Are the Bengals letting Joe Burrow down? Week 5 NFL fact or fiction

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns fell to 1-4 on Sunday as they were embarrassed by Jayden Daniels and the Commanders, 34-13 . But there was more happening around the NFL than just the matchup in Washington.

Every week, we'll go through the biggest storylines and examine narratives from around the NFL .

To help us examine these storylines and narratives, we're following in the footsteps of the 1990s show, "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction," which you may know better from the memes of host Jonathan Frakes.

In an homage to Frakes, we will decide every week whether several of the lines from around the league are fact or fiction.

Here are this week's six biggest storylines:

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: Fact.

The Browns were supposed to have a much easier time moving the ball against a Commanders defense that ranked among the worst in the NFL.

But yet again, the offense failed to do much of anything, not scoring a touchdown until the fourth quarter when the outcome was well out of hand.

More Cleveland Browns coverage

Winners and losers from the Browns' 34-13 loss to the Commanders

No finger-pointing from Browns defense as offense falters: 'We have to take care of our own business'

Where does Browns receiver Amari Cooper rank on our list of The 40 Most Influential People In Cleveland Sports?

Deshaun Watson again did not play well, completing 15 of 28 passes for 125 yards, a touchdown and a lost fumble. He was also sacked seven times.

For the fifth time in a row, the Browns failed to crack 300 yards of total offense or score 20 points. At this moment, the Browns offense looks broken regardless of who they face.

Kevin Stefanski said after the game he wasn't going to change quarterbacks . But it's extremely obvious that he and the Browns need to change something, and probably multiple somethings.

The way the offense has played through 20 quarters is nowhere near good enough for what the Browns had hoped to be this season.

They are scoring just 15.8 points per game, which is worse than their expansion season in 1999 when the rules didn't favor the offense as much as it does now.

The shakeup of the offensive coaching staff has not worked to this point, and I just don't know if it's fixable at this point. The biggest problem is that it's hard to look at the offense and pick out things they have done well through five games.

The offensive line is still feeling the effects of last season's injuries to the top three tackles. They have yet to get enough from their running game, and the passing game is just not working. Making matters worse is how dreadful they have been on both first down and third down.

It's almost impossible to completely change an offense in the middle of the season because you only have so much practice time in a week, and that's mainly geared toward preparing for your next opponent.

So the Browns are basically in a situation where things just might not get better the rest of the season. The vast majority of fans are in favor of making a quarterback change . It may be ultimately a move that has to be made.

But right now, the foundation of the offense appears to be non-existent, and you can't build anything solid without a foundation.

: Fact.

It's rare to lose one game in the NFL when you score 30-plus points and your quarterback throws for more than 300 yards and at least three touchdowns.

But that has happened twice in three weeks to Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Cincinnati got 392 yards passing, a 76.9 completion percentage and five touchdowns, and the Bengals still lost at home to the Ravens in overtime, 41-38.

Burrow did throw a fourth-quarter interception that led to a game-tying field goal for the Ravens. But the bottom line is your team shouldn't be losing twice in three weeks in those circumstances, especially at home.

Burrow threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns two weeks earlier. But the Bengals lost by five to the Commanders because their defense could not force a Washington punt or turnover.

The Bengals not only got a safety and forced three Ravens punts, but they forced a Lamar Jackson fumble in overtime and had the ball at the Ravens 38-yard line. But they went extremely conservative, running three times and setting for a 53-yard field goal attempt that Evan McPherson pushed wide left.

The Ravens won the game two plays later as Derrick Henry rushed for 51 yards, and Justin Tucker kicked a 24-yard field goal on the following play to end the game.

The Bengals, like the Browns, are 1-4. But their 1-4 record feels far more confounding.

Burrow looks like the best version of himself lately and he's playing like one of the NFL's best quarterbacks. But the Bengals are allowing almost 30 points per game and have only once held a team to fewer than 24 points. Plus not trusting Burrow to throw and possibly get you an easier field goal for McPherson is a big mistake for the Bengals.

Five games into the season, the Bengals look like proof that not even great quarterback play can be a cure-all if too many things around him are going wrong.

: Fiction.

The Texans won the battle of the 3-1 teams in the AFC vs. the Bills on Sunday when Ka'imi Fairbairn hit a 58-yard field goal as time expired for a 23-20 win.

But the finger for the loss in Buffalo seems like it's been pointed heavily at Bills coach Sean McDermott. With his team pinned at its 3-yard line with 32 seconds left in a tie game, the Bills threw deep three straight times and then punted to essentially put the Texans a short gain away from the winning field goal.

However, McDermott isn't the only one to blame.

Josh Allen simply wasn't good enough. He finished completing just nine of 30 passes for the worst completion percentage in a game with more than 28 attempts since 2000 according to The 33rd Team . He's now had back-to-back subpar games after his hot start.

With a young receiving corps around him, Allen simply needs to play better than he has the last two weeks.

: Fiction.

Jayden Daniels looks like the heavy favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after five weeks. But don't sleep on what Caleb Williams has started to do in Chicago.

Williams and the Bears have won back-to-back games, including a 36-10 rout of the Panthers on Sunday. In the win, Williams was 20 of 39 passing for 304 yards and two touchdowns.

Based on the last three games, I think Bears fans have a real reason to get very excited about their rookie quarterback.

He has a very long way to go to catch Daniels for Rookie of the Year. But Williams seems like he has figured things out the last few weeks.

Yes, the Panthers are among the worst defenses in the NFL. But we also have to remember that Williams did not crack 100 yards passing in Week 1 vs. the Titans and didn't throw a touchdown pass until Week 3.

He has five TD passes to two interceptions in his last three games and has posted back-to-back games with a classic quarterback rating of greater than 100.

It just took a little time for Williams, but he seems to be adjusting to the NFL and looking like the quarterback the Bears hoped he can be.

: Fact.

The Jets were a popular preseason pick to unseat the Bills as the best team in the AFC East. But after five games, Aaron Rodgers and company don't look like a division title contender quite yet.

Rodgers and the Jets lost in London on Sunday morning to the Vikings, 23-17. Rodgers threw three interceptions, including one to Stephon Gilmore in the final minute to thwart a potential game-winning drive.

Rodgers's struggles on Sunday are nothing surprising considering that's what the Vikings have done to every quarterback this season. But right now, the trade to get Rodgers in the 2023 offseason hasn't worked out yet.

In fairness to Rodgers, he is coming off a torn Achilles that he suffered four plays into the 2023 season opener. To expect him to be his old self right away felt very unrealistic, especially considering he will turn 41 in two months.

But the Jets have not gotten nearly enough on the ground from Breece Hall, and there still appears to be a disconnect with Rodgers and his receivers.

They can still really challenge in the AFC East because of just how weak it is right now. However, the early fruits of the Rodgers trade are not blossoming right now.

: Fiction.

The San Francisco 49ers on paper look like they're going through the classic Super Bowl losing hangover. They are 2-3 with losses in three of their last four games including blowing a 13-point halftime lead in a 24-23 loss at home to the Cardinals.

Brock Purdy and the 49ers turned the ball over three times, all in the second half, and were shut out in the second half. Their defense also gave up two 70-plus-yard scoring drives back-to-back in the loss.

Things aren't great in San Francisco, but it's too early to push the panic button.

First, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that Christian McCaffrey is showing encouraging signs for his eventual return from his bilateral Achillies tendonitis.

Second, even though they are just 2-3, the NFC is really a crowded mess outside of the 5-0 Vikings and 4-1 Commanders.

The 49ers are still a plus-20 in point differential despite their losing record. That just means they need to be better in close games and not give them away like they did against the Rams and Cardinals.

If they can win in Seattle on Thursday night, they can get back on track heading into their mini-bye week.