What We Learned from NFL Week 5 Winners, Losers, Standouts

Week 5 of the NFL’s 2021 regular season included lots of missed field goals and extra points, some close games filled with plenty of winners, a few losers, and ton of truly extraordinary standouts that we go over game by game.

For any of you who won big this week, congrats on making the right picks.

For everyone else, there’s always next week…good luck!

NFL Week 5 Results

Winners

• Los Angeles Rams: move to 4-1 and in sole possession of second place in the NFC West behind the undefeated Cardinals.
• L.A. Rushing Attack: the Rams scored twice on the ground, RBs Darrell Henderson and Sony Michel each with a TD run.
• Rams Strong Safety Nick Scott: first player to intercept Seahawks QB Russell Wilson in 2021.
• Geno Smith: Seahawks’ backup quarterback fills in for an injured Wilson and completes 10-of-17 for 131 yards, a touchdown, and a pick with the hometown crowd chanting at one point, “Geno! Geno!”

Losers

• Seattle Seahawks: drop to 2-3 and sit a game behind the Rams in the NFC West.
• QB Russell Wilson’s right middle finger: sustained an “extensor tendon rupture and a comminuted fracture-dislocation of the proximal interphalangeal joint” that required surgery.

Standouts

• Seahawks free safety Quandre Diggs: snagged a key second-quarter interception in the endzone when Stafford was trying to throw it away
• Seattle’s Double Punt: Michael Dickson’s punt was blocked and recovered by him, so he kicked the ball again from behind the line of scrimmage which is a legal kick, and the result of the play was the ball was ruled down at the opposing 11-yard line.

Atlanta Falcons 27, New York Jets 20

Winners

• Atlanta Falcons: grab their second win of the season, now 2-3 but still sit at the bottom of the NFC South.
• Atlanta QB Matt Ryan: completes 33/45 for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns with no picks.
• Falcons’ tight end Kyle Pitts: turns out you cannot cover Kyle Pitts with a defensive end or anyone, really, the rookie posting 9 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown averaging 13.2 yards per catch.
• Tottenham Stadium Crowd: 65,000+ in London came decked out in NFL colors, filled the stadium, saw an onside kick, and caught an excellent battle between two 1-3 teams.

Losers

• New York Jets: drop to 1-4 and stay at the bottom of the AFC East along with the 1-4 Miami Dolphins.
• Jets QB Zach Wilson: throws for zero touchdowns and one interception in his fourth professional loss.

Standouts

• Tottenham Stadium in London:  a multi-purpose stadium that features the world’s first dividing, retractable football pitch, which reveals a synthetic turf field underneath for these NFL London Games, concerts, and other big events
• Jets

Green Bay Packers 25, Cincinnati Bengals 22

Winners

• Green Bay Packers: move to 4-1 and stay atop the NFC North a game in front of the Chicago Bears.
• Rodgers-to-Adams: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers connected with receiver Davante Adams eleven times in this one for 206 yards and a touchdown.
• Green Bay placekicker Mason Crosby: missed an extra point, then missed three consecutive field goals but in the end finally made the 49 yard game-winner in OT.
• Bengals QB Joe Burrow: he took a frightening shot to his rehabbed knee on a scramble, then came back into the game and hits receiver Ja’Marr Chase while scrambling.

Losers

• Cincinnati Bengals: fall to 3-2, now tied with the Browns for second place in the AFC North.
• Cincy Place Kicker Evan McPherson: with 21 seconds left in the game, his attempted 57 yard game-winner hit the upright.

Standouts

• Packers QB Aaron Rodgers: threw his 421st and 422nd touchdowns and moved into fifth all-time in career TD passes.
• New 1st for Green Bay: first time in Packers history that they had a 300-yard passer, a 200-yard receiver, and a 100-yard rusher all in one game.

Minnesota Vikings 19, Detroit Lions 17

Winners

• Minnesota Vikings: they score their second win of the season and at 2-3 are still two games behind the NFC North leading Packers.
• Vikes’ RB Alexander Mattison: filled in for the missing Dalvin Cook and carried the ball 25 times for 113 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry in the win.
• Vikings’ placer kicker Greg Joseph: boots the 54-yard game-winner by as time runs out.
• Lions head coach Dan Campbell: not afraid to show his emotions after this tough loss, setting a fine example for tough men and boys everywhere.

Losers

• Detroit Lions: still the only winless NFC team at 0-5 and sitting firmly in the NFC North basement.
• Fantasy Owners of Vikings running back Dalvin Cook: the dual-threat playmaker was out for the second time in three weeks with an ankle injury.
• Lions QB Jared Goff: at this point he can’t be too optimistic about the trade that brought him to Detroit.

Standouts

• Fourth-quarter deficits: Minnesota joins at least three other teams (Eagles, Patriots, and Chargers) in Week 5 who overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to win
• Vikings DE Everson Griffen: the 33-year old end posted two sacks in this game.

Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Denver Broncos 19

Winners

• Pittsburgh Steelers: won their second game of the season but at 2-3 are still at the bottom of the AFC North.
• Steelers rushing attack: Najee Harris came alive with 23 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown helping the Steelers’ offense to get going
• Bridgewater-to-Sutton: Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater found receiver Courtland Sutton 7 times for 120 yards and a touchdown averaging an impressive 17.1 yards per catch.

Losers

• Denver Broncos: they drop to 3-2 and a game behind the AFC West leading Chargers
• Broncos’ 3rd down efficiency: Denver was only able to convert 2 of 12 third downs, though they did manage to convert three of their four fourth-down attempts.

Standouts

• Big Ben’s “questionable” throwing arm: old man Roethlisberger still has some juice left, connecting for two TDs including a 50-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson.
• Broncos’ defense: they kept the Steelers to just a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 45, Miami Dolphins 17

Winners

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: they are 4-1 and remain a game in front of the Panthers to lead the NFC South.
• Buccaneers’ receiver Antonio Brown: what a day for Brady’s buddy Brown, with 7 receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns including an exciting 62 yard touchdown catch that left the Dolphins panting.
• Tampa Bay running back Leonard Fournette: averaged 5.6 yards per carry plus a touchdown on top of four catches for 43 yards.
• Dolphins dual-threat back Myles Gaskin: the third-year back carried the ball five times for 25 yards and also caught 10 passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

Losers

• Miami Dolphins: now at 1-4, the struggling Dolphins are tied with the Jets at the bottom of the AFC East.
• Miami Losing Streak: the Dolphins have now lost four games in a row after starting off the season with a win.

Standouts

• Bucs GOAT QB: Tom Brady has thrown five TDs in a game nine times in his career, and four of those games have been after he hit the age of 40.
• Dolphin Sacks: Miami’s front line has allowed QB Jacoby Brissett to be sacked a dozen times in the last four games.

New Orleans Saints 33, Washington Football Team 22

Winners

• New Orleans Saints: with this Week 5 win they are now 3-2 and a game behind the Bucs in the NFC South.
• New Orleans QB Jameis Winston: despite throwing his third pick of the season, Winston threw for four touchdown passes while scrambling 6 times for 26 yards.
• Saints RB Alvin Kamara: the dual-threat back has yet another great game with 16 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown plus 5 catches for 51 yards and another touchdown.
• Washington’s Antonio Gibson: the talented back carried the ball 20 times for 50 yards and two touchdowns while catching 2 balls for 12 yards.

Losers

• Washington Football Team: they move to 2-3 and stay two game behind the Cowboys in the NFC East.
• Washington QB Taylor Heinicke: he got picked off twice in this one and threw for zero touchdowns.

Standouts

• Taysom Hill: the Saints’ version of a Swiss Army Knife was carted off the field after a scary hit to the helmet and he remains in concussion protocol.
• Saints Punter Blake Gillikin: he punted five times for 268 yards (53.6 yards per try) and artfully dropped three of them inside Washington’s 3-yard line.

Philadelphia Eagles 21, Carolina Panthers 18

Winners

• Philadelphia Eagles: they are 2-3 now and two games behind the 4-1 Cowboys in the NFC East.
• Eagles’ defense: this side of the ball rocked with three interceptions three sacks in the team’s second win of the season.
• Philly CB Darius Slay: he pulled in two interceptions during this victory.
• QB Jalen Hurts: he’s a scrambler and scored twice on 9 carries.
• Chuba Hubbard: with injured Christian McCaffrey out, he posts a 100+ rushing yard game on 24 carries plus catches 5 passes for another 33 yards.

Losers

• Carolina Panthers: with this second loss in a row they are now 3-2 and whatever momentum they had built up is gone, now a game behind the Bucs in the NFC South.
• Panther Penalties: the team had 9 penalties on the day for 69 backwards yards.

Standouts

• Panther QB Sam Darnold: uh oh, Darnold threw three interceptions on Sunday matching the other three he already had this season bringing his total up to half a dozen now, five in the last two weeks.
• Eagles 1-game win streak: with this victory, Philadelphia snaps their three-game losing streak.

Tennessee Titans 37, Jacksonville Jaguars 19

Winners

• Tennessee Titans: now at 3-2, they are kings of the AFC South ahead of the Colts and Texans by two games.
• Titans running back Derrick Henry: now this is the type of game fans have come to expect from the tough-to-tackle Henry who carried the ball 29 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns.
• Jaguars RB James Robinson: carried the ball 18 times for almost 150 yards and a touchdown.

Losers

• Jacksonville Jaguars: with the loss, they fall to 0–5
• Jags head coach Urban Meyer: the controversial new leader of this struggling team seems to be having a tough time acclimating himself to the professional level of football.

Standouts

• Jaguars Losses: Jacksonville becomes the second team in NFL history with 20+ consecutive losses
• Jags defense: they managed to sack Tannehill three times in this loss.

New England Patriots 25, Houston Texans 22

Winners

• New England Patriots: still just 2-3 with the win and near the top of the AFC East.
• Pats receiver Hunter Henry: caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, so far his best game of the season.
• Patriots’ QB Mac Jones: the rookie got his second career win.
• New England’s Matthew Judon: the hard-hitting linebacker had two sacks on the day.
• Texans’ rookie QB Davis Mills: the kid posted three touchdowns while completing 21-of-29 passes for 312 yards and no picks, great numbers for an NFL newbie.

Losers

• Houston Texans: they now stand at 1-4 but sit near the bottom of the AFC South two games behind the Titans.
• Texans punter Cameron Johnston: whoops – this man punted straight into the back of his own player.

Standouts

• Patriots’ offensive Line: four of five starters on New England’s front line were out due to injury.
• New England placekicker Nick Folk: he made all four of his field goals including hitting a 21 yarder to help his Patriots win.

Chicago Bears 20, Las Vegas Raiders 9

Winners

• Chicago Bears: move to 3-2 and edge within a game of the NFC North leading Green Bay Packers.
• Bears’ Justin Fields: finally named QB1 and throws his first NFL touchdown pass to backup tight end Jesper Horsted.
• Chicago backup QB Andy Dalton: completed a pass for eight yards while filling in for a temporarily injured Fields.
• Bears defense: they held the Raiders to just one touchdown during the game.
• Raiders RB Joshua Jacobs: scored the only Las Vegas touchdown of the day while carrying the ball 15 times for 48 yards.

Losers

• Las Vegas Raiders: lose two straight after starting season 3-0 and at 3-2 now sit a game behind the 4-1 Chargers in the AFC West.
• Penalty flags: the refs called 18 penalties in this game resulting in a total of 152 lost yards and what felt like dozens of lost minutes.

Standouts

• Raiders head coach Jon Gruden: apologizes once again for the offensive emails he sent over a decade ago.
• Sacks: there were five of them in this game, three by the Bears, two by the Raiders.

Los Angeles Chargers 47, Cleveland Browns 42

Winners

• Los Angeles Chargers: now 4-1 and in charge of the AFC West by a game over the Raiders.
• Chargers QB Justin Herbert: this kid can play, completing 26-of-43 for almost 400 passing yards and four touchdowns, now with 13 passing TDs on the season.
• L.A. receiver Mike Williams: he caught 8 passes in this one for 165 yards and two touchdowns averaging over 20 yards per catch.
• Browns #1 ranked rushing attack: behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, the Browns posted 230 rushing yards on the day
• Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield: playing with a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, he followed up a poor Week 4 outing with great numbers, 23/32 for 305 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions.

Losers

• Cleveland Browns: they drop to 3-2 and continue to fight for the lead in the difficult AFC North.
• Browns 4th down efficiency: Cleveland could not convert on two critical fourth downs, a recurring theme that could cause them problems this season.
• Chargers’ placekicker Tristan Vizcaino: missed two extra points in this game, his third and fourth of the season.

Standouts

• Time of possession: the Browns won this battle 36:28 to 23:32 but in the end lost the war to the Chargers ability to get open deep.
• Chargers’ comeback wins: this was the third comeback win of the season for L.A.
• Browns play calling: all they needed to win was a first down or two at the end of the fourth quarter and instead they went three and out and gave the Chargers back the ball.

Dallas Cowboys 44, New York Giants 20

Winners

• Dallas Cowboys: they have won four in a row now and move to 4-1 and sit atop the NFC East two games in front of the Eagles and Washington.
• Dallas CB Trevon Diggs: the speedy cornerback managed to pull in his sixth interception of the season, snagging at least one in all five games.
• Cowboys two-headed rushing attack: Zeke Elliott had 21 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown plus two catches for two yards and another TD while Tony Pollard had 14 carries for 75 yards plus 4 catches for 28 yards.
• Giants’ backup QB Mike Glennon: had to finish out the game for the injured Daniel Jones, completed 16/25 for 196 yards and a touchdown with 2 interceptions.

Losers

• New York Giants: now 1-4 and at the bottom of the NFC East.
• Giants QB Daniel Jones: he suffered a concussion in the second quarter and left the game.

Standouts

• Cowboys QB Dak Prescott: he has thrown 10 touchdown passes in the last three games.
• Giants RB Saquon Barkley: he twisted his ankle awkwardly and had to leave the game, now week-to-week with that injury.

Arizona Cardinals 17, San Francisco 49ers 10

Winners

• Arizona Cardinals: they remain the only unbeaten team in the NFL at 5-0, the rulers of the NFC West by a game over the 4-1 Rams.
• Murray-to-Hopkins: the connection between Cards’ QB Kyler Murray and receiver DeAndre Hopkins remains solid, the two hooking up for 6 completions for 87 yards and a touchdown on the day.
• Arizona free safety Budda Baker: he snagged his first interception of the season.
• San Fran QB Trey Lance: the rookie’s first pro start was a decent outing, completing 15-of-29 for 192 yards and an interception with 16 carries for another 89 yards.

Losers

• San Francisco 49ers: they are now 2-3 and sit at the bottom of the NFC West with the 2-3 Seahawks.
• 49ers rushing attack: QB Lance was their best runner on the day with RB Eli Mitchell getting only 9 carries for 43 yards and no touchdowns.

Standouts

• Arizona Cards undefeated: they are 5-0 for the first time since 1974.
• Niners 3rd and 4th down efficiency: San Fran only managed to convert three of 11 third downs and just one of five fourth downs.

Buffalo Bills 38, Kansas City Chiefs 20

Winners

• Buffalo Bills: with this win they move to 4-1 and sit high atop the AFC East by two games.
• Bills QB Josh Allen’s arm: he completed 15-of-26 for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions
• Bills QB Josh Allen’s legs: he not only carried the ball 11 times for 59 yards and a touchdown, but he also literally hurled a defenseman for a first down.
• Buffalo Tight end Dawson Knox: Allen’s new favorite target had 3 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
• Chiefs WR Josh Gordon: after much off the field trouble, he is back in the league and made his first catch as a Chief for eleven yards plus the first down.

Losers

• Kansas City Chiefs: they fall to 2-3 and remain in the basement of the AFC West two games out.
• Moist penalty flags: seventeen total accepted penalties on the night made this rain drenched game seem longer and wetter than it was.

Standouts

• Buffalo takeaways: the Bills lead the league with 15 takeaways, their turnover differential of +11 the best in the NFL.
• Mahomes picks: last season the KC QB had six interceptions all year, this season he already has six in just five games with two on the night including a pick-six.
• Halftime lead: this was the 14th consecutive game that the Bills had the lead at halftime which is an NFL record.