian Thomas Jr. played second fiddle to Malik Nabers at LSU, but there was no questioning that he was an elite prospect. Measuring 6-foot-3, 209 pounds, Thomas ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
That was third-fastest time last year, only behind Xavier Worthy (4.21) and Nate Wiggins (4.28). But those two players didn’t measure over 200 pounds. In fact, Worthy and Wiggins didn’t even weigh 175 pounds. Thomas running a 4.33 40-yard dash at 209 pounds was arguably more impressive than Worthy’s record-setting time due to the massive size difference.
Thomas isn’t just track fast. His speed is already translating to the NFL field. Thomas caught an 85-yard touchdown against the Colts and hit 22.15 mph on that play. He is now the fastest ball carrier of the season, according to the NFL Next Gen Stats.
There were only three players in the NFL to hit 22 mph as a ball carrier last season, and only two did it in 2022. Thomas has rare speed, but his size and ball skills are what make him a matchup nightmare.
He’s now caught a touchdown in back-to-back games and is averaging more than 80 yards from scrimmage this season. Thomas was considered a raw prospect coming out of LSU, so the fact that he is already producing at this level has to be encouraging for Jacksonville.
It certainly appears that they’ve hit on a superstar receiver here in Round 1.
⬇️Loser: Sean McDermott, HC, Buffalo Bills
Who knows if the Buffalo Bills would have beaten the Texans in overtime in Houston? However, Sean McDermott didn’t even give them a chance. It’s pretty rare that you can pin a loss on a head coach directly, but you certainly can here.
The Bills made a stop late in the fourth quarter to force the Texans to punt rather than opt for a long field goal. With the score tied 20-20, the Bills got the ball with 0:32 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter from their own three-yard line.
With the Texans still possessing all three timeouts, conventional wisdom suggests running the ball three times, getting out of your own end zone, and punting the ball away with 10 or fewer seconds left on the clock. At that point, the Texans wouldn’t have any timeouts to stop the clock, and the game would likely go to overtime. That is what most coaches would do.
Instead, McDermott and the Bills decided to be ultra-aggressive. They threw the ball on all three downs. That isn’t the crazy part. Safe passes that can be completed aren’t a bad strategy. But that’s not what Buffalo did. They took three shots down the field, and all three fell incomplete.
Buffalo only burned a few seconds off the clock and did not force Houston to use any of its timeouts. Worse yet, it didn’t move the ball out of its own end zone at all, and it resulted in a short punt that was fielded at Buffalo’s 46-yard line. Houston completed one short pass on the next drive and converted the field goal to win 23-20.
There is nothing wrong with being aggressive, but this was just stupid. Now, the Bills are 3-2 with a huge game against the Jets in Week 6. Buffalo wasn’t expected to win this game, but giving it away late in the fourth quarter has to be incredibly frustrating.
⬇️Loser: Deshaun Wason, QB, Cleveland Browns
Deshaun Watson played much better than the box score indicated last week against the Raiders. His 80-yard touchdown was wiped off the board due to a very ticky-tack holding call. His offensive line let him down, and his receivers, including Amari Cooper, had an awful day.
That wasn’t the case in Week 5. Watson was downright awful from the opening snap. There are several issues going on with Watson, but the most obvious is his eye level dropping on nearly every snap. He’s feeling the pressure, and he’s not standing tall in the pocket at all.
Instead, he often tries to escape using his legs, and it’s clear he is no longer the athlete he was in Houston.
On their first nine drives against Washington, the Browns never had a drive with more than six plays. Their longest drive was just 23 yards, and the offense was just 1-13 on third down throughout the game. This offense is now one of the worst that we’ve seen in the last 25 years, and it doesn’t seem like it’s getting any better.
Kevin Stefanski remains adamant that they will not make a change at quarterback. Frankly, it might not be his decision. The owner and front office pushed for the Watson trade, and they probably want to see this thing through. It sure feels like Stefanski is starting to lose the team. The Browns are now 1-4, coming off an embarrassing loss where they weren’t competitive against the Commanders.
With the Browns off to a rocky start, they need a change. It might not come this week, but this feels inevitable at this point.
⬇️Loser: Zac Taylor, HC, Cincinnati Bengals
You can’t coach scared in the NFL. Playing not to lose will, more often than not, get you beat. And that’s exactly what happened to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5.
Cincinnati desperately needed a win to avoid dropping to 1-4, and they were given the gift of a lifetime late in overtime against the Baltimore Ravens.
Lamar Jackson fumbled a snap, and the Bengals recovered and ran it back to the Baltimore 38-yard line. Here is where Taylor made the mistake. Rather than trying to score a touchdown or get into chip shot field goal range, the Bengals decided to rely on their kicker, Evan McPherson, to win them the game. McPherson has been one of the league’s best kickers for a while now, but no kicker wants the pressure of a 50+ yard field goal to win the game.
Instead of letting Joe Burrow throw the ball, the Bengals ran the ball three straight times and gained just three yards. It makes even less sense when you consider that Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns in regulation. Taking the ball out of your superstar quarterback in a huge divisional game is a choice, and it’s the one that Taylor made because he was afraid that something “bad” could happen.
So, what happened? The snap was poor, and the holder dropped the ball, throwing off the timing of the kick. On the next play, Derrick Henry ripped off a massive run, and the Ravens kicked the winning field goal from the six-yard line. At some point, Taylor has to try to win these games rather than just hope they don’t lose them. Put the game into Burrow’s hands rather than Chase Brown's.
Taylor was afraid of what could happen, and it cost him another win. It’s a bad message to send to your team and your leader. The result is that their season is in danger of slipping away despite giving MVP-caliber play from Burrow.
