Week 5 of the NFL season is complete, so we’re casting an eye over every game, identifying the big takeaways and digging into the markets.
Around the NFL
A career night for Kirk Cousins ended with a game-winning touchdown pass to KhaDarel Hodge as the Atlanta Falcons beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-30 on Thursday Night Football.
The Minnesota Vikings are still undefeated following their 23-17 win over the New York Jets. It’s Minny’s first 5-0 start since 2016. Meanwhile, there are growing concerns for the Jets with Aaron Rodgers looking his age in this one.
Josh Allen did everything he could to drag the Buffalo Bills to victory but came up short 23-20 to the Houston Texans.
Josh Allen is the second player in NFL history with 175+ pass TD and 50+ rush TD in a career (Cam Newton).#BillsMafia
— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) October 6, 2024
Allen needing to do so much just to keep close to a fringe Super Bowl LIX contender is a concern after back-to-back defeats.
The early-season optimism has washed away for the New England Patriots. They had chances but ultimately fell short of the Miami Dolphins 15-10. Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars have avoided a horror 0-5 start with a 37-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Trevor Lawrence played up to his contract value to give life to the idea of a Jaguars revival this season.
It took a Justin Tucker field goal to separate the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. There is unlikely to be a better game this NFL season with Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson both putting on a show. The 41-38 overtime loss does move the Bengals to 1-4, though.
Caleb Williams is starting to look comfortable in the league. The No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft finished up with 304 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Chicago Bears handled the Carolina Panthers 36-10.
Jayden Daniels, my word.
JAYDEN DANIELS WITH A 66-YARD DOT TO TERRY MCLAURIN 🎯 🔥
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/xMsIqZZg0P— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 6, 2024
He’s looked comfortable in the NFL from Day 1. The rookie quarterback has led the Washington Commanders to their first 4-1 start since 2008 after their convincing 34-13 win over the Cleveland Browns.
It continues to be a nightmare trying to pick the Las Vegas Raiders. They barely threw a punch while going down to the Denver Broncos 34-18. The Arizona Cardinals landed the last blow in their 24-23 comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks offered little in their 29-20 loss to the New York Giants. The Giants defence dominated a Seahawks outfit that struggled for answers.
The Los Angeles Rams will need another late-season run if they’re to dig themselves out of this 1-4 hole following their 24-19 loss to Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers. It took 14 points in the 4th quarter to get the job done, but the Dallas Cowboys finished on top of the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-17 to be 3-2 after Week 5.
Patrick Mahomes didn’t throw a touchdown but finished with 331 passing yards as the Kansas City Chiefs moved to 5-0 following their 26-13 win over the New Orleans Saints.
3 Takeaways from Week 6
Cousins catches fire
The internet exploded with a diagnosis on Kirk Cousins’ Achilles after Week 1. He did look immobile and struggled to keep the play alive in the pocket. However, it may not have been a surprise to see a 36-year-old quarterback coming off a serious injury needing more than one game to come good?
By Week 6, he’s just passed for a career-high and franchise-record 509 yards to go with four touchdowns and an interception.
ITS OVER FOLKS! @ATLANTAFALCONS WIN! pic.twitter.com/0siBNxaHKQ
— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2024
He completed 42 of his 58 passes, becoming only the 22nd different quarterback in NFL history to clear 500 passing yards in a game.
“Zac (Robinson) kept putting the ball in my hand, kept giving me opportunities and people kept getting open. I was protected. And my job is just (to) be the distributor and give it to the open man, and got a lot of opps tonight.”
Despite the sneers at his signing, Cousins is doing exactly what the Falcons signed him to do. He needed Younghoe Koo to kick a 52-yard field goal with no time left to force overtime. But with it, Cousins got the job done.
It’s the third come-from-behind win Cousins has orchestrated already this season. He made it 31 for his career in this one – tied for the 20th-most in NFL history with one Drew Bledsoe.
With Cousins doing his thing and beating the Buccaneers here, the Falcons are $2.10 favourites to win the NFC South.
Chaos in the NFC West
The NFC West is well and truly up for grabs after the Week 5 results:
Arizona Cardinals 24 def. San Francisco 23
New York Giants 29 def. Seattle Seahawks 20
Green Bay Packers 24 def. Los Angeles Rams 19
It still feels like the 49ers division to lose. Their loss to the Cardinals could be meaningful in the end, but on its own, it shouldn’t be a major concern. They dominated to start, but losing kicker Jake Moody changed how Kyle Shanahan approached the game. Typically aggressive already, he had to be more aggressive without his kicker.
This is still a very good football team and one that, should that pick up enough wins and get healthy at the right time, can contend for Super Bowl LIX.
Your NFC West standings after five weeks pic.twitter.com/RchgCV1jWC
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) October 6, 2024
The Cardinals could be anything. One week they’re getting smashed by the Washington Commanders, the next they’re beating a divison rival.
The LA Rams are 1-4 but there is still potential there if they can get healthy. Seeing the 49ers and Seattle Seahawks drop games will give them confidence in one winning run being enough to contend for the division.
It’s wide open right now. We’re going to learn a lot on Thursday night football when the Seahawks host the 49ers as +3.5 underdogs.
Bengals Botch It, Texans Take It
Picture this: Your quarterback is reading the defence like a wizard to have 392 passing yards and five touchdowns. You’re looking for a few extra yards to make what would be a game-winning field goal easier…
Would you run it three times for three yards? Or air one out to help the kicker?
The Bengals took the first option and fell to 1-4.
Obviously a bad hold on the field goal here, but Zac Taylor calling for three straight runs and playing for a 53-yard field goal when his QB threw for 392 yards in regulation is something. #Bengals pic.twitter.com/eIrSGVpeVA
— John Breech (@johnbreech) October 6, 2024
Meanwhile, the Houston Texans are 4-1 following their 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills. What makes it most impressive is that they won it ugly and without Nico Collins for much of it. The Texans wide receiver limped off after catching a 67-yard bomb from C.J. Stroud.
Two rather uncharacteristic Stroud turnovers translated into 10 points and allowed the Bills to level the scores. Still, he ticked over 300 passing yards for the second consecutive game. He sent 83 of those yards to Stefon Diggs, who got one over his former team.
Importantly, Stroud found a key pass with only seven seconds to work, setting the Texans up to kick the game-winning field goal.
NFL News & Notes
– A crazy 10-15 minutes on Red Zone saw a 101 fumble return, a 100-yard pick-six and a blocked punt returned to the house.
– The Vikings are 5-0. Nobody expected this after Week 5. Especially when they had to win with Sam Darnold going 14-of-31 for 179 yards and a pick.
– T.J. Watt recorded the 100th sack of his NFL career this week.
Patrick Surtain II goes 100 yards on the pick 6 for the TD!pic.twitter.com/mtbWOQjbia
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) October 6, 2024
– Finally, Caleb Williams is playing like a No.1 pick in the NFL draft. He became the first Bears rookie quarterback to have 300+ pass yards, 2+ passing touchdowns and no interceptions in a game.
– Derrick Henry is now the third player aged 30+ with 500+ rushing yards and 5+ rushing touchdowns in the first five games of an NFL season.
NFL ODDS & FUTURES
The Chiefs remain as Super Bowl LIX favourites in a relatively unchanged market.
There isn’t a lot of concern for the 49ers and Bills, who lost in unexpected fashion this week. Although, the Ravens have jumped up a spot to the second line of betting in the Super Bowl market. Lamar Jackson is once again in the running to win the Most Valuable Player award and produced one of the highlights of the NFL season this week.
The 5-0 Vikings are closing in on the Top 6 to be $12 after Week 5.
TOP 6 SUPER BOWL LIX ODDS
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| TEAM | CURRENT PRICE | LAST WEEK’S PRICE | |
| Kansas City Chiefs | $5 | $5 | |
| Baltimore Ravens | $7.50 | $8 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | $8 | $7 | |
| Buffalo Bills | $11 | $11 | |
| Detroit Lions | $11 | $11 | |
| Houston Texans | $11 | $13 | |