NFL’s Biggest Winners and Losers After Week 5
Jacksonville Jaguars
London treated the Jacksonville Jaguars very well. They finished their trip across the pond going 2-0 with a massive win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. They now have a head-to-head win over a team that will join them atop of the AFC. It could have massive implications come playoff seeding time. Their defense stumbled out of the gate, but finally has looked very good the last few games. Once they start getting out of their own way with the bad drops and turnovers, they can finally start resembling the Jaguars that won seven straight to end last season and almost beat the Chiefs in the playoffs.
New York Jets
The Jets were able to shove this win down Sean Payton’s throat. I’m sure Nathaniel Hackett had a few beers Sunday night to celebrate their win over the Broncos. Zach Wilson is still making a lot of mistakes, but the energy on the team is much better. When Wilson was at the helm before, every other player looked defeated. Now they’re playing with a lot of fire and actually trying to help him succeed. They still aren’t a great team, but at least they’re not an embarrassment.
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco is far and away the best team in the NFL right now. Every other top team has a hole. The Eagles’ secondary is shaky, the Chiefs’ weapons are below average, and the Bills now have a lot of injuries to key players on the defensive side of the ball. The 49ers are the only team where if you look at each unit you can’t find one that isn’t top 5 in the NFL. They absolutely crushed the Dallas Cowboys. It was never in doubt for a second. San Francisco is deservedly the odds-on Super Bowl favorite right now.
Denver Broncos
This was another bad loss for the Denver Broncos. Russell Wilson was sacked four times and one of them led to a terrible fumble. A fumble that gave the Jets a game sealing defensive touchdown. Sean Payton was supposed to turn this team around, but instead they’re 1-4 through five weeks with a road game against Kansas City up next. Russell Wilson’s massive contract still hasn’t kicked in yet and Sean Payton is reportedly getting 17-20 million a year for the next five seasons. It’s safe to say the situation in Denver is bleak.
New England Patriots
I would say the panic button has been pushed in Foxborough, but that should have happened a couple weeks ago. Mac Jones is terrible. I don’t care if he doesn’t have weapons. I don’t care if his offensive line isn’t the best. His decision making is bad and his arm strength is garbage. He’s just not good. I think Belichick knows this. Unfortunately, he also knows there really isn’t anything he can do about it. No quarterback on the open market can turn this team around. The Patriots have entered the Caleb Williams sweepstakes. It would be fitting if the bastards that won a Super Bowl seemingly every other year for two decades were able to somehow get the best college prospect since Andrew Luck.
Baltimore Ravens
Are the Ravens ever going to fix their weapons problem? They combined for 7 drops in this game. They were letting Lamar down at every turn. Baltimore had multiple chances to win this game and take a commanding lead in the AFC North. This would have been their third division win and all of them would have been on the road. They can never seem to win the big games. The games that take stones to win. If it’s even remotely difficult, the Ravens will find a way to lose.
We went 1-1 this week. As soon as we bet the under in a game involving the Bengals, Joe Burrow decided to play like his regular self again. “Thems the breaks” as they say. We move our 2023 record to 7-5. The board is much better next week, so be sure to check out our Sunday morning post. Also, if you read our picks section this last Sunday, you would have seen we gave out SF -3 @ Cleveland. We saw the movement coming as the line is now SF -4.5. If we see movement like this coming, we will be sure to note them here so you can get a better number (if you like that side).