NFL Best And Worst: From 49ers-Seahawks Thriller To Giants-Commanders Blunder

Niners-Seahawks had us on the edge of our seats, while Commanders-Giants left us … shaking our heads in disbelief.

In Packers land, the arrow is pointing up after a rumble of a fierce division rival. Then there’s Nashville, where hopes continue to dwindle for the Titans.

In my best and worst superlatives coming out of Week 5, I focus on the playmaking, defense and overall quality of the team:

Sunday’s 49ers-Seahawks game added to the many exciting games we’ve seen between the NFC West rivals over the years.

Niners kicker Eddy Piñeiro hit a 44-yard field goal with 1:56 left and San Francisco’s defense forced a turnover on the Seahawks’ final possession to escape Seattle with a 32-29 win. Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a stunning drop on third-and-10 that would have put Seattle in field goal range, and Cooper Kupp was cleared from the line to win the ensuing fourth down.

The game featured four lead changes, two ties and a combined seven turnovers for the NFL season. There wasn’t a carry longer than 24 yards until early in the fourth quarter, when 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receiver Mike Evans caught fire, connecting four times for 75 yards and a two-point conversion on a go-ahead possession with 11:02 left.

Dre Greenlaw’s sack in the second quarter was also a key moment — the veteran 49ers linebacker headbutted Seahawks Ernest Jones IV after delivering a late hit to Seattle sideline Sam Darnold. San Francisco pulled through for its biggest win of the season, improving to 5-0.

What did we learn from this spectacular slugfest? Both heavyweights reaffirmed that they are among the top Super Bowl contenders this season. While slowness defined Sunday’s encounter, both teams showed high-level play in all three phases.

The Niners hold a two-game lead in the NFC West entering Week 6, but the division feels destined to go all the way. Aries will also influence this.

This 27-27 game provided a masterclass in terrible late-game execution and clock management.

In overtime, the Giants blew their chance for the game-winning field goal when running back Cam Skattebo jumped and lost the ball on a Commanders nose tackle by Daron Payne inside the 25-yard line.

Washington then squandered its chance to win as well. Despite not getting an interception, quarterback Jayden Daniels tried and got a sack with 12 seconds left in overtime and the Commanders couldn’t punt the ball before time expired, preventing them from kicking the potential game-winner.

In many ways, this overtime game defined what the NFC East is becoming this season: a massive upset, whoever it is at least too bad it comes out on top.

The Giants (3-1-1) currently lead the division, but their lead is limited with QB Jaxson Dart out for the season with a knee injury. The Eagles (2-3), with their terrible offense, could try to rebuild. The Cowboys (2-3) have a big responsibility on their defense, which can’t stop anyone. And the last-place Commanders (1-3-1) constantly have Daniels’ health concerns hanging over their heads.

Washington didn’t need to add insult to injury with lousy game management.

The Packers throttled their hated rival in the Bears, forcing a season-high five turnovers — Green Bay’s most in a game since 2016. Four of the five came on back-to-back second-half possessions.

Chicago had managed without star quarterback Caleb Williams (hamstring) the last two weeks, winning the previous two games, but Green Bay provided a reality check. The Packers had two interceptions from Tyson Bagent (12-of-21, 87 yards), who was benched after three quarters, then added two more to get by Case Keenum (11-of-19, 108 yards, INT, lost fumble). Wide receiver Rome Odunze also lost a fumble, with linebacker Zaire Franklin forcing the ball out and safety Evan Williams recovering it. Safety Xavier McKinney had two team-high picks.

The Packers also held the Bears’ No. 1 rushing attack. 1 for 81 yards, down to a season low, and limited Chicago to 3.6 yards per play.

Xavier McKinney (No. 29) had two interceptions against the Bears, who turned the ball over a total of five times Sunday. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Not only did Green Bay’s defense make Chicago miss Williams, but the performance was the former’s best of the season before the eventual return of Micah Parsons. The star edge rusher has yet to start practice, but he has been eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list since last week.

Earlier this month, the Packers looked like a team in danger of missing the playoffs. The last two weeks have shown us that we cannot count them out. They are beginning to find themselves.

The Raiders weren’t the only team to allow 45 points this week — the Cardinals are in that party, too — but Las Vegas’ defense was worse across the board. In their 45-17 victory, the Patriots went 6-of-12 on third down, had 536 yards of offense, averaged 8.1 yards per play and scored six touchdowns against the Raiders.

Patriots receiver Kyle Williams scores one of New England’s six touchdowns against a beleaguered Raiders defense on Sunday. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

We’re starting to learn that Las Vegas’ effectiveness on defense may hinge on the ability to force turnovers. The Raiders are 3-0 when they have two-plus takeaways and now 0-2 when they have no more than one. Las Vegas’ defense couldn’t get off the field Sunday as New England held 34:27 of possession.

That’s part of why I’m not buying the Raiders as a contender just yet. They’ve had just one bad loss — they faced the Chiefs in Week 4 — but haven’t shown any defensive consistency from start to finish against good teams. The Raiders gave up 30 points and 189 yards rushing in Kansas City last week. And Las Vegas’ 3-0 start came against the Dolphins, Chargers and Saints — teams that are a combined 1-14.

The Patriots beat the Raiders by 28 points, the NFL’s largest margin of victory in Week 5.

Highlighting the dominance was quarterback Drake Maye, whose funk just a few weeks ago feels like an alternate reality. A week after winning AFC Offensive Player of the Week, Maye played lights out against Las Vegas: a 76.5% completion rate for 374 yards, five total touchdowns (four passing) and a 150.9 passer rating, the latter the third-highest mark of his career.

It was even more impressive considering New England was without two of its top wide receivers – AJ Brown and Mack Hollins. We are starting to see that the Patriots offense can be as explosive as any in the league.

But credit to New England’s defense as well in Week 5. The Raiders scored at least 26 points in each of their first four games, but the Patriots held them to under 20. New England wiped out the running game (Vegas had a season-low 38 yards) and held well when the Raiders got into scoring position. Las Vegas had just 17 points to show for six possessions that reached plus territory.

After a big win over the Bills last week and a dominating performance against the Raiders this week, the Patriots are back as serious AFC contenders.

The Titans continue to find ways to create new downs. Facing another 0-4 team in the Texans, Tennessee scored just one touchdown en route to a 23-point loss to a division rival at home.

Former choice no. 1 overall Cam Ward (23 of 36, 170 yards, 0 TD, INT) took a few steps back after an encouraging performance against the Ravens in Week 4, rekindling questions about his tenure as the Titans’ quarterback. Tennessee’s offensive line, which has been mostly stout this season, crumbled against Houston — Ward was sacked a season-high four times and the Titans were held to a season-low 57 yards.

Titans QB Cam Ward was sacked a season-high four times against the Texans, who won their first game of the season. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Tennessee’s defense was good through two quarters — Houston had just 12 points to show for four drives inside the Titans’ 35-yard line — before falling apart down the stretch, giving up back-to-back touchdowns to start the second half.

Nothing will change in the Titans’ outlook until they can get something going on offense, where they rank dead last in both scoring and yards per game. Former Giants coach Brian Daboll has been a massive disappointment as an offensive coordinator hire to this point, and Ward’s development has regressed.