NFL Week 5 winners, losers: Mike McCarthy, Cowboys get exposed by 49ers
Week 5 in the NFL provided needed perspective.
In all, the slate didn't provide too many stunning outcomes or last-second twists. But four of the top 10 teams in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings suffered a loss this week, and some of the top outfits continued to separate themselves from the pack as they expanded their body of work. Meanwhile, other groups that had missteps in the first few weeks had the chance to start setting things straight − or see their seasons spiral further out of control.
Here's our full rundown of the biggest winners and losers from Week 5 in the NFL:
Winners
San Francisco 49ers
What's scary about the 5-0 49ers is not solely the manner in which they thoroughly dismantled the Dallas Cowboys in a 42-10 blowout on Sunday night, but rather that it all seemed a little ordinary. That's life as the clearly best team in football after five weeks.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Still, let's not let one of the most sterling performances of the early season pass by without giving it proper recognition. Brock Purdy once again made everything look easy in the role of distributor, shelling out four touchdown passes, including three to tight end George Kittle. San Francisco managed to outgain Dallas by nearly 225 yards (422-197) and is now one of five teams in league history to score 30+ points in eight consecutive regular-season games. The defense, meanwhile, perplexed Dak Prescott and Co. throughout the contest. With the rest of the October schedule filled by teams at or below .500, it could be some time before we see a meaningful challenge for a group that has tied a franchise record with 15 consecutive wins.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Is it too late for them to offer to take either the Baltimore Ravens' or Tennessee Titans' spot in next week's London tilt to go for the triple? In handling the Buffalo Bills in a 25-20 win after last week's victory over the Atlanta Falcons, the Jaguars became the first NFL team to play consecutive games abroad. Being on the move seems to suit them well, as they are now 3-0 this year away from EverBank Stadium.
But there were plenty of things Sunday that Jacksonville can take back home to Duval County. Trevor Lawrence pushed past some miscues to establish the electric connection with Calvin Ridley (seven catches, 122 yards) that fans had been hoping to see since this summer. Running back Travis Etienne wore down a gassed defense and ripped off a 35-yard touchdown to help put the game out of reach. And the defense kept Josh Allen off balance with consistent pressure via the blitz. With a manageable schedule before the Week 9 bye, the Jaguars have a chance to create some distance in the AFC South race and set up a favorable outlook for playoff seeding.
Nathaniel Hackett
Netting one offensive touchdown against what is far and away the league's worst defense is nothing to brag about, but Sunday was about far more than the stats for Hackett and the New York Jets. After Sean Payton opened up to USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell by ripping into Hackett's performance last year as the Denver Broncos' coach, both the Jets offensive coordinator and head coach Robert Saleh seemed to address the hypercritical comments through gritted teeth in recent months. No need to hold back anymore, however, after Sunday's 31-21 win over Denver. Sure, maybe Breece Hall deserved the game ball over Hackett after he rescued the offense with his 72-yard scoring scamper and 177 rushing yards overall. But Hackett can now let the result – as well as the Jets' players and social media team – do all the talking for him.
Desmond Ridder
In the first four weeks of the season, Ridder was a severely limiting factor for the Falcons' burgeoning offense, which averaged a league-worst 156 yards through the air during that span. This week, the second-year signal-caller was far more catalyst than caretaker in a last-second 21-19 comeback win against the Houston Texans.
Ridder completed 28 of 37 attempts for a career-high 329 yards while tallying two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) to power the offense. Long-awaited connections with his top targets in tight end Kyle Pitts (seven catches, 87 yards) and wide receiver Drake London (six catches, 78 yards) finally materialized. And he deftly navigated the final drive, completing all five of his passes for 44 yards to set up Younghoe Koo for the game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired. Ridder's standing never seemed to be in question within the Falcons, but this outing gives the offense something to build on.
Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase
Maybe dispatching the Arizona Cardinals 34-20 in a get-right game doesn't completely undo the myriad setbacks the team suffered in its first four games, but the Bengals appear to be on a much steadier course now. Burrow finally looked fluid and comfortable, with much of his mobility seemingly having returned after the quarterback was hampered by a calf injury since the start of the season. And just one week after he explained in frustration that he's "always (expletive) open," Chase exploded for 15 catches, 192 yards and three touchdowns. The squeaky receiver gets the targets.
For all the histrionics about Cincinnati's start, the Bengals now stand at 2-3 with their star players seemingly back in a good place. There's still work to be done, but there's no reason to write this team off.
George Pickens
One of the more disappointing developments of September was the steadily building training camp buzz around Pickens – the Pittsburgh Steelers' ultra-promising second-year receiver – fading into a dull hum amid persistent woes plaguing his entire offense. For one week, at least, fans got a glimpse of the dynamic downfield threat that Pickens can be.
Trailing by four with just over two minutes remaining against the Baltimore Ravens, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett found the 6-3, 200-pound target on a back-shoulder throw for a 21-yard gain. Two plays later, Pickens dusted Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey – who was playing in his first game back after August foot surgery – for a 41-yard go-ahead touchdown in a 17-10 triumph. It's probably not the kind of play that the Steelers faithful can routinely expect from oft-criticized offensive coordinator Matt Canada. But incorporating Pickens more can only help invigorate what has been a languishing attack.
Losers
Mike McCarthy
Throughout most of his time with the Cowboys, McCarthy has pounced on opponents with a significant talent deficit, allowing composed offense and opportunistic and highly aggressive defense to take care of overmatched foes. On Sunday, he got a reminder of what it's like to be on the other side of that dynamic.
It's not clear if the Cowboys could have done much differently to have had a semblance of a chance in Sunday night's catastrophic outing against the 49ers. What is apparent: As both as a coach and a play-caller, McCarthy proved to be no match for Kyle Shanahan. Dak Prescott said his three-interception night might be "the most humbling game I've ever been a part of," and McCarthy's avowed commitment to "run the damn ball" produced a team total of 57 yards on 19 carries. In what was clearly designed to be a statement game for the Cowboys after the 49ers ended their playoff hopes in the past two seasons, Dallas was outclassed in almost every facet. What McCarthy can muster might be enough to beat up on the bottom and middle tiers of the NFC, but any notion of the Cowboys beating the 49ers – and potentially the Philadelphia Eagles – on the road in January seems like a distant dream.
Mac Jones
Suffering the two most lopsided losses of his career in consecutive weeks has left Bill Belichick and the Patriots in a particularly inauspicious spot. But there's a special indignity in the manner in which New England has dropped to this point, a bespoke misery based on Belichick's specific buttons. At the root of it all is Jones, whose head-scratching pick-six to Tyrann Mathieu in a 34-0 rout by the New Orleans Saints was the quarterback's third of the season and second in as many games. That kind of carelessness is no doubt maddening to a coach who hammers fundamentals and sound ball security. But Belichick is not merely the victim here, as his slew of personnel mistakes over the last few years – as well as his befuddling offensive staffing decisions in 2022 – have severely hampered the third-year passer's development. After pulling Jones late again in Sunday's blowout, Belichick again stood by his starter. But this pairing is looking more tenuous with each week, and Jones might need to find mentorship elsewhere to get his career back on track.
Baltimore Ravens
It took a truly multifaceted meltdown for John Harbaugh and Co. to squander what should have been a decisive victory. The formerly maligned receiving corps had a throwback performance in the worst way possible, with Nelson Agholor and Rashod Bateman dropping surefire touchdowns. Lamar Jackson unraveled late in the fourth quarter with an interception that paved the way for Pittsburgh's comeback and a fumble that deflated any hopes for Baltimore's own rally. And prior to all that, a blocked punt for a safety helped spark a Steelers team that had been stagnant.
The slip-up could prove costly in the long run. The Ravens had a chance to begin pulling away from the pack in the AFC North, but instead they fell into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh.
Buffalo Bills
Whatever mojo they had from last week's statement win over the Miami Dolphins must not have made it through customs for the overseas showdown with the Jaguars. The offense was imbalanced and error-prone. The defense was trampled for 29 first downs and 196 rushing yards.
Most worrisome, however, were the mounting injuries. All-Pro linebacker and defensive linchpin Matt Milano is expected to be out for the season with what multiple outlets have reported is a fractured leg and a knee injury, and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones suffered a pectoral injury. On Sunday, Buffalo already started to see the effect of losing top cornerback Tre'Davious White for the year to a torn Achilles, with Jacksonville's receivers too often exploiting an overmatched secondary. If the Bills don't shore things up, this could be a harbinger of the franchise's fate against the AFC's contender class.
Bryce Young
There's still no reason to sound the alarm on a No. 1 pick who's just four starts into his professional career. Still, after the Detroit Lions' 42-24 win over the Carolina Panthers, it's difficult to watch Young operate in this offense without wincing. A highly questionable screen to tight end Ian Thomas that ended with defensive end Aidan Hutchinson snatching the ball in mid-air will spark the most exaggerated reactions, but chalk it up to a good play by a tremendously talented defender. The second of Young's two interceptions, however, was the real cause for concern, as cornerback Jerry Jacobs baited the typically discerning signal-caller into the kind of throw he avoided throughout his college career. The signs are troubling in Carolina, as there's scant support from the offensive line or running game, and the coaching staff seems to be doing Young few favors. While this season appears to be a write-off and one that should solely be measured by Young's development, substantial change might still be required at some point.