The NFL season is cruising along now, as some teams continue to establish themselves as genuine contenders amongst the sea of pretenders that will eventually fall away.
As with most gameweeks, Week 5 provided more answers around the league while also posing some new questions, with two undefeated teams remaining and no more winless clubs.
While there is still the Monday night game left to play before we completely close the book on Week 5, we've already learned plenty from the games that have been played so far.
Here are a few of the things from the weekend's games that may (or may not) have slid under the radar.
Joe Flacco has still got it
(Getty Images)
It feels weird to give plaudits to the quarterback who lost to the only team who went into Week 5 without a win, but Joe Flacco's rejuvenation with the Indianapolis Colts deserves attention.
The 39-year-old is the Colts' starting QB for the foreseeable future after Anthony Richcardson's latest injury, and Flacco hardly missed a beat on Sunday as he threw for 354 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Going back to last year, Flacco has now made five straight starts with over 300 passing yards and two or more TDs, making him the oldest player in league history to hit those numbers.
The Steelers are still struggling to score
(Getty Images)
It's been established that the Pittsburgh Steelers' defence is elite — they've allowed just 14.6 points per game so far, tied for the best in the NFL.
The flip side of that is their offense, which has scored just 18.4 points per game. On Sunday, the Steelers were outduelled by the Dallas Cowboys, who claimed a 20-17 victory and held Pittsburgh to just 226 total yards.
While the Steelers' D will give them a chance in every game, the onus is on Justin Fields and Co. to turn that advantage into results. If Fields can't, then perhaps Russell Wilson should be given the chance when he comes back from injury.
Brandon Aubrey is not perfect
getty
One man who has not struggled to score this season is Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who converted two field goals and two PATs to help his team squeeze past the Steelers on Sunday.
However, Aubrey had a 38-yard FG attempt blocked in the third quarter, marking his second miss of the season. The former soccer player is still 14/16 on FGs in 2024 and is perfect on PATs, and while his field goal percentage took a small hit thanks to that block, Aubrey still leads the league in FG attempts as he continues to be a big part of Dallas' offense.
Deshaun Watson probably needs to sit
Don Juan Moore/Getty Images
The Cleveland Browns' forgettable start to the season continued Sunday as they fell 34-13 to a dominant Washington Commanders team.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson was once again a non-factor for the Browns, being outplayed in nearly every way by rookie Commanders QB Jayden Daniels. Watson's numbers have been subpar through five games this season — the Browns are averaging less than five yards per pass with Watson under center and he's yet to top 200 passing yards in a game in 2024.
Additionally, Watson was sacked seven times in Sunday's loss to Washington, marking the third time this season he's been sacked at least six times in a single game.
Not great for the $230 million man.
Jacksonville actually can win a game
Getty Images
It seemed as though the Jacksonville Jaguars were going to lose every week in perpetuity after their 0-4 start to the season, but they managed to pull off a victory in Week 5 against the aforementioned Colts.
OK, so we didn't really think the Jags were going to go 0-17, but at times it felt as if everything that could go wrong for Doug Pederson's men did go wrong.
That wasn't the case on Sunday though, as Jacksonville battled the Colts until the final minute as Indianapolis attempted a fourth-quarter comeback that fell just short — the Jaguars failed to hold on to a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and appeared to be headed for a heartbreaking ending at EverBank Stadium, but a Cam Little field goal with 17 seconds left on the clock sealed their first win of the campaign.
It wasn't pretty, but a win's a win. The Jags are now off to London for games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium in back-to-back weeks.
Watch Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol live October 12 on DAZN (excluding U.S. and Canada). Click here for details.
More NFL
- Full NFL schedule and results
- NFC standings
- AFC standings
- Buy NFL Game Pass
- DAZN NFL broadcast schedule