NFL Week 5 Recap: A Disgraceful Exit and So Many Missed Kicks

So let's talk about the huge elephant that's no longer in the Raiders' room: Jon Gruden. So prior to the Las Vegas Raiders' home game against the Chicago Bears (which the Raiders lost 20-9), it was revealed that in 2011, Gruden sent an email to Bruce Allen, then the president of the now-named Washington Football Team, lambasting Players Association head DeMaurice Smith, where he referred to him as "Dumborriss Smith," and said that he had "lips the size of Michelin tires." Clearly a very racist comment towards Smith, and it saw Gruden give something barely resembling an apology when he was asked about it after the Raiders' loss.

At that time, Gruden was working on ESPN's Monday Night Football, and because of that, it was reported that the league wouldn't really hand out a suspension to Gruden, with the belief that the Raiders themselves would handle it. But that's not all, folks! During ESPN's coverage of Monday Night Football, it was reported that Gruden would be out as coach of the Raiders. Why? More emails exposing homophobic and misogynistic comments. Using homophobic slurs to insult league commissioner Roger Goodell, who Gruden accused of "pressuring" then-Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher into drafting Michael Sam--the NFL's first openly gay player. He also criticized the hiring of female referees and the acceptance of the national anthem protests, and it was also unveiled that he had exchanged photos of topless women with Allen. Blech.

Gruden was hired by the Raiders as their head coach in 2018, returning to the team he coached from 1998-2001. He was signed to a 10-year deal that was worth $100 million--a deal that drew much criticism and, yes, humor from some football fans. Counting the five games from this season, Gruden went 22-31 in his second stint as Raiders coach, and never reached the playoffs. To say that this was a wasted investment from the Raiders would be an absolute understatement, as--even in disgrace--Gruden gets to laugh all the way to the bank.

From the hideously disgraceful to the hideously hilarious, the Green Bay Packers and the Cincinnati Bengals spent the last minutes of an insane game in a war of attrition and missed field goals. Both Aaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow had great outings, but this game was all about the kicking. With the game tied at 22 late in the fourth, Mason Crosby entered to kick a 36-yard go-ahead FG, and he missed it wide, ending a streak of 27 straight made. The Bengals got to FG range with 26 seconds left, but Evan McPherson's 57-yarder bounced off the upright, giving Rodgers the ball in a good position. In no time, the Packers got to FG range, but Crosby's 51-yarder went wide.

Off to overtime. Cincinnati won the toss, but Burrow's first pass was intercepted, meaning all Green Bay needed was a FG to win it. Sure enough, Crosby kicked a 40-yarder, and it went wide. So now the Bengals were on their second possession, and all they needed was FG range, and they got it. McPherson kicked a 49-yarder, it hit the flag and out! No good! So it was Packers' ball again, and the sentiment from the announcers and some fans was "Go for the end zone." Rodgers' pass to Randall Cobb on 3rd and 16 was ruled just short by inches, but the team decided to send Crosby out again. 49 yards. This time, he made it! The Packers won, 25-22, in an overtime to remember, and lost in all of the missed field goal madness was a great game that saw two teams play very well, as well as the Bengals show that they are a for real team.

Week 5 started with a thrilling NFC West battle between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks, but it ended up with panic and worry in Seattle. Russell Wilson dislocated his middle finger and was out of the rest of game, resulting in Geno Smith being placed in to attempt a comeback for the team. His effort started out well, but came up short, and the Rams won 26-17. Even worse for the Seahawks, Wilson will be out for 4-8 weeks, putting their season in extreme life support. We also saw the first London game, as the Atlanta Falcons defeated the New York Jets, 27-20. It was a given win for the Falcons, as they improve to 2-3, while the Jets came up short in an attempt to build momentum from that big OT win against the Titans. Speaking of the Titans, they defeated the Jaguars, 37-19, handing the Jags their twentieth straight loss. The Jags became the third team to lose 20 straight, and the first since the Buccaneers' lost their first 26 games of their existence.

The Kansas City Chiefs are in serious trouble. A rematch of last year's AFC Championship ended with the Chiefs dominated by the Buffalo Bills by a score of 38-20. Patrick Mahomes has thrown six interceptions already; last season, it took his sixth game for him to throw his first, and he was stuck at one INT for nearly two months. The Chiefs defense is a mess, and now, the injury bug is hitting them, as runningback Clyde Edwards-Helaire suffered a MCL sprain and will be out for "a few weeks." This is a surprising situation we are seeing from the back-to-back AFC Champions. Already, they have lost more games this year than they did all of 2020, and they are still in the bottom of the AFC West after five weeks. Now, the Raiders' mess gives KC a bit of an easier chance to climb the division, but there's still the Chargers, who are 4-1 after their shootout 47-42 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Chargers beat KC in Arrowhead already; they need to keep pace and then steal a win in SoFi Stadium later in the season.

Five weeks are done, and Week 6 starts the bye weeks. But first, here's how things stand. In the AFC, the Chargers, Titans, Bills, and Ravens are the first place teams. The Ravens improved to 4-1 with their big comeback Monday Night OT win over the Indianapolis Colts, coming from down 22-3 with under a minute left in the third, to winning 31-25 in OT. Both Ohio teams dropped to 3-2, and the Steelers' much needed win over the Broncos keeps their hopes alive with a lot of time left.

In the NFC, the Arizona Cardinals remain the league's only unbeaten team at 5-0, with their win over a San Francisco 49ers team who now has two injured QBs, as Trey Lance could miss some time as well. The Packers, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Rams each have 4-1 records; with the Cowboys on the verge of running away with the NFC East after their win over the New York Giants, who saw injuries befall not only Saquon Barkley, but QB Daniel Jones and WR Kenny Golladay as well. Yikes.

Week 6 will kick off with the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and we will see another London game, as the Jacksonville Jaguars will face off against the Miami Dolphins. On Sunday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Seattle Seahawks, and the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans will take center stage on Monday Night Football. The first byes of the season will go to the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers.

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