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Week 5 Recap of the 2021 NFL Season | Big Stats, Big Plays, Big Totals, Big Injuries

Sports

| Oct 12, 2021 |

The theme of the week for Week 5 of the season is High Scoring. If you’re of the betting persuasion, hopefully, you grabbed the over, because it was one of those weeks – that and a ton of injuries, unfortunately.

Thursday: Los Angeles Rams (4-1) vs. Seattle Seahawks (2-3) (26-17 LAR)

Matthew Stafford continues to stuff the stat sheet, with 365 passing yards, greatly benefiting Robert Woods, who collected 150 of those yards. But the big story is that of Russel Wilson’s finger.

In the third quarter, Wilson injured the middle finger of his throwing hand and had to be relieved by Geno Smith for the remainder of the game. It has since been diagnosed as a ruptured tendon, been surgically repaired, and the Seahawks are hopeful to only miss out on the all-pro quarterback for 4 weeks.

Sunday: New England Patriots (2-3) vs. Houston Texans (1-4) (25-22 NE)

The Davis Mills show was nearly enough to put away the Patriots for a second straight week, but Nick Folk’s 21-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining was enough to negate the Herculean effort.

Going 21/29 passing with 312 yards and 3 TDs wasn’t enough to overcome an equally laudable performance by Mac Jones and Belichick’s defense in the end. Jones, if he keeps up the efficient performance, could be an early favorite to nab the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He threw 23/30 for 231 with a pick and score.

Sunday: Miami Dolphins (1-4) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-1) (45-17 TB)

Tom was clearly unsatisfied with his performance last week and, unfortunately for the Dolphins, they had to wear one.

TB threw 5 strikes, 411 passing yards, and was kind enough to let Blaine Gabbert come in and clean up when the game was firmly out of reach. Leonard Fournette dropped one in the endzone for fun, and Antonio Brown and Mike Evans both got to score on this merciless ass-whooping.

Jacoby Brissett didn’t play all that badly, but he was still disrupted all game by the Bucs’ defense, getting sacked 3 times. Someone call PETA because Tom Brady, as he has for 20 years, is out here fishing for Dolphins on Sunday.

Sunday: Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) vs. Carolina Panthers (3-2) (21-18 PHI)

Jalen Hurts’ legs and Darius Slay’s mitts combined for a late-game comeback for the Eagles.

Not a pretty game from either pivot, but when you need the extras from the quarterback, got to take Hurts over Darnold. Each man threw at least a pick, Darnold through 3. Chubba Hubbard broke 100 yards rushing, and had the Panthers recovered the endzone fumble by Hurts in the 2nd quarter, the outcome might have been different.

Sunday: Tennessee Titans (3-2) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5) (37-19 TEN)

Perhaps Urban Meyer should place a call to his “friend” from the bar to see if she could play some defense. Derrick Henry ran roughshod on those clowns in North Florida, rushing for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Trevor Lawrence ran for a TD and threw for another, but the efforts of James Robinson (149 rushing yards, 1 TD) were incredibly overshadowed by the antics of the head coach and the performance of, potentially, the first non-quarterback MVP since Adrian Peterson in 2012.

Sunday: Denver Broncos (3-2) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-3) (27-19 PIT)

He ain’t dead yet. Big Ben passed for 2 TDs, and Najee Harris ran for 122 yards as the Steelers looked alive for the first time in weeks.

Teddy Bridgewater had a good game as well (288 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), but he had to learn a lesson in old-man strength.

A season-ending shoulder injury to JuJu Smith-Schuster, reported Monday, could put a damper on this big victory for the Steelers.

Sunday: Detroit Lions (0-5) vs. Minnesota Vikings (2-3) (19-17 MIN)

After letting down the team against the Cardinals in Week 2, Greg Joseph got to play the role of the hero with a career-best, 54-yard FG as time expired to sneak past a very game Lions squad who had pulled ahead after a big rushing touchdown with 32 seconds remaining and converting on a 2-point conversion.

A game of kickers, to be certain, as outside of the previously mentioned Lions rushing touchdown deep in the 4th quarter, Kirk Cousins connected with Alex Mattison for the only other major.

Dan Campbell’s Lions are still winless, but they are giving teams a run for their money, unlike the other 0-and team.

Sunday: Green Bay Packers (4-1) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) (25-22 OT GB)

From a game that was all about precision kicking to a game of “who’s kicker can actually convert.” Mason Crosby connected on a 49-yard strike, deep in the overtime frame, to walk off the Bengals.

Ellen had a really great game for the Pack, throwing up 344 passing yards, with 2 TDs and a pick, greatly benefiting Davante Adams, who collected 206 receiving yards and one of the scores, including a 59-yard bomb. Aaron Jones also broke 100 yards rushing, snatching up 103 on the turf with 14 carries.

Joe Burrow was game as well, throwing 26/38 for 281 with 2 scores and 2 INTs. But getting sacked 3 times and not having a run game was really a tough way to go for the sophomore.

Sunday: New Orleans Saints (3-2) vs. Washington Football Team (2-3) (33-22 NO)

Bowling-shoe-ugly game, but it was punctuated by the incredible bomb thrown by Jameis Winston to Deonte Harris in the 1st quarter some 72 yards for a score. On the day, there were 3 more strikes to come from Winston, who only threw .500 ball, but when he connected, it was highlight-reel-worthy.

Sunday: New York Jets (1-4) vs. Atlanta Falcons (2-3) (27-20 ATL)

Live from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Old Country, the Falcons snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as Matt Ryan continues to try to play well enough to get traded out of Atlanta by way of England. Putting 342 passing yards and 2 TDs on the board was reminiscent of the 2016 MVP form, but he lacks the weapons to compete in an incredibly tough NFC South division all by his lonesome. That’s how Zack Wilson feels, presumably. The Jets are really bad.

Sunday: Chicago Bears (3-2) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (3-2) (20-9 CHI)

Will the real Derek Carr please stand up? It looks like, after a hot start to the season, the Raiders are coming back down to earth. While a defeat at the hands of the Chargers was acceptable, the Bears? Seriously? At home, even? Justin Fields even played like dogshit (12/20, 111 yards, and 1 TD), and Carr barely broke 200 passing yards. Let’s play “spot the pretender,” that game begins and ends just off “The Strip.”

It will be an interesting week for the Raiders, with the news late Monday of the resignation of head coach John Gruden.

 

Sunday: Cleveland Browns (3-2) vs. Los Angeles Chargers (4-1) (47-42 LAC)

“The Shoot-Out at SoFi Stadium” came down to a last-minute Austin Ekeler punch in from 3 yards out to put this back-and-forth affair to rest.

First up, the Browns put in work. Baker Mayfield tried his damnedest to win this one, tossing up 2 TDs with 305 passing and Nick Chubb rushing for 161 yards with a score of his own and Kareem Hunt knocking in a pair, but that wasn’t enough.

Justin Herbert can’t be, won’t be, shouldn’t be stopped. This is a run for the ages right now; 398 passing yards and 4 TD-passes to complement the 3 total scores by the previously mentioned Ekeler (2 on the ground, one through the air). Herbert also picked up another rushing TD, as these two men were essentially the entire offense, accounting for all but 17 of the 493 yards combined yards. Outstanding game.

Sunday: San Francisco 49ers (2-3) vs. Arizona Cardinals (5-0) (17-10 ARI)

It wasn’t the prettiest win, but the Cardinals are still the lone undefeated team in the league.

Trey Lance showed up for his first career start for the Niners and didn’t do that great, like many other highly-touted rookie QBs this season. Sub .500 passing with no scores and a pick, but that’s alright. Jimmy will be out for a little longer, and there is a terrific upside there. He may be missing some time with a knee sprain, as was reported Monday.

Kyler Murray was down from his astronomical start to the year, only throwing 239 in the air with a TD and a single rushing yard.

The Cards were beatable on this day, but the 49ers weren’t up for the mediocre challenge.

Sunday: New York Giants (1-4) vs. Dallas Cowboys (4-1) (44-20 DAL)

The score might be misleading as this game was decided in the second quarter. The Giants lost both Saquon Barkley to an ankle sprain in the first frame, then quarterback Daniel Jones to a concussion before the end of the half. Mike Glennon came in to replace Jones and did a fine job, but it’s bad news for an already injury-riddled Big Blue. Now they have their two best players out for at least a little longer.

Dak Prescott, on the one-year anniversary of his own ankle injury, put on a show for the Arlington crowd. Throwing 3 TDs, passing for 302 on 22/32 passing. Ezekiel Elliot had 21 carries and amassed 110 on the ground with a score, and his backfield partner, Tony Pollard, torched the anemic Giants defense for 75-yards rushing as well. It’s the Cowboys’ division to lose at this junction.

The injury report is that wide-out Kenny Golladay, Barkley, and Jones could miss Week 6.

Sunday Night: Buffalo Bills (4-1) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (2-3) (38-20 BUF)

If the Chiefs hope to make the playoffs, Patrick Mahomes needs to stop turning over the ball.

Mahomes threw for 272 yards on 33/54 passing with 2 TDs and 2 interceptions, one of which was returned the other way in the 3rd quarter by Micha Hyde. As if that wasn’t enough, Mahomes also put one on the turf as he fumbled away the ball to the all-too-willing-to-help Buffalo defense. Another tough break for the Chiefs, as Clyde Edwards-Helaire, their starting running back, is set to be out for a few weeks with a sprained MCL.

Josh Allen didn’t need many passes to make his mark. Completing 15 for 315 yards and 3 TDs was more than enough to beat the brakes off of those kids from Kansas City. The AFC West is the Chargers’ division to lose.

Monday: Indianapolis Colts (1-4) vs. Baltimore Ravens (4-1) (31-25 OT BAL)

Absolutely amazing comeback by the Ravens, who, at one point, trailed 22-3.

Carson Wentz had the best performance of his Colts career, tossing 402 yards and a pair of TDs. Jonathan Taylor’s score in the opening minutes of the game was a sight to behold, a little check-down pass that he worked his ass off for. Michael Pittman’s 42-yard catch was nothing to sneeze at either. A spectacular 98-yard hook-and-ladder fumble recovery by Indianapolis should have sealed it, but that was ruled dead on an “illegal forward pass” call. Perhaps that led to the blocked field goal a bit later in the quarter and squashed the momentum the Colts built up. Enter Lamar Jackson.

Raising the 42-yarder Wentz threw to kick off the 3rd quarter, Jackson hooked up with “Hollywood” Marquise Brown on a 43-yard bomb for the first major of the night for the Ravens. Still down big, Lamar hooked up with Tight End Mark Andrews not once but twice to force overtime. The 2019 NFL MVP hooked up with “Hollywood” one last time in overtime to cap off the huge comeback. Jackson finished with a mindblowing stat sheet: 37/43 passing, 442 yards (first of his career) and 4 TDs in the air, and 62 rushing yards. Mark Andrews caught 11 balls for 147, 2 TDs and 2 2-Pt conversions. Brown had 9 catches for 125 with 2 scores as well. Amazing game.

There you have it for another week. Fair few blowouts in the books; fair few injuries as well. Here’s hoping next week provides a few more watchable games, the caliber of Colts/Ravens, and fewer big injuries!

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