NFL Week 5: What Were the Biggest Surprises?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the Cincinnati Bengals? Max Hall leading the Arizona Cardinals over the New Orleans Saints? The Detroit Lions pouring in over 40 points?
In Week 5 in the NFL, upsets abounded, including wins from several last place teams and losses from many favorites, further proving that any team can win on any given Sunday in the NFL.
Most winless teams stayed winless. However, there were still many surprise performances from overmatched teams that were expected to lose.
There were also some disappointing performances from the top teams in the league who fell flat on their faces against inferior opponents.
Here are the top surprises of Week 5 in the NFL:
Tampa Bay Beating The Cincinnati Bengals
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The Buccaneers defeated the Bengals on Sunday on a Connor Barth field goal with just 13 seconds left in the game. How Tampa Bay pulled off this upset is baffling.
Tampa Bay committed three turnovers, including two lost fumbles and an interception. Josh Freeman produced a decent performance, throwing for 280 yards and a touchdown while also running for 20 yards. Mike Williams put together his strongest performance of the season with 99 yards as well as his third touchdown of the year.
The defense, however, lifted the offense to victory. Tampa Bay's defense intercepted Carson Palmer three times and recovered a Bernard Scott fumble. While Cedric Benson was able to run for 144 yards, Palmer was severely limited in the passing game. Not only did the Buccaneers defense accumulate three interceptions, but they also took one of the interceptions back for a touchdown to tie the game in the second quarter.
The surprising Buccaneers improved to 3-1, while the Cincinnati Bengals fell below .500 to 2-3 in what has been a disappointing season for a Bengals offense that was expected to produce big numbers.
Detroit Putting Up 44 Against St. Louis
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Shaun Hill and the Detroit Lions put up enormous numbers against the St. Louis Rams this week.
The yardage was not that impressive, but it did not need to be. While the running game had only 89 yards and Hill had only 227 passing yards, he distributed three touchdowns to three different receivers. More importantly, the Lions limited turnovers and kept their offense on the field, tiring out the St. Louis Rams defense.
The real stars for the Lions came on defense and special teams. The Lions picked off Sam Bradford twice and returned one interception for 42 yards and a touchdown. On special teams, Stefan Logan returned a kickoff for 105 yards to the Rams end zone, giving the Lions a lead they would not relinquish.
St. Louis lost an opportunity to go above .500 against a winless Detroit team after an abysmal 2009-2010 season. The Rams also lost wide receiver Mark Clayton for the entire year with a torn patella tendon.
While it may not be surprising that the Rams lost, the fact that they lost to a winless Detroit Lions squad by 38 points cannot easily be forgotten.
New York Giants Destroying Houston On The Road
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The Houston Texans entered Week 5 as a favorite at home over the New York Giants. They certainly didn't look like it.
The New York Giants defense destroyed Matt Schaub and the Texans, holding the high-octane Houston offense to under 225 total yards. Schaub was sacked three times, lost a fumble, and was picked off. Andre Johnson was the only offensive threat for the Texans, yet even the former Miami Hurricane was held to under 100 yards receiving. Arian Foster was a non-factor with only 25 yards on 11 carries.
The New York offense was another story. Eli Manning threw for nearly 300 yards with Hakeem Nicks accounting for 130 of those yards and two of Manning's three touchdown passes. Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for over 100 yards on the ground and limited fumbling problems that had been present in recent weeks.
After last week's performance against the Bears, the success of the Giants defense comes as no surprise. Same goes for the weak Texans defense which ranks last in the league against the pass.
The real surprise is the fact that the Texans offense, ranked sixth overall in the NFL, could not manage more than ten points at home. Despite taking only three sacks, Matt Schaub did not look comfortable in the pocket and rushed several passes. The Texans will have to make some improvements with a tough Kansas City defense coming up next week.
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Indianpolis Struggling at Home Against The Chiefs
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The Colts pulled off the win against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs this week at home, but it was by no means an easy victory. Kansas City may have been the team with the better record; however, on the road against the Colts, no one expected the Chiefs to play as well as they did.
Peyton Manning struggled to find the end zone, and the Chiefs defense intercepted Manning while holding him to under 250 yards, a feat that is by no means easy. The Colts were held out of the end zone until the fourth quarter when Mike Hart made a great dive following an 11-yard run.
Matt Cassel was similarly limited in the passing game for the Chiefs. In a day full of struggles, the former USC Trojan quarterback completed just over 50 percent of his passes for 156 yards. While drops from his receivers, particularly Dwayne Bowe, hurt the Chiefs quarterback, Cassel should be held accountable for his part in the loss.
It was difficult to tell if this is a physical Kansas City Chiefs team that will compete all year, or if the Colts merely had an off day. At 3-1, Todd Haley deserves an enormous amount of credit for Kansas City's success so far. Even with a loss at Indianapolis, the Chiefs surprised many by competing deep into the fourth quarter.
Washington Defeating Green Bay In Overtime
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It took more than 60 minutes, but the Redskins were able to beat the suddenly struggling Green Bay Packers at home in Week 5. While Washington trailed for virtually the entire game, Donovan McNabb led two fourth quarter drives that led to ten points, which tied the game for the Redskins. In overtime, Graham Gano hit a 33-yard field goal to clinch the game for the Redskins.
Washington has put together erratic performances all year with victories over Dallas, Philadelphia, and now Green Bay, yet the Redskins have also lost to the St. Louis Rams. Donovan McNabb threw for over 350 yards, compensating for the complete lack of a running game in the Washington offense. The Redskins defense essentially led the team to victory, limiting the Packers offense to 13 points and intercepting Aaron Rodgers in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal.
Green Bay's inability to finish the game and close the door on the Redskins despite several opportunities revealed several holes within the team. Aaron Rodgers, who lobbied coach Mike McCarthy for more responsibility within the offense, could not stay on the field and committed the deciding turnover in overtime. The defense was statistically strong, sacking Donovan McNabb five times and intercepting him once, yet the inability to stop the Redskins offense during crunch time has to be a concern.
The injuries to Green Bay's two starting tight ends did not help, but eventually the blame for this surprising loss has to fall to Aaron Rodgers, who could not convert and produce long drives and, more importantly, was responsible for Washington's strong field position in overtime.
New Orleans Losing For The Second Time In Three Weeks
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To some, the New Orleans Saints' loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 was not very surprising, yet the results still must be considered an upset. The Saints came into the game with a 3-1 record, but they have won those three games by a combined margin of ten points, including a two point victory over the winless Carolina Panthers in Week 4.
Drew Brees had just under 300 yards, but he also threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to seal the game's fate. The running game for New Orleans was weak, and a fumble by Ladell Betts was returned by Arizona for another touchdown.
Arizona, on the other hand, simply let New Orleans beat themselves with turnovers. Max Hall had only 168 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception, and Beanie Wells averaged under two yards per carry despite 20 rushing attempts. Arizona was able to put up 30 points with no offensive touchdowns because of strong efforts on defense and special teams.
New Orleans appears to have fallen victim to a Super Bowl hangover, while Arizona clearly misses Kurt Warner at quarterback. In any case, the decline of New Orleans has to surprise many who believed that Drew Brees would be enough to lead the Saints to another NFC South divisional title.
Da Raiders Comeback Against San Diego
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Every team in the AFC West appears intent on ceding the division to the Kansas City Chiefs, and the San Diego Chargers' most recent loss to the Oakland Raiders is further proof. The Chargers outperformed the Raiders in nearly every statistical category, including nearly doubling Oakland's total yards 506 to 279.
For the Chargers, Phillip Rivers threw for over 400 yards and Malcolm Floyd had a monster game with 213 receiving yards and a touchdown, yet turnovers doomed San Diego. San Diego gave up a safety, a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, and a 64-yard fumble returned for a touchdown, which sealed the game.
While Oakland's passing game was anemic, Michael Bush was able to gain over 100 yards on the ground, allowing the Raiders to control the clock to some extent. Despite three fumbles, Oakland committed no turnovers, and Jason Campbell could best be described as efficient in the passing game.
The Chargers fell into a tie with Oakland and Denver at 2-3 in the AFC West. San Diego has now lost to Seattle and Oakland, two teams that were considered easy wins on the schedule. If Norv Turner's team expects to catch up to Kansas City and beat out Denver and Oakland, they must win divisional games, particularly those which are "easy wins."
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