NFL Week 5 Recap: Statements, Standards, and Stalemates

Holy moley, what a week! Week 5 of the 2026 season was explosive and epic in so many ways, and while I want to really start with the obvious game, I have to talk about what was the real game of the week. SoFi Stadium played host to quite a thriller on Monday Night. Bills/Rams, the two most recent NFL MVPs going at it. Rams entered at 2-2 and coming off a comeback win in Philly; Bills leading the AFC East, but coming off a pivotal home division loss to the Pats.

This was a good battle, and it was a good consolation for me as a Fantasy owner, because I was having a bad week, yet I had a chance to win one matchup (I only needed a combined 13 points from Josh Allen and Kyren Williams, and I more than got it). Bills were in control for the most part, but the Rams stayed in it. Neither team led by more than one possession. The fourth quarter was explosive. James Cook III gave Buffalo their lead back late in the fourth, but his TD allowed the Rams to have more than enough time to even things up, and they did just that. We had overtime, Bills had the ball first, they were deep in FG range, but Cook fumbled. Oh man!

Rams ball, and it was sudden death now. They got to FG range, and they kept showing Josh being concerned, and Cook praying for a miracle that would keep him from being the game's goat. That miracle came when Harrison Mevis' kick was blocked. Bills' ball, Josh did the rest, Tyler Bass makes his kick, Bills win 37-34 in OT! That block prevented the Bills from losing their second straight game and falling behind the Patriots via tiebreaker. It also saved Cook from being the goat of the game, because let's face it: Cook would have been the only one to blame had the Bills lost. As for the Rams, they were portrayed as the ultimate force after their acquisitions. Aaron Donald's just now playing, Myles Garrett has been out since the middle of Week 1, and the Rams are now 2-3. They are currently on pace to finish 7-10 this year. Yikes.

Can all of you finally admit that Jordan Love's a top 5 QB now? He sure as hell played like it on Sunday, but he always does. This past week was the Packers hosting the Bears, the first meeting since, well, you know. We had the rivalry unis on (which were... OK), and we totally tore up the Bears to the tune of a 31-7 victory! This was the game we needed. Yes, the Bears didn't have Caleb Williams. He wouldn't have helped. Love, Christian Watson, and Matthew Golden totally tore up that Bears defense, and remember, the Bears have been a defensive team for decades. The Packers needed this one, because the Vikings won, again. Lions also blasted the Cardinals, but when we won, the Lions game didn't become that much of a concern. Packers are now in second place in the NFC North via tiebreaker, standing two games behind Minnesota.

We had a TIE, folks! An actual tie took place in Week 5, but it wasn't where I expected! I jokingly figured that the Texans/Titans game would end tied (Texans blasted the hapless Titans 26-3), but it was this NFC East battle between the Giants and Commanders that ended in a stalemate. Giants were down 27-13 late, but they scrambled back for two touchdowns to tie it up! We had OT in this one, and it was a mess. Giants had to ball first, they got to FG range, but they missed it. Granted, Washington would have had the ball anyway, but the miss makes it a sudden death situation. Washington ended up punting, and the Giants got to FG range again, but wanted more yards. The result? Fumble! Commanders ball, 1:55 left. They get to FG range. Dan Quinn, just like John Harbaugh, wanted closer range. He calls this inane play for Jayden Daniels to run, but there's one problem: 15 seconds remained and they had no timeouts. Even crazier, there was hardly any urgency to down the ball, and with that, the clock ran out, and the game was over at 27-27.

I do love ties, I love them, but this one could have been prevented. Harbaugh and Quinn both messed things up for their respective teams, and it resulted in this draw, the third time in the last 30 years that these two teams played to a tie. Overall, this is the 31st tie game since overtime was introduced to regular season games in 1974, and the first one since the wild 40-40 game last year between the Packers and Cowboys.

Week 5 began with the Cowboys hosting the Buccaneers, but what should have been an easy win for Dallas saw them totally bungle everything. CeeDee didn't get the ball (which messed me up on Fantasy), the offense couldn't do anything, and Schottenheimer definitely does not have his dad's coaching prowess. The Cowboys lost, actually lost, 24-16, to the NFC's only winless team. As if that wasn't crazy enough, the Eagles and Jaguars battled in London, it was too close for comfort, but the Eagles took the lead on a Jake Elliott FG with 8 seconds left in regulation. We thought they had it won. We learned nothing from that Rio game. The Jags pulled off a huge kickoff return that put them in FG range with one second left, and Cam Little did the rest. Jags won 19-17, handing Philly their third straight loss.

So with all of that, no one in the NFC East won in Week 5. Cowboys lost, Eagles lost, and Giants/Commanders ended tied. Giants still lead the division at 3-1-1, but everyone in the division needs to fire their coaches.

The rest of the early slot saw the Patriots win big over the Raiders, who have now lost two straight after a 3-0 start (though their #1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza, got his first taste of NFL action), the Steelers and Bengals both won--Steelers handing Indy a loss to end their brief winning streak, and Cincy beat the hapless Dolphins. In a humorous moment, Geno Smith defeated DeShaun Watson in one battle of misfit QBs. The other battle of misfit QBs was between Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold in the late window, and that saw the Niners win 32-29 because of Darnold's incompetence, and JSN's inability to catch passes. Also in the late window, the Denver Broncos barely edged the Los Angeles Chargers, who are now pretty much dead at 0-5. Who had the Chargers winless after five weeks?

Sunday Night Football saw the Baltimore Ravens face off against the Atlanta Falcons, and the Ravens had to do so without Lamar Jackson (which really messed me up on Fantasy). Considering that Lamar's the undisputed nucleus of that team, it wasn't easy. They did lead late, but the Falcons got the TD and two-pointer to force overtime, and that OT saw the Ravens with the ball for a long time. Over seven minutes, ending with a touchdown to take the lead. Michael Penix, Jr started for Atlanta, but for the OT, it was Tua Tagovailoa finally making his first appearance with the Falcons, and he threw an interception. Ravens won 30-23, and lead the AFC North by themselves. With ATL's loss, NO's loss, and the Panthers being on bye (so were the Chiefs), the Buccaneers became the only NFC South team to win, and get this: TB is just a hair out of first place. Oh boy.

Week 6 begins with the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos facing off on Thursday Night Football, and we will get another London game, as the Jacksonville Jaguars will face the Houston Texans across the pond. On Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers will battle it out at Lambeau, and on Monday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers will host the Washington Commanders.

But I cannot end this recap without this:

We all know who this man is. Michael Keller Ditka, one of the greatest head coaches in my lifetime. Born on October 18, 1939 in Carnegie, PA, Ditka played college football for the Pitt Panthers, and was drafted by the Bears in 1961. In the position of tight end, Ditka played six seasons for the Bears before heading to the Eagles and later the Cowboys, winning Super Bowl VI as part of the Cowboys. His coaching career began with the Cowboys as Tom Landry's assistant, and was part of another championship when the Cowboys won Super Bowl XII.

And then the Bears, who had only two winning since "Papa Bear" Halas stepped down as coach, came calling. Ditka was hired by the team in 1982, and they were resurrected. Bears became a juggernaut. Near perennial playoff appearances, and of course, 1985. That great defense and that amazing team winning Super Bowl XX. Ditka coached the Bears for 11 seasons, and a few years later, he actually had a brief stint coaching the Saints.

Of course, outside of football, Ditka is a favorite mention on SNL's popular "Superfans" sketches, with a hilarious moment coming in the 1997 episode that Chris Farley actually hosted. Ditka actually appeared in the sketch, and is shown chewing out Farley's Todd O'Connor, mainly because Todd still believed that Ditka was the coach of the Bears. And there was also Ditka's memorable cameo appearance in 2006's Kicking and Screaming, the comedy that starred Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall.

We lost Mike Ditka on October 9, nine days shy of his 87th birthday. Of course, the Bears fans were shown at Lambeau in the Ditka costumes; shades, mustache, tie, sweatervest. I've seen those costumes for years, and even as a Packers fan, I can't help but appreciate that devotion to their hallowed coach. Mike Ditka was one of the greatest coaches in not only my lifetime, but in NFL history, and that's a bonafide fact.