4th & Monday: Last-minute mayhem and some major injuries highlight Week 5
Just like in January, the Dallas Cowboys were on the brink of victory over the Green Bay Packers, only to see it snatched away in dramatic fashion by the heroics of Aaron Rodgers.
Given a bit more than a minute to work with and a three-point deficit, Rodgers led a game-winning drive that was capped with a touchdown pass to Davante Adams, who rebounded from a gruesome hit against the Bears on Thursday Night Football two weeks ago to score two touchdowns against the Cowboys.
Rodgers' late-game theatrics are expected at this point, and his play pushed the Packers to a 4-1 record.
The Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles also improved to 4-1 during Week 5. Those two teams face off in a surprisingly enticing Thursday night matchup this week.
As the Kansas City Chiefs remained unbeaten, the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers still are all without a win. Playoff hope seems lost for that winless trio; no team in NFL history has started a season 0-5 and made the postseason. There's always that race for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft to look forward to.
Is there an unexpected rising force in the AFC? The Jacksonville Jaguars routed the Pittsburgh Steelers, picking off Ben Roethlisberger five times — including two pick-sixes. Leonard Fournette was even asking for the Steelers to hit him during the win.
MORE: 40 things we learned from Week 5
THE MUST-SEE MOMENTS YOU MISSED
— One of the biggest moments of the day came before kickoff when Vice President Mike Pence left the Colts-49ers game at Lucas Oil Stadium when several San Francisco players chose to kneel during the national anthem.
"I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem," Pence wrote on Twitter. At least 15 San Francisco players kneeled during the anthem. Indianapolis players stood arm-in-arm.
Later, some eagle-eyed folks on social media noticed something curious about one of the vice president's tweets, and Paste BN Sports columnist Nancy Armour took issue with Pence's staged walk-out.
— Aaron Rodgers burned the Cowboys once again with a dramatic last-minute drive to earn another thrilling win at Jerry World. Perhaps the Cowboys should consider a new strategy.
— After his team's heartbreaking loss, Jerry Jones took a hard line on players' anthem protests, saying, "If there is anything disrespecting the flag, then we will not play. Period."
— Packers CB Damarious Randall was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after he took a pick-six to the house -- then tossed the ball back at Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.
— No. 1 pick Myles Garrett made his long-awaited debut for the Browns and needed exactly one play to give Cleveland fans reason to be excited.
— Of course it couldn't all be good news for the Browns, as DeShone Kizer's continued struggles led to the rookie QB being benched at halftime of the team's 17-14 loss to the Jets.
— Another week saw another saw another sideline outburst. This time, it was Cardinals star cornerback Patrick Peterson getting in a heated exchange with an Arizona coach.
— Eagles receiver Torrey Smith went deep for a first-half touchdown catch and with an awesome celebration.
— The Chargers won their first game of the season, so let's not all pile on after the team botched a social media graphic celebrating said victory.
— Peyton Manning was back in Indianapolis for the unveiling of a statue in his honor. And he even took the field and connected for (another) touchdown with Jeff Saturday as his center and Reggie Wayne as his wideout.
TOP GALLERIES: Best of Week 5 | Anthem demonstrations | Cheerleaders
THE RUNDOWN
Panthers 27, Lions 24: Cam Newton dazzled and Carolina moved to 4-1 after holding off a late comeback attempt by Matthew Stafford and Detroit.
Jaguars 30, Steelers 9: Leonard Fournette rushed for 181 yards and two TDs, and Jacksonville returned two of Ben Roethlisbrger's five interceptions for scores in a surprising rout.
Eagles 34, Cardinals 7: Philadelphia buried Arizona behind 304 yards and a career-high four TD passes from Carson Wentz.
Dolphins 16, Titans 10: Tennessee fell flat without injured QB Marcus Mariota, and Miami did just enough to win at home.
Chargers 27, Giants 22: Philip Rivers rallied Los Angeles late as New York's already miserable season hit a new low.
Bengals 20, Bills 16: Cincinnati overcame three turnovers to hold of Buffalo in a decidedly sloppy showdown.
Jets 17, Browns 14: New York used a big play from the defense to eke out the win and drop Cleveland to 0-5.
Colts 26, 49ers 23 (OT): Indianapolis avoided an unthinkable start when 44-year-old Adam Vinatieri kicked a game-winning, 51-yard field goal.
Seahawks 16, Rams 10: The Seahawks reasserted their dominance of the NFC West against the upstart Rams.
Packers 35, Cowboys 31: It's probably safe to say that Aaron Rodgers really likes playing at AT&T Stadium.
Ravens 30, Raiders 17: The Raiders' once-promising season now is unraveling after a third consecutive loss.
Chiefs 42, Texans 34: Kansas City remained the NFL's lone undefeated team, but the postgame focus from this game will be on J.J. Watt's injury status.
Patriots 19, Buccaneers 14 (Thursday): It wasn't pretty, but the Patriots' much-maligned defense made important progress in containing the Buccaneers.
INJURY UPDATE
— Three-time NFL defensive player of the year J.J. Watt was carted off with a leg fracture and left the stadium in an ambulance.
— Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was carted off the field in tears late in the fourth quarter with a fractured left ankle. Beckham was one of four Giants receivers to get hurt Sunday.
EYES ON THE (FANTASY) PRIZE
First of all, in any fantasy league where Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is still a free agent ... grab him immediately. More bye weeks are coming and he just torched a pretty good Cardinals secondary for 304 yards and four scores.
With Ty Montgomery inactive with broken ribs, Packers rookie Aaron Jones stepped into the spotlight. Showing excellent quickness, Jones rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. After also scoring last week, Jones has established himself as the back to own while Montgomery recovers.
This week was the first real glimpse fantasy owners have seen of Indianapolis Colts rookie running back Marlon Mack's talent. After missing the past two games with a shoulder injury, Mack carried nine times for 91 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown. Starter Frank Gore, 34, isn't getting any younger so look for Mack to get more opportunities going forward.
Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins looks like a great fit for the new York Jets' short-passing offense. Over the last three weeks, he's tied for the team lead in targets and catches -- and on Sunday he hauled in his first touchdown reception.
Week 5 fantasy highlights: Bad news for Odell Beckham
COMING THIS WEEK
TUESDAY: Paste BN Sports' NFL experts offer their power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 5. Don't agree with our rankings? Speak up! Submit your own rankings to tell us where our experts got it wrong with our NFL FAN Power Rankings.
THURSDAY: Week 6 kicks off with a Thursday Night Football showdown between two teams sporting 4-1 records. Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers host Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles (8:25 p.m. ET, CBS, NFL Network and streaming live on Amazon Prime). Before the game make sure to check out our expert picks for every Week 6 game.