Around the NFL: Week 5 Recap

Week 5 Takeaways and Implications for Week 6

Concise game recaps and implications from Week 5 that provide you with information that matters to attack Week 6. Head over to our game matchup dashboards to understand each team’s strengths and weaknesses as teams as every team continues to reveal who they are in 2023. Once you digest takeaways from the Week 5, head over to our dashboard section to break down the Week 6 board.

Commanders / Bears

• The Commanders trailed 27-3 at halftime off a short week in which they lost an OT thriller on the road against the Eagles. The Bears’ offense posted points on each of their five possessions in the first half and outgained the Commanders by a margin of 451-388 in total. Justin Fields thew for 282 yards and 4 TD’s, while Justin Moore had a ridiculous night, catching 8 balls for 230 yards and 3 TD’s.
• Chicago ran for 178 yards in total on the ground against a Washington defense that heads into Week 6 ranking 23rd in rushing YPG allowed and 25th in runs of 10+ yards. Khalil Herbert ran for 76 yards on 10 carries but suffered an ankle injury and will miss several weeks.
• The Commanders simply came out flat on the short week against a really bad defense – they posted just 84 yards of total offense on 22 plays.
• The Bears are 2.5-point underdogs at home this week against the Vikings, while the Commanders are 2.5-point underdogs on the road against Atlanta’s high-powered and deliberate rushing attack.

Bills / Jaguars

• Like the Commanders, the Bills came out flat in the first half in London against the Jaguars, logging four punts and 54 yards of total offense before converting an 11-play, 86-yard drive into a TD to cut the deficit to 11-7. Josh Allen got things going in the second half against a Jags secondary that ranks 26th in passing YPG allowed and 24th in passes of 10+ yards, finishing 27-40 for 359 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 INT in addition to another TD on the ground.
• Buffalo converted 3-3 RZ trips into TD’s, but managed just 29 yards rushing on 14 carries and possessed the ball for just 21:48 of clock time.
• Jacksonville dropped 474 yards of total offense on a very good Buffalo defense that lost Matt Milano for the season. The Jags rushed for 196 yards on the ground led by Travis Etienne, who ran for 136 yards and 2 TDs on 26 carries (5.2 YPC) against a Bills’ defense that has a weakness against the run (31st in YPC and 27th in runs of 10+ yards). Trevor Lawrence finished 25-37 for 315 yards and 1 TD against a Buffalo secondary missing two of its top corners, but was also sacked 5 times.
• The Jags logged a quality win against Buffalo and head back to the States as 4-point favorite against the Colts, who will be without Anthony Richardson for an extended period of time. The Bills are 14-point favorites at home against the NY Giants.

Falcons / Texans

• There were a total of 13 punts on both side in this one, with 21 of 40 total points scored in the fourth quarter. That said, Atlanta outgained the Texans by a margin of 447-313 and held Houston to 4 field goals before CJ Stroud engineered an 11-play, 75-yard TD drive that gave Houston a 19-18 lead with 1:49 to go in regulation.
• Stroud finished 20-35 for 249 yards and 1 TD against a much improved Atlanta secondary that ranks 4th in passing YPG allowed and 7th in YPA through five weeks.
• We’ve been very critical of Desmond Ridder and have to give credit when due – he finished 28-37 for 329 yards and 1 TD with 0 sacks in the win. Kyle Pitts had his best game of the season, catching 7 balls for 87 yards on 11 targets.
• Atlanta will host Washington and its suspect run defense that just allowed Herbert and Fields to go for 178 yards on the ground in Week 5 as a 2.5-point favorite. Houston is a 1.5-point underdog at home against the Saints.

Lions / Panthers

• Detroit boat raced Carolina from wire to wire in this one, scoring TD’s on 4 of 5 first half drives and taking a 28-10 lead into halftime. Goff finished with just 236 yards through the air against a competent Panthers’ secondary, but was an efficient 20-28 and threw for 3 TD’s.
• David Montgomery thrived against Carolina’s weak run defense that ranks 26th in rushing YPG and 28th in both YPC and runs of 10+ yards, rushing for 109 yard and 1 TD on just 19 carries.
• Carolina turned the ball over 3 times, each of which turned into touchdowns for the Lions. Bryce Young ultimately finished 25-41 for 247 yards and 3 TD’s, but his 2 INT’s and Miles Sanders’ fumble spotted the Lions enough points to cruise to an easy win at home.
• Josh Reynolds led Lions receivers with 4 catches for 76 yards and 1 TD on 5 targets in Amon-Ra St. Brown’s absence. Adam Thielen had a solid day, catching 11 balls for 107 yards and 1 TD on 13 targets.
• The Lions head to Tampa as 3-point road favorites against the Bucs, who are well-rested coming off a bye. The Panthers are 13.5 point underdogs in Miami against the Dolphins’ high-powered offense that just ran for 222 yards in total on the ground on just 23 carries (9.7 YPC).

Colts / Titans

• Indy lost Anthony Richardson in this one for an unspecified period of time to a shoulder injury but emerged with a win to improve to 3-2, outgaining the Titans by a margin of 429-348 and amassing 193 yards of offense on the ground behind Zack Moss, who ran for 165 yards and 2 TD’s on 23 carries against TEN’s top 5 run defense.
• Tennessee finished 1-4 on RZ trips, while Indy finished 1-5 – a lot of points were left on the field, but neither team has been efficient in converting RZ trips into points thus far this season – Indy ranks 16th in RZ TD % , while TEN ranks 29th in the league.
• Indy’s secondary was attacked once again, as Ryan Tannehill, who averages 211 passing YPG, threw for 264 yards on 23-34 passing, while Deandre Hopkins caught 8 balls for 140 yards on 11 targets.
• Anthony Richardson was diagnosed with a Grade 3 AC joint sprain and could miss a month – that said, Minshew has been efficient in his time on the field in 2023 with an outright win over Baltimore in Week 3. He finished 11-14 for 155 yards (11.1 YPA) in relief of Richardson and will have an opportunity to lead Indy through the month of October with upcoming matchups against a suspect Jags’ secondary, tough defenses in the Colts and Browns and winnable games on the road against the Panthers and Colts.
• Indy enters Week 6 as a 4-point underdog on the road in Jacksonville, while the Titans are 3.5-point underdogs at home against the Ravens.

Dolphins / Giants

• Miami boat raced the Giants at home in this one, outgaining the Giants by a margin of 524-268 and rushing for 222 yards in total on the ground despite turning the ball over three times. The Dolphins’ offense completely thrashed a Giants’ defenes that ranks 28th in defensive efficiency, 30th in EPA/play, 31st in sacks, 29th in rushing YPG allowed and 30th in YPC after five weeks. Tua threw a pick 6 inside the Giants’ 10-yard line before half, so the Giants’ offense really only posted three field goals against a Dolphins’ defense that can be taken advantage of.
• De’Von Achane ran just 11 times for 151 yards and 1 TD (13.7 YPC), while Raheem Mostert took 10 carries for 65 yards and a TD. Tyreek Hill caught 8 balls for 181 yards and 1 TD on 9 targets. Miami enters Week 6 leading the league in rushing, YPC and runs of 10+ yards with a matchup against the 26th ranked rushing defense in Carolina coming up in Week 6.
• All things considered, the Giants only trained Miami by one score at half and managed just 60 yards of offense on 25 plays excluding a garbage time late in the 4th quarter that ended in a turnover on downs.  
• Daniel Jones suffered a neck injury, but Brian Daboll is optimistic regarding his status in Week 6 against Buffalo, where the Giants are 14-point underdogs on the road. The Dolphins are 13.5-point favorites at home against a bad Carolina run defense that was just carved up on the ground by Detroit.

Patriots / Saints

• The Patriots turned in one of the worst losses of the Bill Belichick era, as Mac Jones led the Patriots to four punts, a missed field goal and a pick 6 in the first half. Trailing 21-0 at halftime, Mac Jones opened the 2nd half with a fumble, two three-and-outs and an INT before getting benched for the second straight week.
• The Saints outgained the Patriots 304-156 and won the time of possession battle by a margin of 39:34-20:26, largely thanks to three NE turnovers and a 1-14 3rd down conversion rate. Mac Jones finished 12-22 for 110 yards, 2 INT’s and 1 fumble.
• New Orleans sustained some success on the offensive side of the ball against an NE defense that was missing both Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez. Derek Carr finished 18-26 for 183 yards and 2 TD’s, while Alvin Kamara carried the ball 22 times for 80 yards and 1 TD and caught another 3 balls through the air for 17 yards.
• NE’s offense continues to be awful – they enter Week 6 ranked 26th in offensive efficiency, 31st in EPA/play, 28th in YPP and 3rd down conversion rate, 23rd in passing YPG, 26th in rushing YPG, 29th in YPC and 31st in RZ trips per game.
• The Patriots water pistol offense will head out to Vegas as 3-point underdogs against the Raiders in a matchup of teacher vs disciple in Belichick and McDaniels. The Saints improved to 3-2 and head to Houston as 1.5-point favorites against the Texans.

Steelers / Ravens

• The Ravens completely blew this game with at least 6 drops, including three dropped TD’s in the end zone, an INT late in regulation in Pittsburgh’s end zone and a blocked punt that resulted in a safety.
• Baltimore dropped key passes, turned the ball over three times including 2 fumbles and generally just did not deliver the knockout punch on the road against the Steelers when they had the chance time and again. They outgained the Steelers by a margin of 335-289, ran for 125 yards on the ground on 25 carries (5.0 YPC) and logged three trips to the RZ, but converted the three trips into 1 TD, made three costly turnovers and left yards and points on the field all afternoon.
• Kenny Pickett threw for 224 yards and 1 TD on 18-32 passing – he led the Steelers to just one field goal and a 10-3 deficit at halftime with three punts to follow after half. But the Ravens left the door open with their laundry list of miscues, and Pickett found George Pickens deep to his right for a 41-yard TD that gave Pittsburgh a 14-10 lead that they did not relinquish late in the 4th quarter.
• The Steelers did not deserve to win the game but somehow they did against a superior opponent (at least by the underlying numbers). Pittsburgh scored when they needed to, but still lacks an offensive identity nearing the midpoint of the season and heading into the bye.
• The Ravens will need to shake off this bad loss as they head down to Tennessee as a 3.5-point favorite on the road against the Titans.

Cardinals / Bengals

• Cincy finally snapped out of their offensive struggles in Week 5 against an Arizona defense that ranks 29th in EPA/play, 27th in passing YPG allowed and YPA and 31st in passes of 10+ yards allowed. Burrow finished with 317 yards and 3 TD’s on 36-46 passing and connected with Jamar Chase 15 times for 192 yards and 3 TD’s on 19 targets in Tee Higgins’ absence.
• The Bengals outgained the Cardinals 380-294 but actually lost the YPP battle 4.8 – 5.2. Cincy logged 5 trips to the RZ but converted only two into TD’s. Arizona led 14-10 late in the 2nd quarter but threw a pick 6 at their own 1 yard line that gave Cincy a 17-14 lead heading into halftime.
• James Conner left this game with an injury in the 2nd quarter. Despite playing from behind in the 2nd half, the Cardinals still amassed 142 yards on the ground on 22 carries (6.5 YPC) against a Cincy run defense that ranks 30th in rushing YPG allowed, 29th in YPC and 32nd in runs of 10+ yards heading into Week 6.
• The Bengals improve to 2-3 and head to Seattle as 2.5-point underdogs, while the Cardinals are 6.5-point underdogs on the road against LA, who just got Cooper Kupp back into the mix in Week 5.

Broncos / Jets

• The Jets exacted revenge for Nathaniel Hackett in an extremely ugly game that included 5 turnovers, 8 sacks and 1 defensive touchdown.
• The Jets outgained the Broncos 407-308, led by Breece Hall, who ran for 177 yards and 1 TD on 22 carries against a Denver rushing defense that ranks 32nd in the league and is allowing opponents to rush for 189 on average through 5 weeks.
• The Jets managed five trips to the RZ and converted 0 TD’s. They converted five field goals and benefitted from a fumble return for a touchdown that sealed the game with under a minute to go in regulation by giving them a 31-21 lead. Their only offensive touchdown came on their first offensive snap of the 2nd half where Breece Hall took a handoff 72 yards to the end zone.
• Russell Wilson led the Broncos to -18 yards of total offense on Denver’s first five drives of the second half and is now 5-14 as a Broncos’ starter. Denver has some redeeming qualities on offense on paper, but their defense is completely bottoming out and this roster looks like its heading for a fire sale. The Jets held the Broncos to 310 yards of total offense, sacked Russ 4 times and scored a TD of their own.
• The Jets are 6.5-point underdogs at home against the Eagles at MetLife on Sunday, while the Broncos are 10.5-point underdogs on the road in KC on TNF.

Vikings / Chiefs

• The Vikings lost the turnover battle once again and lost the game to the Chiefs by a TD. Minnesota matched KC across the board but spotted the Chiefs a short field early as they fumbled on their first offensive play from scrimmage – KC scored a TD on the ensuing drive. Minnesota now ranks 32nd in the league in turnovers with 12 through five weeks.
• Pat Mahomes finished 31-41 for 281 yards and 2 TD’s, completing passes to 10 different players and leading the Chiefs to a 9-15 conversion rate on 3rd down and a 3-3 TD conversion rate on RZ trips. Travis Kelce caught 10 balls for 67 yards and 1 TD on 11 targets, while the next most targeted KC WR was Kadarius Toney, who caught 5 balls for 26 yards on 6 targets.
• Minnesota had an opportunity to tie the game on multiple occasions down 27-20 late, but did not have Justin Jefferson on the field after he left with a hamstring injury and ultimately could not put points on the board. Jefferson’s hamstring diagnosis and recovery timeline is apparently “all over the map” as of Tuesday AM.
• KC sacked Kirk Cousins 3 times sand hit him 12 times – Minnesota’s OL now ranks 32nd in the league in QB hits allowed.
• The Chiefs are 10.5-point favorites at home against a Denver defense that ranks 30th in defensive efficiency, 31st in EPA/play, 32nd in YPP, 28th in passing YPG allowed and 32nd in rushing YPG. The Vikings are 2.5-point favorites on the road against an equally bad Chicago defense but will be missing Justin Jefferson.

Rams / Eagles

• The Eagles secured a quality win on the road in LA against a high-powered Rams passing attack, outgaining the Rams by a margin of 454-249. Philly finished 13-18 on 3rd down, passed for 295 yards through the air and ran for another 159 yards on 39 attempts (4.1 YPC), winning the time of possession battle by a margin of 37:55 – 22:05.
• After bending against the Rams’ high-powered passing attack in the first half, the Eagles defense made halftime adjustments to neutralize Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua enough and hold the Rams to 64 yards of total offense, three punts and a turnover on downs in non-garbage time play on 24 plays.
• Jalen Hurts finished 25-38 passing for 303 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT and carried the ball 15 times for 72 yards and 1 TD. After sputtering out of the gates early this season, Philly has found its rhythm on offense and ranks 8th in offensive efficiency, 4th in EPA/play, 9th in YPP, 4th in early down success rate, 2nd in rushing YPG and 6th in RZ trips per game.
• Cooper Kupp caught 8 balls for 118 yards on 12 targets, while Puka Nacua caught 7 balls for 71 yards and 1 TD on 11 targets – both players went over their receiving props.
• AJ Brown caught 6 balls for 127 yards on 8 targets and continues his three-week stretch of dominance. Dallas Goedert caught 8 balls for 117 yards and 1 TD on 9 targets.
• The Eagles are 6.5-point favorites against a feisty Jets’ defense at MetLife on Sunday, while the Rams are 6.5-point favorites at home against the Cardinals.

49ers / Cowboys

• The 49ers completely throttle bodied the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in every facet of the game. SF outgained Dallas by a margin of 421-197, held Dallas to 0 RZ trips and converted 4 of 5 of their own RZ trips into TDs, forced 4 turnovers and held Dallas to just 57 total rushing yards.
• Dak Prescott turned in one of his worst starts as a pro, finishing 14-24 for 153 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT’s. Prescott led Dallas to three three-and-outs and a fumble on their first four drives and four three-and-outs in total in the first half. He threw INT’s on Dallas’ second, third and fourth drives of the second half – SF turned each turnover into a TD and blew the game open taking a 42-10 lead.
• Brock Purdy was excellent in this game, finishing 17-24 for 252 yards and 4 TD’s against Dallas’ 2nd ranked passing defense that’s allowed just 186 passing yards per game on average through 5 weeks – he distributed the ball evenly between Kittle, Aiyuk and Deebo, who combined to catch 10 balls for 180 yards. Kittle caught 3 balls for 67 yards and 3 TD’s. SF ran for 170 yards on the ground on 41 carries (4.1 YPC), exploiting a weakness in Dallas’ run defense that ranks 23rd in YPC thus far this season. Jordan Mason led SF backs in rushing with Elijah Mitchell out, carrying the ball 10 times for 69 yards and 1 TD.
• Dallas once again was unable to overcome SF, and this time the gap between these two teams looks wider than its ever been with Mike McCarthy calling the plays for Dallas and their offense regressing week over week. The Cowboys rank 10th in EPA/play but 20th in YPP, 15th in early down success rate, 22nd in passing YPG, 19th in YPC and 28th in RZ TD %.
• Dallas is a 2-point favorite on the road against the Chargers on MNF, while the 49ers are 5.5-point favorites on the road in Cleveland, who is off a bye.

Raiders / Packers

• Another week and another struggle to sustain offense in the first half for Jordan Love, who led the Packers to just 112 yards of offense on 24 plays and a field goal on the road in Vegas. The Packers managed just 285 yards of total offense (5.0 YPP), and Jordan Love threw 3 INT’s to ultimately sink GB late. They entered ranking 26th in 1Q point differential and 30th in 1H point differential and entered halftime down 10-3.
• LV was not spectacular themselves on offense, racking up just 279 yards of total offense and 4.4 YPP, but they made less mistakes than Green Bay and escaped MNF with a win to improve to 2-3. LV’s defense leaves a lot to be desired, but their secondary has improved significantly from years past, ranking 8th in passing YPG allowed and 2nd in passes of 10+ yards having faced the Bills and Chargers thus far in 2023.
• Jakobi Meyers led Raiders receivers with 7 catches for 75 yards and 1 TD on 10 targets while Davante Adams nursed an injury – Adams finished with just 4 catches for 45 yards on 4 targets.
• The Raiders are 3-point favorites at home against the reeling Patriots in Week 6, while the Packers head into the bye at 2-3.

Made it here? Head over to our game and player matchup dashboards to dissect every matchup and identify the biggest mismatches to attack the betting markets or optimize your DFS and fantasy football lineups in Week 6.