With Week 5 behind us, most people are ready to look ahead to the start of Week 6, when the Philadelphia Eagles hit the road to take on the New York Giants on Thursday. Before we get into this match, let’s look back at the hottest takes from last week and determine what is an appropriate reaction versus an overreaction.
The Lions are the best team in the NFL.
Appropriate reaction
I said it yesterday and I stand by that statement today. Nobody is playing better football than Detroit right now. Since week one, they are 4-0 with an average margin of victory of 19 points per game. The Lions are first in offensive scoring (34.8 points per game) and third in turnover differential (+6). Hell, they’ve allowed four sacks since Week 1, and all of them came against the Bengals, who have the league’s reigning sack leader. The Eagles seem limited on offense. The 49ers have countless injuries. The Bills just lost at home to a divisional opponent. The Jags needed a 99-yard interception return to beat the Chiefs 2-3. The Buccaneers need winning drives every week. The Colts are the only team that has looked as good as the Lions, and Detroit appears to be much better coached than Indy (as Adonai Mitchell proves). The Lions have made the strongest case for being considered the best team in the NFL.
Emeka Egbuka is the offensive player of the year.
Overreaction
I love this kid and think he’s a superstar in the making, but we need to slow down when it comes to the praise we give to Emeka Egbuka, who is about to win the NFL Rookie of the Year award. It feels like seniority plays a role when voters choose their winners, which is why a guy like Puka Nacua, Jonathan Taylor, or Christian McCaffrey seems like a wiser choice to be OPOTY. Nacua is expected to break the single-season receiving yards and receptions records (1,999 yards on 177 receptions). Jonathan Taylor leads the league in rushing yards per game (96) and rushing touchdowns (six) while playing a major role in the NFL’s best offense. McCaffrey leads the league in yards from scrimmage (669). One of these guys will likely win the hardware even if Egbuka looks like an All-Pro through his first five games.
Devin Lloyd will win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Appropriate reaction
Right now, it feels like the competition is between Lloyd and Nik Bonitto of the Denver Broncos, who leads the league in sacks. While sacks are incredibly valuable, turnovers are more important. After all, the goal of a defense is to get the ball back for the offense. Lloyd has 25 total tackles, 14 solo tackles, one fumble recovery, four interceptions and one touchdown. Nik Bonitto has 17 total tackles, 12 solo tackles and seven sacks. Unfortunately, Bonitto’s candidacy will be affected by the fact that he has nothing to remember this season. Devin Lloyd can significantly increase his sack total. The same can’t be said for Bonitto, who will need to start diving on loose fumbles or taking down opposing quarterbacks if he wants to have a chance at this award. With those gaudy interception numbers and more tackles, Lloyd appears to be the current favorite to win the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year award.
Joe Flacco will turn the fortunes of the Bengals around.
Overreaction
Jake Browning was a terrible quarterback who lost games for the Bengals due to his inability to run an offense. Joe Flacco is not much better than Browning and is actually statistically the worst QB in the NFL this season. Both of these statements can be true at the same time. Out of 33 quarterbacks, Joe Flacco ranks 33rd in quarterback rating this season. He is also 31st in QBR, two spots behind Jake Browning. Flacco has the second-lowest completion percentage in the NFL and fewest passing yards per attempt. And, to top it all off, he was putting up those numbers with the Cleveland Browns, who actually have a better offensive line than the Cincinnati Bengals. An immobile 40-year-old quarterback isn’t going to solve Cincy’s problems. Now that he starts, Flacco will simply give fans a new person to blame for the Bengals’ shortcomings.
The Eagles and Chiefs are struggling.
Appropriate reaction
These teams don’t look like the 2024 version of themselves. The Chiefs have already set the record for consecutive wins in single-score games with 17. This year, they are already 0-3 in single-score games. Meanwhile, the Eagles have one of the worst offenses in the NFL statistically. They are 30th in yards (261.6 per game) and aren’t very good at putting up points (14th). Neither of these teams really excel at anything, outside of the Eagles and red zone scoring, which has more to do with pushing than anything else. None of these teams appear to be a real threat to win the Super Bowl. It just feels like they’re grinding their way through the regular season in hopes that they’ll both make the playoffs because “it’s the Chiefs and the Eagles.” While they have the talent to beat the crappy teams they face, I don’t believe any of these teams will waltz into Super Bowl LX.
The Broncos will win the AFC West.
Overreaction
This win against the Philadelphia Eagles was important, but let’s temper our expectations a little. Bo Nix has yet to put together a complete game performance, which would explain why he is 19th in QBR and 24th in passer rating. The defense is arguably the best in the NFL. They are second in scoring (16.8 points per game) and lead the league in sacks (21). However, this unit has one fatal flaw: it hasn’t forced many turnovers with just four points to take away this season. They are already at a disadvantage in their division since they lost a game against the Chargers who they led in the fourth quarter. Again, beating the Eagles was a huge moment for this team and this coaching staff, but they still had issues against two of the best teams in the AFC. The Broncos should win their next few games, but then they have a schedule that includes the Texans, Packers, Chargers, two-time Chiefs and Jaguars. It will be difficult for Denver to win the AFC West, considering they haven’t had a win in their division for five weeks.
The Cardinals should blow it and start again.
Appropriate reaction
Their quarterback looks listless, they don’t have any significant wins and that loss to the Tennessee Titans was one of the worst I’ve seen in my life. They should completely rebuild after the regular season ends, as there is no way this group will make the playoffs. Every time you lose to the Titans, you have to re-evaluate everything! Is Jonathan Gannon the guy you want leading your team when he hits players for making mistakes, even if they are huge, season-altering mistakes? Either way, it’s not like they took a big step forward this season. In fact, one could argue that the situation is worse today than last year. With an upcoming schedule including games against the Colts, Packers, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams and 49ers, it’s realistic that Arizona is 3-10 through the second week of December. Trade Kyler Murray for draft capital, fire the head coach, fire the general manager and start again. This might be the only way forward for this franchise after that embarrassing loss last weekend.
