NFL Week 5 winners and losers
Week 5 winners
Don't doubt the Thomases: The Denver Broncos' pass catching Thomas brothers — wideout Demaryius and tight end Julius aren't actually related — combined for 14 receptions and 292 yards against the previously undefeated Arizona Cardinals, and each reached the end zone twice. Julius Thomas also caught Peyton Manning's 500th career TD pass in the first quarter. The Thomases not only share a last name, both are playing for new contracts with their current deals set to expire after the season. The price just went up.
DeMarco Murray: The NFL's leading rusher added 136 more yards to his total (now 670), bolstering his early season MVP case while remaining ahead of Eric Dickerson's single-season record pace. The Dallas Cowboys also pulled out an OT win against the Houston Texans to retain a share of the NFC East lead.
Greg Olsen: The Carolina Panthers tight end snared two TDs, including the game winner with 2:18 to go, to help beat the Chicago Bears, who traded Olsen to Carolina in 2011.
Odell Beckham: The New York Giants' first-round pick made his NFL debut a memorable one by catching the winning touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. Beckham, who has battled hamstring issues for months, finished with four catches for 44 yards.
Tom Brady: OK, now everyone in New England can R-E-L-A-X along with the good folks of Green Bay. You, too, Jimmy Garoppolo.
Saints running game: It churned out 140 yards, including Khiry Robinson's 18-yard TD gallop in overtime, on a day when QB Drew Brees was off (3 INTs) while mostly playing without his favorite target, injured TE Jimmy Graham.
Kyle Orton: It wasn't pretty early, but the Buffalo Bills' new quarterback eventually substantiated coach Doug Marrone's decision to bench EJ Manuel by leading the team back from a 14-0 hole to a 17-14 victory in Detroit. After knocking off rust in the first half, Orton passed for 195 yards and a TD after the break and moved Buffalo into range for the winning field goal with 4 seconds to go.
Gamblin' Mike Pettine: Who knows what he said in the locker room to his Cleveland Browns, who were down 28-10 at the half. But the coach's gutsy challenge overturned a Tennessee Titans first down with 3:09 to go — Tennessee counterpart Ken Whisenhunt then made the wrong call by going for it on fourth-and-1 at his own 42 on the next play (it failed, along with Coach Whiz's challenge) — and Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer fired the winning TD pass two minutes later to cap a 26-0 run and the biggest comeback in franchise history.
VIDEO: Week 5 around the NFL
Week 5 losers
Gamblin' Mike Smith: With the Atlanta Falcons trailing the New York Giants by seven with 4:40 to go (but all three timeouts in hand), Smith went for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 29-yard line even though his team has struggled for years to convert in similar short-yardage scenarios. Atlanta failed again when Matt Ryan was sacked for a 9-yard loss. The Giants milked the clock and kicked a field goal two minutes later to essentially ice the game.
Undefeateds: Tough day in Denver for the Cardinals, who lost their first game of the year to the Broncos. Arizona also lost quarterback Drew Stanton, who's been filling in for Carson Palmer, to a head injury and had to watch rookie Logan Thomas miss on seven of eight throws in his regular-season debut. The Cards also surrendered their fourth-quarter dominance — they'd won the final period by an aggregate 30-0 score entering the game — after Denver pulled away to its 41-20 triumph courtesy of a 17-0 run in the final period. The Cincinnati Bengals, who typically don't appear overmatched until January, became the final team to lose Sunday night after getting picked apart by Brady's New England Patriots.
Lions kickers: It wouldn't be a surprise if Detroit is looking for its third kicker of the season this week after Alex Henery missed all three field goal attempts Sunday, including a potential game winner from 50 yards with 21 seconds to go in the Lions' 17-14 loss to the Bills. (For good measure, Buffalo's Dan Carpenter drilled a 58-yarder for the win.) Henery and rookie Nate Freese, who was cut last month, have combined to go 4-for-12 this year. (UPDATE: Henery was released Monday morning.)
Butterfingers Bears: Chicago held a 24-21 fourth quarter-lead in Carolina, but the Bears turned the ball over on their last three possessions — Jay Cutler sandwiched a sailed INT and fumble around a ball Matt Forte put on the ground — as the Panthers reeled off 10 points before icing the game with the strip stack of Cutler.
Alex Smith: The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback was one drive away from sticking it to the San Francisco 49ers, who drafted Smith No. 1 overall in 2005 but gave his job to Colin Kaepernick in 2012 after Smith suffered a concussion. However Smith — who's 32-12-1 since 2011, ranking him among the league's winningest quarterbacks in that period — was picked off by Perrish Cox with two minutes to go, preserving a 22-17 San Francisco win. Rare mistake for a guy who surely wanted to prove the Niners made one themselves by trading him.
Geno and the Jets: Rex Ryan benched Geno Smith, the quarterback he'd stood by for more than a year. But the coach won't be able to do the same of his beloved defense after a day when New York was trounced 31-0 by the San Diego Chargers and outgained 439-151. "First off, I apologize to our fans — those that are left," Ryan said after the game while announcing Smith would remain the starter. "This is on one person and that's it. It's on me." As ineffective as Smith was (4-for-12, 27 yards, INT), Michael Vick had no luck sparking the team in the second half. With the Broncos up next, chances are the nosedive will continue in dramatic fashion for the Jets.
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