NFL Week Five Review: Last Second Scores Enthrall Neutrals
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Even though it is midweek here at Gridiron Tower and we are compiling the Week Six previews, we are constantly interrupting discussions to point out some of the madness of Week Five! The hectic closing Fourth Quarters of the Eagles and the Jags, the Bills versus Rams and the Commanders versus Jets have all still got the team here scratching our heads!
Jags Win Nail Biting Conclusion
Many showed to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium expecting a comfortable Jags victory. With so many Eagles injured, including six essential starters not even making the trip, a comfortable Jaguars win was expected. The Eagles defense was resolute and stout: prevent Jags scores on the goal line on TWO separate occasions!
The same could not be said for the Eagles offense. Clearly reeling from Lane Johnson’s shocking midweek retirement and missing Saquon Barkley, the Eagles recorded a meagre 22 yards rushing. Their inability to progress the ball in the third and fourth quarters saw them record a measly three points total in the second half.
With eight seconds left, the Eagles went ahead through a Jake Elliot Field Goal. SURELY the Eagles had defied the critics and talking heads and secured an unlikely win? Ah no, Nick Siriani is having no luck! Upon kick-off, Ameer Abdullah received the ball with a breathtaking run, set the Jags up with a 57 yard Field Goal. Cam Little duly converted and silenced the considerable Eagles fans with a celebration paying tribute to Jude Bellingham …another crazy finish to another game that was meant to be a foregone conclusion.
Jags 19 Eagles 17
Bills beat Rams in Over Time
If you haven’t seen the highlights of this one reader, take the time to watch all of it on YouTube … this game was exhilarating! It was a shootout between two inform QBs … and delivered a fourth quartet conclusion for the ages!
Josh Allen & Matthew Stafford traded touch downs and by half time, an exhilarated audience had seem the Bills race into a 19-14 lead. This game was tipped as a possible SuperBowl LXI rehearsal: and if we get a game of this calibre in February, we are going to be very lucky. The second half delivered a scintillating exchange with the Rams scoring 20, the Bills 15, to send the game into Over Time. Stafford was excellent with 383 yards passing and recorded 3 TDs. Allen, undeterred by an interception, recorded 210 yards passing, with 1 TD and 121 yards Rushing 1 TD. His 121 from ten carries was incredibly impressive and when Tyler Bass secured the win in OT, it was fitting that Allen finally broke his losing duct in OT games. He is now 1-7.
Bills 37 Rams 34 (OT)
Commanders Fans Left Scratching Their Heads
Commanders fans were in no doubt, delighted with the return of Jayden Daniels. He looked competent, but not always comfortable during his return: recording 302 yards passing and 68% completions. But this was overshadowed by an OT time-management blunder that is still causing discussion. Was Daniels to blame? Should the coaching staff have relayed the game situation more clearly? We will get onto that shortly!
While Giants have seen some progress under John Harbough, it will take him longer to remove the farcical Giants DNA from this Giants team! The defense has definitely improved under Harbough. The registered five sacks on the returning Daniels. And while many Giants fans lamented ANOTHER injury to Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston looked focused with 33 completions for 326 yards and 3 TDs. He was assisted by the ever enthusiastic Cam Skattebo. He rushed for 59 yards from 13 attempts.
With time running out at the end of OT, Commander fans in the stadium and at home must have been pulling their hair out. First with 27 seconds to go there was a chance to stop the clock: it wasn’t taken. Fine, with 12 seconds left, they were audibly roaring from the stands (and at their TV screens, I guess) for Daniels to spike the ball: with no timeouts, the Commanders were indeed in FG range.
The mystery as to what happened remains, Daniels allowed the clock to run down to 0:00 at OT ended. This result became the 6th ever tie from 189 games between the two franchises. And bizarrely, both Daniels, HC Dan Quinn and the coaching staff have yet to publicly identify who was at fault. We are STILL as flummoxed as you are!
Giants 27 Commanders 27 (OT)
With franchises responding to injuries to key starters and back ups surprising us, the NFL has entered the meat grinder stage. Most teams are starting to rely on their respective rosters: with coaches and all staff hoping nervously that their scouting teams have chosen well. With former champions struggling with injuries and form: some like the Ravens and Bills are drawing parity despite (supposedly) being weaker than previous seasons. All the while the Vikings, 49ers, Chiefs (and Rams) are still chugging along … making their way towards SoFi Stadium on Valentine’s Day 2027.
