What we learned in NFL Week 5: Bengals can’t finish, Browns done in by QB they can’t bench

Joe Burrow admitted last week that he'd have to play "damn near perfect" for the Bengals to beat the Ravens on Sunday, and he was fine with that. With his team floundering at 1-3, Cincinnati's $275 million quarterback welcomed the challenge. Put it on me, he seemed to be saying.

Turns out, "damn near perfect" wasn't good enough.

Burrow met the moment, playing one of his best games as a pro, finishing with 392 yards passing and five touchdowns. And yet the Bengals — once considered an AFC contender — are now 1-4, thanks to more late-game brilliance from Lamar Jackson , a costly fourth-quarter interception from Burrow, some conservative calls from coach Zac Taylor and Cincinnati's Achilles heel the past two seasons: a wretched defense.

Put more bluntly, this team hasn't figured out a way to finish . This was a game it couldn't afford to let slip away, yet that's exactly what happened. The Bengals have now lost five straight one-score games dating to last season.

"We are not a championship-level team right now," Burrow said.

He's right. The Bengals are somehow 4-11 against AFC teams over the past two seasons. And this hole feels like the deepest one yet for a team that perennially underperforms in the first part of the season.

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On the other end, Baltimore's 41-38 overtime triumph is the third straight win for a team that's found its footing after starting 0-2. Jackson was sloppy at times but electric in others , particularly on a 6-yard broken-play-turned-touchdown to Isaiah Likely in the fourth quarter that'll go down as one of the most ridiculous highlights of 2024. And Derrick Henry continues to ease the burden on Jackson's legs: Baltimore is now the fifth team since 1980 with at least 1,000 rushing yards across its first five games.

Elsewhere, the Colts have now lost a road game to the Jaguars for 10 consecutive seasons, and Jacksonville — the league's only winless team entering Sunday — finally has its first victory of the year.

The Cowboys earned a 20-17 win in Pittsburgh Sunday night — er, Monday morning — after lightning delayed a classic matchup with the Steelers . Dak Prescott turned the ball over three times, including twice in the red zone, but found Jalen Tolbert for a 4-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with just 20 seconds remaining. Justin Fields and the Pittsburgh offense struggled to move the ball against a banged-up Dallas defense, totaling just 226 net yards.

In Denver, the Broncos ended their eight-game losing streak to the Raiders , who looked lost without Davante Adams and, for a second straight week, benched Gardner Minshew in favor of Aidan O'Connell . It didn't matter. The Broncos' Bo Nix — who at one point had a fiery sideline exchange with coach Sean Payton — threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in an easy 34-18 victory. That's three straight wins for the Broncos (3-2), who are suddenly in second place in the AFC West.

The Dolphins earned their second win of the season by edging the Patriots , 15-10. New England's opening-week win over Cincinnati feels like a lifetime ago: the Patriots are now 1-4 and have one of the worst offenses in the league . They're averaging just 12.4 points per game. The calls for Drake Maye to start are only going to intensify.

Here's what we learned in Week 5 across the NFL :

NFC West looks wide-open

The Bengals aren't the only team underperforming in the early part of the season. So far, the NFC West — typically one of the league's best divisions top-to-bottom — is having a down year. And two playoff teams from a year ago, including the defending NFC Champion 49ers , are under .500 five weeks into the season.

That's because, for the second time in three weeks, Kyle Shanahan's team blew a fourth-quarter lead to a division rival. Three second-half turnovers — including two interceptions from Brock Purdy — cost San Francisco in a 24-23 loss to the Cardinals . That leaves the 49ers, who've played in three straight NFC Championship Games, at 2-3. Christian McCaffrey 's return can't come soon enough.

Still, they're just a game back in the NFC West thanks to the Giants' upset of the Seahawks in Seattle. New York nearly watched its 10-point lead evaporate in the fourth quarter until Isaiah Simmons blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt from Seattle's Jason Myers that would've tied the game with 1:05 left. After Bryce Ford-Wheaton 's 60-yard return of that block for a touchdown, the Giants sealed a 29-20 victory that moved them to 2-3. After winning three out of the gate, the Seahawks have lost two in a row.

In Los Angeles, the Rams slumped to 1-4 after losing to the Packers 24-19. Perhaps no team's been hit harder by injuries than Sean McVay's, but few could have predicted the Rams — a playoff team a year ago — would've started this poorly out of the gate. For the Packers, safety Xavier McKinney continues to shine: he's the fourth player since 1970 with a takeaway in each of his team's first five games of the season.

So the 49ers and Rams are a combined 3-7 to start the season, and neither looks as formidable as they did a year ago. And Arizona, at 2-3, is just a game back of the Seahawks after starting 2-0 in the division.

What were the Bills thinking?

Three weeks in, the Bills looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders, an offensive juggernaut led by a quarterback playing at his absolute peak. Buffalo's lopsided loss in Baltimore in Week 4 wasn't all that alarming; the Ravens have done that to a number of contenders over the years. It was an off night. No reason to worry.

But Sunday's last-second defeat in Houston wasn't just concerning — it was all too familiar. Something about the Bills and close games. Something about the curious decision-making of coach Sean McDermott.

After Josh Allen pulled the Bills back from a 10-point second-half deficit to tie the game late, Buffalo gifted Houston one last chance by throwing on three straight downs deep in its own territory, then punting from its own end zone.

There were just 32 seconds on the clock when the Bills assumed possession on their own 3-yard-line. Why not run out the clock and play for overtime? It was football 101, and it was stunning to watch.

"That's on me," McDermott said later. "They're holding three timeouts, have a good field goal kicker. We needed to run the clock and move the chains, and that's on me. We didn't do that there."

C.J. Stroud and the Texans, of course, were happy to take advantage: one short pass later, they were set up for a 59-yard attempt by Ka'imi Fairbairn , who drilled the eighth game-winner of his career.

The Bills are now 3-2, and fortunately for them, no other team in the AFC East is above .500. And while Sunday's defeat is not likely to cost Buffalo a fifth straight division crown, one has to wonder if it will factor into home-field advantage come the postseason.

Rookie QBs have a day

Jayden Daniels only needed a few weeks to show the NFL he is for real. Turns out, Caleb Williams wasn't that far behind him.

Sunday was a showcase for the top two picks in last spring's draft, further confirmation that Daniels' career is off to a stellar start in Washington and the surest sign yet that Williams, despite some early stumbles, is starting to figure it out in Chicago.

Daniels finished with 320 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in the Commanders' dominating 34-13 win over the Browns . Washington 's offense has been on a tear of late, putting up 38, 42 and 34 points across its last three games, all wins. Before a meaningless late-game touchdown from the Browns, the Commanders had pushed the lead to 28 points — the franchise's largest at home in nine long seasons.

Things are changing in Washington, and Daniels' ascent is the biggest reason. The Commanders are 4-1 for the first time since 2008 and remain atop the NFC East.

In Chicago, Williams remained unbeaten at home in his young career, lighting up the Panthers for 304 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-10 rout. It was without question his most complete performance as a pro. After a sloppy start, part of which was due to the Bears' inconsistent offensive line play, Williams has settled in, cut down on some of his errant throws and started to look more like the playmaker he was at USC. Because of it, the Bears (3-2) are keeping pace in a competitive NFC North in which every team is above .500 five weeks into the season.

Throw in Nix's 3-2 start in Denver and rookie quarterbacks have combined for 10 wins already this season, the second-most five games into a season since 1970.

The quarterback the Browns can't bench

Ten months ago, Kevin Stefanski was the NFL's Coach of the Year, and the Browns were a playoff team largely due to a lights-out defense and Joe Flacco 's late-season surge.

Today they're one of the worst teams in football, 1-4 on the season, with their only win coming over the equally disappointing Jaguars. At the center of it all is their beleaguered quarterback, Deshaun Watson , who hasn't come close to living up to the historic, $230 million, fully guaranteed contract he signed in 2022.

Most jarring is how much the conversation around Watson has shifted. Browns fans are no longer wondering if Watson is ever going to recapture the magic he played with in Houston early in his career. That's been answered. Now the question is more sobering.

Should he even be a starting quarterback in this league?

Sunday's result — a 34-13 loss to the Commanders in which Watson struggled throughout — will only further the doubt. Outside of some rare flashes, he's been lousy since he arrived in Cleveland, looking nothing like he did with the Texans. Watson's failing to see open receivers, panicking in muddy pockets and regularly holding onto the ball too long. (In the past three games, he's been sacked 18 times and lost three fumbles.) The Browns' offense continues to suffer for it. Five games into the season it has yet to score 20 points. Watson doesn't have a single 200-yard passing game.

In Sunday's loss, Watson threw for just 125 yards on 15 completions, and in his 16 starts with the team dating to 2022, he's averaging just six yards per pass attempt. It's not a stretch to say this team was much better with Flacco at quarterback last year.

Now, Stefanski's answering questions about Watson's job security.

"We're not changing quarterbacks," he said Sunday, asked about the possibility of benching Watson. "We need to play better. I need to coach better. That's really what it is."

Again, this is a head coach with proven offensive chops — Stefanski has twice won Coach of the Year honors — and mostly the same unit a 39-year-old Flacco dragged to the playoffs last season. (Though, in fairness, running back Nick Chubb has yet to suit up this season.) It's not hard to pinpoint the biggest issue: the QB play has been largely abysmal.

But because of Watson's monstrous contract — coupled with the fact that it's fully guaranteed — it's hard to see the Browns benching him at any point this season. This a mess of their own making, with no easy way out. Watson's due $46 million in base salary each of the next two seasons. Yikes.

Jets still looking for answers

After the headlines and the hype, the stunning injury and the wasted season, we're starting to get a sense of what the Jets are with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback: mediocre.

New York showed plenty of fight Sunday in London, clawing back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to undefeated Minnesota . But, driving with under three minutes left and needing a touchdown to win, Rodgers threw his third interception of the game to seal the Vikings' 23-17 victory.

For a team with obvious playoff — if not Super Bowl — aspirations, the on-field results simply aren't there, at least not through five weeks. So far the Jets only have wins over the Titans and Patriots, two teams with a combined record of 2-7. Most concerning: the offense has sputtered after showing signs of life in Weeks 2 and 3. Only twice in five games has Rodgers thrown for more than 200 yards, and the Jets rushed for just 36 yards Sunday after finishing with 64 a week ago.

"The run game is clearly not good enough," coach Robert Saleh said.

"That was below my standard," Rodgers said, weighing his own performance (29 of 54 for 244 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions). The 40-year-old QB also admitted he played through a low-ankle sprain.

"If we wanted to fold it in when we were down 17-0, some of us don't belong here," wideout Garrett Wilson vented. "That's how I feel about it ... we're not taking any moral victories here."

No, not with the expectations this team welcomed after trading for Rodgers in 2023. It was a bold move for a team desperate to contend. It's still early, and Rodgers maintains his belief that the Jets will get better, but so far this team has underwhelmed.

"If we stick together I still have a lot of confidence in this team," Rodgers added.

That's a good thing, because the schedule's not getting any easier. The Jets have the Bills and Steelers on deck the next two weeks.

The Vikings, meanwhile, are the league's first 5-0 team this season (the 4-0 Chiefs can match them with a win Monday night against New Orleans ). Contributions are coming from all over the roster, including the final drive Sunday, when 34-year-old cornerback Stephon Gilmore picked off Rodgers to wrap up the win. No coach in football is doing a better job than Kevin O'Connell.

(Photo of Joe Burrow: Cara Owsley / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)