Week 5 NFL Surprises and Disappointments

By AJ Olona, Timothy An, and Shawn Stewart

SURPRISES

Carolina Panthers - QB Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater has been playing very well for the Carolina Panthers ever since they decided to let Cam Newton walk. Bridgewater is silencing all doubters and having a solid season. On Sunday he was 27/37 for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is making Carolina fans quickly forget about Cam Newton. So far throughout this season, Teddy Bridgewater is sixth in the league with 1,460 passing yards and tenth in the league in passing touchdowns. Keep in mind, Bridgewater is doing all this without the best player in football, Christian McCaffrey. It is surprising to see Teddy doing this well, especially given the shoes that he had to fill.

Cleveland Browns - DE Myles Garrett

Though he only recorded one sack, Myles Garrett dominated the Indianapolis Colts offensive line, continuing to fight through double and triple teams to pressure Philip Rivers into quick, inaccurate throws. Though he didn’t light up the stat box with his play, Garrett made a game-changing play late in the third quarter with the Colts down 7. The Colts hit a stride and seemed to have all the momentum in the game with a chance to tie it on this drive. Philip Rivers dropped back in the pocket after a play action, and right when he turned around Garrett was immediately in his face, forcing him to throw the ball away. This was called for intentional grounding, giving the Browns a safety and the ball back. This play by Garrett changed the trajectory of the whole game, and shows why Garrett is considered one of the top defensive ends in the entire NFL.

Las Vegas Raiders - The Defensive Line

The Las Vegas Raiders pulled off a major upset against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and this was attributed to the Raiders ability to pressure Mahomes. The Raiders took a note on the Patriots and Chargers, who both contained Mahomes in their respective matchups, and were able to utilize a strategy in which they didn’t blitz Mahomes. Mahomes has been great at improvising from blitzes and finding the open man, the only way the young Raiders secondary would be able to contain the Chiefs plethora of talent was to drop everyone back and hope the defensive line could provide pressure on their own. The Raiders young defensive line was able to step up to the plate and accomplish this task, leading to a major victory for Gruden and his Raiders.

Los Angeles Chargers - QB Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert continues to surprise the football world with another spectacular performance on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints. He out-dueled veteran quarterback Drew Brees throwing for 264 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions with an awful offensive line that consistently allowed the Saints defensive line to provide pressure on almost every play. If it wasn’t for a missed game-winning field goal by Michael Badgley, Herbert would’ve gotten his first victory of his young career. Herbert has shown an amazing ability to read defenses and make plays when under pressure. Hopefully, the injured Chargers offense can get healthy during their week 6 bye, and provide Herbert with the help he needs to start winning some football games.

Minnesota Vikings - RB’s Alexander Mattison & Dalvin Cook

Everyone knew the Minnesota Vikings had one of the best running attacks in this league, but on Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks they solidified their argument as potentially the best running attack in the NFL. The Seahawks passing defense has been dreadful this year, but leading up to this game, they were ranked the 3rd best run defense in terms of yards allowed. The fact that Dalvin Cook was able to take 17 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown, along with Mattison taking 20 carries for 112 yards, establishes the Vikings place as one of the most unstoppable rushing attacks. It may be too late, but if the Vikings can continue this dominant play style, they may be able to surprise teams and crawl their way back into playoff contention.

Philadelphia Eagles - WR Travis Fulgham

The Eagles have been decimated by the injury bug this season, especially at the wide receiver position, again! Alshon Jeffery has yet to play a game this season. Desean Jackson can’t stay healthy. The Eagles newly drafted wide receiver, Jalen Reagor is also hurt, the list goes on and on, however, Carson Wentz has to throw the ball to somebody, and that somebody is Travis Fulgham. Who? Fulgham played his college ball at Old Dominion and was a 6th round draft pick in 2019 by the Detroit Lions. He has been cut, resigned, assigned to the practice squad, cut again, and promoted back to the 53 man roster in his young career. After Sunday’s performance against the Steelers defense, it might be safe to say that Fulgham may have found a permanent home with the Eagles. Fulgham was the best player for the Eagles on Sunday. He had 10 receptions on 13 targets for 152 yards and 1 touchdown, welcome to the NFL young man!

Pittsburgh Steelers - WR Chase Claypool

Chase Claypool surprisingly had one of the best days that a rookie has had in recent memory. In week 5, Chase Claypool lead all position players with four total touchdowns. Claypool finished his day against the Philadelphia Eagles with 7 catches that went for 110 yards and three touchdowns. On top of that, Claypool was able to carry the ball three times and find the end zone on the ground. It was a phenomenal performance for any player, let alone a second round rookie. Claypool has had a solid season so far but has quickly established himself as the go-to guy for Ben Roethlisberger. If he can keep it up, he will quickly lock in the 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

Buffalo Bills - The Pass Rush

Through the first four weeks of the season, the Buffalo Bills had one of the best defensive units in the entire NFL. That stellar defensive play is what had helped them to an undefeated record. However, in their Week 5 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, that passrush was nonexistent. Week 5 marked the first game of the year in which the Bills had failed to bring down the opposing quarterback. Failing to have that pass rush was a major role in the Bills giving up their first loss to the Tennessee Titans. Ryan Tannehill was able to sit in the pocket all night long and take what the defense gave him. That resulted in a 42-16 lopsided win by the Titans. The Bills need to get back on track to maintain their hold on the AFC East and getting the passrush going again will be a large part of that.

Cincinnati Bengals - Offensive Line

After giving up only one sack last week in their victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, many people hoped that this offensive line was able to fix their problems and hopefully would be able to give Joe Burrow a decent pocket against the Ravens. Instead of continuing on the great performance, the Bengals offensive line looked atrocious against the Ravens defense allowing 7 sacks, and 15 QB hits. Burrow looked scared for his life in the pocket, and it made it impossible for the Bengals to get anything going on offense. They also didn’t fare well in the run game, as Joe Mixon took 24 carries for 59 rushing yards, averaging a season low 2.5 yards per carry. The offensive line was atrocious, and they have to improve if they want to give this team a shot at winning more games down the line.

Kansas City Chiefs - The Defense

What happened to the Chiefs defense on Sunday after last week's domination of the New England Patriots?  I know Cam Newton did not play in that game, but the Chiefs defense dominated in that contest. It was the exact opposite on Sunday against the Raiders. Las Vegas scored 40 points and had just under 500 yards of total offense. The Chiefs do not lose at home especially to the Raiders. The last time the Raiders beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead was back in Week 8, 2012. This was a far cry from the stout defense that we had seen in previous weeks. If the Chiefs continue to struggle against teams on defense that they should be containing, they will continue to struggle.

Indianapolis Colts - QB Phillip Rivers

No team in the NFL has been hurt more by their quarterback play than the Indianapolis Colts. Phillip Rivers was once again very unreliable in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over twice late, including a pick-six. The Colts lost 32-23 to the Cleveland Browns in Week 5. The Colts stout defense did everything in its power to ensure that they could put their veteran quarterback in a position to win, but it was not enough. Even a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by rookie CB Isaiah Rodgers was not enough for the Colts. Through 5 games, it is clear that Rivers is not enough to get it done. While he is not asked to do a lot for the Colts, he is still not doing enough. He has the most interceptions in the AFC with 5 and has the 5th worst touchdown to interception ration in the entire NFL. The Colts have the best defense in the league through 5 games but if Rivers cannot hold up his end of things, the Colts will continue to be just below the juggernauts of the AFC for the remainder of the year.

New Orleans Saints - WR Michael Thomas

One of the NFL’s best receivers has only 3 catches for 17 yards on the season. Michael Thomas had missed all but the first game of the season so far in 2020. While Thomas missed Week’s 2-4 while dealing with an ankle injury, he was set to make his return in Week 5. However, Thomas was suspended by the Saints for conduct detrimental to the team when he got into an altercation with fellow teammate Chauncey Garnder-Johnson. It is a bad look for one of the best players on the team to get suspended, especially given how little Thomas has actually played this year. The Saints awarded Thomas with a $100 million deal in 2019 and so far this season, Thomas has had no impact on his team. In his absence, the Saints have been able to get production from various players in the pass game including Alvin Kamara, Tre’Quan Smith, and Emmanuel Sanders. If the Saints are able to continue to win without Thomas, it may come to the point where the team believes that he is more of a hinderance to the team than anything.

San Francisco 49ers - QB Jimmy Garoppolo

The quarterback play against a subpar Miami defense on Sunday is very troublesome. Jimmy Garoppolo started the game and was pulled in the 2nd half for CJ Beathard, who was able to play a little better. Garoppolo was 7/17 for 77 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions before he was benched. CJ Beathard was able to step in and throw for 9/18 for 94 yards and 1 touchdown. Given the fact that this was the first game of the season in which the 49ers were going to have a healthy offense, it was surprising to see Garoppolo struggle so much against a very mediocre team. Many people are starting to wonder if Garoppolo has what it takes to be the long-term guy for the 49ers. But one thing is clear; if the 49er’s quarterbacks continue to struggle, it could continue to be a very long season.

Washington Football Team - The QB Situation

So far this season, the Football Team has completely butchered their quarterback situation. Going into Week 5, the Football Team announced that second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins would be demoted to third-string. In fact, Haskins was taking fourth-string reps in practice heading into the game. The Football Team headed into the game with Allen as the starter which lead to the Football Team only outing up 10 points. Allen was actually injured in this game, which called for Alex Smith to finally make his miraculous return to the football field. However, the Football Team has done such a poor job of putting a good offense around their quartback’s that Alex Smith was immediately punished once entering the game. Smith finished his return completing just 9 of 17 passes for 37 yards all the while being sacked six times on the day. The Football Teams have one of the most dysfunctional teams in the NFL. No matter who they plug in under center, they are going to struggle as they have no true running game, no consistent receivers (outside of Terry McLaurin), and a putrid offensive line.

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