NFL Game Recaps: Week 5, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Falcons 36, Buccaneers 30

This was a terrific shootout with so many explosive plays. Neither defense had a chance against the opposing offense, as there were only two punts in the first 58 minutes of this game, with the first occurring just prior to halftime.

Given how many dynamic offensive plays there were, it’s remarkable that this game was decided by some key blunders that occurred in the fourth quarter.

The first huge mistake was a Darnell Mooney drop of what would have been a long completion. Kirk Cousins fired a perfect ball to Mooney, who let it slip through his hands. A completion would have moved the chains deep into Tampa territory. Instead, the Falcons had to settle for a 54-yard field goal that was blocked.

The Buccaneers obtained possession in favorable field position and were doing a great job of bleeding the clock. They also moved into field goal range, but Bucky Irving lost a fumble to prevent the Buccaneers extending their 30-27 lead. This allowed Cousins to play for three on the final drive. He moved into a position for a game-tying field goal, which Younghoe Koo converted. Atlanta then won the coin toss in the extra session and didn’t waste any time. Cousins completed a couple of passes to Drake London and then zipped a throw to KhaDarel Hodge, who scored a 45-yard touchdown to give the Falcons the victory.

Atlanta has had some close calls this year. It now has three last-second drives to beat the Eagles, Saints, and Buccaneers, and it lost at the very end to the Chiefs. No one will be complaining that the Falcons are now 3-2, save for the fans who will inevitably go into cardiac arrest as a result of these stressful finishes.

The Buccaneers blew this game. They were ahead for most of the evening, but the Irving fumble and some conservative play-calling on the ensuing drive ended up costing them a chance to improve to 4-1.

Vikings 23, Jets 17

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has confused bad and young quarterbacks with his perplexing schemes all year, but he was going to be put to the test against Aaron Rodgers in the first London game of the year. We discovered very early, however, that Flores wasn’t going to be challenged very much. Rodgers was fooled in the first quarter when Andrew Van Ginkel dropped in coverage and pick-sixed Rodgers. Shortly later, Rodgers was intercepted on a horrible overthrow.

It appeared as though that this would be a long day for Rodgers and the Jets, especially when offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett goofed upon calling consecutive Braelon Allen runs in field goal range, with Allen predictably being stuffed on fourth down. A field goal there would come into play much later.

The Jets were able to get momentum prior to halftime with their first touchdown drive, and Minnesota’s offense couldn’t get much going in the third quarter because Aaron Jones suffered a hip injury. With Ty Chandler unable to gain significant yardage, the Jets drew to within three. Sam Darnold, however, came up very clutch with 25- and 21-yard passes to Justin Jefferson and Johnny Mundt to put his kicker into field goal range.

The Vikings went up 23-17 as a result of Darnold’s heroics. The Jets needed a touchdown to win when the earlier field goal would have allowed them to settle for three to force overtime. Rodgers drove the team into field goal range, but was intercepted on a pass to Mike Williams, which sealed the victory for Minnesota.

The Vikings are now 5-0, and they’re looking like they’re the best team in the NFL. They’ve gotten some opponents in favorable situations, but this was a convincing victory.

The Jets have dropped to 2-3 following their promising 2-1 start. Rodgers still doesn’t have great chemistry with his receivers, but that could change as the season progresses.

Bears 36, Panthers 10

The Panthers looked like they would pull an upset in this game when they easily traveled down the length of the field to score a touchdown via a Chuba Hubbard 38-yard touchdown run. It didn’t take very long for the game to reverse, however. It was all Chicago after that, as the Bears outscored the Panthers the rest of the opening half 27-0.

Carolina’s miserable defense had no chance against the Bears. The Panthers lost their only two primary linebackers, Josey Jewell and Shaq Thompson, to injury last week, and that left the middle of the field wide open. D’Andre Swift generated 100 total yards in the opening half alone, while Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett contributed with big plays. Meanwhile, Carolina’s inability to cover on the outside downfield was still prevalent, as D.J. Moore scored twice prior to intermission against his old team.

The Bears didn’t just dominate offensively, as they crushed the Panthers on the other side of the ball as well. Carolina couldn’t sustain any drives following the opening possession. Dalton’s short tosses didn’t threaten the Bears, who cruised to an easy victory despite an early scare.

The Bears survived the pre-London trap, which the Jets couldn’t do last week. Their defense was excellent, while Caleb Williams put together the best performance of his young career, albeit against one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

The Panthers seem to have run out of gas. They had some spirited performances following the Bryce Young benching, but this is how they played during the first two weeks of the season.

Ravens 41, Bengals 38

This was a high-scoring affair in which the Bengals led for most of the afternoon. They trailed 7-0 and 14-7, but they took control and held double-digit leads on multiple occasions. The Ravens, however, fought hard to keep pace with them, which put pressure on Cincinnati to keep scoring. The Bengals responded by melting down on horrible decision-making blunders by both their quarterback and head coach.

Cincinnati had a 38-35 lead with less than three minutes remaining. The team was in field goal range, so it made sense for Joe Burrow to be safe with the ball. Burrow, instead, decided to force a pass into heavy traffic, and was picked as a consequence. Burrow had enjoyed a terrific five-touchdown performance until that point, but his error gave the Ravens some new life. Baltimore predictably moved into kicking range for Justin Tucker, who drilled a 56-yard attempt to send the game to overtime.

The Ravens won the coin toss and moved toward midfield, but Lamar Jackson dropped a shotgun snap when he wasn’t ready for it. The Bengals pounced on the ball and set up possession on the edge of field goal range. They weren’t close enough to just go into a shell and run the ball, but head coach Zac Taylor disagreed. He called three consecutive runs, which barely went anywhere. Evan McPherson still had a chance for a 53-yard field goal, but he missed because of a botched hold. The Bengals, for some reason, treated the situation as if they had a rookie quarterback instead of Burrow, who had a monstrous afternoon aside from his one interception.

The Ravens took over near midfield. There was hardly any drama after that, as Derrick Henry, who was bottled up for most of the afternoon, broke free for a 51-yard burst. Tucker connected on the chip-shot field goal on the very next play to give Baltimore the victory.

If the Bengals miss the playoffs, they can look back at this game for the reason why. They had a chance to improve to 2-3 following their 0-3 start, but they’re now 1-4, thanks to the horrible decision-making gaffes by both Burrow and Taylor.

The Ravens, conversely, have done a great job to bounce back from their 0-2 start. However, some of their weaknesses were exposed in this game, which very easily could have been a loss.

Texans 23, Bills 20

The Texans were plagued with poor play-calling in their near-loss to the Jaguars last week. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik called far too many early-down runs for Cam Akers. These rushes were predictably ineffective, with C.J. Stroud needing to bail out Slowik with some terrific throws on third downs.

Stroud was even better in this game, at least in the opening half. He began 10-of-10 for 177 yards and a touchdown. His first misfire occurred in the 2-minute drill. Despite this, the Texans called more runs than throws when Stroud completed his 10th consecutive pass to begin the game. It wasn’t just Akers this time, as Slowik tried Dare Ogunbowale, who was somehow worse. Slowik single-handedly ruined a potential scoring drive, calling for a run on fourth-and-1. Ogunbowale was predictably stuffed.

Despite Slowik’s poor play-calling, the Texans were able to dominate the early portion of this game, thanks to Stroud’s brilliance and the incompetence of the Buffalo offense. Nico Collins scored on a 67-yard touchdown early on before leaving the game with a hamstring injury. Stroud then began targeting Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell successfully. As for Allen, he began this game 1-of-9 and was only 6-of-18 at halftime. With Khalil Shakir sidelined, he couldn’t connect with anyone consistently. His receivers hurt him with some drops and poor routes, but Allen was at fault for his poor accuracy as well.

Stroud wasn’t nearly as sharp in the second half. He was intercepted when he didn’t see Terrel Bernard in coverage. He lost a fumble on a strip-sack. And after some impressive third-down conversions, he was flagged for intentional grounding to move his team out of field goal range. All of this allowed the Bills to come back. Following the fumble, Buffalo had a chance to take the lead, but Allen, who was in the medical tent following a big hit to the head, missed one snap. Buffalo had to settle for a field goal to tie the game at 20.

It appeared as though this game would be headed to overtime. Following the intentional grounding, the Bills were pinned at their own 3-yard line. Three runs would have sent the game to an extra session, but Buffalo believed that Allen, despite his nine completions on the day and potential concussion, could lead the team on a game-winning drive. Instead, Allen misfired on three plays, nearly throwing two interceptions in the process. Failing to drain the clock allowed the Texans to have one play on a short field to move into field goal range. Ka’imi Fairbairn naturally drilled a 59-yard field goal to prevail.

The Bills can overcome this loss because they’re still 3-2, but it was a perplexing defeat for a couple of reasons. First, how was Allen unable to complete more than nine throws despite having 30 attempts? And second, what were the Bills thinking on that sequence at their own 3-yard line? It’ll be interesting to see if the Bills are penalized for skirting Allen’s concussion protocol.

The Texans lost control of this game, but still won to move to 4-1. This was a huge win for playoff seeding. However, Collins’ injury is the dark cloud over this victory.

Jaguars 37, Colts 34

For a game with lots of explosive plays, there were instances of offensive blunders as well, thanks to the heavy rain throughout the afternoon. There was a sequence just prior to the first half when Gabe Davis lost a fumble in Indianapolis territory in a 10-10 game. On the ensuing drive, Joe Flacco was strip-sacked with six seconds remaining in the opening half to gift wrap a field goal to Jacksonville. These three points turned out to be the difference of this game.

It seemed like the Jaguars would give the game back to the Colts when Trevor Lawrence threw an interception into double coverage in the third quarter. However, Lawrence more than made up for it with some explosive throws on his 25th birthday. He hit Brian Thomas Jr. and Christian Kirk for completions of 85 and 61, respectively. Thomas’ catch ended up being a touchdown. Meanwhile, Tank Bigsby broke free for a 65-yard run to score one of his two touchdowns.

The Jaguars established a 34-20 lead with these big plays, but the Colts stormed back to tie. Joe Flacco delivered some deep throws to Alec Pierce and even showed some surprising mobility on a 21-yard scramble. Flacco hit Pierce in the end zone to tie the game at 34. The potential comeback was spoiled on Jacksonville’s final drive, with Lawrence completing all three of his throws, including a 14-yard pass to Kirk. This set up the game-winning field goal.

Jacksonville saved its season with a victory in this game. It’s quite the uphill climb from 1-4, but the Jaguars have two London games coming up against Chicago and New England.

The Colts dropped to 2-3, with their three losses all being by six points or fewer. They’ve had a barrage of injuries, so their season could be much different now if they were healthy.

Redskins 34, Browns 13

Jayden Daniels set the record for best completion percentage through four games to start the season. While he’s been incredible, he was also untested. The defensive EPA rankings of the teams he has battled were 21st, 22nd, 27th, and 30th heading into Week 5. Cleveland is ranked 12th, so Daniels would be challenged for the first time all year.

Daniels completed a 66-yard bomb to Terry McLaurin early in the game, showing off his great mobility to escape what appeared to be a sure sack and then launching the ball deep downfield. However, before everyone in Washington could get too excited, Daniels threw an interception, as he was fooled by a zone look. Daniels made some nice throws after that to rebound, but his accuracy was far worse than it was through the first four games. He was barely over 50 percent in the opening half.

Daniels, however, is an extremely talented athlete in addition to being a terrific passer. Stuck in a fourth-and-3 in the 2-minute drill, the Redskins eschewed a punt. Daniels scrambled for a 30-yard gain to set up a touchdown run by Brian Robinson Jr. This put the game out of reach for the Browns, as Washington went up 24-3 heading into intermission.

Daniels did not have a great completion percentage for once (14-of-25), but he still had a strong performance. He connected with his receivers on some throws, and he scrambled for 82 rushing yards. The Redskins are now 4-1 with four consecutive victories.

The Browns need to consider tanking for the No. 1 pick. The Deshaun Watson experiment has been an utter failure, as Watson inexplicably failed to move the ball against the NFL’s worst defense. Cleveland should consider a switch to Jameis Winston.

Dolphins 15, Patriots 10
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: At least something went our way in Week 5…

Both teams entered this game coming off losses and looking like their seasons were headed down the toilet. New England is known to be rebuilding with a roster severely lacking talent, but the Dolphins entered this year in win-now mode, hoping to challenge for the Super Bowl. The Miami offense struggled once again, and their special teams had some horrible blunders, but the Miami defense did the heavy lifting and got just enough offense for a road win with backup Tyler Huntley at quarterback.

The Dolphins flashed some ability to move the ball on the opening drive to get a field goal but returned to recent form with a Christian Gonzalez interception that set up the Patriots in Miami territory. A few plays later, New England took the lead thanks to a 33-yard touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson. Miami put a drive together, but Jason Sanders missed a 41-yard field goal. The Patriots blocked a punt to set up their offense at the Miami 23, but Joey Slye missed a 33-yard field goal. The Dolphins answered in kind when they had a field goal drive end with a ground ball snap that led to a lost scoring opportunity. New England held a 7-3 lead at halftime.

To open the third quarter, Brissett led a field goal drive. The Dolphins special teams finally executed and hit a short-field goal. Miami hit a nice run with Jaylen Warren, and finally, a completion to Tyreek Hill to get another field goal to make it 10-9 entering the fourth quarter. Midway through the fourth, the Dolphins ran the ball down the field, and to cap the drive, Alec Ingold scored on a fullback dive. The two-point conversion fell incomplete, and Miami held a 15-10 lead with 4:24 remaining. Brissett guided the Patriots down the field inside the Dolphins’ 15. On fourth-and-15, Brissett threw incomplete to clinch the win for Miami.

Broncos 34, Raiders 18
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I guess that’s it for Gardner Minshew. At least until Aidan O’Connell also sucks and is benched in favor of Minshew. Why didn’t the Raiders trade for Justin Fields?

The Broncos ended their eight-game losing streak as their tremendous defense again led the way. Denver is now 3-2, and as Bo Nix continues to improve, the Broncos are a legit wild card contender. Las Vegas came out on fire, but a 100-yard pick six by Patrick Surtain flipped the momentum and the Broncos never looked back.

Just a few plays into the game, Gardner Minshew connected with Brock Bowers for a 57-yard touchdown. After a Broncos punt, Minshew distributed the ball and led a field goal drive to go up 10-0. Nix responded with a field goal drive to get Denver on the board. Ameer Abdullah hit a 40-yard run, and a screen to Bowers moved the ball inside the five, but Minshew rolled out and threw a bad pass into the end zone, and Surtain made a leaping interception. Surtain raced down the field for a 100-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10. The Broncos added a field goal to make it 13-10 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Denver moved the ball down the field, and Jaleel McLaughlin scored to go up 20-10. A few plays later, Riley Moss grabbed his first interception to set up the Broncos for more points. Nix found Troy Franklin wide open in the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown, but Franklin dropped the pass to squander the interception from Moss.

After that pick, Minshew was benched for Aidan O’Connell. O’Connell didn’t fare much better against the stingy defense, but the Broncos offense found a groove and drove down the field before Nix dove over the top at the goal line for a touchdown to put the Broncos up 27-10 early in the fourth quarter. Surtain picked off a deflected pass, and a few plays later, Nix connected with Josh Reynolds for a touchdown to blow the game open for Denver.

Cardinals 24, 49ers 23

The kicking game isn’t usually the main plot point of NFL contests, but that was certainly the case in this game. In fact, both kickers played a huge role in the result of this divisional affair.

Arizona entered its battle against the 49ers without the reliable Matt Prater. Chad Ryland, who was a failure in New England, was set to take Prater’s place. This turned out to be a poor choice because a low kick of Ryland’s was blocked and returned for a touchdown by San Francisco. The Cardinals, who went up early right away, were trying to tie the game. Because of the blocked kick, they trailed 20-10.

Prater wasn’t the only injured kicker in this affar, as Jake Moody got hurt on a kickoff. This prevented the 49ers from attempting any sort of kick after that. They had to go for it on fourth-and-23 on the Arizona 27-yard line instead of trying a 44-yard field goal. Brock Purdy’s pass fell incomplete.

Moody being unavailable for that field goal meant that the Cardinals only needed a field goal in the final minutes while down 23-21 instead of 26-21. Kyler Murray completed a 15-yard toss to Marvin Harrison Jr. off his back foot while facing heavy pressure. He then had a 13-yard scramble. James Conner followed that up with a 10-yard run. All of this set up a chip-shot field goal for Ryland, which he converted to give his team a 24-23 lead. Purdy moved toward midfield on the ensuing possession, but was intercepted on a tipped pass.

The 49ers were caught napping with a game against the Seahawks in just four days. They weren’t playing at their best, so this would explain a home loss to the Cardinals.

The Cardinals did well to bounce back from an ugly blowout loss. They needed to avoid a 1-4 start, and they pulled a massive upset as a seven-point underdog.

Packers 24, Rams 19

“No Cookie” Jordan Love struggled in his first game back from injury last week. He didn’t have his best performance in this game either. He tried to avoid a sack in the opening half and threw an underhanded pass right to a Los Angeles defender. The Rams scored on a pick-six as a result, taking a 13-7 lead.

Love didn’t exactly rebound from this blunder. He threw two touchdown passes, but barely completed half of his passes. The catalyst for Green Bay’s victory came on defense, specifically from Xavier McKinney. The former Giant recovered a Kyren Williams fumble in Green Bay territory, and the Packers turned that into seven points when Love hit Tucker Kraft with a 66-yard touchdown. On the ensuing drive, Stafford fired a pass into double coverage that was intercepted by McKinney. This set up yet another Kraft touchdown. The Packers trailed 13-10 prior to this sequence. Following it, they led 24-13.

The Rams began their comeback effort by driving the field and having Stafford throw a touchdown to Demarcus Robinson. They eventually retained possession after forcing a punt. They crossed over midfield, but because of the prior missed two-point conversion, they had to go for a touchdown. They tried to move the sticks on fourth-and-5 on the Green Bay 38-yard line, but Stafford’s pass to Colby Parkinson fell incomplete to ice the victory for Green Bay.

This was a nice win for the Packers because they did it with their defense. Love isn’t completely back from his injury yet, but when he is, Green Bay will win much more convincingly.

The Rams suffered another close defeat. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Cooper Kupp is due to return following the team’s Week 6 bye.

Giants 29, Seahawks 20

It looked like it was going to be a long day for the Giants. They moved down the field on a beautiful drive to begin the afternoon. They reached the 1-yard line and appeared to score with Eric Gray, but the backup running back fumbled the ball. Rayshawn Jenkins scooped and scored on a 99-yard touchdown.

This had to be heartbreaking for the Giants, who were so impressive to start despite not having Malik Nabers or Devin Singletary. To their credit, they were undaunted. They scored a touchdown soon after, doing most of their damage on the ground. Tyrone Tracy blew by Seattle defenders en route to a 100-yard afternoon, while Daniel Jones was utilized heavily as a rusher in option looks. This opened up easier passing opportunities for Jones, who torched the Seahawks primarily with Darius Slayton.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, made things easier for the Giants with their own blunders. D.K. Metcalf fumbled in field goal range when the score was tied at 10. Geno Smith later took a sack in a seven-point deficit when the Seahawks decided to go for it on fourth-and-short from their own 35-yard line. This set up a field goal for the Giants, who went up 10 with the kick.

To their credit, the Seahawks fought back. Smith found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a touchdown to trail by three. They got a stop and moved into field goal range to send the game into overtime. However, Jason Myers’ 47-yard field goal was blocked and returned for a touchdown to give the Giants the victory.

Seattle began the season at 3-0, but has dropped two in a row. The team was in a rough spot after traveling across the country on a short week and looking ahead to San Francisco in four days. This game is indicative of how well the Seahawks are capable of playing.

The Giants claimed their second victory, improving to 2-3. Jones had a strong performance despite Nabers’ presence, which is encouraging. It may also be frustrating because each victory makes the possibility of landing Shedeur Sanders less likely.

Cowboys 20, Steelers 17

The Steelers appeared to have a tremendous matchup against the Cowboys in this game. Their pass rush would almost certainly give Dallas’ poor offensive line fits, especially with T.J. Watt matched up against Tyler Guyton. Despite this, Dallas moved the chains well in between the 20s, but constantly self destructed in the red zone. Watt strip-sacked Dak Prescott deep in Pittsburgh territory, and Prescott later had an interception in the end zone where he and CeeDee Lamb appeared to have a miscommunication. The Cowboys later had another trip deep into enemy territory with no points when Brandon Aubrey had a 38-yard field goal that was blocked.

It appeared as though the Cowboys would never score a touchdown, but as a result of Watt spending a chunk of the fourth quarter on the sideline, they finally broke through in the fourth quarter when Rico Dowdle caught a receiving touchdown. Dallas needed one more touchdown, however, because the Steelers answered their touchdown. Dallas drove deep into Steeler territory once again, but a recovered fumble at the goal line set up the Cowboys with a fourth-and-4 with less than 30 seconds left.

On the final real offensive play of the game, Prescott delivered a strike to a hobbled Jalen Tolbert for the game-winning touchdown. The Steelers had minimal time and no timeouts to do anything of substance, so after two prayer plays that weren’t answered, the Cowboys were able to prevail in the upset.

The Steelers will have to reconsider Justin Fields as the starter. Fields had done well in the past, but he couldn’t convert third downs against a No. 24 defense that was missing Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. The problem is that Russell Wilson is probably a worse option.

The Cowboys prevailed despite missing Parsons and Lawrence. They are now 3-2, but they have major problems that will cost them against serious competition.

Chiefs 26, Saints 13

The Chiefs were 4-0 heading into this game, but hadn’t beaten any opponent by more than seven points this year. They were criticized for being sluggish offensively, especially in the wake of losing Rashee Rice in addition to Isiah Pacheco and Marquise Brown. All concerns may have been erased in this game.

The Saints looked like one of the most dominant teams in the NFL when they demolished the Panthers and Cowboys to start the year, but they couldn’t compete with Kansas City. Prior to garbage time, the Chiefs had outgained the Saints by nearly 300 yards, and they had 16 more first downs. They moved the chains with ease, as Patrick Mahomes found his replacement for Rice. That was JuJu Smith-Schuster, who did his best impression of Rice with seven catches for 130 yards. He made one mistake in this game, dropping a pass in the end zone that turned into an interception, but that was the only thing that went wrong for Kansas City this evening.

The Saints managed to draw to within three in the fourth quarter after trailing 16-7, but Kansas City crushed any hopes of an upset with a touchdown on the ensuing drive. New Orleans didn’t even get a chance for a late touchdown in garbage time because of an oblique injury Derek Carr suffered on a huge hit on the penultimate offensive possession of this game.

Kansas City is now 5-0 with its first double-digit victory of the year. The scary thing is that the Chiefs will have Rice and Pacheco back for the playoffs, so they’ll be even better in a few months.

The Saints looked so great to start the year, but they’ve dropped 2-3. They’ve suffered so many injuries, even before Carr got hurt. Jake Haener may have to start next week on less preparation time than usual.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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