Five weeks into the 2015 NFL season and we still have six undefeated teams. Atlanta, Green Bay, Denver, Carolina, New England, and Cincinnati have yet to taste defeat. I am betting on Carolina getting their first loss next week when they head to Seattle though, and my Falcons will not have an easy time in New Orleans on a short week of practice.
The Patriots look like the best team in the League, the Pack is beatable, and Cincy is fortunate to have gotten over on the Seahawks on Sunday. Denver must have the best defense in the NFL or else they would have a couple of losses already.
Besides these top five teams there were many more winners in week five, not to mention all the losers….looking right at you Matthew Stafford. What happened to this Lions team over the off season?
NFL Grown Man of the Week: Philadelphia’s Fletcher Cox racked three sacks and forced a couple of fumbles, recovering one himself. That is how to wreck a QB’s day. That kind of disruption will make any quarterback in the League look average at best, like Kaepernick at worst.
NFL Child of the Week: Tyrod Taylor came back after a rough hit to throw a long ball that set up his Bills’ winning touchdown. Taylor is not perfect by any stretch, but has the grit and tools to be a formidable starter for several years in Buffalo.
Winner: Odell Beckham helped his Giants to a win over lowly San Francisco on SNF, even though he apparently hurt himself during a TD celebration. He had 121 yards and a TD.
Loser: Matthew Stafford who has engineered an 0-5 start got benched in the third quarter as Arizona was laying the wood to the Lions.
Winner: Andy Dalton is still rolling, leading his Bengals to a big win over Seattle after being down 17 in this game. The Bengals are for real and Dalton is playing as well as anyone right now. Don’t expect me to pick them come playoff time, but in the moment I am impressed.
Loser: Ameer Abdullah. Kid might want to get a grip….on the damn football. Two fumbles are not helping him win over his coaching staff. That may be irrelevant since it looks like they are trying to get fired themselves with this 0-5 start they have constructed.
Winner: Devonta Freeman went out and saved the Falcons again on Sunday versus a game Washington team. Julio Jones was not himself with a hammy issue. Matt Ryan was not impressive most of the game with three turnovers. But there Freeman was again every time Atlanta needed a first down. Kid had 153 yards and scored a go ahead touchdown with just 24 seconds left in a game that eventually went to overtime.
Loser: Kirk Cousins had a nice game, but still ended up on the losing end in Atlanta. He found the open man all game long in the Georgia Dome, but threw a pick six in overtime after his receiver slipped. A walkoff TD was a bad way to end a good outing for the Skins’ starter.
Winner: Julian Edelman is the new Wes Welker. He racked another 120 yards and a score in the Patriots whipping of what used to be America’s team, Dallas.
Loser: Jamaal Charles may be out the rest of 2015 as he injured his knee against the Bears on Sunday. According to Andy Reid it is a torn ACL, but an MRI is scheduled for Monday to confirm.
Winner: Thomas Rawls had a monster day in relief of Marshawn Lynch who was not available against the Bengals. He toted the rock for 169 yards and one TD in a losing effort for Seattle.
Winner: Daily Fantasy Sports. DraftKings and FanDuel had more entries than any previous week this year despite the controversy last week from employees playing DFS on rival sites…and winning big in one recent contest.
Loser: The Houston defense could not even stop a 72 year QB. Matt Hasselbeck looked like a 30-year old out there and even revived Andre Johnson for a game at least. Houston is a complete mess and Ryan Mallet’s sideline pouting was a perfect fit for what’s going on there.
Winner: Josh McCown had the biggest day of all the QBs on Sunday, racking up 457 yards that should silence most Manziel chants at least for a couple weeks. McCown led Cleveland to a 33-30 win over division foe Baltimore to get the Browns to 2-3 on the year.
Loser: Todd Gurley had another big rushing game, but his Rams were blown out versus the Packers. Gurley is the only offense the Rams have right now and will need to finish off runs with trips to the end zone if they are to get wins this year. He had 159 yards but no touchdowns.