Eric Williams

NFL reporter

Maybe the quarterbacks got tired of hearing about the return of the running game.

With the Saints-Chiefs matchup still on the table Monday night, eight signal callers have thrown for more than 300 yards in Week 5, led by a career-high 509-yard performance from Kirk Cousins ​​in the Falcons’ overtime win over the Buccaneers last year. Thursday.

On the other side of the ball, this was the first week in NFL history with two 100-yard defensive touchdowns. Take a bow, Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins and Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II (more on Surtain later).

In a weekend with ten one-score games so far, the Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak against the San Francisco 49ers with a 24-23 win. Denver snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Las Vegas Raiders with a 34–18 win.

The Bears recorded their eighth straight home win, the NFL’s longest active home win streak.

Here’s a closer look at who’s hot and who’s not in Week 5.

WHO’S HOT

Ja’Marr ChaseW.R., Bengal

Yes, Cincinnati lost a heartbreaker to the Ravens in overtime and my pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl doesn’t look that great at 1-4 this year. However, Chase erupted for his best game of the season, posting a career-high 193 in Week 5 receiving yards and two scores.

Over the past three weeks, Chase has 19 catches for 396 receiving yards and five touchdowns. According to Next Gen Stats, he achieved two of the four fastest top speeds of his career during his 70-yard (21.42 mph) touchdown and during his 41-yard (21.33 mph) touchdown.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow also put up good numbers, finishing with 392 passing yards and five touchdown passes. However, his interception late in the game, with Cincinnati trying to ice it, opened the door for a Baltimore win.

Kirk cousinsQ.B., Falcons

The Michigan State product had his best game of the season, throwing four touchdown passes to lead Atlanta to a big win over the Buccaneers and into a tie for first place with Tampa Bay in the NFC South. The Falcons have won three of their past four games, and Cousins ​​is in every conversation about replacing Michael Penix Jr. silenced in the first round.

With his 509 yards passing, Cousins ​​is now No. 5 in the NFL in passing yards (1,373).

Kirk Cousins ​​leads Falcons over Bucs 36-30 in OT

Jayden DanielsQ.B., Commanders

I thought Daniels would have a soft landing in the NFL with an experienced head coach in Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. The Commanders have three former NFL head coaches and two former defensive coordinators on the team’s coaching staff, giving them a wealth of institutional knowledge on the sidelines.

However, no one could have expected the LSU product to play like this.

According to FOX Sports Research, Daniels joined Kyler Murray and Robert Griffin III as the only players in NFL history with 1,000 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in their first five career games. And Daniels is the first player in NFL history with at least 1,000 passing and 250 rushing yards in his first five career games.

And yes, he is in the MVP race.

How good are the rookie commanders?

Trevor LawrenceQ.B., Jaguars

Jacksonville ended a four-game losing streak with the team’s first win of the season, a 37–34 victory over the Colts. Lawrence was at the center of the success, finishing 28 of 34 for a career-high 371 yards and two touchdowns, with a lone interception for a passer rating of 119.5.

According to Next Gen Stats, Lawrence completed 10 of his 13 attempts outside the numbers for 158 yards, including both of his touchdowns. To top it all off, he achieved his best performance of this season on his 25th birthday.

Pat Surtain IICB, Broncos

Surtain, one of the best cornerbacks in the league, finished with two interceptions in a win over the Raiders, including one returned 100 yards for a score. Surtain is the first player with two pick-sixes of at least 70 yards since Marcus Peters (3).

Surtain is also the leader of one of the NFL’s best defenses, which is the main reason the Broncos are 3-2. Denver is holding teams to 14.6 points per game, which ranks second in the league. And the Broncos rank fifth in the NFL with eight points.

WHO NOT

Brock PurdyQ.B., 49ers

San Francisco blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and Purdy’s play late in the game led to the result. Although the Iowa State product was used primarily in critical situations for the 49ers, he struggled in his team’s disappointing home loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Purdy finished 7 of 12 for 79 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in the second half as San Francisco’s explosive offense was held scoreless. The 49ers finished 1-of-6 for the game in the red zone.

Part of Purdy’s issues had to do with kicker Jake Moody going down with a leg injury that could keep him out for a few weeks, forcing coach Kyle Shanahan to be more aggressive. Still, Purdy seemed to be more scrambling around and chasing the big play rather than taking what the defense gave him. And the 49ers are now 2-3 in the NFC West.

Aaron RodgersQ.B., Jets

With one of the best defenses in the league, New York doesn’t need the MVP version of Rodgers. The Jets would take the 2015 version of Peyton Manning, when he helped the Broncos to the Super Bowl title. That season, Manning was good at getting Denver in the right spot on the line of scrimmage before the snap, managing the play and making sure his top-five defense didn’t get into bad situations.

Rogers has four interceptions and an 81.6 passer rating in five games. Three of those interceptions came in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings in London. At 2-3, the Jets are just one game back of the Buffalo Bills (3-2) in the AFC East, so there is still time for Rogers to turn things around. A potential rumored trade for Raiders star receiver Davante Adams would help.

Jets lose in London: Has Aaron Rodgers been washed?

Deshaun WatsonQ.B., Tanning

Through five games, Watson looked like one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. He is averaging just 4.9 yards per pass attempt and has a 74.4 quarterback rating for the Browns, who are off to a disappointing 1-4 start after reaching the playoffs last season. Watson has not thrown for more than 200 yards in any game this season and the offense has not scored 20 points in any game.

The Browns are clearly in trouble because they traded for Watson in 2022 and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million deal. They can’t trade him now because of the difficult contract. As my colleague Ralph Vacchiano notes, the Browns are stuck with Watson.

(Vachiano: The $230 million problem: Browns were burdened by a struggling Deshaun Watson)

Eric D. Williams has been covering the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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