Week 5: Recap and Power Rankings
Week 5 was just a bad week. Not so much for the NFL, but for me. My Steelers lost, my Bills lost (both games were ugly), and my Vikings barely beat an awful Bears team on Monday Night. I'm looking to cheer myself up by getting this recap over with and moving onto the preview (and talking about AP)! Continue reading below to find out more and as always, if you enjoy the content or you just feel like doing something nice today, follow me on here as well as on Twitter at @CoachTylerPauly for more content from a coaching perspective.
Week 5 Recap
Thursday, October 5th
New England Patriots 19 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14
Sunday, October 8th
LA Chargers 27 vs. New York Giants 22
Seattle Seahawks 16 vs. LA Rams 10
Philadelphia Eagles 34 vs. Arizona Cardinals 7
Cincinnati Bengals 20 vs. Buffalo Bills 16
New York Jets 17 vs. Cleveland Browns 14
Carolina Panthers 27 vs. Detroit Lions 24
Indianapolis Colts 26 vs. San Francisco 49ers 23, OT
Miami Dolphins vs. Tennessee Titans 10
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. 30 Pittsburgh Steelers 9
Baltimore Ravens 30 vs. Oakland Raiders 17
Green Bay Packers 35 vs. Dallas Cowboys 31
Kansas City Chiefs 42 vs. Houston Texans 34
Monday, October 9th
Minnesota Vikings 20 Chicago Bears 17
There were many different letdowns this week in both conferences. In the NFC, the Giants lost OBJ and what seemed like half of their team to injuries in their loss to the Chargers. The Cowboys couldn't hold a lead against the Packers as Aaron Rodgers drove down the field and led the Packers to the game winning score. Finally, my Vikings could barely hold off the lowly Bears in their Monday night showdown.
In the AFC, it all started on Thursday night when the Bucs had a great opportunity to beat the "All of a sudden very human looking" Patriots. The up and coming Bills lost to a now up and coming Bengals team in a close game and my super bowl pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers, looked dreadful against a Jacksonville Jaguar team that actually looked the part of a team that could make the playoffs in the AFC.
Now onto my Game of the Week recap!
LA Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks
the Rams played great defensively against the Seahawks, holding Russell Wilson to under 200 yards passing and the whole team to a total of 39 yards rushing. They forced 2 interceptions while also creating two forced fumbles. Unfortunately the efficiency that was seen on defense did not translate over the the LA offense. Jared Goff threw 47 times, completing less than 50% of those passes, and Todd Gurley was held to under 50 yards rushing his lowest amount since week 1. This offense tends to have tendencies that many defenses can exploit. Not only are they prone to run the ball on 1st down but whenever they are lined up in any type of formation with 10 or 11 personnel, they are almost always going to throw the ball. Sammy Watkins is still MIA as well, which could be a big problem for this team if they don't find a way to get him in the game and contribute. The offense also had 4 fumbles, 3 of which they lost.
As is the case most weeks this season, Seattle's defense looked strong while the offense seemed unable to put it together. The defense provided 2 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries as well as holding Jared Goff to the abysmal numbers I mentioned above. On offense Seattle was once again stymied and looked sluggish. Wilson couldn't push the ball downfield on his 24 completions and ended with 198 yards passing, something that has plagued this team all year. The plethora of RBs they have also failed to impress with Rawls gaining the most yards at 20 and none of them averaging over 2.5 yards per carry. This team has a big weakness in its offense (different problem every week) but unless the Rams can play toe to toe with them, I don't Seattle has anything to worry about in terms of making the playoffs.
POWER RANKINGS
1. Kansas City Chiefs 5-0
2. Philadelphia Eagles 3-1
3. Atlanta Falcons 3-1
4. New England Patriots 2-2
5. Green Bay Packers 3-1
6. Denver Broncos 3-1
7. Oakland Raiders 2-2
8. Detroit Lions 3-1
9. Buffalo Bills 3-1
10. Pittsburgh Steelers 3-1
11. Seattle Seahawks 2-2
12. Carolina Panthers 3-1
13. Houston Texans 2-2
14. Dallas Cowboys 2-2
15. Washington Redskins 2-2
16. Minnesota Vikings 2-2
17. Baltimore Ravens 2-2
18. LA Rams 3-1
19. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-2
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-1
21. Arizona Cardinals 2-2
22. Tennessee Titans 2-2
23. New Orleans Saints 2-2
24. New York Jets 2-2
25. Cincinnati Bengals 1-3
26. New York Giants 0-4
27. LA Chargers 0-4
28. Miami Dolphins 1-2
29. Chicago Bears 1-3
30. Indianapolis Colts 1-3
31. San Francisco 49ers 0-4
32. Cleveland Browns 0-4
