Here are the five worst losses from a Gut-Punch Week 5 slate.
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This one is only disappointing because the Bills offense only managed 23 points against an inconsistent Patriots defense. Many people were introduced to how talented Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was during the game, but he’s quickly becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the league and there’s not much shame in not being able to corral him.
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Where they should be concerned is that the Patriots’ thin group of skill position talent had a pretty solid day against their defense, which remains a weakness for the Bills as they chase the No. 1 seed in the AFC. It’s all good as long as Josh Allen and the offense are intact, but this was definitely a bit disappointing at times for Buffalo’s defense, which should improve as the season progresses. This was already an improved performance for the unit, considering where it has been.
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Dallas beating the Jets isn’t necessarily on a roll, but the Jets losing the way they did has been really disappointing to watch. Head coach Aaron Glenn hasn’t been able to get the Jets’ defense to play well at all this season, continuing his slide after Robert Saleh’s firing last season. Dallas scored 37 points when Dak Prescott put them through the air and the Cowboys’ running game just beat New York’s defense.
The Jets are 29th in expected points allowed per game (0.13) and points per drive (2.78), making them one of the worst defenses in the league. They seem to give up big plays at the worst possible time and have a clear need for an infusion of talent on that side of the ball. It’s really a shame, because the offense has been functional this year with some really fun highs, but overall they are too bad on defense and are now the only winless team in the NFL this year.
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Glenn was able to get the Lions defense playing good football before injuries destroyed his unit last season, but the Jets still, unfortunately, look a long way from being a competitive defense again.
This one is only in the middle of the pack because the Raiders clearly stink, but losing 40-6 and giving up six consecutive touchdown drives is noteworthy in a week full of brutal losses. Geno Smith had another mixed bag game where he was fine moving the ball outside of awful interceptions, and the defense just didn’t show up. Jonathan Taylor looked like he was running against a team of Pop Warner players and Daniel Jones had another efficient performance.
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It’s tough to lose 40-6 while also going 8-for-14 on third down attempts, but it was another day the Raiders couldn’t figure out how to score. They didn’t get a touchdown on any of their four red zone attempts and actually finished with -8 yards on 14 red zone plays. Not good!
The Pete Carroll experiment has been a horrible disaster so far and Chip Kelly has failed to provide a spark to this offense. Smith hasn’t been a complete disaster, but he has been changing the ball too much trying to force the ball down the field. Ashton Jeanty has had some nice moments, but he’s been tough behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league. Another rebuild will soon arrive for the Raiders.
The dolphins…it’s hard to even find the words. Going from what seemed like an easy win to exploit to letting one of the worst teams in the league execute a ridiculous comeback victory feels like the final nail in this regime. Maybe no one gets fired this week, but it’s hard to come back from a loss like this. Bryce Young even gifted the Dolphins two turnovers and they still managed to lose by three points with a regrettable final drive where they didn’t do a ton of anything.
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Tyreek Hill being out for the season is not a legitimate excuse to lose to the Panthers like this. The Patriots scored 42 points on them last week! The Dolphins had a chance to go 2-3 and potentially put together a respectable season, but going 1-4 and losing like thisIt’s hard to see them recover. One thing is for sure: Tua Tagovailoa simply needs to be more effective.
It took some of the most improbable plays you’ll see in a football game, but the Titans pulled off an improbable fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Cardinals for their first win of the season. It was so unlikely that the Titans threw an interception, and then the Cardinals babbling The interception and Tennessee recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. and this was after Arizona running back Emari Demercado became the latest player to miss time at the goal line. Tennessee also had its most productive quarter of the season, scoring 16 points to earn its first win and finally showing some signs of life as a cohesive offense.
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After holding the Titans to 115 yards and 2.7 yards per game in the first three quarters, the Cardinals’ defense was torched by 212 yards and 8.8 yards per game in the fourth quarter. According to Trumedia, the Titans had a 68% success rate in the final quarter of the game. The Cardinals simply can’t get over the hump and move into the top tier of the NFL’s best teams and are stuck in this mediocre land where it seems like they are a perpetual fringe playoff team instead of a certified division winner. Good teams don’t let the Titans look so competent.
Arizona has now lost three games this season by a combined five points, but 2-3 is 2-3 and the franchise needs to find some type of consistency to finish these games and be the team the investments suggest they can be. Congratulations at least to Cam Ward, who should feel much better in his media conferences this week.
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