The fifth football Sunday of the 2026 season was chaos incarnate.
From the first kick in London, with a called-back touchdown return and two ejections, to Tua Tagovailoa's predictable seeing-eye interception to close out a Sunday night collapse in Atlanta, mayhem was the name of the game.
From blowouts to explosives galore to epic brain cramps and to a potential NFC Championship Game preview in Seattle, Sunday’s action delivered bedlam.
Let’s run through key storylines in the aftermath of Sunday’s pandemonium, including:
But first, we examine a head-scratching tie between the Giants and Commanders.
We must start with the Lament in Landover.
After watching a 14-point fourth-quarter lead deteriorate, the Commanders saved hope by stripping Cam Skattebo while the Giants were in field-goal range with less than 2 minutes remaining in overtime. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels, back in action after missing the past two weeks, immediately pushed Washington into scoring range, hitting Treylon Burks for a 13-yard gain to the New York 26-yard line with 55 seconds remaining and the clock stopped.
Washington was well within Drew Stevens' field goal range for a game-winner. The rookie has been a perfect 7-for-7 under 50 yards this season. With zero timeouts left, the Commanders elected to run Rachaad White into the pile -- given that exact situation led to Skattebo’s fumble, it was an interesting decision. Things got worse from there.
Washington let the clock tick down, hiking it with 12 seconds left. Daniels then ran around before taking a sack. The starting QB then briefly and inexplicably remained on the ground for a beat, as if he didn’t realize the horrible mistake. By the time Washington lined up to spike the ball, the clock was at zero. Tie game.
Yuck.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn stood stupefied near the sideline after his team turned a chance to win into an ugly, ugly tie.
Quinn and Daniels each took blame for the botch as they should. There are brain farts, then there is whatever rhino flatulence Washington discharged. The entire situation was mishandled from start to finish.
I can understand wanting to drain the clock in case of a missed FG attempt, but this wasn’t the way to do it. Washington should have gotten out of the huddle after the first-down run, knelt on whatever hash Stevens prefers, with all players staying relatively in formation, then spiked it with a few ticks left to set up the game-winning try. There was plenty of time to communicate all of that with the clock stopped following the Burks catch.
The fact that the wideouts ran routes and Daniels scrambled around on the final play suggests this wasn't the intended plan.
The QB will take the brunt of the criticism. He should. Even if that was the plan, the franchise quarterback should have known to dirt it the moment things went awry. That he sat on the ground for a beat after being taken down compounded the mistake. Daniels did all the heavy lifting to get the Commanders in position to win throughout the game, only to have it undone by an inconceivable final play.
Yet I place the brunt of the blame at Quinn’s feet. No, this wasn’t 28-3, but Sunday’s outcome underscores the lack of attention to detail that has plagued his squad. Coaches consistently talk about crossing every T and dotting every I. The Commanders' pen must have run out of ink.
The reality is, Washington was lucky to have tied. If Skattebo holds the ball, we’re talking about Quinn’s squad taking an L in a game they held a 14-point lead with under 8 minutes remaining in regulation. The defense became a sieve once again in the second half, allowing Jameis Winston to torch them -- Winston finished 33 of 54 for 326 yards and three TDs -- and the offense couldn’t get a first down to stem the tide.
Washington also used both of its overtime timeouts while the clock was stopped (on defense with 9:24 remaining and on offense with 6:32 left). Having one late for the final sequence would have been nice.
Outcomes like Sunday are a confluence of miscues and mental errors. It takes a special brand of stink for them all to happen at once.
The Giants and Commanders tying on Sunday, with each committing egregious overtime errors, was apt for an NFC East that went 0-2-2 in Week 5.
We’ll stick in the NFC East for one more point, as end-of-game scenarios seem to be a particular issue for the division constituents.
After the Eagles drove for the go-ahead field goal with eight seconds left in what appeared to be a pivotal victory over a good Jaguars squad, Nick Sirianni chose to kick it in the field of play. The decision opened the door for a last-second Jacksonville victory in London.
Sirianni likely had the Week 3 Cowboys-Ravens ending in his brain at the time, wherein Dallas kicked to the end zone, which allowed Baltimore to run a play and get into field goal range in 7 seconds for a stunning game-winner. The difference here was that Jacksonville didn’t have a timeout. That detail is massive.
Without a timeout, even starting at the 35-yard line, Jacksonville would have had to throw at a presumably well-guarded boundary to stop the clock. Not impossible, but harder than the helter-skelter kick returns can create. That Philly allowed a big return that was called back to start the game, and was missing a key special teams player in Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who earlier was ejected for fighting, should also have played a role in Sirianni’s thinking.
The coach shouldered the blame after the loss. Yes, Sirriani should be able to trust his special teams players to make a tackle, but the decision to kick wasn’t the only one that cost Philly.
Throwing after they got into Jake Elliott's field-goal range allowed Jacksonville to save time. An incomplete pass on first down stopped the clock, then Makai Lemon went out of bounds on second down stopped the clock with 17 seconds remaining. Both decisions allowed the Jags to save their final timeout and kept Philly from completely draining the final ticks before a potential game-winner.
The loss was a symptom of what ails the Eagles right now. In a game in which the defense played well, the offense once again went in the tank in the second half. They generated just five first downs and had four three-and-outs in seven possessions after the break.
That’s not winning football regardless of where the kickoff landed.
Sidebar: Had the outcome been different, we’d have spent this time questioning Liam Coen, who also had a head-scratcher of a day with a trove of questionable play-calls and decisions. It pays to win.
Even at 33 and dealing with a ribs injury, Mike Evans proved he still has juice.
The veteran receiver was unguardable in Sunday’s clash against the Seahawks. Evans caught seven of 10 targets for 113 yards and a TD. The rest of the Niners combined for 76 receiving yards and a score.
It wasn’t as if Evans was prancing free on busted coverages or was schemed wide open by Kyle Shanahan.
Five of the wideout's seven catches were tight-window throws (less than 1 yard of separation), per Next Gen Stats. Even when covered, Evans proved he’s still open.
Thanks, George.
When Evans signed in San Francisco, we surmised he’d bring an element to Shanahan’s offense that had been missing. A true X who can win one-on-ones, dominate on contested catches, and give Brock Purdy a place to go when everything breaks down. Sunday, he proved every take correct.
"That's exactly why he's here," Shanahan said after the 32-29 win.
With the 49ers WR room continuing to lose bodies -- Samuel exited with a hamstring injury on Sunday -- Evans' role will continue to be pivotal to the undefeated Niners.
In Week 4, the Buffalo Bills had Drake Maye and the Patriots on the ropes and let the reigning AFC Champs off the mat. Now Maye is back to divebombing opponents, looking more like his 2025 self than at any point over the first month of the season. Over the past six quarters, Maye has thrown for 532 yards and six TDs with a 71.4.% completion rate and a rushing score.
On Sunday, he destroyed a Raiders defense that came in playing above its weight class to open the season. Maye reminded everyone he’s still a threat in a 45-17 thrashing. His two-week turnaround showed what a little confidence can do when paired with talent. When he wipes out the head-shaking mistakes, Maye can thrive and drag the Pats up the AFC standings.
Speaking of thriving, my word, Jordan Love flourished with an array of deep shots on Sunday in an easy win over Chicago. The Packers QB hit 6 of 8 deep passes (20+ air yards) for a career-high 258 yards and two touchdowns, the second-most deep passing yards by a quarterback in a game during the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).
Love made throws despite pressure; his downfield layup to Matthew Golden while getting crushed was a particular thing of beauty. The Packers QB finished 7 of 9 for 127 yards and a 155.8 passer rating under pressure on Sunday, per Next Gen Stats. With Green Bay’s offensive line issues, the Pack needs Love to play like that weekly.
Sticking in the NFC North, Kyler Murray might have finally settled into Kevin O’Connell’s offense. The QB had his most complete game, completing 80% of 24 attempts for 229 yards and a TD. He also rushed for 51 pivotal yards on 10 attempts. Murray’s accuracy issues from early in his return from a Week 1 concussion were washed away on Sunday. Clearly he’s beginning to trust that Justin Jefferson can make him look good on any target. As Sam Darnold can tell you, that’s a smart way to make a living. Jefferson, who was back from an ankle injury, had two of the day's most ridiculous catches in the 23-13 win in New Orleans.
While the now 5-0 Vikings stacked early wins, the state of the offense made it a question of whether they could sustain the streak. Sunday was a good indicator that Murray can perform the way Minnesota envisioned in the spring. Coming out of the bye against a trio of defenses that have struggled -- Indy, Detroit, Buffalo -- could give Murray more runway to kick things into gear.
Cam Ward, last year's top overall pick, has had an ugly start to his second season in the NFL, but Titans head coach Robert Saleh has no plans to pull the plug.
“Cam's our starting quarterback,” Saleh said Sunday after a 26-3 loss to Houston dropped Tennessee to 0-5. “We’re going to give him every opportunity to be successful this year. We’re going to continue working with him, grinding with him and trying to help him get better.”
Ward once again struggled, completing 23 of 36 passes for 170 yards and an interception in a blowout loss to a Texans squad that also entered Week 5 winless. Ward particularly struggled against pressure, going 9 of 16 for 70 yards with an INT and was sacked four times when pressured, per Next Gen Stats. Ward won’t be the first, or last, QB to be discombobulated by Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.
The bigger issue is that we haven’t seen consistent strides in any part of Ward’s game under new OC Brian Daboll. They come in flashes, but like a sparkler, they burn out quickly. Sunday marked Ward's fourth game in five tilts under the 200-yard passing mark, and he has three INTs to go with three TD passes this season. The Titans' offensive line and rushing attack haven’t helped the second-year QB, but Tennessee needs the QB to raise those boats. Thus far, he’s sunk with them.
Ward should be afforded the balance of the season to prove he’s the franchise QB the club believes he can be. Lord knows, no one needs to see Mitchell Trubisky as a regular starter in 2026. We’re only five games into Ward learning a new offense under Daboll. They’ve been five ugly games, but the operation needs more time before we declare them unable to battle.
If Ward still struggles at the close of 2026, then Tennessee can consider a QB change.