![\"\"](\"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Byrnes-e1755010598313-55x70.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
By Tim Byrnes<\/p>\n
Twelve of the sixteen NFC teams are .500 or better while most AFC Division leaders struggled this week.<\/p>\n
Week 5 began Thursday in Los Angeles:<\/p>\n
San Francisco (4-1) 26 Rams (3-2) 23 – OT\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Backup quarterback Mac Jones looked like a starter, as he and Christian McCaffrey (139 total yards\/TD) led the 49ers to a key division win.<\/p>\n
Key fumbles and bad special teams plagued the Rams all day and they wasted one of Matthew Stafford’s finest passing days.<\/p>\n
In fact, he has thrown for 764 yards, 6 TDs\/0 int over his last two games while receiver Puka Nacua remains the NFL-leader in receptions (52), and yards (588).<\/p>\n
Rumblings about Kyren Williams fumblings are growing, but to be fair Derrick Henry had fumbled often with no real questions being asked.<\/p>\n
Sunday:<\/b><\/p>\n
Tampa Bay (4-1) 38 Seattle (3-2) 35<\/b><\/p>\n
At some point, quarterback Baker Mayfield HAS to come off the “bust list” and be listed as an elite quarterback in the NFL.<\/p>\n
Mayfield (379 yards\/2 TDs) has clicked with rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and his win versus the Seahawks was amazing to watch.<\/p>\n
Egbuka (7-163-1) is the fourth-leading receiver after five weeks with 445 yards.<\/p>\n
Mayfield has thrown for nearly 10,000 yards and his 79 touchdowns ties him with Jared Goff, for the most touchdown passes over the last three years.<\/p>\n
Mayfield has added nearly 700 yards on the ground with four more scores since he began his stint in Florida.<\/p>\n
Washington (3-2) 27 Chargers (3-2) 10<\/b><\/p>\n
The multi-back attack of the Commanders should be no more after week 5, as running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt became a one-man highlight reel.<\/p>\n
JCM ran for 111 yards on just 14 carries and two scores and added 2 receptions for 39 yards to average over 10 yards every time he touched the ball.<\/p>\n
The Commanders ripped off 27 unanswered points after Jayden Daniels started slow in his return from injury.<\/p>\n
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel continues to reinvent himself in the nation’s capital with eight catches, one for a touchdown, on 96 yards.<\/p>\n
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had a good first series but without left tackle Joe Alt he was running for his life and being sacked five times in the loss.<\/p>\n
Other Sunday Results:<\/b><\/p>\n
-Min 21-Cle 17<\/p>\n
-Hou 44-Bal 10<\/p>\n
-NO 26-NYG 14<\/p>\n
-Den 21-Phi 17<\/p>\n
-Dal 37-NYJ 22<\/p>\n
-Ind 40-LV 6<\/p>\n
-Car 27-Mia 24<\/p>\n
-Ten 22-Ari 21<\/p>\n
-Det 37-Cin 24<\/p>\n
-NE 23-Buf 20<\/p>\n
Monday Night:<\/b><\/p>\n
Jacksonville (4-1) 31 Kansas City (2-3) 28\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In an exciting Monday Night matchup, Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence overcame a fumble at the one-foot line to defeat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.<\/p>\n Late in the fourth quarter, Lawrence fell down on first and goal at the one-yard line but got up and forced his way into the endzone for the winning score.<\/p>\n Both quarterbacks led their teams in rushing, but Kareem Hunt had two rushing scores for Kansas City.<\/p>\n Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne Jr., the leagues fourth leading rusher, had an off night with 49 yards on 12 carries.<\/p>\n *Some Key Injuries:<\/b><\/p>\n -Ari QB K. Murray (foot)<\/b><\/p>\n -LV P AJ Cole (ankle)<\/b><\/p>\n -LAC RB O. Hampton (ankle)<\/b><\/p>\n -Min QB C. Wentz (shoulder)<\/b><\/p>\n *Week 5 Results<\/b><\/p>\n Horrible!<\/p>\n (7-7) (50-27-1)<\/p>\n *Week 6:<\/strong><\/p>\n -Phi over NYG<\/p>\n -LAR over Bal<\/p>\n -Den over NYJ<\/p>\n -Pit over Cle<\/p>\n -LAC over Mia<\/p>\n -NE over NO<\/p>\n -Ind over Ari<\/p>\n -Jax over Sea<\/p>\n -Dal over Car<\/p>\n -LV over Ten<\/p>\n -TB over SF<\/p>\n -GB over Cin<\/p>\n -Buf over Atl<\/p>\n -Was over Chi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Tim Byrnes Twelve of the sixteen NFC teams are .500 or better while most AFC Division leaders struggled this week. Week 5 began Thursday in Los Angeles:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories-news-notes-around-professional-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92473"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92477,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92473\/revisions\/92477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}