NFL Week 5 Sunday takeaways: Rodgers defies Father Time, Coen gets bailed out, 49ers survive ugly performance

We’re five weeks into the NFL season, and some of my early takes are already aging poorly. Aaron Rodgers apparently has plenty of football left after I declared his career over. Thankfully, the Dolphins are still the worst team in football, so I haven’t been wrong about everything.

AARON RODGERS DEFIES FATHER TIME WITH ANOTHER THREE-TOUCHDOWN PERFORMANCE IN STEELERS’ WIN

And if you made a few bad decisions this weekend, don’t feel too bad. Liam Coen made plenty and still walked out of the stadium with a win. Sometimes the NFL rewards you for being good, and sometimes your special teams unit saves you from a very long week in London.

Here’s my biggest takeaway from each game on the Week 5 Sunday slate.

Jaguars 19, Eagles 17

Takeaway: Liam Coen got away with one of the worst coaching performances of his career.

Plenty of people are going to criticize the Jags head coach for going for it on fourth-and-goal twice and failing rather than kicking a field goal. However, having to use a backup long snapper definitely adjusted the calculus.

The bigger issue, to me, was the play calling. A jet sweep on fourth-and-goal from the 1? A wildcat formation on first-and-goal from the 1 that led to a false start? And if the long snapper was such an issue, why not go for two after the go-ahead touchdown instead of trying that extra point, which was missed due to a bad snap?

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And then none of it mattered because his special teams bailed him out with a big kick return (thanks to a terrible decision by Eagles coach Nick Sirianni to even allow a kick return in the first place) followed by a walk-off field goal. Better to be lucky than good?

Texans 26, Titans 3

Takeaway: Someone had to win this game.

In a battle of 0-4 AFC South teams, Houston coasted to a win over the lowly Titans. This was obviously a must-win for the Texans, who still have a long way to go if they want to have any hope at even making a postseason push.

Patriots 45, Raiders 17

Takeaway: Drake Maye appears to have righted the ship.

I’ve documented the struggles of the young New England quarterback this season, but his past two games have looked more like the 2025 version. Maye carved up the Las Vegas defense all afternoon and finished with 374 passing yards, four touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown. More importantly, Maye didn’t turn the ball over after committing nine giveaways in the first four games. After a strong performance in an upset win over Buffalo in Week 4, Maye and the Patriots are back on track. Plus, the upcoming schedule looks favorable with games against the Jets, Bears and Dolphins over the next three weeks.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has played much better the past two weeks than he did in the first three games. (Getty Images)

Bengals 31, Dolphins 24

Takeaway: The Dolphins are the NFL equivalent of the free space on the bingo card.

The Miami Dolphins are in full tank mode and continue to look ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft. At this point, 0-17 isn’t out of the question. That would be incredible because the Dolphins could be the only franchise in NFL history to complete a season at 17-0 and complete a season at 0-17. The offense is a complete disaster; in fact, the 24 points scored against Cincinnati represented a season high and 14 came in the fourth quarter with Cincinnati in complete control of the game.

Packers 31, Bears 7

Takeaway: It was fun while it lasted.

Ben Johnson deserves a lot of credit for winning back-to-back games with Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent starting. But even an offensive genius like Johnson can only do so much. Bagent was 12-for-21 for just 87 yards and two interceptions before being benched. Keenum came in and threw an interception of his own. Overall, the Bears turned the ball over five times, and you’re not going to win a lot of games like that.

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Vikings 23, Saints 13

Takeaway: You can only beat the teams on your schedule.

The Minnesota Vikings are 5-0 due in large part to their opponents. The Vikings have faced the Packers, Bears, Bucs, Dolphins and Saints. Their past three opponents have a 2-13 combined record. But that’s not Minnesota’s fault and, at the end of the day, you still have to beat the teams on your schedule.

Jets 17, Browns 12

Takeaway: Of course it came down to which team made the bigger mistake.

Would you expect anything different from a game between the Browns and Jets than it coming down to which team made the bigger mistake? Well, that’s what happened. It looked like it was going to be the Jets after Geno Smith fumbled the ball with New York down two and just over four minutes left in the game. But, on the ensuing possession, the Browns had a botched snap on a punt to conclude a drive that lost 29 yards. Then Cleveland inexplicably gave up a 22-yard touchdown run to Braelon Allen on a third-and-9 play. An ugly game with an ugly ending felt appropriate.

Steelers 34, Colts 22

Takeaway: Aaron Rodgers is defying Father Time.

I admit I thought Rodgers was cooked coming into the 2026 season, and his performances in Weeks 1 and 2 didn’t inspire much confidence. But over the past three weeks, the 42-year-old has played some solid football, throwing for 826 yards and nine touchdown passes. Pittsburgh is now 3-2 and in a three-way tie with the Browns and Bengals, one game behind the 4-1 Ravens in the extremely competitive AFC North.

Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Indianapolis Colts 34-22. The 42-year-old has now thrown nine TDs in his past three games. (Getty Images)

Giants 27, Commanders 27 OT

Takeaway: What even was this game?

Jameis Winston deserves a ton of credit for erasing a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter by leading two touchdown drives of 70-plus yards in the final 11 minutes of regulation. He also put the team in position to win in overtime before Cam Skattebo committed a cardinal sin by fumbling with the Giants already in range for a game-winning field goal.

But the Giants never really should have been in that position. The Commanders scored a touchdown two minutes into the game and never trailed, yet still blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead. Then, after Skattebo’s fumble, Washington got into range for a game-winning field goal and inexplicably let the clock run out without attempting a kick. This was such a weird game that I’m still at a loss for words.

Broncos 23, Chargers 17

Takeaway: Denver shouldn’t be overly excited by this win.

Of course, the Broncos would rather win a game with a bad performance than lose a game with a good performance. But they’d also rather win a game with a good performance, and this wasn’t that. The winless Chargers continue to be a complete mess, but they might have won if not for two costly late turnovers. The Broncos nearly lost to an 0-4 team that had just 12 first downs and 219 yards of total offense before its final drive. Justin Herbert needed some late throws against a prevent defense just to get over the 100-yard mark.

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Lions 45, Cardinals 21

Takeaway: Where have these Lions been all year?

Detroit’s explosive offense was on full display in Week 5 against Arizona, with four different players recording catches of at least 20 yards and Jahmyr Gibbs adding a 20-plus-yard run. But the takeaway isn’t about the offense; everyone knows the Lions can score. This was a big game for the defense, which had allowed an average of 31.8 points per game entering Week 5.

After allowing Arizona to score a touchdown on its first possession, Detroit forced five consecutive three-and-outs. The 21 points look worse than they were; Arizona scored 14 second-half points with Detroit already up by multiple touchdowns. Yes, it was only the Cardinals, but it was an important positive step for the much-maligned unit.

Jahmyr Gibbs and the Detroit Lions finally played a complete game in Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

49ers 32, Seahawks 29

Takeaway: This wasn’t the game you’d expect from two Super Bowl contenders.

Yes, you’d expect the game to be tightly contested and come down to the final minutes, which it did. But that’s not what I mean. These are two teams that figure to be in the conversation come January, but both played some very sloppy football.

The Seahawks had one of the worst turnovers in the NFL this season, fumbling in their own end zone and handing the 49ers a touchdown with 13 seconds left in the first half. Then Sam Darnold threw an interception on the second play of the second half. Not to be outdone, the 49ers missed a field goal on the ensuing drive, then turned the ball over on their next two possessions.

The two teams combined for a whopping seven turnovers, which isn’t going to make either head coach happy. But Kyle Shanahan is certainly happier than Mike Macdonald since his team is now 5-0 and has a two-game lead in the NFC West.

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Ravens 30, Falcons 23 (OT)

Takeaway: Jesse Minter is making an early case for NFL Coach of the Year.

Replacing a franchise legend like John Harbaugh isn’t exactly easing into your first NFL head-coaching job. Neither is going on the road without Lamar Jackson against a Falcons team that had scored 80 points in its previous two games. But Jesse Minter took Tyler Huntley into Atlanta and came away with an overtime win, even after the Ravens looked headed for a loss late in the fourth quarter. Yes, Minter inherited plenty of talent, but his best player wasn’t available Sunday night. Winning anyway is a pretty good way to get yourself into the Coach of the Year conversation.