Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season brings a little bit of everything: unbeaten teams trying to protect perfect starts, a pile of 0-4 clubs searching for a lifeline, and a handful of matchups that could tell us plenty about where this season is headed.
The Kansas City Chiefs are off, which leaves the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers as the two undefeated teams carrying the banner into Sunday. Minnesota heads to New Orleans, while San Francisco goes to Seattle in one of the week’s most intriguing showdowns.
At the other end of the standings, the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans are still chasing their first win of the year. Houston and Tennessee meet in Nashville on Sunday.
Thursday night opens with Tampa Bay at Dallas. The Buccaneers, who were the only NFC team to make the playoffs in each season from 2020-24, are now the conference’s lone winless team. Dallas has been rolling offensively, with 31-plus points in three straight games.
The Sunday slate starts in London, where Philadelphia meets Jacksonville. The Eagles blew a late lead against the Rams and could be shorthanded, while Liam Coen’s Jaguars have been one of the early surprises. Coen took over a 4-13 team in 2025, and with last season’s wild card loss included, Jacksonville is 16-6 under his command.
Chicago and Green Bay renew a rivalry that has tilted toward the Bears lately. Chicago snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series in 2024, and including last year’s playoff win at Soldier Field, the Bears have taken three of the last four meetings. The numbers on the ground tell a big part of the story too: Chicago leads the NFL with 785 rushing yards, while Green Bay has just 232, the fewest in the league.
Cincinnati travels to Miami in a matchup of very different starts. The Bengals opened 2-0 before dropping tight games to Pittsburgh and Jacksonville by a combined eight points. The Dolphins are 0-4 for the first time since they lost their first seven games in 2019, and Jeff Hafley’s team has been held to 13 or fewer points in every game this season.
Las Vegas heads to New England after showing plenty of fight in a close loss to Kansas City. The Raiders lead the league with nine takeaways and will try to win in Foxborough for the second straight year. The Patriots, meanwhile, have been careless with the ball, with 10 turnovers tied for the most in the NFL.
Minnesota’s trip to New Orleans puts the league’s stingiest defense against the league’s leakiest one. The Vikings have allowed only 51 points, best in the NFL, and have already won two games without scoring a touchdown. New Orleans has given up 128 points, more than any team in football.
Cleveland goes to the Jets looking to keep rolling after bouncing back from its Week 1 disaster at Jacksonville. The Browns have won three in a row for the first time since 2023. New York has lost three straight, and last Sunday’s 492-157 total-yard deficit in Chicago underlined just how rough things have been.
Indianapolis visits Pittsburgh in a game that carries some recent baggage for the Colts. It was this matchup last season in Week 9 when Indianapolis’ 2025 campaign started to unravel.
The Colts have recovered from an 0-2 start to get back to .500, but turnovers remain a problem. Pittsburgh’s defense, meanwhile, has been hard to pin down through the first month.
Houston and Tennessee meet in an AFC South battle of winless teams. A year ago, DeMeco Ryans’s club started 0-3 and still made the playoffs, but this season the Texans’ talented defense has disappeared. Tennessee had some moments in Baltimore last week, though the Titans are only 3-7 in their last 10 meetings with Houston in this series.
The Giants head to Washington with Jameis Winston at quarterback and Jayden Daniels expected back for Dan Quinn’s team. Washington has allowed 30-plus points in three straight games, and its defense has also given up 11 touchdown passes, tied for the most in the NFL.
Denver’s trip to the Chargers features two teams trying to climb out of shaky starts in the AFC West. The Broncos rank 29th in the league in both rushing offense and rushing defense. Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers share an NFL-high 10 turnovers with New England.
Detroit visits Arizona in another matchup against a team coming off a last-place finish in its division. It’s the third time this season Dan Campbell’s team has faced a club that also finished at the bottom of its division in 2025. The Cardinals have dropped three in a row, but they’ve shown enough scoring punch to make this one dangerous for the Lions.
Seattle closes the Sunday schedule against San Francisco, and the setting matters. The 49ers have won their last four regular-season games at Lumen Field, but last year’s memory in Seattle is still a loud one: Kyle Shanahan’s team was beaten 41-6 in the divisional round. The Seahawks have produced 11 sacks, while San Francisco has yet to allow a quarterback trap.
In Other News...
Kelly Stafford Just Raised A Bigger Question About The Rams Future
Kelly Staffords latest interview offered a reminder that life around an NFL quarterback in Los Angeles comes with pressures well beyond the field. She talked about the citys appearance culture and how it has shaped her own experience, along with the world her daughters are growing up in, while also acknowledging the family pull back toward Georgia and the comfort of being closer to home.
The bigger takeaway for Rams fans is not any immediate roster news, but the uncertainty surrounding what comes after Matthew Staffords playing days. Kelly Stafford said the familys future in Los Angeles is still unsettled, with her daughters rooted where they are and her husband leaning toward staying put, leaving a familiar offseason question hanging over the quarterbacks long-term plans without answering it. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Defense Must Hold Up Until Myles Garrett Can Truly Matter
Myles Garretts arrival was supposed to give the Rams defense a jolt, but the start of the season has mostly been about patience. He has already missed three of the four games while recovering from knee surgery, and his return is not expected for at least six weeks, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. For now, the Rams have had to lean on a unit that has held up better than expected without him.
The bigger picture is still what made the move so intriguing in the first place: Garrett has yet to take a snap alongside Aaron Donald, and that pairing is more of a second-half storyline than an immediate one. Even when Garrett does get back, his impact this season will likely be measured by how quickly he can fit back in and how much the defense can keep thriving until he can truly matter. [Read more 🡒]
Sean McVay Sparked Something Rams Fans Have Been Waiting For
Down 20-10 entering the fourth quarter against the Eagles, the Rams were staring at a game that had started to slip away. Sean McVays sideline message to the offense helped reset the mood, and Los Angeles responded with the kind of finish that has long been part of the coachs reputation when his team needs a spark.
The Rams put up 14 unanswered points after that huddle, while the defense did its part by slowing Philadelphia late and helping close the door on the comeback. For a team that has been looking for more of that old late-game punch, it was the sort of rally that can change the feel of a week, even if the broader questions around consistency still remain. [Read more 🡒]