NFL Game Recaps: Week 5, 2026

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

Buccaneers 24, Cowboys 16
When the Cowboys marched down the field on the opening drive of this game, culminating in a Javonte Williams touchdown run, it appeared as though they would coast to an easy victory. However, it turned out that they would struggle for most of the game and be outplayed by the Buccaneers, who were nine-point underdogs heading into this contest.

Tampa Bay took over and had a 10-minute drive in which the Cowboys committed numerous penalties, which was a theme for the night. The Cowboys got the ball back but couldn't score, with Dak Prescott constantly struggling against the blitz. Dallas scored just three points the rest of the first half but led 10-7 entering halftime.

If Dallas could get the Buccaneers off the field to start the third quarter, it could potentially push its advantage to double digits. Instead, Bucky Irving broke free for a 72-yard run, setting up a 14-yard Emeka Egbuka touchdown on an end around. The Cowboys now had to work to regain the lead, but they blew that opportunity when a Prescott pass bounced off a couple of helmets and into the arms of a Buccaneers defender.

On the ensuing possession, Tez Johnson had a 64-yard reception, setting up an Irving touchdown run to make it 21-10. The Cowboys then couldn't even trim the margin because KaVontae Turpin fumbled the ensuing kickoff return.

The Buccaneers seemed like they would dominate the rest of the game. They led 24-10 and had the ball at Dallas' 1-yard line. On fourth down, they could have opted for a field goal to make it a three-score game with eight minutes remaining. Instead, they foolishly went for it and failed.

The Cowboys took over and had a 99-yard touchdown drive, culminating in a Prescott touchdown pass to George Pickens. Dallas, suddenly with life, got the Buccaneers off the field and had a chance to tie the game. Instead, a Prescott pass to Jake Ferguson bounced off the tight end's hands and into the arms of Alex Anzalone to end the game.

Jaguars 19, Eagles 17
The Jaguars won this game on a 57-yard field goal at the very end, but they should have lost. They put forth no effort in this game. They looked lifeless and committed countless penalties. It began early when they had a kickoff return for a touchdown negated by an infraction, and it continued late when they had first-and-goal at the 1-yard line but were flagged for a false start and two delay-of-game penalties. The result was that they scored no points on the drive.

Had the Jaguars played like this against a quality opponent, they would have lost. However, the Eagles couldn't do much offensively outside of a couple of big plays. They had no running game as a result of losing Will Shipley to an early injury, and Jalen Hurts had to do everything on his own without DeVonta Smith while playing behind an injury-ravaged offensive line.

Hurts couldn't score at all in the second half until the final minutes, when he led a drive to take a 17-16 lead following a terrific touchdown catch from Parker Washington. With 11 seconds on the clock, it appeared as though the Eagles had won the game. However, the Jaguars had a great kickoff return to set up Cam Little for the decisive 57-yard field goal.

Steelers 34, Colts 22
The Colts were in an unenviable position coming off an international game and then having to travel. This is only the second time an NFL team has ever done that without the help of a bye. The Colts had an opportunity to take the week off but decided not to do so. As a result of Indianapolis' jet lag, the team looked sluggish while trying to stop Pittsburgh's offense.

The Steelers generally have issues moving the ball, but that wasn't the case in this game. That was apparent early on when Jaylen Warren caught a screen pass and took it 80 yards for a touchdown. Throughout the game, Aaron Rodgers peppered his targets, who had no issues generating yards against Indianapolis' tired defense. Rodgers began the game 11-of-11. That streak eventually ended, but Rodgers continued to torch Indianapolis' struggling defense in the second half.

The Colts, meanwhile, did well to keep pace with the Steelers. They couldn't get much from Jonathan Taylor outside of his 20-yard run, but Daniel Jones had plenty of success targeting Tyler Warren, Josh Downs and Keenan Allen. Thanks to Spencer Shrader drilling multiple 50-yard field goals, this was just a 17-16 game at the beginning of the third quarter.

Once Indianapolis drew to within one, the Steelers responded with Warren breaking free for a 50-yard touchdown run. The Colts then kicked a couple of field goals to tighten the deficit to 24-22, but Rodgers put together a 64-yard drive capped off with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth. This put the game out of reach for the tired Colts.

Vikings 23, Saints 13
The Saints were completely dismantled on Monday night against the Falcons. They faced a tough task in rebounding on a short week, but it looked like they'd have a chance to do so. The Vikings were up 3-0 when Aaron Jones lost a fumble in the red zone. The Saints recovered and put together a touchdown drive to go up 7-3. The Vikings, trailing throughout the first half, looked like they might suffer a humiliating loss, especially considering that Kyler Murray didn't throw his first incompletion until 3:29 remained in the second quarter.

The Vikings were able to benefit from a Saints mistake to begin the second half. New Orleans fumbled the opening kickoff of the third quarter. Murray missed a wide-open tight end for a touchdown but made up for it by delivering a terrific throw to Justin Jefferson, who made a brilliant catch near the sideline to put the Vikings up 13-7.

The Vikings looked like they'd expand their lead when Tyler Shough was intercepted after throwing late toward the sideline. Murray could have responded with another touchdown, but he didn't see a wide-open Jauan Jennings. Murray then missed his next target. The Vikings were still in the red zone, however, but backup running back Miles Price lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. The Saints missed the extra point, but they tied the game at 13.

Minnesota, undaunted, came back with a touchdown drive. Murray was brilliant both on the ground and through the air, helping lead a scoring drive to put the Vikings up by a touchdown. Following another Saints turnover, the Vikings tacked on a field goal to give them a comfortable 10-point victory.

Jets 17, Browns 12
The Jets took an early 7-0 lead in this game when Garrett Wilson caught a pass and made a great spin move to score a touchdown. However, that was pretty much all that happened offensively in the first half. Neither team could get going in rainy conditions, though the Jets had another opportunity to score a touchdown when they entered the red zone in the third quarter. That amounted to nothing, however, as Kenyon Sadiq lost a fumble in a 7-6 game.

The Jets were still up 10-6 late in the afternoon when Deshaun Watson delivered a deep pass to Denzel Boston for a touchdown. The Browns missed the extra point but still went up 12-10. The Jets had a chance to retake the lead, but Geno Smith lost a fumble on a strip-sack.

The Browns, however, did nothing with their next possession and were forced to punt. There was a botched snap on the punt, allowing the Jets to take over with a short field. Braelon Allen responded with a touchdown run, giving New York a 17-12 advantage.

The Browns still had enough time for two possessions, but New York's pass rush hounded Watson on both drives, pressuring him and preventing Cleveland from scoring again.

Bengals 31, Dolphins 24
The Bengals got off to a great start in this game when an outstanding kickoff return led to a touchdown. The Dolphins matched that score when Cincinnati extended a Miami drive by roughing the snapper and then committing defensive holding. However, it was all Cincinnati otherwise.

There was an unfortunate sequence for the Dolphins late in the second quarter. Malik Willis was intercepted when he was hit as he threw. The Bengals looked like they would score points off the turnover, but Chase Brown lost a fumble at the 5-yard line. On the ensuing possession, Willis threw another interception when he threw late across his body. At that point in the game, he had two interceptions and just one completion. The Bengals capitalized this time, as Joe Burrow hit Tanner Hudson in the end zone to go up 21-7.

The Dolphins appeared as though they were going to trim the margin in the third quarter. They were at the 1-yard line and looked like they had scored a touchdown, but a replay review determined that the runner was short of the goal line. On the next play, Ollie Gordon took a 2-yard loss, and then Willis took an even bigger loss on a sack. The Dolphins had to settle for a field goal and then surrendered a touchdown drive to Cincinnati.

The Bengals eventually kicked a field goal, leaving the Dolphins down 13 with about two minutes remaining. Miami naturally drove down the field to score what appeared to be a backdoor touchdown. However, the extra point was no good, rendering this game a push.

Patriots 45, Raiders 17
The Patriots entered this game off a surprising upset victory over the Bills. No one could have faulted them for being flat in this game. Instead, it was the Raiders who looked like they had no energy following their close call against the Chiefs last week.

Drake Maye looked like a far cry from the quarterback who was crying on the sidelines two weeks ago. Maye had been a turnover machine through four weeks but was completely clean in this game. The Patriots really made just one mistake on the afternoon. After going up 14-7, the coaching staff trusted Corey Kiner with a carry for some reason. Kiner disappointed them with a fumble, but the Raiders couldn't capitalize. The Patriots regained possession and were able to score a touchdown a bit later to go up 21-7 at halftime.

It was more of the same following intermission. Maye ripped through the Raiders' secondary with ease, constantly hitting his targets with deep passes. Kyle Williams, Demario Douglas and Eli Raridon all hauled in passes of 30 yards or more, as Maye didn't relent against Las Vegas' troubled secondary.

The Raiders eventually scored a touchdown, but it was too late, as the Patriots ran away with a blowout victory.

Redskins 27, Giants 27
For most of the afternoon, it looked like the Redskins would dismantle the Giants. They were up 19-6 in the middle of the third quarter and 27-13 to begin the fourth frame. Jayden Daniels, returning from injury, ran circles around New York's beleaguered defense, while Washington's pass rush frustrated Jameis Winston with heavy pressure for most of the afternoon.

It didn't look like the Giants had much of a chance, but they put together what appeared to be a garbage-time touchdown drive when Winston hit Isaiah Likely for a 16-yard completion. Likely was initially ruled short of the goal line, but the call was reversed for a touchdown. Still, the Redskins led by seven, though they were a bit lucky that New York's kicker had missed a couple of field goals.

The Giants, given up for dead for most of the second half, got the ball back and watched Winston drive down the field once again, connecting with Malik Nabers for a 17-yard touchdown to tie the game.

The Giants had the ball first in overtime and drove down the field to attempt a field goal. However, their kicker missed once again, this time from 46 yards. The Redskins did nothing on their next possession, giving the ball back to New York. Winston put together another great drive, leading the team into field goal range. However, Cam Skattebo lost a fumble, giving the Redskins a second chance.

Daniels responded with a 16-yard scramble, and then a pass to Antonio Williams went for a big gain after the rookie receiver slipped through a couple of tackles. Washington entered field goal range with barely any time on the clock. The team was seemingly going to spike the ball and attempt the decisive field goal. Instead, Daniels inexplicably ran to his left and went to the ground with about seven seconds remaining. There was no time for the Redskins to spike the ball, and the game clock expired.

Thanks to one of the most bizarre series of events you'll ever see, the Giants and Redskins ended in a tie.

Texans 26, Titans 3
The Texans entered this game 0-4 and desperate for a win. However, it looked like more of the same in the early going when the Titans took a 3-0 lead. The tide quickly turned, though, when Tony Pollard lost a fumble and Cam Ward threw an interception as he was hit. Houston's defense finally generated some takeaways, which sparked the offense.

The Texans struggled to move the ball early, foolishly running the ball constantly on second-and-long. However, C.J. Stroud caught fire and was able to hit Nico Collins, Xavier Hutchinson and Kayshon Boutte with some impressive passes.

Taking advantage of Tennessee's mistakes, Houston was able to take a 12-3 lead into halftime. The Texans then scored two more touchdowns by the early portion of the fourth quarter to extend their advantage to 26-3 over the Titans.

Packers 31, Bears 7
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm really kicking myself here. I was thinking about laddering the Jordan Love passing yards, but didn't pull the trigger at the last second. Sucks!

In the 1990s, the Bears were in a multi-year stretch of being dominated by the Brett Favre-led Packers. But in November of 1999, Chicago legend Walter Payton passed away, and the Bears responded by pulling off a surprising upset over Green Bay. Just days after losing another Chicago legend in Mike Ditka, the Bears did not have the same inspired effort as they played a horrible game filled with turnovers on offense and coverage busts deep downfield on defense. The Packers played their best game of the season and improved to 3-2 while the Bears fell to 3-2. With Caleb Williams still out, Chicago's backup quarterbacks were dreadful in Green Bay.

Midway through the first quarter, Jordan Love laid out a 42-yard bomb touchdown to Christian Watson after the Bears' safety stumbled in coverage. Just a couple of plays later, Bagent forced a pass into a double-covered, blanketed receiver, and it was tipped up in the air with Xavier McKinney catching the deflection for an interception to set up the Green Bay offense at the Bears' 45. Green Bay moved the ball to set up a six-yard scoring run from MarShawn Lloyd to take a 14-0 lead. Late in the first half, the Bears moved the ball down the field and on fourth-and-goal from the two, D'Andre Swift plunged into the end zone to make it 14-7 at halftime.

In the final half, it was pure domination from Green Bay. To open the third quarter, Love found Watson open downfield for a 32-yard completion. To cap the drive, Love aired out a deep ball, and Watson hauled it in with a tremendous catch in the end zone over Adam Thieneman for a 53-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed, so the Packers held a 20-7 lead. Chicago put a drive together, but Cairo Santos missed a field goal. A 46-yard pass to Tucker Kraft set up a field goal to make it 23-7. At the end of the third quarter, McKinney picked off Bagent again to get Green Bay the ball near midfield.

Love hit a chunk completion to Matthew Golden to cue up another short rushing touchdown for Lloyd. The two-point conversion was good to make it 31-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Chicago got a 60-yard kick return, and Case Keenum entered the game. On fourth-and-goal, Ty'Ron Hooper picked off Keenum to kill any comeback hopes for the Bears.

In garbage time, Love hit a 50-yard bomb to Golden, but the Packers missed a field goal. Rome Odunze and Case Keenum both fumbled the ball away to cap the miserable day for Chicago.

Broncos 23, Chargers 17
Sean Payton took over the play-calling duties for the Broncos because of their offensive struggles to begin the season. Things didn't look much different, however. The Broncos scored an early touchdown, but did so only on a 40-yard drive after Charlie Kolar lost a fumble. Otherwise, Denver really struggled to move the ball, scoring just three points outside of that possession heading into intermission.

Things got worse in the third quarter when Bo Nix lost a fumble. It then looked like Denver's defense gave up when Kimani Vidal ran through the entire stop unit to give the Chargers a 17-10 lead. Denver followed with a nice kickoff return but missed a 42-yard field goal.

For a while, it looked like the Chargers, who were starting four rookies on the offensive line, would be able to pull off the upset. However, Justin Herbert was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 sneak from his own 41-yard line. Denver turned another short field into a touchdown, as Nix hit Courtland Sutton to tie the game at 17.

On the ensuing possession, Herbert lost a fumble on a strip-sack when the ball was knocked out of his hands after hitting the leg of an offensive lineman. The Broncos capitalized once again, but this time they settled for a field goal from the 1-yard line, putting them up 20-17.

This gave the Chargers a chance to kick a field goal to tie the game, but Herbert threw an interception on fourth down to seal the victory for Denver.

49ers 32, Seahawks 29
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

EDITOR'S NOTE: It was shocking that Jaxon Smith-Njigba dropped a pass at the very end. Seattle's offense made mistakes all afternoon. Klint Kubiak is sorely missed.

San Francisco and Seattle slugged it out with both teams defenses making some huge plays to help their offenses that were struggling with avoiding turnovers. They both moved the ball, but turnovers killed the Seahawks' offense. An underrated hire in the offseason was Raheem Morris being brought on as the 49ers' defensive coordinator. Morris has done an outstanding job, and the San Francisco defense came up clutch. The Seahawks fall to 3-2 while the undefeated 49ers (5-0) extend their lead over the defending Super Bowl champs in the rugged NFC West.

The 49ers struck first early in the first quarter when Renardo Green intercepted Sam Darnold deep in Seattle territory. That set up a short touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to Mike Evans. A Seattle punt was muffed by the 49ers, and the Seahawks recovered the loose ball. Emmanuel Wilson scored from a couple of yards out to tie the game at seven. The Seahawks grabbed the lead with a field goal drive led by Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Midway through the second quarter, Fred Warner stripped Wilson of the ball, and the 49ers recovered. They promptly scored a play later with Christian McCaffrey scoring from 10 yards out to make it 14-10 midway through the first half.

Seattle responded with a field goal drive that was aided by a penalty stemming from a Dre Greenlaw ejection for a personal foul. With the 49ers up 14-13, the Seahawks were backed up at their own one-yard line when George Holani was stripped of the ball by 49ers rookie tackle Gracen Halton, and Halton recovered in the end zone for a touchdown to put the 49ers up 21-13 at halftime.

In the first minute of the third quarter, Renardo Green undercut a pass intended for a tight end and intercepted Darnold. Seattle's defense came up with a big stop, and then the offense got a field goal to cut the San Francisco lead to five. On a third down midway through the third, Purdy threw late and telegraphed a throw. Nehemiah Pritchett undercut the pass for an interception with a return into San Francisco territory. A few plays later, Jaxon Smith-Njigba ran a nifty route and ran after the catch for a 16-yard touchdown to put Seattle up 23-21. Deebo Samuel promptly fumbled the ball while injuring his hamstring, and the Seahawks recovered to set up a field goal for a 26-21 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth, Evans made a tremendous 50-50 reception over Josh Jobe to set up a first-and-goal. And two plays later, Brandin Cooks caught a touchdown with a two-point conversion to Evans to give the 49ers a 29-26 lead with nine minutes remaining. Seattle got another Jason Myers field goal to tie it with six minutes remaining. San Francisco moved the ball for a 44-yard field goal for Eddy Pineiro to make it 32-29. Seattle had 1:56 left on the clock, down by three. A 38-yard completion to Smith-Njigba moved the ball to midfield, but Smith-Njigba came up short to make a difficult catch that would have moved the Seahawks to the red zone. It was a tough catch, and the pass was slightly behind him. On fourth-and-10, Cooper Kupp dove for a first down, but he was marked half a yard short in a very questionable call by the officials.

Lions 45, Cardinals 21
The Lions were coming off an embarrassing loss to the Panthers on Sunday Night Football. It initially looked like they would suffer another defeat when a couple of offensive drives were disrupted by Arizona's pass rush. Jared Goff took a brutal sack, while the Cardinals scored on their opening drive, with Jacoby Brissett moving down the field and throwing a touchdown pass to a backup tight end.

Everything flipped after that. The Lions suddenly clicked offensively, as Goff began torching Arizona's secondary relentlessly. Jahmyr Gibbs, meanwhile, picked up some big gains both as a runner and a receiver out of the backfield. Brissett, on the other hand, stalled on every drive for the remainder of the first half. By intermission, the Lions were winning 24-7.

Goff wasn't done after that. He hit Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown with deep passes, scoring touchdowns on his first two offensive possessions of the second half to go up 38-14.

Ravens 30, Falcons 23
The Ravens entered this game without Lamar Jackson but were able to drive down the field on their opening possession. It looked like they were going to score a touchdown, but Mark Andrews dropped the ball in the end zone, forcing Baltimore to settle for a field goal. This was far from the only error Andrews committed. He also lost a fumble, allowing the Falcons to scoop and score to take a 7-3 lead shortly afterward. Andrews would later drop another pass on third down and a two-point conversion in what was a disastrous night for him.

The Ravens constantly trailed throughout the second half but were never too far behind. However, they had major problems getting off the field defensively. They allowed the Falcons to convert nine of 16 third downs, as Michael Penix Jr. constantly connected on deep passes to Kyle Pitts and Drake London.

The Falcons eventually went up 23-15, and the Ravens had only a couple of minutes to orchestrate a final drive. Tyler Huntley, who had an uneven night, was able to put together a terrific final possession, which culminated with a touchdown pass to Devontez Walker. Derrick Henry then ran into the end zone on a Wildcat play for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 23.

The Ravens wisely took the initial possession in overtime. Atlanta's gassed defense had no chance, as Huntley continued to shred it. Huntley completed 11 passes in a row and ultimately snuck into the end zone to put Baltimore up seven.

The Falcons had a chance to score but didn't have much time because Baltimore had chewed up so much of the clock in overtime. Penix, who got hurt at the end of regulation, couldn't play, forcing Tua Tagovailoa into the game. Tagovailoa completed his first pass to Drake London, but his second attempt was intercepted when he stared down London. The Ravens snatched the easy interception to pull off the upset.

Bills 37, Rams 34
For most of the night, this game did not look like the shootout thriller we all witnessed by the end of the evening. The Bills led 6-0 after the first quarter and 13-7 at halftime. However, everything exploded in the fourth quarter. The Bills and Rams both put together multiple touchdown drives. Buffalo had the ball in a tie game and could have milked the clock in the red zone. However, James Cook scored a touchdown to take the lead. This gave the Rams way too much time, and Matthew Stafford put together a touchdown drive in just 90 seconds to send the game to overtime.

The Bills had the first possession in overtime, and it looked like they were going to score a touchdown. They quickly ventured into field goal range and handed Cook the ball. Cook, however, lost a fumble, and the Rams recovered.

The Rams then moved into field goal range via some terrific Stafford passes. However, Los Angeles settled for a field goal attempt after a Kyren Williams run on third-and-5. The Rams probably could have secured a first down with a Stafford pass because Buffalo's aerial defense has been awful all year, especially in this contest. This decision was very curious on Sean McVay's part. As it so happened, Harrison Mevis' field goal attempt was blocked, though based on its trajectory, it didn't look like it would have been good anyway.

Buffalo had one more chance and immediately gave the ball to Cook. However, it was Allen's rushing that made the difference. Allen had two big scrambles to move into field goal range. Like the Rams, the Bills settled for a mid-range field goal. Unlike Mevis, however, Tyler Bass drilled his attempt from 45 yards, giving Buffalo a 37-34 victory in this epic second-half shootout.