The worst division in the NFL got a perfectly fitting end to Sunday’s game.
The New York Giants celebrated a tie. They should have because the Washington Commanders had a game-management fiasco that will be remembered for a long time.
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The Commanders were in field-goal range near the end of an ugly overtime and without any timeouts. Washington took its time to run a final play in the last minute with the clock running. By the time they snapped it and quarterback Jayden Daniels was tackled after running around for a while, there were fewer than 10 seconds left and it wasn’t enough time to get lined up and spike the ball (to stop the clock for a game-winning field goal attempt) before the overtime ended.
The Giants and Commanders tied 27-27. It’s the kind of mistake that will not get Washington head coach Dan Quinn off the hot seat. It was inexcusable for an NFL team to not get a field-goal attempt off at the end. What happened will be remembered for perhaps the worst clock management error in recent NFL history. The Commanders called a pass play, and Daniels got tackled instead of throwing it away. They needed something that stopped the clock, whether it was a completion near the sideline, a throwaway or any play snapped earlier in which they could have spiked the ball. It was a coaching mistake and Daniels’ mistake too.
“Ultimately, you know, it’s on me,” Daniels told reporters postgame of the mishap.
Quinn said the disaster wasn’t on Daniels, admitting that Washington should’ve spiked the ball instead of run a passing play that had recivers go downfield before time expired.
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“Leaving tonight with a tie feels like a loss,” Quinn said.
It summed up the NFC East this season.
The Dallas Cowboys looked horrendous Thursday night in losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their undrafted rookie quarterback. The Philadelphia Eagles took a brutal walk-off loss in London on Sunday that they might not rebound from, on top of all their injury issues. The Giants are 3-1-1 and they didn’t cover themselves in glory on Sunday either.
But it was better than the Commanders.
The unbelievable clock management at the end was the finish of a collapse by the Commanders. The Giants came back after the Commanders took a 27-13 lead in the fourth quarter. New York took the game to overtime on a Malik Nabers touchdown catch with 1:43 left in regulation. New York got the ball first in overtime but Dominic Zvada pushed a field goal wide left. The Commanders punted after their drive stalled and they took a delay of game penalty on fourth-and-5. The Giants drove into field-goal range but Cam Skattebo lost a fumble. It was ugly, even before the final minute.
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The Commanders strung together some plays and looked to be in position to kick a field goal but managed to run a play with 55 seconds left, stand around waiting for the next play, snap it again with 12 seconds left and then run out of time before they could spike the ball to get the field-goal team on.
The Giants aren’t pretty but everyone else in the NFC East is uglier. New York needed last-second interceptions in or near their own end zone to win home games over the Titans and Cardinals the last two weeks. Sunday’s comeback to tie was impressive in some ways but they also fumbled away a shot at the win in overtime, as well as missed a field goal in the extra period. But a half-win seemed like a win, after the Commanders were in position for a field-goal try. But thanks to Quinn, Daniels and a horrible mishap, we’ll never find out if that field goal would have been good.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 5 of the NFL season:
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WINNERS
San Francisco 49ers: The NFC West game between two of the best teams in the NFL had plenty of mistakes. There were key penalties and seven turnovers. Neither team played their best.
It was still high drama between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. And the 49ers left no doubt they are the No. 1 team in football after five weeks with a dramatic 32-29 win.
The 49ers took a 32-29 lead with 1:56 left on a field goal. Jaxon Smith-Njigba immediately got a 35-yard catch to get the Seahawks to midfield. But then, on a third-and-10, Smith-Njigba had a drop. It wasn’t an easy catch but it hit his hands, and it’s rare to see JSN not make the play. On fourth down Cooper Kupp tried diving for the first down but was marked a yard short as he dove near the sideline. The play was reviewed and the call on the field stood. The 49ers had the win.
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The 49ers started 4-0, but hadn’t played a true road game and had a couple easy opponents. Sunday was a true test. It wasn’t always clean for them. But Mike Evans had a huge day with 113 yards and a touchdown, Brock Purdy made some big plays and the defense forced two turnovers including a massive one by rookie defensive lineman Gracen Halton when he stripped George Holani in the final seconds of the end of the first half and recovered in the end zone.
The 49ers are 5-0 and the top team in football so far. They left no debate about that on Sunday afternoon.
Detroit Lions defense: The Lions came into Sunday’s game ranked last in many defensive statistics. They were awful on Sunday night last week against the Carolina Panthers.
Sunday was better.
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The Lions defense had a solid game and the offense played to its usual standard in a blowout 45-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have plenty of stars at the skill positions but didn’t do much offensively until the outcome of the game was decided. The Lions led 31-7 with five minutes left in the third quarter, when Arizona started to get some meaningless yards and a couple scores.
The Lions got another monster game from Jahmyr Gibbs (207 total yards, two touchdowns) and Jared Goff played well too with 271 yards and three passing touchdown with a rushing touchdown on a quarterback sneak thrown in. That’s to be expected. For the Lions to be anything more than a fringe playoff contender it needs the defense to regularly start playing like it did Sunday at Arizona.
Kyler Murray: When the Minnesota Vikings finally got Murray and Justin Jefferson healthy for a full game, their offense didn’t look quite as bad.
Minnesota had its best offensive game of the season in a 23-13 win over the New Orleans Saints, which pushes their record to 5-0. Murray was efficient with 229 passing yards and another 51 rushing. Jefferson, coming off an ankle injury, had a great touchdown catch with three defenders around him in the end zone.
Murray was knocked out in the first game of the season due to a concussion. In the first half of his first game back, Jefferson suffered an ankle injury. Sunday was the first time they played a full game together. Minnesota’s offense looked much better. Its defense continued its run as perhaps the best in the NFL this season. And the Vikings’ lead in the NFC North continues to grow.
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Houston Texans’ defense: It’s not hard to shut down the Tennessee Titans’ offense this season. But the Texans still needed a game like Sunday.
The winless Texans, coming off a defensive letdown that led to a Cowboys victory, weren’t going to let it be a close game against the Titans. They looked like the defense everyone expected to see before the season started, as they clamped down on the Titans for a 26-3 win. Tennessee finished with 187 yards and scored only a field goal.
The Texans are 1-4, and while that isn’t a good place to be my any means, it’s better than 0-5. Houston needed a win and the defense showed up for it.
Drake Maye: Maybe all the talk of Maye being a below average quarterback was an overreaction.
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Maye was never as bad as he looked in some tough games last postseason and to start this season, and now it looks like he’s back. Maye carved up the Las Vegas Raiders and the New England Patriots had an easy 45-17 win. Maye had 374 yards and four touchdowns passing with another 25 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The blowout Sunday was the Patriots’ second straight win. Last week the Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills with Maye playing well.
Maye came within one vote of winning NFL MVP last season. Patriots haters were quick to pile on when he started slowly this season. It appears the slump is over.
David Bailey: The New York Jets had a difficult decision with the No. 2 overall pick of the NFL Draft. Many thought they’d take Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese due to his upside. Instead they took Bailey out of Texas Tech. It’s working out pretty well.
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Bailey had a massive game as the New York Jets got an ugly 17-12 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. New York won after Cleveland flubbed a punt snap and the Jets recovered in Browns territory, then Braelon Allen scored on a 22-yard touchdown to give the Jets the lead. New York’s defense held on after that.
Bailey had three sacks. The Browns were 3-1 coming in but their offense got shut down by the Jets, who were led by their rookie pass rusher.
Bailey was a fantastic pass rusher in college and that has translated to the NFL. He had two sacks in his first four games and then had a breakout in his fifth game. The Jets have a foundational piece for their defense.
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LOSERS
Justin Herbert: Herbert has to take the blame for most of the Los Angeles Chargers’ struggles this season. He hasn’t played well.
But Sunday, there wasn’t much he could do. The Chargers lost 23-17 to the Denver Broncos to fall to 0-5 and it was a rough day for Herbert with a skeleton crew around him.
Herbert was playing with a preseason offensive line due to injuries, which included both tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. He was without receivers Ladd McConkey, who was active but didn’t play, and Tre Harris, who suffered a hamstring injury in the first half. Herbert didn’t surpass 100 yards passing until the final minute of Sunday’s game. He was sacked five times, losing a crucial fumble on one, and threw an interception. He was sacked on the final play of the game when the Chargers had a chance to throw it to the end zone.
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It looked like last season when Herbert had to do it all himself due to injuries, only with many more injuries around him and way worse results.
Ben Johnson: Matt LaFleur got a little revenge on Sunday.
The Green Bay Packers head coach has been criticized and Johnson is a big reason for it. Johnson came into the head coaching job of the Chicago Bears with bravado, saying he was going to like beating LaFleur twice a year, then had two massive wins over the Packers last season, including a playoff victory. When Johnson won games with Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent replacing Caleb Williams the past couple weeks, the hype around Johnson got even stronger.
Johnson was humbled a little bit on Sunday. Jordan Love had a huge game with 367 yards and two touchdowns, a Packers defense that hadn’t been playing well shut down Bagent and the Bears’ offense and Green Bay got its best win of the season as it blew out Chicago 31-7.
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Johnson started Bagent over Keenum, even though Keenum was very good in his one start against the Eagles, and maybe there is some second-guessing that can be done there. Or, the lesson is, it’s just hard to win on the road with a backup quarterback in the NFL no matter who it is. But Packers fans will be happy to take a victory lap regardless of the circumstances.
Malik Willis: He has almost nothing to work with on the Miami Dolphins offense, especially since De’Von Achane is done for the season with a torn ACL. But he also hasn’t done anything to let the Dolphins know they can bypass a quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Willis is probably going to be graded by the Dolphins on a curve due to the situation he’s in, but he still needs to play better than this. With a minute to go in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals, Willis was 1-of-7 passing for 22 yards. No matter who you’re throwing to, that’s not good enough. Willis rallied after that, finishing with 137 passing yards, but he had two interceptions and the Bengals won 31-24.
Willis signed a three-year, $67.5 million contract in the offseason and it was a fine gamble from a Miami team that had no hope coming into the season. The Dolphins can easily get out of the deal after two years. They took a shot, after Willis played well as the Packers’ backup in limited starts, that they could find their franchise quarterback in free agency. It’s not working out that way yet.
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Colts GM Chris Ballard: The Indianapolis Colts’ roster is flawed on both sides of the ball. A quarterback they drafted fourth overall three years ago, Anthony Richardson Sr., looks like a bust as he backs up Daniel Jones. When the Colts signed receiver Alec Pierce to a four-year, $114 million deal it was shocking, and Pierce has 72 yards this season and is on injured reserve.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen gets a lot of attention for his time on the hot seat, but Ballard is there too. The general manager of the Colts has overseen a roster that isn’t good enough. The Colts lost 34-22 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday to fall to 2-3. The defense allowed Jaylen Warren to score on an 80-yard touchdown pass and a 50-yard touchdown run. The offense was OK, but Jonathan Taylor and Jones combined for zero touchdowns.
Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon let it be known after last season that everyone was on notice coming into this season. It’s not starting well for Steichen or Ballard.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni: It’ll be tough for the Philadelphia Eagles coach to bounce back from this one.
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The Eagles seemingly had a massive 17-16 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars on a Jake Elliott field goal with eight seconds left. But, there were eight seconds left. The Eagles kicked off and allowed Ameer Abdullah to return it 53 yards, giving Cam Little a chance for a 57-yard field goal. It was astounding that the Eagles allowed the Jaguars that chance to return the kick, especially considering they allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown on the opening play, though it was negated due to a penalty. The Jaguars lost their long snapper to an injury early in the game and the snap was high, but Little still hit the game-winning field goal. The Jaguars won 19-17.
For a moment it looked like a great win for the Eagles, who were heavily shorthanded due to injuries and right tackle Lane Johnson’s retirement. Jalen Hurts came through with a drive in the final two minutes without much help around him. Elliott’s field goal was clutch. But it ended in a massive disappointment, a long flight home and more questions about Sirianni after Philadelphia’s 2-3 start.
