NFL Week 5 delivered a brutal little parade of self-inflicted damage, and the NFC East was right in the middle of it. Philadelphia, Washington and, in a different kind of mess, Chicago all found ways to turn manageable situations into disasters.
The ugliest ending belonged to the Eagles. They were already dealing with a long injury and roster sheet - running back Saquon Barkley (hamstring) and wideout DeVonta Smith (hamstring) were inactive, tackle Lane Johnson retired and center Cam Jurgens was traded to the Baltimore Ravens during the week - and still nearly pulled off one of the better wins of the season in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Instead, after Jake Elliott put Philadelphia up 17-16 with eight seconds left, Ameer Abdullah ripped off a 53-yard kickoff return and Cam Little nailed a 57-yarder at the end of regulation to steal it. A gritty win was sitting right there.
The Eagles let it slip away in the most painful way possible.
The final seconds also put Nick Sirianni under the microscope. His decision to kick short and give Abdullah a chance was questionable, but the coverage unit didn’t exactly bail him out by letting the return go straight through.
Even so, the bigger issue came before that. Philadelphia had 1st-and-10 at Jacksonville’s 34-yard line with 25 seconds left after the Jaguars used their second timeout, and the clock should have been the Eagles’ friend.
Instead, Hurts dropped back against heavy pre-snap pressure and had to throw the ball away. On the next play, rookie receiver Makai Lemon caught an out route and was tackled out of bounds, which stopped the clock again and helped Jacksonville regroup.
Those first two downs were the real problem. With better situational football, the Eagles never would have opened the door.
Chicago’s problems looked different, but the result was just as rough. Tyson Bagent had a day to forget in a 31-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Sumer Sports data showed only Case Keenum, who came in for Bagent in the fourth quarter, posted a lower expected points added per pass. The Bears did set Bagent up with the third-lowest pressure rate of Week 5 at 28 percent, but he still turned that into too much stress because he held the ball too long.
His pressure-to-sack rate was 28.6 percent, fifth-highest in the week, and he averaged 2.75 seconds to pressure, the fourth-longest mark in Week 5. When he did throw, it didn’t get much better: Bagent finished 12-of-21 for 87 yards and two interceptions.
By the time he threw his second pick late in the third quarter, Ben Johnson had seen enough. Even if Caleb Williams (hamstring) remains out for Week 6, Bagent’s run as QB2 has likely ended.
Then there was Washington, which technically escaped with a 27-27 tie against the New York Giants but played the closing sequence like it had lost track of the clock. The Commanders had a chance in overtime, in field goal range with 55 seconds left and no timeouts.
Instead of pushing for points, they bled the clock with a first-down carry. After that, Jayden Daniels took the second-down snap with 12 seconds left, scrambled without gaining anything, and was stopped at the line on the final play.
A tie on the scoreboard, sure. A loss in every practical sense.
In Other News...
49ers Face A New Monday Night Problem Against Washington
Washington heads into its Week 6 Monday Night Football matchup with San Francisco knowing the stage will be bigger than the setting. The Commanders have been sorting through defensive assignments and trying to get more consistency from Carson Daniels, whose recent play has shown both the promise and the growing pains that come with a young quarterback trying to steady an offense.
The attention only sharpens because of what the 49ers bring to the table, even with one of their most important playmakers unavailable. Washingtons defense will still have to deal with a veteran group that can stress a game in different ways, while Daniels comes in off a performance that showed how much he can add with his legs even as the passing game continues to search for a cleaner rhythm. The matchup leaves both sides with obvious questions, but for Washington, the bigger one is whether it can turn that pressure into a statement win on a national stage. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Still Sent A Frustrating Backfield Message After Jacory Croskey-Merritts Breakout
Jacory Croskey-Merritt gave Washington a needed spark in Week 5 against the Giants, flashing the kind of burst the backfield has been missing. The rookie ran hard, found the end zone and looked like a runner who could force his way into a bigger slice of the offense, especially after a stretch in which the ground game has been searching for consistency.
Instead, the Commanders kept leaning on veteran Rachaad White in the moments that mattered, a decision that reinforced the staff's preference for experience over upside. White was still handling the more important work despite a recent shoulder injury, and Croskey-Merritt now has to turn one strong outing into something more before the snap distribution changes in his favor. [Read more 🡒]
Micah Parsons Just Put A Young QB Under The NFL Spotlight
Micah Parsons made sure Jayden Daniels rough finish in Week 5 lingered well beyond Washingtons tie with the Giants. The Commanders quarterback was under the spotlight after failing to manage the clock in a key late-game moment, and Parsons used the miscue to question Daniels awareness in a situation where every second mattered.
Now Washington is moving on to a Week 6 matchup with the 49ers, but the conversation around Daniels has hardly faded. For a young quarterback, these are the kinds of lessons the league tends to deliver loudly, and the Commanders will be watching closely to see whether the lapse becomes a one-off mistake or the kind of detail that follows a quarterback into bigger moments. [Read more 🡒]