Talking Points from NFL Week 5

Dallas suffers huge Injury blow

The Dallas Cowboys may have beaten the New York Giants on Sunday, but they paid a heavy price for it as they lost their quarterback Dak Prescott to a gruesome looking ankle injury. Dak was in tears as he was taken off the field and underwent surgery on a compound fracture to his right ankle. With Dak out for the season, the Cowboys will turn to veteran Andy Dalton to lead the team. Whilst Dalton lacks the explosiveness of Prescott, he is still an experienced starter having spent many years with the Bengals, leading them to the playoffs four times although he has never won a playoff game. It will be interesting to see how Dallas responds to the loss of their star, as they still have a really good chance to make the playoffs in a weak division.

Raiders hand Chiefs their first L

The Las Vegas Raiders stunned the defending champion Chiefs in their own backyard on Sunday, with Quarterback Derek Car throwing for 3 touchdowns and Running Back Josh Jacobs rushing for 2 more to help the Raiders win 40-32. The Raiders now sit just one game behind Kansas City in the AFC West, and have been about as unpredictable as a roulette wheel in a Vegas casino!. They have beaten the Panthers, Chiefs and Saints, but lost to the Patriots and Bills so it is hard to predict what they will do from one week to the next but they are definitely a team to watch. Kansas City meanwhile are still one of the top teams in the league, but their offense hasn’t been quite as explosive as usual over the past couple of weeks and this loss shows they are not unbeatable.

Alex Smith Returns

In one of the most heart-warming stories of the year, Washington Quarterback Alex Smith returned to action almost two years after suffering a life threatening leg injury. It was assumed by many that he would never play again, but Smith defied the odds as he replaced the injured Kyle Allen against the LA Rams. Whilst Smith was sacked 6 times and ended up on the losing side, the fact that he is playing at all is amazing, and he will surely win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.

Other talking points from week 5:

The Miami Dolphins enjoyed a brilliant day out in Santa Clara, as they destroyed last years runners up San Francisco 43-17. Miami raced out to an early lead scoring 30 points in the first half, the first time they had done so since week 7 in 2015!. San Francisco meanwhile benched Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo after he threw 2 interceptions, and it will be interesting to see who starts behind centre in the 49ers next game.

The Atlanta Falcons fired not only head coach Dan Quinn but also their General Manager Thomas Dimitroff following a 23-16 loss to Carolina that saw the Falcons drop to 0-5. Criticism has mounted on both men after the Falcons have endured a rough few seasons since making the Superbowl back in 2016, and a refresh was definitely needed. Former Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris will take temporary charge of the Falcons for now, but I’m sure Atlanta will look to hire a more prominent name on a permanent basis.

Rookie WR Chase Claypool had a day to remember as he scored 4 touchdowns to help the Pittsburgh Steelers best the Philadelphia Eagles in the battle of Pennsylvania at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh has now won all 4 of their games so far and are right in the thick of things in a top heavy AFC. Philly meanwhile has endured a disappointing start, with just 1 win and a tie from their opening 5 games, but the injury to Dak Prescott could open the door for them in the NFC East.

Russell Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks a dramatic win over Minnesota, throwing the winning touchdown to DK Metcalf with just 16 seconds left. Seattle look like one of the best teams in the league, and with Wilson at the helm they can definitely get to the Superbowl. Minnesota will be very disappointed not to have won this game, they had a chance to increase their lead late on but elected not to kick a field goal and ended up turning the ball over on downs, giving Wilson the chance to drive down the field for a dramatic victory.

Tennessee returned to action in style, dismantling the Buffalo Bills 42-16. Tennessee did not play last week after their game with Pittsburgh was postponed after an outbreak of COVID 19 at the Titans facility. COVID continues to wreak havoc on the NFL schedule with the Patriots game against Denver postponed this week following a number of cases affecting Patriots players and staff.