What We Learned From Week 5 in the N.F.L.

Around the N.F.L.

Giants 27, Packers 22: The Giants’ offense is being held together only by sticks and duct tape, but it turns out that Coach Brian Daboll is one heck of a handyman. Down a number of receivers, Daboll turned to running back Saquon Barkley as the engine for the offense. On top of his typical rushing duties, Barkley took some wildcat snaps, including one that he bounced to the outside for a 41-yard gain. He was also regularly featured in the passing game. The Packers’ offense did a fine job nickeling and diming for most of the game but, facing a 7-point deficit with a minute remaining, failed in a goal-to-go situation as Aaron Rodgers got both his third- and fourth-down passes swatted at the line of scrimmage.

Bills 38, Steelers 3: Josh Allen and the Bills’ receivers cooked the Steelers’ defense. Gabe Davis, who had been bugged by an ankle injury, burned Pittsburgh for a 98-yard score on the opening drive and found the end zone again on a 62-yard catch in the second quarter to put the Bills up, 17-3. The Bills were up 31-3 by halftime and coasted the rest of the way. In his much-anticipated debut as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yards on 34 of 52 passing and was sacked three times.

Patriots 29, Lions 0: Leave it to Bill Belichick to put an end to the Lions’ brief run as the league’s highest-scoring team. Detroit’s run game and play-action passing had been effective for the first month of the season, but the Patriots’ defense held the Lions to 101 rushing yards while terrorizing Jared Goff with blitzes and funky coverage rotations. The Patriots’ third-string quarterback, Bailey Zappe, had 188 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception.

Chargers 30, Browns 28: The Browns’ offense stormed to a 14-0 lead, but no lead is safe against Justin Herbert. Herbert picked apart a Cleveland secondary that has been a mess all season. The Browns had a chance to win the game, but kicker Cade York pushed a 54-yarder to the right, his second miss on Sunday.

Jets 40, Dolphins 17: Miami turned to its third quarterback, Skylar Thompson, after Teddy Bridgewater entered concussion protocol following a tackle on the Dolphins’ first series. Unable to mount much offense, Miami surrendered prime field position to the Jets and Zach Wilson avoided mistakes. The Jets rookie running back Breece Hall averaged 5.4 yards per carry, and caught a wheel route down the left sideline for 79 yards with 52 seconds left in the first quarter, to set up a touchdown on the next play.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/09/sports/nfl-week-5-takeaways.html