Plus, Alex Smith’s comeback is complete but Washington still can’t figure out their quarterbacks, Carson Wentz gets back to his old self, A.J. Green takes a day off, Texans get on the board, rookie receivers shine for Raiders and Steelers, and much more.
Reacting and overreacting to everything that happened in the Week 5 Sunday afternoon games...
Things That Made Me Giddy
Derek Carr, Act II: Ever since Jon Gruden arrived there’s been this undercurrent of negativity surrounding Carr (often fueled by his play, to be fair), and it seemed like Gruden was likely to move on as soon as he got the opportunity. A big question was whether Carr’s reluctance to attack downfield last season was on him or on the lack of a downfield threat. His connections with Henry Ruggs in Kansas City helped provide some clarity. Carr went on the road and outdueled the best quarterback in the planet in his own building.
Henry Ruggs: That’s the stuff. He was a game-breaker in the upset win in Kansas City. Only two catches, but 118 yards between two big plays.
Ruggs Running Deep Out of a Tight Formation: We’ll go to the dots to show on the Ruggs touchdown—and show why Daniel Sorensen (49) owes Charvarius Ward (35) a Coke. (It was a third-down blitz and Sorensen got sucked up by Hunter Renfrow—it happens.)
Carson Wentz Was Tremendous: With Zach Ertz, considered his one reliable weapon, just going through the motions, Wentz used a Travis Fulgham-centric attack to get after the best defense in football. The two interceptions weren’t on him—one was a clear defensive pass interference penalty, and the other was a Hail Mary. He did misfire a couple of times, but those mistakes were outweighed by a number of spectacular plays late in the down. His best throw of the day was actually a miss, when he was just beyond John Hightower’s fingertips 50 yards downfield while getting his ribs caved in as he released it. He also had another should’ve-been touchdown that went through Hightower’s hands. Whatever was wrong in Weeks 1-3, they don’t seem to be wrong anymore.
The Legend of Travis Fulgham: He followed up last Sunday night’s star turn with 10 catches for 152 yards in Pittsburgh, owning Steven Nelson in this one. And with Zach Ertz struggling, Fulgham has emerged as Carson Wentz’s more reliable weapon.
Matt Rhule, for Your Consideration: The Panthers are young but, objectively, a bottom-five roster in terms of talent. They’ve now won three straight, all without their best individual player (Christian McCaffrey), and all their wins coming courtesy Rhule and his coaching staff outclassing the other sideline.
Chase Claypool Is an Alpha: Four touchdowns would tell you that, but the Steelers are manufacturing touches for him the way you see the Rams use a Robert Woods or the 49ers a Kyle Shanahan.
Romeo Crennel Is the Bill Walsh of Interim Coaches: It wasn’t quite snapping the Packers’ 19-game winning in his first game as interim coach in K.C., but the Texans took care of business against the Jaguars’ split squad team and Crennel now has a .750 win percentage as an interim head coach.
The Ravens Smash the Bengals: Not a whole lot to say—anyone expecting some Joe Burrow magic left sorely disappointed. The Bengals had 205 yards of offense, averaged 3.2 yards per play and went 3-for-16 on third downs. It was not a competitive game.
Miles Sanders: Two first-half touchdowns, including a 74-yard run in Pittsburgh—and in his hometown with his mom in attendance. That performance was an early Mother’s Day present. Or a very late one.
Alex Smith Returns: There are plenty of us who weren’t sure if he should have come back. But the point is he wanted to comeback, medical professionals cleared him, and he made it back. That can be celebrated. (As for his actual play on the field on Sunday, his mobility was limited but he was otherwise the same guy he was two years ago: Holding the ball at his belt buckle, verifying coverage multiple times after the snap and then lowering his eyes. Smith is a great guy and Ron Rivera might be able to rally the locker room around the fact that he’s a great story, but Rivera is not being honest if he believes Smith gives them a better chance to win games than Dwayne Haskins.)
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Regrets
A.J. Green’s Day Off: You’d like to see some effort to catch the pass, though in Green’s defense it’s just an atrocious throw. The issue is when you combine that body language with the fact that that he actively avoids making the tackle. And look, it’s Sunday, none of us want to be out there trying to tackle people when it’s not in our job description, but Green has a good 15-20 pounds on Marcus Peters. For the sake of being the member of a team, he has to at least feign trying, put forth some performative effort.
Zach Ertz’s Long Day: This is 100% a penalty on Vince Williams—either defensive pass interference or illegal contact—though you’d like to see Ertz play a little stronger and finish the route. Earlier in the game he let Steven Nelson (who had the below pick and is also a 190-pound corner) muscle him off a route, which can’t happen to a star tight end.
Pierre Desir’s Cushion: Granted, speed isn’t everything in Gregg Williams’s system with all his Cover-2 looks, but Desir is playing with his heels against the goal line on every span—even against a Kliff Kingsbury offense that refuses to push the ball downfield.
Jaguars’ Season of a Thousand Kickers: It’s been five kickers in five weeks for the Jaguars, and Sunday was a mess. Steven Hauschka had a very good career, but he’s not healthy and on Sunday he managed to pull a 24-yarder and come up a good three yards short on a 49-yarder. (He did hit both his PATs though, so there’s that.)
James Robinson Forgets He’s Carrying a Football: It’s a fourth-down halfback pass call, and in Robinson’s defense the play fooled no one; it was going to end up with Houston either way. (Also in his defense, the Jaguars couldn’t try a field goal because they don’t have a kicker.)
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Moments We’ll Tell Our Grandkids About
A Mahomes Throw:
Another Mahomes Throw: It erased from history by a holding penalty, but in 20 years true fans will be trading bootleg recordings of it.
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What We’ll Be Talking About This Week
That’ll Do It for Dwayne Haskins in Washington: Not because Alex Smith or Kyle Allen took the job, but because after watching Smith Allen on Sunday there’s no way to argue either of the veterans gives the Football Team a better chance to win than Haskins did. There’s no other explanation: This coaching staff must be really down on Haskins. Move him for a late-round pick while you can still get it.
The Ending of the End of Dan Quinn: There’s no doubt that his team plays for him, but the defensive approach seems a bit stale and he’s trying to make it work with a bunch of backups. There has to be better problem-solving than this. Ownership has watched two of his offensive assistants (Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur) go on to become highly regarded head coaches. But the quarterback’s championship window is sliding shut, and they need some kind of change to the defensive approach.
After All That, the Eagles Are Probably Fine: The quarterback is back on track, he’ll have some weapons returning soon, and defensively the four-man pass rush is looking good (even if Jim Schwartz continues to make a head-scratching call or two every week). They’ll be kicking themselves over the Washington loss and Bengals tie come December, but this team is one again the class of the NFC East.
Something Tells Me Bill O’Brien Would Have Also Gotten a Win on Sunday: Against the Jaguars’ practice-squad defense, on an afternoon when the opposing kicker left six points on the field.
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