With Week 5 behind us, most people are ready to look forward to the start of Week 6, when the Philadelphia Eagles hit the road to take on the New York Giants on Thursday. Before we get to that match, let’s take a look at the biggest picks to come from last week and determine what is an appropriate reaction versus an overreaction.
The Lions are the best team in the NFL.
appropriate reaction
I said that yesterdayI stand by that statement today. Nobody is playing better football than Detroit right now. Since Week 1, they are 4-0 with an average margin of victory of 19 points per game. The Lions rank first in offensive scoring (34.8 points per game) while third in turnover differential (+6). Hell, they’ve allowed four sacks since Week 1, all of them coming against the Bengals, who have the league’s sack leader. The Eagles appear limited on offense. The 49ers have a myriad of injuries. The Bills just lost at home to a divided opponent. The Jags needed a 99-yard interception return to beat the 2-3 Chiefs. Pirates need award-winning drives every week. The Colts are the only team that has looked as good as the Lions, and Detroit appears to be better coached than Indy (as Adonai Mitchell has proven). The Lions have made the strongest case to be viewed as the best team in the NFL.
Emeka Egbuka is the Offensive Player of the Year.
Overreaction
I love this kid and think he’s a star in the making, but we need to slow down when it comes to the praise we give to Emeka Egbuka, who is one of the candidates to win NFL Rookie of the Year. Seniority seems to play a role when voters choose their award winners, which is why someone like Puka Nacua, Jonathan Taylor, or Christian McCaffrey seems like the more rational choice to be OPOTY. Nacua is expected to break single-season receiving and receptions records (1,999 yards on 177 receptions). Jonathan Taylor leads the league in rushing yards per game (96) and rushing touchdowns (six) while playing a huge role in the best offense in the NFL. McCaffrey leads the league in scrimmage yards (669). One of these players will likely take home the hardware even though Egbuka looks like an All-Pro through his first five games.
Devin Lloyd will win Defensive Player of the Year.
appropriate reaction
Right now, it looks like the competition is between Lloyd and the Denver Broncos’ Nick Bonito, who leads the league in sacks. Although the bags are incredibly valuable, sales volume is even more important. After all, the primary goal of defense is to get the ball back for the offense. Lloyd has 25 total tackles, 14 solo tackles, a fumble recovery, four interceptions, and a touchdown. Nick Bonito has 17 total tackles, 12 solo tackles and seven sacks. Unfortunately, Bonito’s candidacy will be hurt by the fact that he doesn’t have any takeaways this season. Devin Lloyd could increase his sack total significantly. The same can’t be said for Bonito, who will need to start fumbling or picking off opposing quarterbacks if he wants any chance of winning this award. With gaudy interception numbers and more tackles, Lloyd appears to be the current favorite to win the 2025-2026 Defensive Player of the Year award.
Joe Flacco will turn the Bengals around.
Overreaction
Jake Browning was a terrible quarterback who was losing games for the Bengals due to his inability to lead the offense. Joe Flacco isn’t much better than Browning and is actually statistically the worst QB in the NFL this season. Both of these statements can be true at the same time. Out of 33 quarterbacks, Joe Flacco ranks 33rd in quarterback rating this season. He also ranks 31st in QBR, two spots behind Jake Browning. Flacco has the second-lowest completion percentage in the NFL and the fewest passing yards per attempt. On top of that, he was putting up those numbers with the Cleveland Browns, who actually have a better offensive line than the Cincinnati Bengals. An immobile 40-year-old midfielder will not solve Cincy’s problems. Now that it’s startedFlacco will give fans a new person to blame for the Bengals’ shortcomings.
The Eagles and Chiefs are in trouble.
appropriate reaction
These teams didn’t look like 2024 versions of themselves. The Chiefs once held the record for consecutive wins in one-score games with 17. This year, they are actually 0-3 in one-score games. Meanwhile, the Eagles have one of the worst offenses in the NFL statistically. They rank 30th in yards (261.6 per game) and aren’t great at scoring points (14th). Neither of these teams really excels at anything, except for the Eagles’ scoring and red zone, which has more to do with rushing than anything else. Neither of these teams feels like they are a real threat to win the Super Bowl. It’s like they’re making their way through the regular season with the expectation that they’ll make the playoffs because they’re the Chiefs and the Eagles. Although they have the talent to overcome the goofy teams they are scheduled to face, I don’t think any of these teams will qualify for Super Bowl LX.
The Broncos will win the AFC West.
Overreaction
This win over the Philadelphia Eagles was important, but let’s temper our expectations a bit. Bo Nix has yet to deliver a complete game performance, which explains why he ranks 19th in QBR and 24th in passer rating. The defense is arguably the best in the NFL. They rank second in scoring (16.8 points per game) and lead the league in sacks (21). However, this unit has a fatal flaw: they haven’t forced many turnovers with only four takeaways on the season. They are already at a disadvantage in their division because they lost a game against a Chargers team they were leading in the fourth quarter. Once again, beating the Eagles was a big moment for this team and the coaching staff, but they still had their issues against two of the best teams in the AFC. The Broncos should win their next few games, but after that they face the challenge of a schedule that includes the Texans, Packers, Chargers, Chiefs twice, and the Jaguars. It will be difficult for Denver to win the AFC West, considering they are winless in the division in five weeks.
The Cardinals need to blow it up and start over.
appropriate reaction
Their quarterback seems indifferent, they don’t have any meaningful wins, and that loss to the Tennessee Titans was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. They have to go into a complete rebuild after the regular season ends because there is no way this group will make the playoffs. Whenever you lose to the Giants, you have to re-evaluate everything! Is Jonathan Gannon the guy you want leading your team when he’s calling out players for making mistakes, even if they’re season-changing blunders? It’s not like they’ve made a huge leap forward this season anyway. In fact, one could argue that conditions are worse now than they were last year. With a schedule that includes games against the Colts, Packers, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams and 49ers, Arizona will likely be 3-10 through the second week of December. Replace Kyler Murray with draft capital, fire the head coach, fire the general manager, and start over. This may be the only way forward for this franchise after that embarrassing loss last weekend.
https://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/3CTAP5K.jpg
Source link