After a week hiatus, the NFL Roundup column returns to recap a great Week 5 that was just part of a incredible weekend in sports.  At one point, we had seven games within one point of each other.  We start, however, on a sour note, with the Thursday Night game.

Green Bay-42 Minnesota-10

The Vikings already had a slim chance of winning with Teddy Bridgewater starting, but when they sat him as a precaution after suffering a ankle injury in Week 4, it was Christian Ponder who got the call.  So, welcome to the Christian Ponder School of Quarterbacking!

It didn’t go well for the Vikings or Ponder.  He completed exactly 50% of his passes, and threw two interceptions.  The Vikings defense couldn’t keep up with the Packers.  Aaron Rodgers only threw 12 passes, and three of them touchdowns.  Eddie Lacy silenced his critics after a slow start, rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns.  The Packers redeemed themselves against the Vikings, even though they still have their issues.

Cleveland-29 Tennessee-28

I took Cleveland in this game, mostly cause Tennessee, I thought, was miserable.  Well, somewhat.  The Titans jumped out to 28-3 lead after Jake Locker got hurt (again) and Charlie Whitehurst played excellent.  I swear, it was the photo shoot.  The photo shoot was a omen for the game.

It wasn’t all good, though.  Once the 2nd half came around, the Titans couldn’t do anything, and Brian Hoyer lead a ferocious comeback.  The Browns scored 26 unanswered points and came back to beat the Titans.  It was truly incredible.  Hoyer threw the game-winning TD pass with 1:09 left, leaving the Titans at 1-4 on the season.  Again, the Browns are lucky to be 2-2, and I don’t think they’re that good, whatsoever.  It is fun though, to see this team win games like this.

Philadelphia-34 St. Louis-28

This sounds crazy, but the Rams have been playing better football than 1-3.  Yea, even with Austin Davis at QB.  The Rams were down 31-7 at one point, but Davis lead the comeback, and came oh-so close.  It was the Eagles defense which held them down, and gave Philly the win.  Nick Foles threw 237 yards and two TD’s, while Austin Davis continued to put up massive numbers.  Davis threw for 375 yards and three TD’s.  The Rams probably won’t do much the rest of the year, but they are giving their fans some excitement, even with the loss on Sunday.  The Eagles are soaring as usual, and look like the best team in their division.

New York Giants-30 Atlanta-20

There wasn’t much excitement, there isn’t much to say.  The Giants simply outplayed the Falcons, which raises bright red flags for Atlanta.  Eli Manning only threw for 200 yards, but had two TD passes in the win.  Matt Ryan threw the ball 49 times as the Falcons run game couldn’t get going, and it seems like it never will.  Steven Jackson looks old and slow , and they have no one else really behind him.  The Falcon defense looks horrid.  They couldn’t defend a struggling Giants offense, and, well, it’s not looking great.  The Giants look a lot better, but not great.  This was a great win, but the offense is still a work-in-progress.

New Orleans-37 Tampa Bay-31 (OT)

I’ve been backing Mike Glennon not only this season, but from day one.  I love the kid, and Sunday, he looked great.  The Bucs outplayed the Saints for most the game.  Drew Brees and the offense couldn’t get it working until the second half.  The Bucs saw a opportunity and totally took advantage even though it remained close throughout.  The game went to overtime, and took six minutes for the Saints to score the game-winning TD, a 18 yard TD run by Khiry Robinson.  The Saints, even with the win, look really bad.  I’m worried, not only about the team, but their hopes of winning the division.  It really looks bleak for Saints.  Sorry if I disappointed you, cause trust me, I was way high on this team.

Indianapolis-20 Baltimore-13

I expected this game to be super high scoring.  I thought Andrew Luck and Joe Flacco would throw for 1,000 yards combined and 5 TD’s each.  That didn’t happen, whatsoever.  The halftime score was 3-0, and I was shocked.  Neither team put up massive numbers or points.  It was a pretty boring game.  Baltimore had a couple of turnovers, which were killer.  Really, Indy was the better team, and they earned the win.  I still have both of these teams in Playoffs, and don’t see much concern with either.

Buffalo-17 Detroit-14

God, this is such a bad loss and game for Lions.  With four seconds, the Bills kicked a 58 yard field goal to win the game, and to celebrate.  well….

Apparently, he told his players if they won, carry him off the field as celebration.   Jim Schwartz, former Lions head coach, is now the Bills defensive coordinator.  I’m not going to say anything else, but that pretty much summed up this game.

Matthew Stafford had a really bad game, and just looked off.  The problem resides at the offensive line, where they can’t block to save their lives, or their quarterback’s.  It’s a big problem for a pass heavy team, who now is without Calvin Johnson for the next game after suffering a knee injury, which is not and never good.  To add, Reggie Bush suffered a ankle injury.  It was a overall bad game for Detroit, and they have some serious kinks they need work out.

The Bills, on the other hand, looked great with Kyle Orton at QB.  Yes, you read that right.  Orton did really well, as they surprisingly slung the ball all over.  Sammy Watkins, the No.3 overall pick, had a great game, probably his first one this year.  I’m not sure what to think about the Bills, but they aren’t going to look any better than Sunday this year.

Dallas-20 Houston-17 (OT)

Wait? The Cowboys are 4-1?

Yea, and guess how many wins I had them at?

5.

Anyways, Dez Bryant’s jump ball catch in overtime set up the game-winning field goal from Dan Bailey.  The game wasn’t all smiles and cheers for the Cowboys though.  The defense blew a 10 point lead to a Ryan Fitzpatrick led offense.  Yikes.

The Cowboys though, are really interesting.  They have a great offense that features DeMarco Murray, who is on a early season tear, and a really good offensive line.   However, the defense still sucks, and I think the only way they make the playoffs is if they win their division, which seems unlikely.

I’m not going to spend much time on Houston, besides that JJ Watt is a complete animal and is the MVP so far this year.  The offense has weapons and no QB, but Fitzpatrick has been doing pretty decent.  There’s still a 65% chance though that he completely falls apart,  and Tom Savage (ugh) takes over.

Carolina-31 Chicago-24

This Bears defense makes me and Bears fans cringe, and believe me, I know a couple Bears fans, and I know that they do too.  The Bears had a 21-7 lead at one point.  A big Jay Cutler interception turned the momentum, and the Panthers never looked back.  The Bears only put up three points after the fact, which lead to really bad, seven point loss.  Carolina has been on a roller coaster this year.  They’re up, then down, then up again.  They have a stout defense, which is keeping them in games.  The Bears blew this game, which led the Panthers to take the win.

Pittsburgh-17 Jacksonville-9

This was a thriller, wasn’t it……

Yea no.

The Jaguars are 0-5 after losing to the Steelers due to a terrible offensive performance.  Neither team played well offensively, but Blake Bortles and Jags offense couldn’t get first downs and didn’t score a touchdown the entire game.  Bortles threw two picks and only 166 yards in the loss.  The Jags couldn’t run the ball at all, with Storm Johnson being the lead back with 26 yards.  Yea, the lead back.  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, this team isn’t good no matter who is playing QB.  Done deal.

San Francisco-22 Kansas City-17

(Homerism possible)

Another bad Alex Smith decision cost the Chiefs a big win at Levi’s Stadium.  The 49ers ran the ball really well, with Frank Gore leading the way.  It wasn’t a huge game either way for the offenses, as both QB’s passed under 202 yards (Colin Kaepernick at 202) .  This is a loss that shouldn’t be felt as a heart breaker for the Chiefs, but giving they had a shot at, it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Denver-41 Arizona-20

(Homerism Possible)

There was a great article on the Cardinals website Friday, which talked about how this game wasn’t a must win, and a loss would be somewhat okay.  Well, they got blown out, but when Drew Stanton suffered a concussion and Logan Thomas came in to play QB, it got ugly.

Somehow, that throw was completed to Andre Ellington for a 81 yard touchdown and was Logan Thomas’s only completed pass of the game.  1/8, 81 yards, one touchdown was his stat line.  Me and my family, watching our beloved Cardinals, were laughing, not cheering, that the ball was thrown and caught.  At this time, we knew the game was over, even though the Cardinals made it a one possessions game with that score.  It got really ugly after that, Denver took a three possession lead and that ended the game.  The Cardinals have Logan Thomas as the only healthy QB on the roster, and boy, I’m scared.  I’m just praying to God they have someone other than Thomas playing Sunday.

(Cardinals did sign Dennis Dixon today, but that makes me feel no better)

The Broncos had some ridiculous stat lines during this game.  Peyton Manning threw his 500th TD pass in the win, along with a career high 479 yards passing.  Demaryius Thomas had eight catches for 226 yards and two TD’s.  Antonio Cromartie had no chance, and that’s part of what killed the Cardinals.

New England-42 Cincinnati-17

So much for Tom Brady future talk, and whether he’s done or is declining.  The Patriots made a statement Sunday night, knocking off the league’s last undefeated team.  Brady threw his 50,000th passing yard in the rout, while also throwing two TD’s.  The Pats just dominated, and that’s as simple as it got.  AJ Green had a decent game, while Andy Dalton threw for only 204 yards.  There isn’t much cause for concern in Cincy, but this should be a loss they take hardly.

Seattle-27 Washington-17

This game was a lot worse than the score said.  The Seahawks totally outplayed Redskins, and really, I can’t believe this wasn’t a all out blowout.  Russell Wilson ran for 122 yards, most on his team and most on Monday Night ever.  He also ran one in with his two passing TD’s.  The Redskins couldn’t run the ball, and surprisingly slung the ball all over.  Desean Jackson had 157 yards receiving.  The Seahawks look like one of the better Super Bowl defenders.  They haven’t really faulted.  The Redskins lost to a great team.  That’s as simple as it is.

On to Week 6…