Week 5 takeaways: Big day for second-year QBs, plus more we learned from Sunday | A to Z Sports NFL newsletter

Our A to Z Sports NFL newsletter for October 6, 2025.

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Bo Nix Jayden Daniels Spencer Rattler Drake Maye
Bo Nix Jayden Daniels Spencer Rattler Drake Maye A to Z Sports

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Week 5 gave us the end of undefeated teams and the end of most winless teams, with only the New York Jets left at 0-5. Teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals caught surprising losses this week, while teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders and more solidified themselves as playoff contenders.

Let’s dive in to some of the biggest storylines after Sunday’s batch of games.

Big day for second-year QBs — good sign for the future: Four of the seven starting second-year quarterbacks played Sunday, and all four captured wins. New England Patriots QB Drake Maye played a terrific game Sunday night, leaning on receiver Stefon Diggs to help lead the team to a 23-20 win over the Bills. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels returned Sunday, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 27-10. Broncos QB Bo Nix helped Denver come back from a 17-3 deficit, pulling off the upset over the Eagles 21-17. And the New Orleans Saints earned their first win of the season over the New York Giants, partially thanks to a good performance by QB Spencer Rattler.

It’s an interesting sign for the future that these four were able to earn much-needed wins for their teams — especially Maye and Nix, who defeated two top Super Bowl contenders and the two remaining undefeated teams. It shows these guys are ready to compete — they’re the now, not the future. The question is whether they can take that momentum gathered by these wins and channel it into something bigger.

Ravens’ hole may be too deep to climb out: With QB Lamar Jackson sidelined, the Baltimore Ravens were crushed by the Houston Texans 44-10. The Ravens are now 1-4 with the Los Angeles Rams next up on their schedule before a much-needed bye week.

Assuming Jackson returns after the bye, one must wonder, can the Ravens climb out of this hole, especially if they fall to 1-5 next week? They’ve still got the Pittsburgh Steelers twice, the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots on their schedule. Even if they get healthy later in the season, they might have set themselves up for a scenario where they’ll need to win out down the stretch in order to make the playoffs.

Danny Dimes, Colts are for real: Alright, I’m convinced. The Indianapolis Colts are actually good. They beat the Las Vegas Raiders 40-6, with QB Daniel Jones throwing for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. Sure, the Raiders are 1-4, so what’s the big deal? Well, crushing a bad team is exactly what good teams are supposed to do. Plus, Indy has a win over the Broncos (who just defeated the Eagles), plus blowout victories against two other bad teams (the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans). Their only loss came against a good Rams squad.

It took a while to convince me, but it’s clear that the Colts aren’t a flash in the pan. At the very least, they’re much better than bad and/or mediocre teams, and racking up wins against them should earn the Colts a playoff spot (and possibly a division title win).

Titans coach saves his job — but for how long? Tennessee needed a win probably more than any other team, and managed to sneak away with one on Sunday. The Titans beat the Cardinals 22-21 after a couple of lucky turnovers. This means coach Brian Callahan keeps his job after many called for his firing — but for how long? A win is a win, sure, but not every week does your opponent drop the ball one inch short of the goal line, or fumble the ball immediately after intercepting it. The Titans will need a bit more than some luck in order to earn additional wins on their upcoming schedule, which includes the Pats, Colts, Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs and more.

Browns should probably stick with Gabriel: Cleveland lost 21-17 to the Minnesota Vikings in London, but one positive thing came from the loss — rookie QB Dillon Gabriel actually looked solid in his debut start. He threw for 190 yards and two scores, but more importantly he didn’t turn the ball over. That’s probably enough for a squad that has a badass defense and a very strong running game. While the Browns are 1-4, Sunday’s loss was actually encouraging enough to make me think Cleveland can put together more wins this year and trend in the right direction.

MNF preview: Chiefs face Jags on the road

Sep 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) runs the ball against the Baltimore Ravens during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Chiefs (2-2) take on the Jags (3-1) tonight in Jacksonville in what should be a good one. The Jags are hot after starting the season strong, earning recent wins over the Texans and 49ers. While new Jags coach Liam Coen has done a good job of reinvigorating the team’s offense (particularly the running game), it’s the defense that has been the highlight for Jacksonville, allowing the fourth-least points per game (18).

Kansas City will need all the offensive firepower it can get against this Jags team, but unfortunately K.C. was hit with some bad news on Sunday — WR Xavier Worthy is now questionable (though expected) to play after dealing with a sudden ankle injury. This comes one week after Worthy’s return from a shoulder injury, in which he earned over 120 yards from scrimmage after missing most of Weeks 1-3.

Outside of Worthy’s status, our guy Nick Roesch threw together a list of things to watch in this game. Let’s check out a few:

Another big day for the Chiefs’ passing attack: “Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finally got into a rhythm with his pass catchers last week, throwing four touchdown passes en route to being named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Now the Chiefs have to prove that wasn’t a one-off performance and keep it going.

“They’ve already been provided with an opportunity to capitalize on, as Jaguars pass rusher Travon Walker could miss this game. Jacksonville’s secondary has quietly been very good so far this season, forcing a league-high nine interceptions.”

Chiefs’ defense rattling Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence: “Lawrence is completing just 58 percent of his passes, and is averaging one interception per game. Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ defense is on fire, racking up five sacks and four turnovers over its last two games. Lawrence is 0-3 against K.C. in his career, and could fold quickly if he gets off to a slow start on Monday night.”

Chiefs’ front seven vs. Jaguars RB Travis Etienne: “The Chiefs will face yet another great rushing attack this week, as Etienne ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards with 394. He is averaging a whopping 6.1 yards per carry, and is also a serviceable pass catcher out of the backfield.

“Not to be slept on is Etienne’s backup Bhayshul Tuten, who has blazing 4.3 40-yard dash speed. K.C.’s front seven has done a solid job bottling up opposing rushing attacks this season, but did allow a 71-yard rushing touchdown last week, and surrendered 130 yards to the New York Giants the week previous.”

Attacking WR/CB Travis Hunter on both sides of the ball: “As a WR, Hunter has played strictly in the slot up to this point. He caught a season-high six passes last week, but hasn’t eclipsed 42 receiving yards in a game yet, and still hasn’t found the endzone. With cornerback Trent McDuffie playing primarily in the slot, I wouldn’t expect Hunter to find much success.

“Hunter is even more of a project as a CB, and that reflected last week as he only played nine defensive snaps. He has recorded 11 total tackles and one pass defensed on the season, and has allowed 13 receptions for 118 yards. During the offseason Chiefs TE Travis Kelce made no bones that K.C.’s offense will challenge Hunter deep down the field.”

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