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    • What’s wrong with the 49ers, Bills?
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    What’s wrong with the 49ers, Bills?

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

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    Week 5 in the NFL, thanks in part to a long weather delay before the Dallas Cowboys-Pittsburgh Steelers game, featured more than 15 hours of action on Sunday.

    And there was no result more surprising than the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers losing their third game of the season, this one against the Arizona Cardinals. For San Francisco, it’s the start of a worrying trend; The team has now lost two games to NFC West teams in the last three weeks after holding a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

    Elsewhere, the Buffalo Bills had a stunning sequence late in the game, and the Cincinnati Bengals are already reaching a turning point in their season.

    Here are the winners and losers from Sunday of Week 5 in the NFL.

    WINNER

    The problems remain, but the Cowboys hold up against the Steelers

    The NFC East could be one of those divisions where at least three teams have a legitimate chance to win the title, so every game will be crucial. The Cowboys earned a huge 20-17 win over the Steelers, putting them one game behind the surprising Washington Commanders.

    Dallas has overcome many of its mistakes well. It held up Pittsburgh’s rushing offense, which ranked 10th entering SundayTh in the NFL to just 92 yards, more than 30 below his average. The Cowboys (3-2) also got a solid performance down the stretch from running back Rico Dowdle (20 carries for 87 yards) and controlled the clock late in the game, culminating in a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Dallas still has a lot of cleaning to do and needs to get healthy on defense, but that could add some positivity to what has been a mediocre season so far.

    This is a glimpse of what the Bears can be (if they pass protection).

    No. 1 overall rookie Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears posted their best offensive game of the season in a 36-10 loss. No surprise, it came against the Carolina Panthers’ struggling pass rush. Chicago’s offensive line has been a weakness all season, but Sunday showed what this offense can do with consistent pass defense.

    Still, Williams (20 of 29 for 304 yards and two touchdowns) needs to be better at getting rid of the ball, finding checkdowns or opting for a scramble. On a second down midway through the third quarter in the red zone, Williams bounced around in the pocket and nearly got a sack (twice) before frantically throwing the ball out of bounds. It took so long that a lineman from Chicago (3-2) was ineligible to play downfield. The game had already been decided, but in a closer contest such a mistake could prove unnecessarily costly.

    Broncos are piling up wins and creating a young, competitive team

    It doesn’t always look pretty and maybe the offensive stats aren’t impressive either, but after a 34-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the young Denver Broncos have now won three straight and have a strong, fast defense of one of the best in the game to become NFL.

    The Broncos forced four turnovers from the Raiders, including cornerback Patrick Surtain II’s 100-yard pick-six. Denver fell into a 10-point deficit early but conceded 34 unanswered points to put Vegas away. The Broncos generated constant pressure through their blitz attack, rattling Raiders quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. A defense like this is the best gift a rookie quarterback could ask for, and Bo Nix makes plays and takes care of the ball; During Denver’s three-game winning streak, Nix has scored a total of five touchdowns and not had a turnover.

    Saquon who? Giants find a dynamic playmaker in RB

    Okay, maybe fifth-round rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. won’t let New York Giants fans completely forget about Saquon Barkley, who went to the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent. But at least Tracy has shown that he should get playing time immediately and perhaps take over the starting role even if Devin Singletary (groin) is healthy enough to return.

    In a 29-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Tracy ran 18 times for 129 yards – an average of 7.2 yards per carry – and was the anchor of New York’s offense. He showed excellent vision and patience and also evaded Seattle tacklers. Tracy’s performance also helped open up the passing game, which was without star freshman Malik Nabers (concussion). The Giants (2-3) will need a more consistent offensive performance to compete, and Tracy’s big-play skills could be the key to that.

    LOSER

    The 49ers forget how to finish

    In two of the last three games, the 49ers have held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter against division opponents. San Francisco lost both. In fact, the 49ers (2-3) were completely shut out in the second half of Sunday’s 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

    Most of San Francisco’s offensive problems stem from a lack of attention to detail and carelessness with the football; The four second-half possessions resulted in an interception, a turnover on downs (because placekicker Jake Moody was sidelined with an ankle injury), a lost fumble and a game-winning interception. What makes matters worse is the context. The Niners had a two-point lead late in the fourth. A touchdown would almost certainly have iced the game. But the 49ers were inside the 10 and running back Jordan Mason had knocked the ball out. The Cardinals recovered. Arizona responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ultimately set up the game-winning field goal.

    Buffalo’s stunningly clueless and inexcusable game management

    The Buffalo Bills seemed to have a lot to be proud of; They fought back to tie the game against a good Houston Texans team after trailing by 17 points. Then Buffalo (3-2) got arrogant and greedy and lost the game due to an astonishingly stupid decision that bordered on malpractice.

    With the Bills stuck at their own 3-yard line with 32 seconds left in the tied game, offensive coordinator Joe Brady opted to run three plays in a row. The results: an offensive pass interference (rejected), an incomplete swing up the middle, and another deep misfire that represented another low percentage prayer. Buffalo hit deep from its own end zone, the Texans made a decent return and Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 59-yard field goal as time expired to seal a 23-20 victory. It is rare for a coaching decision to so significantly reduce a team’s chances. Brady and coach Sean McDermott did it.

    Cincy’s season may already be fading away

    The Bengals saw quarterback Joe Burrow throw five touchdowns while holding a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson inexplicably fumbled the ball at midfield in overtime. And yet Cincinnati lost 41:38.

    After the Bengals recovered that fumble, they played far too conservatively and ran the ball up the middle three times in a row. That led to a 53-yard field goal attempt where the snap was inaccurate and the ball was held even worse. The Bengals (1-4) simply don’t have a reliable rushing attack and Zack Moss has injured his right ankle. Their quick defense isn’t much better. Cincinnati’s season may already be upon us as the Bengals currently sit in last place in the AFC with tiebreakers.

    Nick Chubb isn’t going to save Cleveland or an irreparable offense

    Most of the problems start with Deshaun Watson and the worst contract in NFL history. The Browns are stuck with Watson, who is virtually untradeable as a player. His fully guaranteed contract lasts two and a half seasons before being voided. The dead cap number is so dismal that the team is better off letting him wither on the bench before cutting him – an unprecedented sunk cost fallacy in the NFL.

    After the 34-13 loss to the Commanders, coach Kevin Stefanski said, “We’re not changing quarterbacks,” but Watson isn’t in control of the offense. His inability to push the ball down the field is compounded by his inability to sense pressure. Cleveland (1-4) went 1 of 13 (8%) on third-down conversions. In fact, the Browns began the game 0-for-12 on third downs, which means – going back to last week’s loss to the Raiders – they had a stretch of 19 consecutive third downs without a conversion.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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