NFL Week 5 winners and losers: Taysom Hill, Derrick Henry, Kirk Cousins, Bailey Zappe, Baker Mayfield
As the NFL season enters its second trimester, there are a few who are cruising and others who need to find the steering wheel before the season gets away from them
Once the Chiefs and Raiders square off on Monday, Week 5 will officially be in the rearview mirror. One-third of the season is behind us and while it is still all to play for, there are a few storylines eking their way out around the league.
None bigger than the now-agreed upon concussion protocol review in the wake of the Tua Tagovailoa injury in Week 4. Both the Players Association and the League have agreed to revise the way that these types of hits are managed. Players who show any sign of ataxia, which is abnormality of balance or stability, motor coordination, or dysfunctional speech, will be prohibited from returning to the game.
So in a way, the big winners coming out of Week 5 are all football players in the game. But let’s set that aside for a moment and look at the landscape from a standings point of view.
The Philadelphia Eagles are perhaps the biggest winners in the league, somewhat improbably remaining the only undefeated team left standing. They managed to top the Arizona Cardinals 20-17, no mean feat given the class of play that the Cards bring to the table.
Jalen Hurts rushed for a pair of touchdowns and converted two quarterback sneaks in the go-ahead drive to give the Eagles the edge.
Not to be outdone, Taysom Hill, the quarterback with the most impressive toolbox in the league, effectively beat the Seattle Seahawks almost singlehandedly, rushing for 112 yards and three touchdowns, while also passing for another in the Saints 39-32 win.
Questionable coming into the game, Hill is finally being used in a way that is reminiscent of the old Drew Brees-Sean Payton days, mixing time with Andy Dalton and with Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas out of the lineup, Taysom has become the key to the Saints attack.
Dallas are another team who have won big in their 22-10 trouncing of defending Super Bowl champions the LA Rams. Cowboy fans will be keenly aware that early indicators don’t often translate to post season success, but for all of the nervousness and caution, there is a team here to definitely get excited about. Without Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have had to look for other ways to score and it seems as if they may have found it in Tony Pollard.
In the Patriots 29-0 win over the Lions, Bailey Zappe played competently against an admittedly terrible Detroit defense. With Mac Jones out of action, the Patriots decided to test out the fourth-round pick and while Jones doesn’t need to worry about his job, Zappe showed that he has promise in the NFL.
Baker Mayfield is on the other side of that coin, with the clock loudly ticking on his career. Throwing a pick-six in Carolina’s 37-15 loss to San Francisco, he has the air of someone whose time under center is measured in quarters, not weeks.
The Titans have reason to celebrate the return to form from Derrick Henry, who racked up 114 yards and a touchdown in Tennessee’s 21-17 win over Washington. This makes the Titans’ third win on the trot and Henry looks to be back to his old self after missing most of last season through injury.
The Vikings dominated the Chicago Bears but still had to mount a come-from-behind 29-22 win. Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson have been one of the most powerful duos in the NFL over the last three years, and Cousins pulled off a record-breaking streak, completing his first 17 passes. He wound up with 296 yards and a touchdown and an interception on the day.