Analysis

10/10/22

7 min read

Week 5 First-and-10: What You Missed Over a Wild Weekend of Football

By The 33rd Team

first and 10 graphic

Ten wonderful, weird and wacky items from a wild weekend of football:

1st Down

Commanders Rookie Returns 6 Weeks After Being Shot

No better place to start this week than an epic return to football. Commanders rookie RB Brian Robinson Jr., who was shot twice in his right leg during a carjacking attempt just six weeks ago, returned to the field on Sunday, making his remarkable NFL debut. 

Robinson, who was shot on Aug. 28 shortly before the season began, was the last man through the tunnel on Sunday and was welcomed with a resounding cheer from Commanders fans. The third-round running back from Alabama split duties with Antonio Gibson and finished with 9 carries for 22 yards. 

2nd Down

Daboll All Fired Up After Giant Upset in London

The Giants haven’t had a winning season since Eli Manning and OBJ were leading the way in 2016, but things seem different this season. New York is out to a 4-1 start in a division where they were the Vegas favorite to finish last.

Much of the credit, and rightfully so, is going to the Giants' new head coach, Brian Daboll. After helping develop the Buffalo Bills' offensive system with Josh Allen, Daboll has stepped in and gotten the Giants off to their best start since 2009. New York pulled off a major upset in London on Sunday, beating the heavily favored Packers, 27-22.

To say the least, Daboll was impassioned after the game: 

3rd Down

Big 12 Matchup Ends With Big Catches

TCU vs. Kansas even a year ago would not have been must-watch TV. This year was a different case.

The Jayhawks have gotten off to a scorching start, earning their first AP ranking since 2019. The Horned Frogs entered Saturday's matchup undefeated and 1-0 in conference play. The two teams did not disappoint, combining for 56 points in the second half and a few big grabs for some late-game drama.

The Horned Frogs “secured” the victory in Lawrence, 38-31.

4th Down

Chargers' Staley Gets 'W' After Fourth-Down Fail

Fourth-down calls have been a hot topic in the NFL this season. Chargers coach Brandon Staley furthered that conversation on Sunday.

Leading the Browns by 2 points with 1:14 left, Staley elected to let QB Justin Hebert pass the ball on fourth-and-2 on the Chargers' 46-yard line, rather than punt and pin Cleveland deep in its own end of the field.

Staley was let off the hook when Browns kicker Cade York missed a potential game-winning field goal from 54 yards. Staley said after the game that he just wanted to “finish the game with the ball,” but not all of his players were happy with the decision. 

https://twitter.com/Keenan13Allen/status/1579200031189782531

The Chargers are now 3-2 on the season and host the Broncos at home next week on Monday Night Football. 

5th Down

Pitt RB Israel Abanikanda Joins Elite Club

It is not every day you see a 320-yard, 6-touchdown stat line from a running back. It had only happened twice in the last 25 years before Saturday, when Pitt's Israel Abanikanda joined LaDainian Tomlinson and Ricky Williams as the only running backs from current Power 5 programs to gain 300-plus yards and 6 TDs on the ground.

The legendary performance helped the Panthers defeat Virginia Tech, 45-29, and pick up their fourth win on the season. In one game, Abanikanda doubled his season output for rushing touchdowns, and his 13 TDs from scrimmage leads the country.

6th Down

New Quarterback, Classic Unis, and a Win

Did Bill Belichick think he would be on his third starting quarterback just five weeks into the season? Probably not. But here we are, and despite the brand new QB under center, there was an old-school look on Bailey Zappe's helmet and jersey on Sunday.

Zappe’s starting debut resulted in a strong line — 17-of-21, 188 yards, TD — and helped Bill Belichick secure a win in his 400th game with the Patriots. The defense was in “classic” form as they shut out the Lions, who entered the game averaging a league-leading 35 points per game. Fun fact: It was the first time in NFL history a team averaging 35-plus points in its first four games of a season was shut out in it's fifth.

7th Down

Bears Finding New Ways to Lose

QB Justin Fields hasn’t been able to get the Bears' passing game going this season, but on Sunday against Minnesota and with the game on the line, he had Chicago on a potential game-winning drive.

Trailing, 29-22, with 1:13 to play near midfield, the Bears were moving the ball. Fields completed a pass to Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and all the wide receiver had to do was get out of bounds. Simple, right?

Tough way to lose.

8th Down

Saints' Gadget Player Joins NFL Record Books

If you scooped up Taysom Hill in your fantasy league after his touchdown in Week 1 and decided to start him this week, consider yourself lucky. Hill joined the record books with Ronnie Brown and a previously mentioned Hall of Fame running back with his performance Sunday.

Three rushing touchdowns, 100-yards yards, a passing TD, and zero receptions. Just what you might expect from your starting fantasy ... tight end.

9th Down

Just Keep Kicking

Future Hall of Fame kicker and current opera star Justin Tucker continues to dominate. This was no different against the Bengals Sunday night. Tucker showed up and showed out.

Tucker had some fun with his four field goals, including the game-winner.

The kicking G.O.A.T. delivers again.

10th Down

SWAC Or Not, Don’t Shove Prime

There was a weird moment at the end of the Jackson State-Alabama State game on Saturday.

Deion Sanders, NFL Hall of Famer and current Jackson State head coach, has his team 5-0 this season, but he has stirred up some bad blood along the way with his big personality. So when Prime went to dap up Hornets first-year head coach Eddie Robinson Jr. at the conclusion of the 26-12 Jackson State win, Robinson was not looking for anything beyond formalities. 

@x9scouting

The SWAC play hard!!! #hbcu #sports #homecoming #jsu #asu

♬ original sound - Gerald Hicks Jr

After the shove to leave the field, Robinson explained why he was short with Sanders.

Let’s keep it friendly, fellas. 

Overtime (Or Is That Extra Innings?)

Biggest Week 5 Fantasy Football Takeaways

A big welcome to Ryan Ripken (grandson of Cal Sr., son of Cal Jr. and nephew of Billy), who joins The 33rd Team as a fantasy contributor. Here are his three biggest takeaways from Week 5: 

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The Week 5 fantasy football leaderboard (full PPR) looks like this going into the Monday night game between the Raiders and Chiefs:

Quarterbacks

  1. Josh Allen: 36.2
  2. Geno Smith: 24.0
  3. Kirk Cousins: 23.2
  4. Carson Wentz: 22.8
  5. Tom Brady: 19.8

Running Backs

  1. Leonard Fournette: 35.9
  2. Austin Ekeler: 35.9
  3. Breece Hall: 27.7
  4. Derrick Henry: 27.2
  5. Dalvin Cook: 26.1

Wide Receivers

  1. Gabe Davis: 32.1
  2. Justin Jefferson: 30.3
  3. Tyler Lockett: 27.4
  4. Cooper Kupp: 25.9
  5. Dyami Brown: 24.5

Tight Ends

  1. Taysom Hill: 34.1
  2. Mark Andrews: 22.9
  3. Dallas Goedert: 17.5
  4. Hayden Hurst: 17.3
  5. David Njoku: 14.8
Tags: Bailey Zappe, Baltimore Ravens, Brian Daboll See More

The 33rd Team

The 33rd Team is a Football Think Tank created by Mike Tannenbaum and Joe Banner.

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