It was another good week of play, although the most highly anticipated game of the week (Dallas-San Francisco) was a dud. Eight of the 14 results matched real life, but the other six were won by the better team on paper.
I had thought that the game boards were in pretty good shape, but scoring is still a little low and I’m realizing that possessions are too high. I’ve averaged 11.4, 11.7 and 11.8 per team the last three weeks, and it should be in the 10s. So I need to reduce possessions while adding scoring, which is going to result in more significant work on the drive charts.
The week 5 recaps:
Chicago 34, Washington 14: The Bears came out on top in this battle of two winless teams. They scored 17 points in the first quarter and led 27-0 in the third quarter before the Commanders got on the board. Four different Bears ran for touchdowns. (actual: Chicago 40-20)
Buffalo 28, Jacksonville 13: Josh Allen and Latavius Murray each ran for two touchdowns. The Bills took a 14-0 lead at halftime, though the Jaguars cut the deficit to 14-10 in the third quarter. Buffalo then scored touchdowns on its next two possessions. (actual: Jacksonville 25-20)
Houston 14, Atlanta 13: The Falcons led 3-0 after a lackluster first half. The third quarter started with a spark, as the teams alternated touchdowns. The Falcons went ahead 13-7 early in the fourth quarter on their second field goal. Houston’s first three possessions of the fourth quarter went punt – missed field goal – fourth-down fail. But the Texans got a quick stop on defense and got the ball back with one last chance. C.J. Stroud engineered a game-winning drive and a walk-off touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz. (actual: Atlanta 21-19)
Detroit 41, Carolina 20: The Lions had six rushing touchdowns, three by David Montgomery and two by Jahmyr Gibbs. The Panthers kept things close and it was 27-20 after a field goal early in the fourth quarter. But the Lions iced it touchdowns on their next two possessions. (actual: Detroit 42-24)
Indianapolis 26, Tennessee 3: The Titans struck first with a field goal, but the Colts’ defense was flawless the rest of the way and even scored a field goal. Gardner Minshew ran for a touchdown and threw one touchdown pass. Jonathan Taylor both caught and ran for touchdowns. (actual: Indianapolis 23-16)
Miami 38, New York Giants 7: The Giants scored first, but not again as the Dolphins ran off 38 unanswered points. Tua Tagovailoa threw three touchdown passes to Tyreek Hill. The Miami defense forced three turnovers and stopped New York on a fourth down. (actual: Miami 31-16)
New Orleans 38, New England 6: The Patriots kicked field goals early in the game and late in the contest, but in between, the Saints scored 38 consecutive points. Derek Carr threw four touchdown passes. (actual: New Orleans 34-0)
Baltimore 16, Pittsburgh 10: In a game between two of the top-rated defensive teams, a touchdown wasn’t scored until late in the fourth quarter. Baltimore built a 9-3 lead on field goals. Both squads turned the ball over twice. The Ravens iced the game with a late touchdown run by Gus Edwards, though the Steelers tacked on a last-second touchdown by Najee Harris. (actual: Pittsburgh 17-10)
Cincinnati 27, Arizona 24 (OT): This one had an exciting ending. Joe Burrow’s touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase gave the Bengals a 17-13 lead at the end of the third quarter, and his TD pass to Tyler Boyd made it 24-16 late in regulation. But the Cardinals drove down the field and Joshua Dobbs connected with Michael Wilson on a last-minute score, and the ensuing two-point conversion was good, tying the game at 24 and sending it to overtime. Cincinnati won the toss and Evan McPherson kicked a field goal. Arizona got into Cincinnati territory, but failed on a fourth-down try. (actual: Cincinnati 34-20)
Philadelphia 27, Los Angeles Rams 23: The Eagles punted on their first five possessions, then got hot and scored 27 points in their next six drives. Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes and ran for one. (actual: Philadelphia 23-14)
Denver 31, New York Jets 9: The Broncos clobbered the Jets, as Russell Wilson threw four touchdown passes, three to Courtland Sutton. The Denver defense forced four turnovers, including three interceptions of Zach Wilson. (actual: New York 31-21)
Kansas City 24, Minnesota 22: The Vikings closed to within two points at the end of the third quarter on Kirk Cousins’ touchdown pass to Jordan Addison, but a two-point conversion failed. Minnesota drove into Kansas City territory twice in the fourth quarter, but not far enough for a field goal attempt, and both times they ended up failing on fourth down. Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes but was also intercepted twice. (actual: Kansas City 27-20)
Dallas 6, San Francisco 3: These were two of the four remaining unbeaten teams heading into week 5. But this snoozefest will bring down the scoring averages for the week (especially considering 52 points were scored in the real game). Both defenses were excellent, as they were in real life, and there were 18 punts on 24 possessions. The 49ers kicked a first-quarter field goal and the Cowboys hit on two in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the 49ers’ Jake Moody missed on field goal attempts from 30 and 46 yards, the latter coming as the clock hit zero. (actual: San Francisco 42-10)
Green Bay 31, Las Vegas 23: A high-scoring first quarter saw the Raiders take a 17-10 lead. But the Packers went ahead 24-20 in the third quarter on a Jordan Love-to-Romeo Doubs TD pass. Las Vegas cut it to 24-23 early in the fourth quarter with a field goal, but the Packers came right back and went up by eight on Jayden Reed’s short touchdown run. The Raiders threw an interception and failed on fourth down on their final two possessions. (actual: Las Vegas 17-13)
Byes: Cleveland, LA Chargers, Seattle, Tampa Bay
Week 5 Standings
AFC East: BUF 4-1, MIA 4-1, NYJ 2-3, NE 0-5
AFC West: DEN 4-1, LAC 3-1, KC 2-3, LV 1-4
AFC North: BAL 5-0, CLE 2-2, PIT 2-3, CIN 2-3
AFC South: HOU 3-2, IND 2-3, TEN 1-4, JAX 1-4
NFC East: DAL 5-0, PHI 4-1, WAS 0-5, NYG 0-5
NFC West: SF 4-1, SEA 3-1, ARI 2-3, LAR 2-3
NFC North: GB 5-0, DET 4-1, MIN 3-2, CHI 1-4
NFL South: NO 3-2, TB 2-2, ATL 2-3, CAR 0-5
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 