Caleb Williams takes huge step, and what we realized in Sunday’s Week 5 slate

FOX Sports activities’ NFL consultants present the largest takeaways from each Sunday sport in Week 5 and what they imply for every staff going ahead.

Jets: If the Jets offense has an identification, it is definitely not a great one. There’s little or no they’re doing effectively proper now. Certain, it may possibly’t be straightforward for offensive coordinator Nathanial Hackett with a struggling offensive line and a quarterback who all of the sudden seems very previous, however his playcalling and scheme have gotten an enormous downside. There is no creativity in it, and he cannot discover a approach to get two of his most dynamic weapons — WR Garrett Wilson and RB Breece Corridor — open in area. All the pieces is screens and quick passes that the protection sees coming. And after they attempt to do one thing else, Aaron Rodgers finally ends up as a sitting duck as a result of the blocking has been horrible. 

The Jets had 254 whole yards in opposition to the Vikings — the fourth time in 5 video games they’ve had fewer than 270. Pretty much as good as their protection is, they cannot win that approach. Rodgers would by no means permit Robert Saleh to demote his hand-picked OC, however the Jets positive do want a brand new imaginative and prescient on offense earlier than it is too late. 

Vikings: Sam Darnold gained once more and has been typically terrific this season. However one factor to observe going ahead: He was holding the ball approach too lengthy on Sunday in opposition to the Jets. Granted, it was in opposition to a really powerful Jets secondary, however the outcome was that Darnold took a beating on this sport. He was sacked 4 instances, took approach too many hits, and even briefly left the sport within the first quarter when he was hit within the ribs. He appeared shaky, passing for less than 179 yards and throwing a fourth-quarter interception, and he did not lead the Vikings offense to a single landing. Actually, the efficiency was an echo of his failed tenure with the Jets. And with receivers like Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, that should not occur. They will each get open and may each make contested catches. Darnold simply has to eliminate the ball quicker. — Ralph Vacchiano

Panthers: Chuba Hubbard was not the talent participant I guess on breaking out within the Panthers offense — however he is that man. Receiver Diontae Johnson has but to dwell as much as his price ticket and quarterback Bryce Younger and receiver Xavier Legette and Jonathan Mingo have all but to dwell as much as their draft standing. With coach David Canales displaying as much as spruce up Carolina’s passing atack, I assumed one or lots of these guys would emerge. However as an alternative, it has been Hubbard discovering area on the bottom. He completed with 13 carries for 97 yards and a landing and may very well be within the combine to land within the high 10 in speeding yards this week — and on the finish of the season. 

Hubbard is about to be a free agent in 2025, however do not be stunned if he finally ends up sticking round. He is a match for the Panthers, and so they’re a match for him. He may very well be incomes RB1 snaps in Carolina for the foreseeable future. 

Bears: Caleb Williams lastly put collectively an entire sport. That is an enormous step for a rookie. There is no have to put an asterisk subsequent to it. I get that he beat up on the Panthers, the NFL’s worst protection. That is clearly essential context. However final week, Williams missed a handful of wide-open landing alternatives. He appeared approach too inconsistent. He lacked contact. He appeared hurried. 

All these points evaporated in opposition to the Panthers. Williams want solely look to the opposite sideline at Bryce Younger to know that some quarterbacks by no means have video games like this one. Williams was 20-of-29 for 304 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 34 extra yards. It had me pondering: OK, that may be a No. 1 total choose. It is a huge achievement for Williams — and one price noting. The following degree of his improvement shall be placing collectively video games like this one in opposition to extra formidable defenses. — Henry McKenna

Browns: So what precisely does Deshaun Watson must do to get benched? The Browns are 1-4, their lone win in opposition to an until-just-now-winless Jaguars staff, and so they’ve but to attain greater than 18 factors in any of their first 5 video games. Watson was particularly uninspired in Sunday’s loss to the Commanders. He did not get to 100 passing yards till the tip of the third quarter. Clearly, Cleveland has an enormous sunken value in Watson’s absolutely assured $230 million contract, however why not give backup Jameis Winston a shot? The Browns are averaging fewer than 5 yards per move with Watson, with a bottom-five offense that might use any type of spark. It is onerous to think about the Browns not ending final within the AFC North the way in which issues are going. 

Commanders: Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels deserves a lot of the consideration in Washington’s 4-1 begin, however what was most encouraging in Sunday’s dominating win over the Browns was the way in which Washington’s protection performed. The Commanders had simply the worst protection within the NFL final yr — final in yards and factors allowed — and Dan Quinn’s group is displaying actual progress. Frankie Luvu had 2.5 sacks, Bobby Wagner had 1.5 and a compelled fumble on Sunday. Final yr, the Commanders had simply 4 video games during which they held opponents underneath 27 factors, whereas each different NFL staff had at the very least eight. And now Washington has finished it thrice in 5 weeks. — Greg Auman

Dolphins: Nothing about it was fairly, however the Dolphins acquired a division win though working again De’Von Achane went down early within the sport in opposition to the Patriots. Regardless of the harm and a banged-up offensive line, Miami acquired the bottom sport going anyway. It is onerous to be that inspired a couple of staff that solely put up 15 factors in opposition to a struggling New England staff, however the bye week will permit the Dolphins to relaxation and heal up. On the draw back, how viable are they with out Tua Tagovailoa? The staff hasn’t proven curiosity in bringing in one other quarterback after Tagovailoa’s newest concussion and appears prone to proceed to lean on the run sport within the meantime. Perhaps that may be sufficient? 

Patriots: You need to hand it to the Patriots, they don’t have any give up in them. At the same time as they dedicated a penalty on what appeared just like the final offensive drive and did not convert the ensuing fourth-and-15 play, New England nonetheless managed to get the ball again with 29 seconds. It did not finally lead to something, however head coach Jerod Mayo has his staff preventing regardless of an absence of expertise, and there is one thing to be stated for that. 

There is no rhythm to the Pats offense, and it is terribly lackluster with an unreliable offensive line. That is the explanation first-round choose Drake Maye is not enjoying with New England enjoying the lengthy sport with who they assume shall be their eventual franchise quarterback. I am unsure that this season goes to quantity to something for the Patriots, however it ought to lay the groundwork for Maye to take over after some reinforcements are introduced in alongside the offensive line on the very least. — Carmen Vitali
 

Ravens: NFL groups have to rethink how they worth working backs after seeing what Derrick Henry has finished for the Ravens. He is without doubt one of the greatest gamers within the NFL, however as a result of he performs working again — and is not a lot of a pass-catcher — he does not get the credit score he deserves. Henry is as dominant as any participant at any place. Simply take a look at his game-closing run, when he rambled 51 yards in additional time in opposition to Cincinnati in Week 5. If it had been Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill or Henry’s teammate Lamar Jackson, we would be speaking about bookmarking it for his or her MVP marketing campaign. It was clutch and beastly and elite. 

Groups will attempt to rationalize that they will discover replacement-level working backs within the draft and {that a} again just like the 30-year-old Henry is on the verge of seeing Father Time take away his uncommon presents. However the fact is that Henry is a drive, and roughly 28 groups are sitting there wishing that they had him. Let’s get again to paying working backs what they deserve!

Bengals: Zac Taylor’s seat have to be getting awfully scorching. The Cincinnati coach had led his staff via a couple of gradual begins up to now. However proper now, the Bengals are 1-4, and they’re an extended shot at moving into the playoffs. It looks like Taylor may need gotten too snug falling into the early-season gap. And now, for the primary time, it actually looks like they cannot get out. Taylor may attempt to maintain onto his job by firing his defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. In any case, on Sunday, the Bengals offense put up 442 whole yards and Joe Burrow appeared nearly as good as ever. So there’s an out of doors shot that Taylor may scapegoat Anarumo and survive the season. Nevertheless it’s not wanting good for Taylor. And admittedly, Burrow deserves higher at this level in his profession. The Bengals want a coach who may help Burrow win a Tremendous Bowl, which feels as distant now because it did when he was a rookie. — Henry McKenna

Payments: Sure, Sean McDermott’s sport administration was expensive on Sunday, however a much bigger subject is Buffalo’s lack of a No. 1 receiver. It was clearly too early to say the Payments had been doing simply tremendous with out Stefon Diggs. I will admit it: I assumed that they had issues discovered. Over the previous two weeks, nonetheless, Buffalo and Josh Allen have struggled to get right into a groove within the passing sport. Receiver Khalil Shakir has been Allen’s most dependable pass-catcher, however he missed Week 5 with an harm. So the Payments’ passing assault went from dangerous to worse to open the sport. Weirdly, tight finish Dalton Kincaid had the worst sport of his profession with two drops within the first half. The Payments fell right into a 17-point gap. That is when Allen began reaching into his bag of methods to seek out somebody — anybody — to assist him carry the passing assault. There have been little sprinkles of Mack Hollins and Keon Coleman. However on the entire, this was a reminder that Buffalo continues to be working via the challenges of not having a real No. 1 choice in its passing offense.

Texans: Let’s keep on that matter, we could? It is unimaginable to overstate the worth of Texans receiver Nico Collins. Houston didn’t rating a landing after Collins left with a hamstring harm. C.J. Stroud appeared as sloppy as he is appeared all season, and the Texans offense opened the door for Allen and firm to mount a comeback. There have been clearly different components that inhibited the Texans’ manufacturing, however none was as clear because the departure of Collins from the lineup. He is without doubt one of the greatest receivers within the NFL proper now, and even with Diggs displaying up and taking away targets, Collins is placing up freakish numbers. Had he not gotten injured, it is easy to think about he would have put up his fourth 100-yard sport in 5 weeks. Even lacking three quarters of this week’s motion, he has 32 catches for 567 yards and three touchdowns. — Henry McKenna

Colts: Protection would be the downfall of the Colts, the principle motive they will not be a critical AFC playoff contender this season. They did not report a single quarterback hit on a struggling Trevor Lawrence and allowed two receptions of 60-plus yards to an offense that has been horrible this season. It could solely worsen for Indianapolis as a result of its line of defense has been decimated because of harm (DeForest Buckner, Tyquan Lewis and Samson Ebukam are on injured reserve; Kwity Paye was inactive Sunday). So the progress we have seen the Colts make in run protection after a traditionally dangerous begin to the yr may begin unraveling, too. A saving grace for Indy within the quick time period is that it has Tennessee and Miami subsequent on its schedule, two groups with dangerous offenses. 

Jaguars: The Jaguars have their confidence again. I’d dare to say it isn’t essentially as a result of they acquired their first win of the season on Sunday, however how they did so. All three phases of the ball had huge moments, and we noticed a game-winning drive from Trevor Lawrence, who had the most effective video games of his profession. The protection had its first takeaway of the season. Brian Thomas Jr. registered the second-longest receiving landing of the yr for any participant. Devin Duvernay had an enormous punt return that arrange the most effective landing runs you may ever see, courtesy of working again Tank Bigsby, who added a 65-yard rating within the fourth quarter. The Jaguars have two very winnable video games subsequent on their slate, in opposition to the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots in London, which is the Jags’ second residence. The outlook on Jacksonville’s season modified dramatically Sunday. — Ben Arthur

The next writers contributed to this story: Ben Arthur (@benyarthur); Greg Auman (@gregauman); Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis); Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano); Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV); Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams).

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