BY LORENZO REYES, USATODAY SPORTS
Week 5 saw two teams stay undefeated and the lone winless team finally claim a victory as NFL squads start to round into the midseason stretch when playoff runs can be made, or broken.
Here are the winners and losers from the weekend’s action.
WINNERS
Cleveland Browns
Credit to rookie No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield, who masked poor play from the offensive line, especially late in Cleveland’s 12-9 victory against the Ravens. Mayfield’s pocket awareness and mobility helped extend plays.
None was bigger than his 39-yard completion deep in overtime to receiver Derrick Willies that put the Browns near field goal range. Mayfield (25 of 43 for 342 yards, one touchdown and one interception) did throw his pick on Cleveland’s first drive, but it looked like an apparent miscommunication.
The Browns might have to live with some Mayfield rookie mistakes, but so far he has shown he can carry the young team to victories.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Coach Mike Tomlin honed in on slow starts, early turnovers, and penalties as the main issues for Pittsburgh’s offensive woes.
Well, in a 41-17 thrashing of the Atlanta Falcons, the Steelers reversed the trend and scored touchdowns on their first two possessions in the first quarter to jump to an early lead.
Pittsburgh rode running back James Conner (185 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 25 touches), and no one mentioned Le’Veon Bell’s holdout.
There had been a lot of angst about the chemistry between quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and all-pro receiver Antonio Brown, but after the two connected for six catches for 101 yards and two scores, the pair look dangerous once again. For Pittsburgh, now it’s all about consistency.
Jets running game
Bilal Powell had 20 carries for 99 yards. But he was easily overshadowed by Isaiah Crowell, who punished the Denver Broncos in a 34-16 beating, to 219 rushing yards (a Jets franchise record) and one touchdown on only 15 rushes for an absurd average of 14.6 yards per attempt.
New York hung 323 rushing yards on a Denver defense that had entered Week 5 ranked eighth in the league in rushing defense (93.8 yards a game).
By the end of the day, Denver ranked 30th (139.6). The Jets had been inconsistent, and rookie quarterback Sam Darnold had appeared to be handcuffed in previous weeks, but with the rushing offense gashing the Broncos defense, it opened up the passing game for Darnold, who averaged nine yards a throw.
Houston Texans
Perhaps aided by a dubious call by Cowboys coach Jason Garrett to punt late in overtime on a fourth-and-one from Houston’s own 42-yard line, the Texans gritted out a 19-16 victory. And because the Jaguars and Titans both lost their games Sunday, the Texans are just one game back in the AFC South at 2-3.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson (415 total yards, one touchdown and one interception) and defensive end J.J. Watt (two tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, two QB hits) appear to be nearing full health, so Houston could be on the verge of a run.
But for the Texans to be true contenders, they need more out of their O-line, because Watson was under constant duress.
LOSERS
Blake Bortles
It was just a miserable showing for Bortles, who had four picks in the 30-14 loss against a Chiefs defense that had been susceptible to big plays.
Kansas City intercepted two passes inside its own end zone (Bortles actually threw one directly into the helmet of one of his linemen), and picked off another at its own one-yard line.
The other interception was returned for a touchdown by defensive tackle Chris Jones. Jacksonville’s defense did yield some big plays, but Bortles’ carelessness with the ball in scoring situations doomed the Jaguars.
Mason Crosby
One week after tensions between Aaron Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy boiled over, it got worse for Green Bay in a 31-23 loss against the Lions.
The Packers had three turnovers, zero points, and trailed by 24 points at the half. But it was Crosby, Green Bay’s place kicker, who bore the brunt of the defeat.
Crosby misfired on field goals of 41, 42, 38, and 56 yards. He also missed an extra point for a total of 13 points left on the board—a total that would’ve given the Packers a victory. Crosby did make one late field goal, but after this dud, the Packers might be looking to move on.
Miami Dolphins
The good news first; Miami raced out to a 17-point lead, on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, and by the end of the day remained in a first-place tie—with the Patriots—in the AFC East.
Now, the bad; the Dolphins gave up 27 unanswered from the middle of the third quarter until the final whistle to lose 27-17.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill accounted for three turnovers—leading to 14 points—and couldn’t protect the ball with the game on the line. The rushing offense, again, failed to chew clock. Two weeks ago, Miami was 3-0. Now, after dropping two in a row, the Dolphins could be slipping.
Philadelphia Eagles
Though the second half was better, the Eagles are simply not as effective as they were last season. They battled back, but ultimately fell short, 23-21, to the Vikings.
The same problems keep cropping up for Philly, which is now 2-3, though still tied for second place in the NFC East.
Against Minnesota, the Eagles converted just two of nine third-down attempts and scored touchdowns on only two of five trips into the red zone.
Last year, those areas were strengths (ranking eighth in third-down rate and first in red zone conversion percentage). This season, they’re liabilities (19th and 16th, respectively).
If the Eagles continue to struggle, forget about a Super Bowl defense, they could find themselves in too big a hole to make the playoffs in a stacked NFC.
