NFL Week 5 provided all of the entertainment and surprises the football world could ask for. On a Sunday that started with the New York Giants stunning the Green Bay Packers and also providing some huge performances, there are plenty of winners and losers from Week 5.
We witnessed plenty of unexpected outcomes. The Giants went into London as a 9.5-point underdog and pulled off the biggest upset of the season. A few hours later, the New York Jets wiped the floor with the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots shut out the most explosive offense in the NFL.
Naturally, NFL Week 5 wasn’t something several teams and players want to remember. The Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders and Jacksonville Jaguars all suffered losses that could have huge ramifications on their season and the futures for coaches and players.
Related: NFL Week 5 scores
Let’s dive into our winners and losers from NFL Week 5.
Winner: Buffalo Bills prove they are the best team in the NFL
The NFL standings don’t always dictate who is the best team in football. Many will point to the blemish on the Buffalo Bills schedule, a 21-19 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Looking back at that game, Buffalo dominated time of possession (40:40-19:20), ran 51 more plays and outgained Miami by 285 yards with 16 more first downs. Wild things allowed the Dolphins to win, but Buffalo was the superior team.
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Josh Allen could have broken single-game records in NFL Week 5. He needed two quarters to reach 348 passing yards and four touchdowns. In that same span, Buffalo’s defense held the Pittsburgh Steelers to 139 total yards. The Bills took mercy on their opponent in a 38-3 victory. This looks like the best team in the NFL right now and that makes the Week 6 clash against the Kansas City Chiefs even more exciting.
Loser: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers prove to be fraudulent content
It turns out the 3-1 record entering NFL Week 5 was deceiving. The Green Bay Packers narrowly defeated a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team without Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Julio Jones and they nearly blew that game. A week later, Aaron Rodgers and Co. needed overtime at Lambeau Field to defeat third-string rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe. The red flags with the offense are now the size of an NFL stadium and defensive coordinator Joe Barry is wasting one of the most talented defenses in the NFL. With changes unlikely, it’s fair to say the Packers aren’t a Super Bowl contender.
Winner: Taysom Hill returns to folk hero status in NFL Week 5
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Sean Payton watched Sunday’s Seattle Seahawks vs New Orleans Saints shootout. While seeing his former team might have provided him with a brief smile, the feeling of elation came from Taysom Hill. One of the highest paid tight ends in the NFL, the 32-year-old made a few splash plays entering NFL Week 5. On Sunday afternoon, though, he put the Saints’ offense on his back.
Hill led the team in rushing yards (112) and delivered four total touchdowns on the day. Recognizing Seattle’s defense seemingly could never figure out how to stop him, New Orleans put the football in its tight end’s hands with the game on the line and he delivered. It would be stunning if Hill ever came close to this kind of performance again, but New Orleans gets to celebrate its folk hero single-handedly winning the game.
Loser: Cleveland Browns’ playoff odds
The Cleveland Browns believed a great rushing attack, quality defense and clean football from quarterback Jacoby Brissett would keep them in the playoff hunt until Deshaun Watson returns from his suspension. Allow NFL Week 5 to serve as a reminder of why that is unlikely to happen. Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers shined the spotlight several issues.
Related: Deshaun Watson returning to Cleveland Browns facility on Monday
Among them, this defense is falling short of expectations once again. Even with Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett back on the field, Los Angeles did whatever it wanted to Cleveland. Austin Ekeler (173 rushing yards) led the way on the ground with a season-high 238 rushing yards from the Chargers’ offense. Meanwhile, Brissett (81.1 QB rating, 1-1 TD-INT) once showed he can’t be trusted with the game on the line. Att 2-3, Cleveland still face the Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers without Watson.
Winner: Daniel Jones rises to the occasion
Playing without his top four wide receivers, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones stepped up in a way no one saw coming. Playing on a bad ankle, the fourth-year passer certainly heard the doubts about this 3-1 team. There were plenty of reasons for Jones to come up short in NFL Week 5, yet he did the exact opposite.
Related: Daniel Jones sets up difficult long-term decisions for New York Giants
On the Giants’ three scoring drives in the second half, Jones completed 13-of-14 attempts with 136 passing yards and he made crucial plays on the ground. Keep in mind, he did this during a stretch when Saquon Barkley (shoulder) was on the sideline. This was Jones’s first 200-yard game of the season and he still has a lot to prove, but more flashes like this might earn him a franchise tag in 2023.
Loser: Baker Mayfield’s NFL career
It’s no longer about the Carolina Panthers. Whether they make a quarterback change after NFL Week 5 or fire Matt Rhule in the first move to clean house, there is something else going on. Very few NFL teams wanted Baker Mayfield when Cleveland shopped him around the league, desperate to get rid of him. Carolina found itself in a desperate situation and took a chance, surrounding Mayfield with two excellent weapons and an above-average supporting cast around them. To put it simply, Mayfield is the worst NFL quarterback in 2022.
Look beyond the 2022 season. Mayfield wasn’t exactly liked in the Browns’ locker room. He is also a quarterback who talks a lot, regardless of whether or not it bothers other people. Mayfield clearly isn’t good enough for teammates to put up with not liking him. He’s also not quiet enough or effective enough to be trusted as a fill-in starter. There will be a few teams interested in 2023, but Mayfield’s long-term future looks bleak.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys defense saves the day again
Cooper Rush receives plenty of praise for the Dallas Cowboys four-game winning streak. There’s no denying the fill-in starter is playing above expectations, making a case for a starting job with another team next season. Incredibly, one of the best defenses in the NFL still isn’t getting enough respect. We’ll see if that changes after NFL Week 5.
Related: Dallas Cowboys schedule
In front of a national audience against the defending Super Bowl champions, Dan Quinn’s group set the tone early. It began with a strip-sack fumble that DeMarcus Lawrence returned 19 yards for the game-opening touchdown. Moments later, defensive end Dorance Armstrong (four sacks in 2022) broke through the line and blocked a punt to set up a 10-0 lead. Dallas allowed one big play, a 75-yard touchdown to Cooper Kupp in the second quarter. Outside of that, Los Angeles mustered just 248 total yards on 63 plays (3.7 yards per play) and it committed three turnovers. The Cowboys vs Eagles battle on Sunday Night Football in Week 6 will be one to remember.
Loser: NFL referee Jerome Boger
The biggest loser in NFL Week 5 was referee Jerome Boger. Making split-second decisions at the highest level isn’t easy and the NFL adopts new rules every year to protect quarterbacks. However, Boger’s decision to call roughing the passer on Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett for his sack on quarterback Tom Brady is inexcusable.
It’s one thing to make that decision at any point in a game but there is no justification for it in a crucial moment. Jarrett sacked Brady on third-and-5. The play would have ended the Buccaneers’ drive, forcing them to punt the football back to Atlanta in a 21-15 game with three minutes remaining. Instead, Tampa Bay was gifted a first down and possession inside Falcons’ territory. As for Boger’s justification for it, it was almost as bad as the call itself.
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“The defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground.”
Referee Jerome Boger on roughing the passer called on Grady Jarrett for sack on Tom Brady
There’s a difference between protecting players and standing in the way of what happens in football. Jarrett made a clean sack without throwing Brady to the ground with excessive force. Yet, whether this was a call to cater to a superstar or simply a sign of a referee going too far with quarterback protection, it ended Sunday’s game on a bitter note.