Key takeaways and analysis from Week 5 in the NFL

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Giants stun Packers DeFodi Images / DeFodi Images / Getty

Are the Giants ... good?

Most of us held out as long as we could, and understandably so. The hot start was a nice story, but with wins over the Titans, Panthers, and Bears, it was hardly the most inspiring 3-1 mark. A comeback victory over the Packers in London, though? Now we're talking.

If you're seeking reasons to continue doubting whether this team is for real, look no further than the quality of the roster. There are still some major issues throughout: at quarterback, where Daniel Jones has yet to develop as hoped, and at receiver, where the Giants' active snap leaders are David Sills and Richie James. And yet, they keep winning.

It's bewildering cases like these that remind us: as much as we may like to play pretend GM - crowning or writing off teams based on talent we see on paper - there's often so much more to the equation. For the Giants, who may be the surprise of the year, coaching appears to be making all the difference in the world.

First-year head coach Brian Daboll, hired away from his coordinator post overseeing a Bills scoring machine, is getting absolutely everything he can out of his available offensive personnel. The healthy return of superstar running back Saquon Barkley helps, but Daboll's creativity has been a huge factor when it comes to moving the ball without being able to count on receivers to win one-on-one matchups. And perhaps even more importantly, his guidance seems to have had a major impact on Jones' ability to take care of the ball. After three years of giving games away with interceptions and fumbles, Jones has accounted for only three turnovers in five games under Daboll.

Veteran defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, effectively made the scapegoat in Baltimore after injuries led to a rough 2021 season, is off to an equally impressive start on the other side of the ball. Despite some similar talent deficiencies, particularly at the second and third level of the defense, New York entered this week ranked ninth in scoring and 15th in yards allowed. Then came the unit's best performance yet, holding Aaron Rodgers to 222 yards and coming up with a massive red-zone stop to seal the win.

Not quite having the same star talent as other playoff contenders will almost certainly keep the Giants from making a deep run into January, if they even get there. But punching this far above their weight this early in the rebuild - playing consistently clean football and thriving in the game's biggest moments - is an incredibly promising sign of what's to come under the new regime.

If this is how Daboll's teams are going to play, it's only a matter of time before the Giants are back to being regular postseason participants.

Rams in trouble? MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images / MediaNews Group / Getty

It might be time to start worrying about the defending Super Bowl champs.

Five games into the season, the Rams sit a disappointing 2-3. It hasn't been the easiest schedule, with their three losses coming against the Bills, 49ers, and, most recently, the Cowboys, but you don't get to make excuses when you've got a ring. And the losses haven't been all that competitive:

Bills 31, Rams 10
49ers 24, Rams 9
Cowboys 22, Rams 10

That's three defeats where, in total, Sean McVay's offense managed only 29 points. It wasn't too long ago that this team gave even the best defenses fits.

Keep that in mind every time you see a list of suitors for Odell Beckham Jr. over the next few weeks. There will always be a number of intriguing landing spots that feature both contenders and superstar quarterbacks, but outside of perhaps Green Bay, who could possibly need him more than L.A.?

This offense simply isn't the same without Beckham's ability to stretch the field and take at least some of the attention off Cooper Kupp in coverage. Allen Robinson is not only doing neither of those things so far, but his 12 catches for 107 yards make him the runaway favorite for most disappointing free-agent signing of the year.

As we've discussed in recent weeks, there seems to be mutual interest in Beckham returning to the Rams when he's healthy. Knowing how aggressive McVay and general manager Les Snead are when it comes to player personnel, it feels like it has to happen at some point soon.

The more we see the Rams play without him, the more it becomes clear that their only choice is to go all-out in pursuit of a reunion.

About that Russ contract AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images / Denver Post / Getty

This column may be called Sunday Rundown, but we can't get a full picture of this week's action without circling back to Thursday night. In case you missed it: The Colts and Broncos gave us one of the worst prime-time games in recent history.

The story of the night once again was the Broncos' offensive issues in the early stages of the Russell Wilson era. With Denver up 9-6 late in regulation, and seemingly in position to win despite being held without a touchdown all night, Wilson threw a brutal interception in the end zone on third-and-4. That gave the Colts an opportunity to march down and tie the game. He had a chance to redeem himself trailing by three in overtime, as Denver put the ball in his hands on fourth-and-1 instead of kicking the field goal for the tie, but he missed a wide-open KJ Hamler for a walk-in touchdown and had his pass to Courtland Sutton knocked away to end the game.

Make no mistake: Both teams are major disappointments. Focusing on Denver's special brand of stink isn't giving Indy any sort of pass for its struggles with a new veteran quarterback. But the expectations are a whole lot higher when you trade two first-round picks, two second-rounders, and several starters for a Hall of Fame quarterback, and then follow it up with a historic financial commitment. Broncos fans heading for the exits at the beginning of overtime tells you exactly how this is going so far.

The trade package, significant as it may be, is what it is. Nobody should spend a lot of time second-guessing that part of the move because, even if the trade proved to be a colossal failure, that kind of package is well worth the risk when weighed against the potential payoff. The contract is a different story.

Unlike so many other superstar player trades, Denver didn't reward Wilson with a big extension when he arrived. That the two sides didn't reach a new deal until Sept. 1, nearly six months after the blockbuster move, all but confirms that a contract wasn't a requirement from Wilson to facilitate a trade. And it certainly wasn't a must for the Broncos, who acquired Russ with two years remaining on his contract. It seems, then, that the deal was both a good-faith move to commit to their new quarterback, and a sign of the team's confidence in what they could accomplish together.

The five-year, $245-million extension carried a new-money average of $49 million per season, second only to Rodgers among the NFL's highest-paid players. Wilson's total guarantees ($165 million) are topped only by Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed deal. On the surface, you can even give the Broncos a pass for those numbers - that's the going rate for quarterbacks with his resume. The issue is that Wilson's five-year extension was needlessly tacked on to his remaining two seasons, so the arrangement effectively amounts to a seven-year deal with no realistic "out" for the Broncos until at least 2026, when he's 38.

Russ has always been at his best when improvising. Given the athleticism required to consistently dominate in that regard, and some of the limitations he has working the middle of the field from the pocket, his game was never a great bet to age particularly well. That he may already be seriously declining at 34, in the first season of what is at minimum a four-year commitment, should terrify Broncos leadership.

Wilson will be given every opportunity to settle into his new system, and we shouldn't rule out the possibility he and the Broncos figure this thing out - he's earned the benefit of the doubt. The longer the struggles continue, though, the more desperate the organization will be to make it work. That could soon lead to a panic change at head coach. For better or worse, the Broncos are all-in on Russ.

Being hamstrung by a bloated contract for an aging quarterback is exactly what the Seahawks were trying to avoid with the Wilson trade. Five games in, which team would you rather be?

Bucs, Brady get bailed out Julio Aguilar / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Suddenly unable to move the ball, and surrendering big yards on defense, the Buccaneers appeared to be at risk of squandering a 21-0 lead late in the second half against the Falcons. Unfortunately for Atlanta, and Tom Brady-hating fans everywhere, officials once again opted to make themselves the story of the game.

Somehow, a third-down sack of Brady with just under three minutes to play - where Grady Jarrett did little more than spin the Bucs quarterback to the ground - was deemed to be roughing the passer. Instead of Atlanta getting the ball back down 21-15 with three minutes to go, a touchdown away from the win, Tampa Bay was gifted a first down that effectively ended the game.

Referee Jerome Boger offered the following explanation postgame:

"What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground. That is what I was making my decision based upon," Boger told Greg Auman, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Everybody understands why the NFL needs to go above and beyond to protect quarterbacks. There are already barely enough starting-caliber passers for the league's 32 teams - nobody wants to watch backups take us on a roller coaster up and down the field.

But there has to be a middle ground, where one team and its fans don't come out of a game feeling so cheated.

The easy answer: Make these plays reviewable. And not necessarily the old "take five minutes to assess a subjective call" that failed so spectacularly with the pass interference experiment. We've got all the technology we need to have a booth official buzz down, tell the crew to pick up the flag they seem to have dropped, and move along.

As much as every coach will tell you it's up to his team to ensure the refs don't decide a game, that excuses the officiating. We love that games come down to one play - it just shouldn't involve the refs.

Unfortunately, it feels like a team getting screwed in the playoffs is the only way the NFL gets pressured into making an obvious change here.

Quick slants

Gabe Davis back

Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Gabriel Davis finishing his 2021 campaign with a four-touchdown game in the playoffs probably set him up for some unrealistic expectations heading into his third season. But who says he can't be a touchdown machine? Now healthy after battling ankle issues over the first month of the season, the young Bills receiver gave us yet another glimpse at that potential with 171 yards and two touchdowns on only three catches in a rout of the Steelers. Good luck matching up with Davis and Stefon Diggs at the same time.

Josh Allen is an alien

Sticking with the Bills: Now might be a good time to reiterate that Josh Allen's growth into one of the league's premier passers is among the most unbelievable development paths we've ever seen. Inside a few years, he's gone from a talented but erratic young quarterback to a polished, unstoppable freak. He was positively On One from the jump Sunday against Pittsburgh, throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone. With the Bills easing off the gas in a 38-3 rout, he finished the day 20-of-31 for 424 yards. Had this game been even remotely close, and called for Allen to keep airing it out, some NFL history could have been within reach. For reference, the all-time single-game passing record is Norm Van Brocklin's 554 yards.

Staley avoids disaster

Brandon Staley raised plenty of eyebrows when he left his offense on the field for a fourth-and-2 play at the Chargers' own 46-yard line while leading the Browns 30-28 with 1:14 to play in the 4th quarter. Staley is a Big Analytics Guy in these situations, and as you might guess, the numbers back up his decision to try to end the game. So, sure, maybe it was the right decision. But it's tough to reason with that call when you consider the matchup factors. Punt and you're counting on your star studded-defense to prevent Jacoby Brissett from getting 50-plus yards in a minute of game time. Go for it and fail, and suddenly the run game - the only threatening part of Cleveland's offense - becomes a realistic option to get the 10-20 yards needed for a field goal. Staley's defense held just enough, and the Browns missed a 54-yard kick, so it all worked out. Had the kick gone through, though, Staley would have had a lot of questions to answer.

Taysom career day

Who could have guessed that the answer to the Saints' offensive woes in the post-Sean Payton era would be a tweener their former head coach, to a fault, wanted to make the next big thing. Taysom Hill single-handedly carried New Orleans to a much-needed win over the Seahawks on Sunday, running for 112 yards and three touchdowns, and throwing for another score on his only pass attempt of the day. We probably can't expect such a significant workload from Hill in the coming weeks, but why not? This offense could stand to be a little more unpredictable.

Micah for DPOY

Michael Owens / Getty Images Sport / Getty

As Aaron Donald heads toward the end of his career, another young pass-rusher is ready to take his mantle as the NFL's premier defensive player. Micah Parsons has been an absolute menace as the Cowboys' defense has carried the team to four straight wins in the absence of Dak Prescott. Parsons' two sacks in Sunday's win over the Rams give him six for the season.

More Geno hype

In case your reaction to last week's Geno Smith love was "It WaS tHe LiOnS' dEfEnSe," does this do it for you? The Seahawks quarterback was once again playing at a high level against the Saints, throwing for 268 yards, three long touchdowns, and - most importantly - no turnovers. It didn't lead to a win, mostly because Seattle made Taysom Hill look like a Hall of Famer, but there's little doubt that Smith's late-career breakout is legit.

Belichick still the GOAT

The Patriots shutting out the Lions was one of Sunday's most interesting results. Not for the ramifications, because neither team can be expected to do much this year, but for the casual reminder of what Bill Belichick defenses can do. Despite entering this week ranked 26th against the run, New England just about shut down what's been a dominant Detroit rushing attack. As he always does, Belichick took away what the Lions did best. And with the passing game in far less favorable situations absent the steady complement on the ground, they had no answers.

Claypool a trade candidate?

The emergence of rookie wideout George Pickens has relegated Chase Claypool to the No. 3 role in the Steelers' receiving corps. There are more than enough targets to go around in modern NFL offenses, so such a designation is hardly what it once was, but it could make Claypool one of the most intriguing trade options at the midseason deadline. The Steelers, now 1-4 after a blowout loss to the Bills, look like one of the few teams that could be in a position to sell. And with a number of contenders likely in the market for an upgrade at receiver, Claypool could net Pittsburgh a strong return ahead of his contract year.

Stat of the week

Tonight's Colts-Broncos game is the first NFL game in which each team took multiple sacks, threw multiple interceptions, had multiple fumbles and failed to score a TD since a Giants-Bills game on October 18, 1987.

That was the last week with replacement players during the strike

- OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 7, 2022

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