40 things we learned in Week 5 of the 2016 NFL season
Here are the 40 things we learned in Week 5 of the NFL season:
1. Patriots coach Bill Belichick started his third QB in five games Sunday, but we think this Tom Brady guy might be the one he settles on for the rest of the season.
2. Hey, how come nobody told us this was the season the Falcons might actually be for real?
3. Lions CB Darius Slay might have single-handedly saved the season – and maybe coach Jim Caldwell’s job – with a forced fumble and an interception late in the game against the Eagles. The fumble set up the field goal to give Detroit a 24-23 lead, and the interception sealed the win as the Lions snapped a three-game losing streak.
4. Titans QB Marcus Mariota continues his trend of playing better on the road, throwing three TDs and running for one in a much-needed win over the Dolphins.
5. The Dallas sports talk shows will be having a field day again this week with the Dak Prescott-Tony Romo decision the Cowboys need to make soon.
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6. And speaking of not getting your job back: Hey, Jay Cutler, thanks for the memories. Signed, Chicago Bears. (Brian Hoyer on Sunday threw for more than 300 yards for the third consecutive game, something Cutler has never done in his 11-year career).
7. Hey, Broncos fans, did you ever think you’d be in a situation where you were counting the days until Trevor Siemian returned?
8. Rookie Paxton Lynch played like, well, a rookie. But no worries. John Elway drafted him for the future, not Week 5.
9. Reason No. 4,652 we always question the reasoning when Marc Trestman lands another gig. His running back, Terrance West, averaged 8.6 per carry on a windy day. Yeah, 8.6! So what did the Ravens offensive coordinator do? He had QB Joe Flacco throw the ball 46 times and limited West to 11 carries in a loss to the Redskins. (UPDATE: Ravens announced on Monday morning they have fired Trestman).
10. Dolphins top pick Laremy Tunsil got injured in pregame warmups and had to be deactivated. He certainly is having an interesting rookie season, isn’t he?
11. Nothing personal, but if you are a Chargers’ fan, please don’t come near us in the fourth quarter. Again, not judging. Just a safety precaution.
12. Rams coach Jeff Fisher just wanted to show us all how smart he is by calling a fake punt inside his own 40 with less than four minutes to play. It failed. And it cost Los Angeles any chance of victory. Sometimes coaches just need to get out of the way instead of trying to make the story about themselves. This isn’t college.
13. It was a day when some people thought it was news when Tom Brady arrived at the stadium. Um, OK. (It would have been news had he not arrived at the stadium.)
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14. Things are going so well for the Vikings that even Cordarrelle Patterson is catching TD passes, his first since Week 7 of the 2014 season.
15. We feel for Cleveland coach Hue Jackson and what he faces in trying to rebuild the Browns. But why go for two when you trail 30-13? That’s just bad math.
16. Jared Goff has now thrown one less interception than Carson Wentz. So he has that to build on.
17. There's a 94% chance the NFC champion Panthers won't make the playoffs.
18. The Cowboys offensive line was downright nasty vs. the Bengals. Such dominance.
19. The Colts became the first team to play on the Sunday after participating in a game in London. They won. That is all.
20. Bears fans still upset the team let longtime kicker Robbie Gould walk must have loved it when replacement Connor Barth got a second chance after his attempt from 54 yards sailed wide right. The next one, from 5 yards closer after a Colts penalty? Wide left. Of course.
21. To make matters worse, they had to watch Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri convert all five of his attempts.
22. The Bears letting T.Y. Hilton run free in the secondary for the winning TD with 3:38 to go isn’t Barth’s fault, though.
23. Here is one we don't write often (or ever): When will the Packers' offense catch up to the Packers' defense?
24. Was it us, or did Rob Gronkowski’s hamstring look much better with Brady playing?
25. The Bucs overpaid for rookie kicker Roberto Aguayo despite Monday's game-winning kick.
26. It just doesn’t seem the same watching a game at the Oakland Coliseum without the dirt baseball infield there.
27. OK, we will admit it. We laughed when Odell Beckham Jr. hugged the net on the sideline. And felt good the young man was having fun again.
28. The Redskins won, so it will be ignored, but they managed to again needlessly waste time on their final possession of the first half, letting 9 seconds tick off for no reason. Clock management just isn’t a Jay Gruden strong suit. But he has lots of company there.
29. Sure, the Texans are in first place in the AFC South. But with apologies to the Bears, Chiefs and Titans, they really have played only two title contenders – the Patriots and the Vikings. In those games, they have been outscored 58-13.
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30. What the hell happened to the Bengals?
31. So it is obvious the 49ers need to give Colin Kaepernick a shot at running Chip Kelly’s offense. It will be a shame if front office politics get in the way.
32. So the league can’t get the catch rule right – or even, at times, phantom fumble recoveries – but it made sure this week to let teams know any video from inside the stadium that is posted on a club’s social media site will result in a fine. Got it. #priorities.
33. And, oh yeah, they made Steelers WR Antonio Brown change his spikes for the fourth time this season. This time they were black and gold – which is OK – but had a photo of Muhammad Ali.
34. One more while we’re on a roll: Pete Morelli’s officiating crew lived up (down?) to its reputation as the worst in the league by messing up a good game in Detroit on Sunday. Bad calls. Bad missed calls. And explanations that had everyone scratching their heads.
35. The Rams were missing three starters along their defensive line. But 150 yards on 18 carries is still special, so a tip of the helmet to Bills RB LeSean McCoy.
36. Where were you when the Rams scored their first TD in Los Angeles since Dec. 24, 1994?
37. (CBS, by the way, inadvertently went to commercial during that “historic” event. Wonder if they did the same when man first walked on the moon ...)
38. We could watch Gronkowski and Jason Witten run after catches all day. Just sayin’
39. Joey Bosa played in a game! And he had two sacks!
40. We miss Deflategate.
PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 5
