NFL Week 5 Recap: Quarterbacks Be Trippin'

The theme of Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season seemed to be quarterback screw-ups, whether it's a series of bad decisions, or just one colossal foul-up. If there is one QB who really shifted things with his mental mistake, it has to be Kyler Murray. Oh man, this one hurts. A couple of months ago, I wrote a story about the Arizona Cardinals attempting to force a "homework clause" on Murray as part of his contract, which stated that he had to watch four hours of game film a day. Like a lot of fans, I thought it was insulting, because he's too talented to be subjected to this sort of thing.

Then that play happened.

The Cards were on the possible verge of making things difficult for the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. Arizona was down by three, but they were moving down the field and were in field goal range with a chance to tie it and force OT. On 2nd down, Murray runs it, slides, and then he spikes the ball so he had time to run another play. Here's the problem: Murray didn't get the first down. He somehow thought he did, but he didn't. As anyone knows, when a QB slides, the point where he begins is the spot where he is voluntarily giving himself up. That point was one yard short of the first down spot, which made it 3rd and 1, and when he spiked the ball, that made it 4th and 1. Now they had no choice but to kick the field goal at that spot, and it ended up being no good. As a result, the Cardinals lost, the Eagles are still undefeated, and many are wondering if Murray really did need that four hours to watch game film.

It only took five weeks for Broncos fans to realize what Seattle Seahawks fans refused to see for years: Russell Wilson is a terrible quarterback. Broncos fans put up with it because they also had a terrible head coach in the form of the newly hired Nathaniel Hackett, but after the Thursday game between the Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts happened, they couldn't stand it anymore. The game saw nothing but field goals and bad passing from Russ, yet Denver was ahead because Indy was just as bad. The Broncos had leads of 6-0 and 9-6, but Russ threw not one, but two bad picks in situations where he could have finished it and won. The second pick resulted in a Colts drive that saw them tie the game at 9 and force OT. Indy took their first lead in OT, but Russ' pass on 4th and 1 in the red zone went incomplete. The Colts won, 12-9, in overtime.

I've known for years that Russ is not a good quarterback, but the problem is that biased so-called "experts" make too many excuses for him. They even let him off the hook for blowing Super Bowl 49 with his bad interception by blaming Pete Carroll--who made the right call to throw it. As a Packers fan, I can't relate, because Aaron Rodgers never makes dumb mistakes on the field, and speaking of Rodgers, that was clearly why the Broncos hired Hackett, because he was the Packers' OC and they hoped that they could lure the "indecisive" Rodgers to Denver. When that failed, they settled for Russ as the booby, I mean consolation prize. Now let's get something straight here: both Russ and Hackett are the problem. Hackett was only relevant because of Rodgers, and Russ would have been nothing without Carroll. At least the Broncos can fire Hackett. They're stuck with Russ, though. At least Denver has the Avalanche.

It's not Sunday without Carson Wentz snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. A crazy game between the Washington Commanders and the Tennessee Titans was close throughout, but with the Commanders down two, they were moving down the field with a chance to win it late. Then Wentz decided to...well...be Wentz yet again, as he threw a late interception and singlehandedly lost the game. Tennessee won, 21-19--their third straight win after starting 0-2, and as for Washington, they stand as the black sheep of a revived NFC East at 1-4.

Now, before any backwards-thinking people actually blame the name change for their bad season, I'm going to nip this in the bud. Washington doesn't have a QB. Period. That's why they're 1-4. Don't believe me? Ask Ron Rivera. Someone did already. He was asked why the Commanders are off to a bad start and stand as the only bad team in a revived division, and his answer came in one word: "Quarterback." See? Rivera knows Wentz is the problem. So did Indy when they had him; they are at .500 in their first season without him.

I want to break the trend a bit by talking about two teams who don't have incompetent QBs: the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers. These two teams faced off in the season's second London game, and for the Packers, it was their first time playing in London. The game got off to a good start for the Packers, Rodgers was in his usual GOAT mode, leading the team to a 20-10 halftime lead. However, the Giants ended up taking over the second half. While Rodgers was a victim of bad play calls from the coaching staff, as well as a lack of discipline from the defense, the Giants thrived, mainly thanks to Saquon Barkley, and as a result, New York left London with a 27-22 victory to improve to 4-1. Even worse for the Packers, the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Chicago Bears later that day, so Green Bay is one game behind in the North. My goodness.

Ugh. Poor Steelers. Kenny Pickett's first career start ended up being a disaster. The game was over after the first play. The Bills were pinned on their own two yard line to start the game, but what does Josh Allen do? Oh, nothing much--just throw a 98-yard TD pass to Gabriel Davis. That's all. From that moment, it was all Bills; a 38-3 drubbing of the Steelers. Pittsburgh is in deep, deep trouble, but luckily for them, the AFC North isn't really that good. That game was the Gabriel Davis show, he truly showed out. How good was his game from a fantasy standpoint? Let's go to the numbers.

Scoring for wide receivers (and tight ends) is simple: one point per every 10 receiving yards, and six points for a touchdown. Of course, PPR (Points Per Reception) leagues are a thing, most of them award a full point per every catch. Davis had only three receptions (3 points), but had 171 yards (17.1 points) and two touchdowns (12 points). That totals 32.1 points on fantasy. A very impressive number.

Back to blundering quarterbacks, and Matthew Stafford seems to be headlining that list this season. I still find it mind-boggling that he led the league in interceptions last year with 17, mainly because it only took 17 to lead the league. His problems with turnovers still exist, but the good thing is that he has something that allows him to get away with it: a Super Bowl ring. That ring means credibility; even with his problems with turnovers, he'll always have that credibility because he won the big game, and that's what matters. In the case of Week 5, Stafford's three turnovers ended up being the catalyst of their 22-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, who are now 4-0 with Cooper Rush at QB. Wow!

The Carolina Panthers were blasted, 37-15, by the San Francisco 49ers, and that ended up being the last straw, as the team fired Matt Rhule as their head coach. Panthers fans had wanted him gone since last year; the team suffered under Rhule for 2 1/3 seasons. In 38 games, Rhule went 11-27 as head coach of the Panthers, and with this loss to the Niners, the Panthers stand at 1-4, tied for the worst record in football due to the Houston Texans picking up their first win of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even worse for the Panthers, Baker Mayfield will be sidelined for the next few weeks, leading to Sam Darnold being announced as the starter in Baker's place.

Justin Tucker is the greatest kicker of all time. I love kickers, mainly because they are always unfairly picked on and labeled as being "non-athletes," even though kickers are very vital to the team. No kicker proves that more than Justin Tucker, who never seems to miss. His latest masterpiece occurred in the Sunday Night battle against the Cincinnati Bengals, which saw Tucker make four field goals, including a 58-yarder, and the game winning 43-yarder to win the game for the Ravens. Baltimore won, 19-17, and with that victory, the Ravens took over the AFC North lead.

Monday Night Football featured an AFC West battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders, though the Raiders got off to a surprisingly dominant start, leading 17-0 early. However, that's when Travis Kelce started taking over. Only 25 receiving yards, but he scored four touchdowns--literally every touchdown the Chiefs scored was Kelce's. KC ended up taking the lead, and would have a 30-23 advantage later on. However, Davante Adams scored his second TD of the game to bring the Raiders to within one, but for some reason, they decided to go for two with nearly four and a half left. It wasn't successful, and even though KC went three and out, the Raiders' last drive ended up failing after Adams' apparent reception on third down was ruled out of bounds. KC won 30-29 to improve to 4-1, while the Raiders dropped to 1-4.

Week 6 begins with the Chicago Bears hosting the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football. The Sunday Night game is a big one: the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys in a pivotal battle for the NFC East lead. As for Monday Night Football, we will see the other half of the AFC West; the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers battling it out. Week 6 will also see the first bye weeks handed out, and they go to the Texans (coming off their first win), Lions, Titans, and Raiders.

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