Week 5 got off to a wild start.
How wild? It began with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers accounting for 66 points while Kirk Cousins went for a career-high 509 passing yards in the Falcons’ 36–30 overtime win Thursday night.
On Sunday, the action began early in London, as the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings beat the New York Jets, 23–17.
In the early window, the AFC takes center stage. Stefon Diggs looks to get revenge as the Houston Texans welcome in the Buffalo Bills. In Cincinnati, the Bengals host the Baltimore Ravens in a key AFC North matchup.
Later, the Green Bay Packers visit the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium before Sunday Night Football gives us a classic matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers.
SUNDAY
Vikings 23, Jets 17
My take: Let’s be real about Aaron Rodgers. Outside of the win in Week 3 over the New England Patriots, Rodgers has struggled. In the other four games, he has thrown five touchdowns against four interceptions while completing 57.1% of his passes for 5.5 yards per attempt. By any measure, those are brutal numbers. Yes, dropped passes and shaky protection aren’t helping, but Rodgers was brought to New York (2–3) with the idea of him elevating the offense. That isn’t happening. Now, the Jets are at a crisis point and face the Bills next Monday night in a borderline must-win game.
Stock up: Stephon Gilmore deserves love. Gilmore is on his fifth team in as many years, and he’s still providing quality coverage while making big plays. On Sunday, the 34-year-old sealed the victory for Minnesota (5–0) , sending the Vikings into the bye with a perfect record.
Stock down: Where is Breece Hall? He was fantastic last year with 1,595 scrimmage yards. This season? Hall has run for 3.0 yards per carry while also fumbling twice (losing one). If the Jets are going to pull out of this funk, Hall has to be vastly better than what he’s been.
Up Next: Bills at Jets, 7:15 p.m. ET Oct. 14; BYE
THURSDAY
Falcons 36, Buccaneers 30 (OT)
My take: Cousins is showing why he’s a difference-maker. After struggling in Week 1, he has had Atlanta (3–2) in position to win every week, and had a career night against Tampa Bay (3–2) with 509 passing yards and four touchdown passes. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have to be sick. The Falcons missed a field goal and threw an interception in the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter, but Tampa Bay couldn’t finish the game. Now, it trails Atlanta in the division via tiebreaker instead of having a two-game lead.
Stock up: Darnell Mooney signed a three-year deal with the Falcons this offseason, and he showed why Thursday. The former Chicago Bears wideout caught nine passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. If Mooney can become a consistent weapon, it takes ample pressure off Drake London.
Stock down: Tampa Bay’s pass defense needs to be called out. The Buccaneers allowed Bo Nix to throw all over them (by his standards) in Week 3, giving up 216 passing yards and 26 points. Then this fiasco. It needs to be fixed with the Ravens, Falcons, Chiefs and 49ers coming up over the next five weeks.
Up Next: Falcons at Panthers, 4:25 p.m. ET Oct. 13; Buccaneers at Saints, 1 p.m. ET Oct. 13
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Week 5 Recap: Who’s Up, Who’s Down, What’s Next for Every Team.