The San Francisco 49ers still have a few hours before kickoff of their Week 5 matchup against the New York Giants, but it was a wild morning of football to get things going. We get to taste some sweet Seattle Seahawks tears, there were some unfortunate injuries, and the NFC West upheaval is going to be interesting, to say the least.
Seahawks blow it
I had the Bengals at -3 heading into their Week 5 game against the Seahawks. Things looked to be getting out of hand in a hurry as Seattle jumped out to a 24-7 lead. They got a huge 69-yard touchdown run from Thomas Rawls, and headed into the fourth quarter with the 17-point lead. I figured they would roll the Bengals and that would be that. And yet, somehow Andy Dalton and company chipped away at the lead.
They put up a pair of touchdowns, and then were driving down the field, down three with time running out. They had a 3rd and long and Dalton scrambled for a few yards, but was tackled in bounds with no timeouts. The field goal unit hustled out, and Mike Nugent kicked the game-tying field goal to force overtime. In overtime, the teams exchanged possessions, before the Bengals drove down and won on a 42-yard field goal.
The Seahawks now sit at 2-3. They could very well be 1-4 given last week's officiating shenanigans, but they're not. They're 2-3, and sitting in the middle of the NFC West. The St. Louis Rams lost a 24-10 game to the Green Bay Packers, which is certainly not an awful loss. They too sit at 2-3, awaiting the Arizona Cardinals matchup with the Detroit Lions. The NFC West is all sorts of scrambled right now, and I think the Cardinals end up taking home the division title.
Jamaal Charles injury
It was an ugly day for the Kansas City Chiefs. They were as much as a nine-point favorite against the Chicago Bears, and seemed set to cover, taking a 17-3 lead into halftime. Unfortunately things fell apart in a big way. Jamaal Charles suffered a non-contact injury that media are reporting to be a torn ACL. If that proves to be the case, I really don't know what the Chiefs are going to down. Alex Smith has other weapons, but his best bet to make that offense go is having Charles.
The Chiefs are now 1-4, and their schedule is not getting much easier. They have to go on the road to Minnesota next week, then face Pittsburgh and Detroit at home. The latter two are not exactly great teams right now, but a Chiefs team without Charles is not a good team. The Chiefs might quickly find themselves in the hunt for quality draft positioning.
Falcons remain undefeated
It was a wild one in Atlanta in Week 5. The Falcons could not shake Washington in regulation, but managed a wild overtime win. Washington took an early 7-0 lead, and slowly lost that lead. Atlanta rode Devonta Freeman in this one, and he is playing out of his mind. Freeman had 153 yards, and his eighth touchdown of the season. He took over as the full time starter in Week 3, and has been on a roll. In those three games, he has 362 yards and seven touchdowns. He's looking like the best running back in football for now.
The Falcons took a late lead, but gave up a field goal as time expired to force overtime. In the past, Atlanta would probably have lost in overtime. However, Robert Alford ran back a pick-six to improve Atlanta to 5-0. I won't put that pick-six on the coaching, but this team as a whole looks so much better with Dan Quinn at the helm.
Ravens are not too good
I probably should not put this entirely on losing to the Cleveland Browns, but the Baltimore Ravens are in some trouble. It is worth noting that while they had beaten the Browns the last five times these two teams met, the Browns had covered the spread in four of the five. So, close games have been the norm between these two teams.
The Browns looked awful for much of the first half, but the Ravens simply could not put them away. The Ravens went up 14-3, but it was pure ugliness from there on out. The Browns slowly got their offense going, and an overtime field goal sent the Ravens to a 1-4 record. Baltimore is without wide receiver Steve Smith and tight end Crockett Gillmore, but their problems seem to extend deeper. The Bengals sit on top of the AFC North with a 5-0 record, and they're looking pretty legit. I suppose they could fade eventually, and lose in the first round of the playoffs, but maybe this is a different Bengals team. Probably not, but maybe they have figured something out. I think most of us are just waiting for January to see if they bother holding up come playoff time.