GOOD:
Browns win, again – Last Thursday week, Cleveland broke a 500-day duck by winning a game. This week they broke a 1,000 day duck by winning a game on Sunday – which is when most of the games are played. Baker Mayfield has ignited this squad and they’ few made field goals away from being playoff contenders. Seriously.
KC defence – Kansas City’s defence has a hype train which is outta control. And rightly so with wonder-kid Patrick Mahomes, speed demon Tyreek Hill, All Pro TE Travis Kelce and 2017/18 leading rusher Kareem Hunt. Today, in their huge AFC clash with Jacksonville, the KC defence came to play, stealing the headlines with 5 sacks and 4 picks including a pick six to Chris Jones.
Quietly Carolina – With Cam Newton on your team, it’s hard to believe you could be travelling under the radar – but that’s what’s happening in Charlotte. No one is talking much about the well-rounded Panthers who are 3-1, having already had their bye. We’ll learn a lot more about these Panthers, with Washington, Philly and Baltimore laying in wait.
Rookies Roll – Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen went 0-4 last week, which is perhaps not a huge shock. Well, these kids learn quick as the quartet all led their teams to victory, a first in NFL history.
GREAT:
Bengals Bounce Back – Entering at 3-1 and with much hope for the remainder of the season, Cincinnati entered its home clash with Miami expecting a lot. A 17-0 deficit was unlikely to be in their script. But, in a sign of a new culture in Ohio, the Bengals put up 27 unanswered points and stormed home for a magical comeback win to roll along to 4-1.
Vicious Vikes – The Vikings we expected are back. Minnesota entered Philadelphia in what was expected to be a showdown. And yes, the scores were close enough but Kirk Cousins and his defence found a way to be like the Vikings of last season, when they were a Philadelphia Eagles beating away from a home Super Bowl.
Crowell’s record – Isaiah Crowell has always had an ability to make a big play but rarely has he been fully consistent. This week he was both. A 77-yard score kickstarted things but Crowell was just getting started. 14 carries later, Crowell had gashed Denver for 219 rushing yards, effectively running over the Broncos for a big Jets win.
King Conner – They’d be better with Lev Bell. We get it. Nevertheless, James Conner will do and he’s a chance to be a Pro Bowler this season. He exploded in week five for 110 yards and two scores on the ground plus 75 yards aerially.
UGLY:
Helmet Pick – Mark Sanchez has the ‘butt fumble’ and now Blake Bortles has the ‘helmet pick.’ Staggeringly, BB threw the ball off his own offensive lineman’s helmet which ended up in the arms of a waiting Chiefs defender. Embarrassingly enough, Bortles just happened to do it on the goal line.
Terrible Tennessee – No touchdowns, no victory. Marcus Mariota and his team mates have to be sick on themselves for the loss in western New York. Yes, Buffalo played hard and Josh Allen is improving but Tennessee just had to win the game. To come away without a TD and to lose is just hard to comprehend.
Flaky Falcons – Atlanta are gone – you’d think. They’re 1-4 but worse than the record is the defence. Keanu Neal, Deion Jones and others are out and this once tenacious defence is giving up a zillion yards and almost fifty points. The offence is going okay but no matter how much it improves, giving up 40+ again will end their season for sure.
Miserable Mason – Mason Crosby is the all-time greatest kicker in Packers history. Today, Crosby missed four field goals and an extra point attempt. Truly stunning. He was at a loss for words and you could see his team mates, notably Aaron Rodgers, losing their way with each miss. In the end, Crosby left 13 points on the table and the Pack lost by 8. You do the math.
Josh Jenkins Sports 