Dallas Cowboys – Brandon Weeden is clearly not the answer at QB. It’s time to give Cassel a chance under center. The bright spot was the return of Greg Hardy from suspension, giving the Cowboys some much-needed pass rush.
New York Giants – Currently the kings of the NFC East, but the potential hamstring issues with OBJ and the lack of a running game give us pause. On a positive note, Shane Vereen seems to be everything the Giants wanted – and more.
Philadelphia Eagles – The defense played aggressively, forcing multiple turnovers. The offense took advantage of those turnovers en-route to a convincing win. Not sure we can say that this team is back on track yet, but at least they didn’t lose anymore ground in the NFC East race.
Washington Redskins – It was a pretty heartbreaking loss, but the team played fairly well on both sides of the ball. Kirk Cousins is playing well enough that hardly anyone is wondering what RG3 is up to these days.
Atlanta Falcons – When you’re 5-0, not every win is going to be pretty and last week’s certainly wasn’t. A positive takeaway is that the Atlanta offense doesn’t need to be firing on all cylinders to win games. The defense showed that they can step up when needed.
Carolina Panthers – No Game. No Recap.
New Orleans Saints – With the season hanging in the balance (yes even this early in the year), the Saints went out and laid an absolute egg. Drew Brees played an awful game, and the defense looked lost. With two undefeated teams in the division, it’s not looking good for New Orleans.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Sure, they played the Jags. Sure they turned the ball over for a 25th straight game. But the Buccs offense looked strong, particularly with Doug Martin and the ground game. Lovie will get this defense playing better – provided the ownership lets him stick around long enough.
Chicago Bears – With many fans in Chicago dreaming about the #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, Chicago pulls off the upset. Knowing the Bears, they will play just well enough to miss out on a future All-Pro in the draft.
Detroit Lions – Jim Caldwell said that the benching of Stafford was no different than pulling a starting pitcher when he’s had a rough inning. Well it’s been a rough 5 games and Jim Caldwell might officially be on the hot-seat, especially in the minds of fans who remember the 2008 0-16 debacle.
Green Bay Packers – Green Bay, Much like Atlanta, didn’t get much out of their offense, but the defense stepped up big as the perfect season continued. At least the rest of the NFC North doesn’t have to hear about Aaron Rodgers home interception-less streak anymore… that is, until he starts another one.
Minnesota Vikings – No Game. No Recap.
Arizona Cardinals – Ok, is anyone else starting to get scared by this Arizona defense? Sure they played the Lions, but they did exactly what good teams do to bad teams – blew them out. They might not even need Carson Palmer to be healthy to make a deep playoff run.
San Francisco 49ers – Sadly, the one game that Colin Kaepernick plays well, the defense can’t hold it together. I get the feeling that will be the story of the season for SF – just not quite getting both sides of the ball to play consistently.
Seattle Seahawks – Cam Chancellor is back, so why can’t this team hold onto fourth quarter leads? In the last 5 years, teams are 427-1 when leading by 17+ in the fourth quarter. Guess which team is the only one to lose… The return of a healthy Marshawn Lynch will do wonders for this offense, but for now, the defense really needs to step up.
St. Louis Rams – Todd Gurley’s season is off to a blazing start. The defense is playing well, even picking off Aaron Rodgers in Lambeau (twice). So where is this team having issues? Oh that’s right, Nick Foles thinks he can hang onto the ball for days. Not gonna happen, buddy.
Buffalo Bills – The Bills prevailed in arguably the most forgettable matchup of the entire 2015 season. Points were at a premium and Tyrod Taylor willed his team to victory. Honestly, if it wasn’t for penalties, this team would be among the scariest in the NFL.
Miami Dolphins – No Game. No Recap.
New England Patriots – Give credit to the Cowboys for slowing down the Patriots in the first half. The offense looked sluggish and Brady took way too many hits. The Pats are an elite team in this league, and only 1 or 2 teams have the firepower to punch them in the mouth out of the gate and hang on for dear life. It’s looking like the only team that can beat the Pats are the Pats.
New York Jets – No Game. No Recap.
Houston Texans – As we discussed earlier this week, there are some major problems in Houston. Like somebody once said, if you have two quarterbacks, you have none. Bill O’Brien has said that Hoyer is the starter… but everyone knows that’s a temp role. One bad game, One Bad Quarter, One Bad Series and it could be back to Mallett.
Indianapolis Colts – No offense to future HOF’ers Gore and Johnson, but just how sustainable is an offense led by guys approaching 40? And at this point, you can’t even say that the Colts will be better once Andrew Luck returns, because Hasslebeck has outplayed him in two starts. True test next week as they face the Pats on SNF.
Jacksonville Jaguars – At this point in the season, you really just have to look for continued improvement out of Blake Bortles. He looked very good last week, despite the outcome of the game. TJ Yeldon has big play potential and once Julius Thomas is back to full strength, this team will actually compete.
Tennessee Titans – Marcus Mariota has been pretty up and down this season, but thankfully for Titans fans, he hasn’t had a game where you’d question taking him #2 in the draft. Marcus is definitely the future – he just had a tough matchup against a staunch defense last week.
Baltimore Ravens – You really have to wonder when the wheels came off for Harbaugh and the Ravens. You might be able to point all the way back to the Ray Rice incident, but even last year they were a playoff team. This year they are a late-game field goal away from being 0-5.
Cincinnati Bengals – Ok, so it wasn’t exactly a prime-time game, but it was a prime-time matchup and the Bengals pulled through. Dalton could have easily shied away from a 17 point deficit, but put the game and the team on his back. Everyone used to clown on Cincy for not winning big games, now most teams should be scared to face them.
Cleveland Browns – What a game. That’s all I can say – easily one of the most exciting games in this 2015 NFL season. Great win against a division rival. Great mental toughness from McCown. Just great.
Pittsburgh Steelers – With the season on the line, Mike Tomlin made a decision that 30 other coaches would have never imagined. With the game and possibly the season on the line, Tomlin chose to go for the win with 5 seconds left instead of kicking a field goal and playing for overtime. You can’t put a value on the confidence that gives a team.
Denver Broncos – Before you say I’m crazy, hear me out. Peyton is playing horribly. This team is being carried by their defense. If the Broncos are winning, essentially without Manning, do you maybe try to play Brock Osweiler and see if you have an NFL caliber quarterback? Just a thought.
Kansas City Chiefs – A bad season gone worse, with early reports saying that Jamaal Charles will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. The bright spot in all of this is that if Charles can come back healthy next year, the Chiefs will be able to improve their team with a top 5 draft pick.
Oakland Raiders – For some reason, this team just cannot play consistently from week to week. Amari Cooper is an amazing talent, but Derek Carr hardly targeted him last week (4-4 for 47 yards). Defensively they played well enough to win, but you have to get more production out of your offense – even if they are going up against a top-rated defense.
San Diego Chargers – Maybe the Chargers looked past their MNF opponent. Maybe they just really aren’t a good team. Either way, it was great to see Rivers & Gates pick up right where they left off. The loss makes it a long road to hoe for a division title, but if they play well, a wildcard could be attainable.