NFL Week 5 knee-jerk reactions: QB-needy teams should trade for Joe Flacco, panic sets in for 49ers 

Week 5 of the NFL regular season had no shortage of thrilling moments, stunning comebacks and questionable coaching decisions.

Amid the craziness of this week’s slate, the Jacksonville Jaguars earned their first win of 2024, while the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets have officially entered panic mode. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals wasted another exceptional performance from QB Joe Burrow in a loss that essentially ended their season.

Here are some knee-jerk reactions from the fifth week of the NFL season:

Not even Davante Adams can save the Jets offense 

Despite having a healthy Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, it’s clear these are the same old Jets. New York’s offense followed up an embarrassing performance during last week’s 10-9 loss to Denver with another rough performance against the Vikings in London on Sunday. Not only did the Jets offense muster just 36 rushing yards in the 23-17 loss, but Rodgers also looked as if his age has caught up to him.

The 40-year-old finished 29-of-54 passing for 244 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Through five games, the Jets offense ranks 26th in points (18.6) and 27th in yards per game (286.6) after finishing 29th and 31st in each department with a far less talented unit last season. Trading for the six-time Pro Bowler Adams might help Rodgers’ production, but New York’s issues won’t be fixed as long as OC Nathaniel Hackett calls plays. 

Sean McDermott’s latest blunder adds to skepticism about his potential to lead the Bills to Super Bowl title

McDermott has been no stranger to poor clock management decisions during his tenure as Bills head coach, but his gaffe during Sunday’s 23-20 road loss to Houston might be his worst yet. Buffalo trailed 20-3 early in the third quarter before scoring 17 unanswered points to tie the game with under four minutes remaining in regulation. After getting the ball back with 32 seconds remaining and the Bills at their own three-yard line, McDermott questionably called three straight passing plays, all of which resulted in incompletions.

Buffalo was forced to punt, and after a 13-yard return, Houston needed just one play to get into field goal range before Ka’imi Fairbairn hit the 59-yard game-winner. It’s impossible to predict whether the Bills could’ve prevailed in overtime, but McDermott’s decision was nothing short of coaching malpractice. At some point, the Bills will have to ask themselves whether they can continue to spend QB Josh Allen’s prime years with McDermott at the helm. 

Caleb Williams has arrived 

After showing signs of progress across his previous two games, Williams finally put it all together during Sunday’s 36-10 drubbing of Carolina, delivering the best performance of his young career. The USC product looked more confident in the pocket and was an all-around better decision-maker with the ball in his hands, completing 69% of his passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns. Williams also would’ve scored a rushing touchdown in the third quarter, but the play was nullified due to a clipping penalty.

Although Williams hasn’t had the seamless transition to the NFL that No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels has enjoyed, this was the type of outing that shows why he was worthy of being selected first overall. It’ll be difficult to supplant Daniels as the Offensive Rookie of the Year front-runner, but if Williams can continue to steadily improve, the race for the award could be more competitive than initially expected. 

Colts should sell high on Joe Flacco

No matter the situation, no matter the uniform, it appears Flacco will always find a way to make an impact. After throwing two touchdowns in relief during last week’s win over Pittsburgh, the 39-year-old started in place of Anthony Richardson for Sunday’s 37-34 road loss to Jacksonville and delivered a heroic performance. Flacco threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns, including a 65-yard strike to WR Alec Pierce, putting Indianapolis in a position to tie the game with 2:40 remaining in regulation before Jacksonville kicked an eventual game-winning field goal.

Even though Flacco has been more productive than the oft-injured Richardson, there shouldn’t be a quarterback controversy in Indianapolis. The Colts spent the fourth overall pick on Richardson just last year and must continue to develop the raw talent, no matter how ugly the results may look at times. Nonetheless, Indianapolis has one of the NFL’s most intriguing trade candidates in Flacco, and it should capitalize on his value by trading him to a quarterback-needy team at the Nov. 5 deadline.  

Can the Browns end the Deshaun Watson experiment, please? 

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski already shut down a potential quarterback change during his postgame news conference on Sunday, but at what point does enough become enough? Watson was disastrous against a Commanders secondary that allowed 933 passing yards through the first month of the season, finishing Cleveland’s 34-13 road loss 15-of-28 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown. The three-time Pro Bowler actually played worse than his lackluster stat line suggests, too, as his lone touchdown pass came in garbage time.

Through five games, Watson has only thrown five touchdowns and three interceptions while ranking last among qualified signal-callers in QBR (20.4). It doesn’t matter that Watson is in the third season of a five-year, $230M guaranteed deal. The 1-4 Browns need to swallow their pride and start Jameis Winston going forward, or risk losing the locker room, assuming Stefanski hasn’t already. 

Packers’ Xavier McKinney should be in the conversation for best free-agent signing 

While Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Kirk Cousins are proving to be fantastic additions to their new teams, McKinney has made a case to be considered the top signing from this past offseason’s free agency cycle. McKinney, who signed a four-year, $68M deal with Green Bay, has been a game-changer for a Packers defense that finished last season with the second-fewest interceptions in the NFL (seven).

During Sunday’s 24-19 road win over the Rams, McKinney added to his NFL interception lead, picking off his fifth pass in his fifth consecutive game. According to WIFR’s Mike Garrigan, McKinney is the fifth player in the Super Bowl era to have an interception in each of the first five games of a season. The former New York Giant is also the first player to accomplish this feat with a new team. 

49ers are proving the Super Bowl hangover is real

Is it technically a Super Bowl hangover if you aren’t the team that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy? Maybe, maybe not, but regardless, the reigning NFC champion 49ers are undoubtedly feeling some residual effects from last season, considering they blew yet another fourth-quarter double-digit during Sunday’s 24-23 home loss to Arizona. The loss marked the sixth time San Francisco blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter since Shanahan was hired in 2017, tied for the most in the NFL.

Of course, injuries have played a part in San Francisco’s disappointing 2-3 start to 2024. However, the team’s struggles in the red zone and inability to close out games are of even greater concern for the 49ers. There’s no clear answer for how to get things back on track, but Shanahan desperately needs to find an answer quickly, or his team’s season will only continue to unravel.   

Lamar Jackson is… better than he was last season? 

The Ravens signal-caller is a two-time MVP and is coming off a season where he finished one first-place vote shy of becoming the first player to win the award unanimously twice. Yet, somehow, it’s fair to say that Jackson has been more impressive to begin this season than he was in 2023. Jackson was brilliant during Baltimore’s thrilling 41-38 overtime road win over Cincinnati, throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 55 yards.

It’s impossible to discuss Jackson’s performance without mentioning the ridiculous fourth-quarter touchdown pass to TE Isaiah Likely, a play during which he fumbled the snap, stiff-armed Bengals edge-rusher Sam Hubbard and threw a dime on the run.

So far this season, the dual-threat Jackson ranks seventh in both passing (1,206) and rushing yards (363) and has accounted for 11 total touchdowns, tied for the third-most among quarterbacks. Jackson has been nothing short of remarkable, especially during Baltimore’s current three-game win streak, and through five weeks, he’s made a compelling case to be considered the MVP front-runner.