Week 5 NFL Thoughts & Top 10

Week Five Thoughts…

• The NFL found its sacrificial lamb in the Tua concussion thing. I’m don’t think one person is going to be enough by the end of this.
• The Raiders saved their season Sunday against Denver. Not too many 0-4 teams make the postseason.  Things are just as dire for Vegas this week against Kansas City.
• The Giants are 3-1. The Giants are not very good.  Both of those statements are true.
• I’m not sure there’s a less disciplined team in the league than the Minnesota Vikings. That game in London is a loss if they are playing an even slightly better team.
• Life in the NFC West is hard.
• Nope, I still haven’t gotten used to it. The ‘Texans’ is still a stupid name for a professional sports team.
• The Sam Darnold watch is officially on in Carolina.
• The baby Jags had the league’s best team on the ropes Sunday, and they let them off the hook. The Jags roll at home against Houston this coming Sunday.
• The way things look in the NFC, if you can make the postseason, you got as good a chance as anybody of going to the big game.
• The Bills comeback against Baltimore was this week’s most impressive win.
• Remember when they moved the kickoffs back, so we would have fewer touchbacks? That didn’t work.
• If you bet on Bailey Zappe to be the first rookie quarterback to throw a TD pass this season, you win!
• This offseason will be a great time to be an unrestricted free agent offensive lineman.
• I dig the 9:30 a.m. start time for football on Sunday.  Can we keep that even if nobody is playing in London.

Our Heroes in Green

That was pretty sweet.  Gang Green notched a road win in one of the historically toughest places to play in the league.  They survived the momentum burst of Pittsburgh benching its starter and going with the their first-rounder.  Our franchise QB led a clutch game-winning drive in the late stages of the fourth quarter, and the defense posted three sacks – easily its best showing of the year.

Now we get Miami at home.  Tua is out if you believe the early week info coming from Miami.  Gang Green was flat to follow the win against Cleveland.  The Jets need to show much more off last Sunday’s win.  Teddy Bridgewater was just okay last week after Tua went out.  That’s been his M.O. since coming into the league.  Bridgewater will play well if the Jets struggle to contain Miami’s speed on the outside.  The Jets need to get pressure on Teddy B early and often.  If they do, he will turn it over, and that’s how the Jets can even out the skill deficit.  The running game will be huge in this game.  Neither team has been stellar on the ground.  The team with the edge this week will be in the driver’s seat.  The Dolphins will look to take some pressure off Bridgewater by running the ball.  The Jets need to force Bridgewater to beat them.  Vegas has the Dolphins as three-point favorites.  It makes sense.  The Dolphins are 3-1 against a better slate of opponents, but their starter is out.  The Jets need to win this type of game to make this season different than those of recent memory.  It’s exactly the spot they’ve come up small in for a long time.  I’m excited to see what the 2022 edition of the Jets has to offer.

JetNation NFL Power Rankings

Week Five

1. Philadelphia Eagles 4-0 (Last Week: 2) Philadelphia takes over at the top spot. They came out flat but muscled the Jags around the field over the final three quarters and took the victory.  The power running game is impressive, and the Birds have the outside weapons to complement the run.
2. Buffalo Bills 3-1 (Last Week: 3) The Bills were down seemingly from the kickoff, but stepped up and throttled the Ravens on the road.  After finding a way to lose against the Dolphins, the win in Baltimore was impressive save the first quarter.
3. Kansas City Chiefs 3-1 (Last Week: 4) The Chiefs didn’t seem to sweat much on the road in Tampa against what was the league’s best scoring defense.  The Chiefs easily hung more points on the Bucs than they had given up all season.
4. Miami Dolphins 3-1 (Last Week: 1) The Dolphins will have to deal with the loss of their starting quarterback, at least in the short term. Losing to a desperate Cincinnati team is not something Miami needs to apologize for.  They do need to step up this week at the Jets though as their roster is easily more complete.
5. Green Bay Packers 3-1 (Last Week: 8) The Pack might have overlooked the Pats with their backup under center, then their backup’s backup under center.  New England got the win in any event, but things seemed way too hard given the game being at Lambeau and the Pats playing so significantly shorthanded.
6. Los Angeles Chargers 2-2 (Last Week: 9) The Chargers handled the Texans the way the Chargers should on Sunday. LA’s schedule sets up for a four-game win streak if they can get past Cleveland this week.
7. Los Angeles Rams 2-2 (Last Week: 5) The Rams are simply going to be that team that tries to do just enough during the regular season to be able to turn things on for the postseason. It hasn’t been a winning formula in this league in the past.
8. Minnesota Vikings 3-1 (Last Week: Unranked) The Vikings tried to lose on Sunday in London.  They are an undisciplined group that is not talented enough to overcome themselves if the competition is decent.  If they can get out of their own way, this team could do some damage in the NFC.
9. Cincinnati Bengals 2-2 (Last Week: Unranked) The Bengals got pressure on the quarterback Sunday, which was a nice switch given how much pressure the Bengals quarterback is under every week. A Sunday nighter in Baltimore looms large as an early season tilt for control of the AFC Central.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-2 (Last Week: 10) The Bucs looked overmatched against Kansas City Sunday.  A visit from the Falcons should help right the ship in Tampa, but long-term questions will remain after falling in two straight against two of the league’s elite.