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Welcome to the Week 5 grades!

There weren’t a lot of offensive fireworks around the NFL through the first four weeks of the season, but that changed in Week 5 with quarterbacks taking over. Over the first four weeks, there was only one instance where a QB threw for at least 330 yards with three touchdowns (Jordan Love), but that changed in Week 5 with FOUR quarterbacks hitting those marks so far, including two in the same game. 

Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow put on a show during Baltimore’s wild 41-38 overtime win in Cincinnati. Jackson threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns while Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns (Kirk Cousins and Joe Flacco are the other two quarterbacks who threw for at least 330 yards and three touchdowns in Week 5). 

Basically, it’s been a wild week so far. There have been 13 games played and we’re grading them all, so let’s get to the grades, starting with Baltimore’s big win. 

Baltimore 41-38 over Cincinnati in OT

Dallas 20-17 over Pittsburgh 

Denver 34-18 over Las Vegas

Green Bay 24-19 over L.A. Rams

Arizona 24-23 over San Francisco

N.Y. Giants 29-20 over Seattle

Houston 23-20 over Buffalo

Chicago 36-10 over Carolina

Miami 15-10 over New England

Washington 34-13 over Cleveland

Jacksonville 37-34 over Indianapolis 

Minnesota 23-17 over N.Y. Jets in London

Atlanta 36-30 over Tampa Bay in OT (Thursday)

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Breer: Drake Maye ‘closing in’ on being Patriots’ best QB originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

It’s a matter of when, not if, Drake Maye becomes the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback this season.

That’s what Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reiterated Sunday morning on NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots Pregame Live, adding that the rookie quarterback continues to make strides behind the scenes. According to Breer, Maye has specifically developed one skill that he’ll need if he takes over as QB1 ahead of current starter Jacoby Brissett.

“His progress has been steady in all the areas we’ve talked about: footwork, understanding what he’s looking at with defenses,” Breer said Sunday, as seen in the video player above. “And really what he’s made strides in over the last couple weeks is in blitz situations. This is gonna be huge, because that’s a big part of what the Patriots are getting thrown at them right now with their offensive line issue.”

The Patriots have allowed QB pressures on 47.4 percent of offensive snaps this season, the highest rate in the NFL. The inconsistent play of their banged-up offensive line is one reason why New England doesn’t want to rush Maye into action.

But as Breer pointed out, Maye’s progress is becoming hard to ignore.

“I’m told he is closing in now on being the best quarterback on the team,” Breer said. “So, what does this mean going forward? Well, players can tell and see the drumbeat for where this is going.

“I think what this is gonna come down to is, when he does wind up passing Jacoby Brissett and other people can see that he’s the best quarterback on the team, is the team ready to support him? I still think Drake Maye becoming the starter at some point in November is very much on the table.”

Patriots Insider Phil Perry reported this week that Patriots coaches are “aligned” on a plan for Maye, and that the organization has a “window of time” where it envisions Maye taking the field. On Patriots Pregame Live, Perry noted that…

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Week 5 of the NFL is here, and Sunday will start early with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets facing off in London. This week actually features several incredible matchups, as Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will look to rebound against C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans, the Baltimore Ravens travel to Cincinnati to face Joe Burrow and the Bengals, and Matthew Stafford hosts an old rival in the Green Bay Packers.

As is the case with every week, there are several notable injuries to account for. The Indianapolis Colts have a banged-up quarterback and running back, New York Giants star wideout Malik Nabers has already been ruled out due to a concussion, as has Texans running back Joe Mixon, who is still dealing with an ankle issue.

Below, we will break down every NFL team’s final injury report. 

All NFL odds courtesy of SportsLine consensus.

Moses, the Jets’ right tackle, is not ready to return to the lineup just yet due to his knee injury. He did not practice on Wednesday or Friday but tried to work as a limited participant on Thursday. Mosley will miss another game due to his toe injury. He was limited in practice all week. Aaron Rodgers was listed on the Jets’ injury report with a knee issue, but he was a full participant in practice and carries no game designation into Sunday. 

The Vikings’ usual TE1 is not ready to make his 2024 debut. But he was a limited participant in practice on Friday. 

Baltimore opened Maulet’s practice window this week, but he is not going to make his return against Cincinnati, with the club ruling him out for Week 5. Meanwhile, Ali, Harty, and Vorhees were all listed as questionable but logged a full practice on Friday. 

Rankins is doubtful to play after missing practice all week. While Hilton is questionable, he missed all week as well. As for Murphy, he was a full participant in every practice session and could make his 2024 debut this…

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Shanahan reveals why Jennings fell to 49ers in seventh round originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Drafting football players is an inexact science, but perhaps no team has benefitted more from other NFL teams’ missteps than the 49ers.

Jauan Jennings is among the star players on San Francisco’s roster that were selected after sliding into the middle or late rounds of the NFL draft.

During an interview with Greg Papa on NBC Sport’s Bay Area’s “49ers Game Plan,” Kyle Shanahan offered a detailed look into the pre-draft process that enabled San Francisco to select Jennings in the seventh round.

“Jauan, luckily he fell, just like Brock [Purdy]. You go back and you watch their college tape and it’s the most obvious thing in the world, you’re like, ‘how could this guy fall?’ The NFL overthinks some things,” Shanahan told Papa. “I remember the first time I saw Jauan, it wasn’t the tape. They put all the combine numbers up, the measurables and stuff — he didn’t test well at the combine. Now that I know Jauan, because Jauan had a bad vertical at the combine, but go watch him on YouTube. He can do a 360 dunk. So that doesn’t make much sense.

“He [Jennings] had a bad [40-yard dash], but he can run. Watch his post from last week. You see all his numbers up there, now that I know Jauan, I think Jauan is the most confident guy in the world. He probably didn’t think he needed to do much at the combine, just didn’t take it as seriously as he should’ve. But when you see those things, guys fall on that. Then he was at a school where a lot of stuff happened at that school at that time. Guys were transferring, I think the coaches were changing, guys were getting kicked out and stuff.

“So, I was like, ‘Obviously this guy is at the back of the draft. And then we put on his tape, and his tape looked like a first-or-second rounder. I think he was the all-time leading receiver in Tennessee history. So it didn’t totally match up. But when you see those numbers at the combine and stuff, and…

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Colorado

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The Rams’ defense was often running behind Roschon Johnson (23) and the Bears’ offense in Week 4. (Kamil Krzaczynski / Associated Press)

The Rams are searching for answers.

With a still-injury-depleted lineup, they must reverse their 1-3 start and avoid falling out of the playoff race before it truly begins.

The Green Bay Packers and quarterback Jordan Love are coming to SoFi Stadium on Sunday, and they will face a Rams defense statistically ranked at or near the bottom of the NFL.

The Rams are second-to-last in the NFL in total defense, giving up 385.3 yards per game. They are last in rushing defense (165.5 yards per game), 21st in pass defense (219.8 ypg) and second to last in scoring defense (28.8 points per game).

“We’ve been stressing it’s about communication, playing together and I know we’ve had a few moving parts, but I don’t think it’s an excuse for anything,” first-year defensive coordinator Chris Shula said. “We have to play, and we expect to go play well.”

Read more: Field goals aplenty, but Rams need red-zone offense to kick in: ‘It’s cost us so far’

The Rams have only three takeaways, which is tied for 27th in the league, and seven sacks, which is tied for 26th.

Safety John Johnson III’s fourth-quarter interception in the season opener against the Detroit Lions is the Rams’ only interception.

“That’s the age-old question,” Shula said when asked what the Rams could do to create more interceptions. “If I knew it, I would do it right now — but that’s something that you harp on. … It comes from playing good defense. … You get [opponents] in more vulnerable situations.”

There have been a few bright spots for defense.

Rookie edge rusher Jared Verse, the No. 19 pick in the draft, was named the NFL’s defensive rookie of the month for September. The former Florida State standout had a sack against the Lions but has missed numerous opportunities in the last three games to record more.

Rookie lineman Braden Fiske also has created significant…

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The Davante Adams saga is pretty wild. Here we have a borderline Hall of Fame wide receiver who asked to be traded out of Green Bay in order to facilitate joining his college buddy Derek Carr in Las Vegas. Then after Carr got let go, he realized he was stuck in a bad spot and once his coach liked an Instagram post suggesting he was going to be traded or could be traded or might want to be traded or whatever, Adams suddenly has an injured hamstring. And now, apparently, is actually getting traded. 

Now by all accounts his hammy is actually hurt and teams who are trying to acquire him know that. But adding to the insanity is Adams only wanting to play for the Jets … or the Saints. He really, really loves Derek Carr! And Rodgers obviously. 

I think Adams is an awesome player. No question about it. But I do wonder if he necessarily puts either the Jets or the Saints over the top in their quest for a Super Bowl. 

The Jets went out and got Mike Williams this offseason to be their No. 2 next to Garrett Wilson. Allen Lazard was already there as well, because he’s friends with Rodgers. Adams is better than both guys, but there’s already an issue in getting the ball to a star wide receiver (Wilson) in New York right now. Do we think Adams is separating so much at this stage of his career that defenses will simply be unable to focus on Wilson and he’ll explode? Is the goal of an Adams trade to try and help Wilson? Or so Adams can light up defenses on his own? The Jets have more fundamental problems up front right now. They can’t run the ball and Wilson hasn’t been a major factor. 

You could say something similar for the Saints as well. The already have Chris Olave! Adams would be a fun addition, I suppose, but with their offensive line injuries, there are other places they could improve their team first. 

Adams is a worthy gamble at a cheap cost for a team struggling on offense and…

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Aiyuk enjoys watching ex-ASU teammate Daniels’ film vs. Cardinals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

As his current quarterback prepares to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 at Levi’s Stadium, Brandon Aiyuk has enjoyed watching his former quarterback carve up the 49ers’ next opponent on film.

In preparation for their NFC West clash with Arizona, Aiyuk and San Francisco are studying film of the Cardinals’ Week 4 matchup against the Washington Commanders, who are quarterbacked by rookie signal-caller Jayden Daniels — Aiyuk’s quarterback in 2019 at Arizona State University.

In speaking to reporters Wednesday in the 49ers’ locker room, Aiyuk was asked what he thought of his former quarterback and close friend’s performance against the same Cardinals defense he and San Francisco’s offense will see on Sunday.

“He’s balling. We’ve been watching that tape against Arizona so far a couple times already today so I’m sure we’ll see it all week,” Aiyuk said. “But excited to see him on tape playing good football.”

In Washington’s commanding 42-14 win over Arizona, Daniels completed 26 of 30 pass attempts (86 percent) for 233 passing yards and one passing touchdown with one interception while carrying the ball eight times for 47 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

In four starts this season, Daniels has completed 87 of his 106 pass attempts (82 percent) for 897 passing yards and three passing touchdowns with one interception, along with 46 rushing attempts for 218 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Aiyuk and Daniels have remained close friends over the years, and Aiyuk even welcomed the idea of a reunion with his college quarterback on the Commanders had his 49ers contract talks fallen through this offseason.

The 49ers ultimately got a deal with Aiyuk done, and now the star receiver will have to settle for watching his former quarterback from afar.

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

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