The 2024 NFL season is now in its second quarter, and anything can happen after the first four weeks. Week Five brings us the first bye week of the year and the first London Games. So, what could the likes of the Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings, and Baltimore Ravens, among others, do this week?
Last Minute Winner for Houston
The Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills are two star-studded teams that can challenge for the AFC championship this season. That sentence seems more true about Houston than Buffalo. Both teams came into this game with a 3-1 record, but who would their fourth win of the season?
The Bills got the game’s first points after the opening pair of drives could not get anywhere. Starting from their 41-yard line, the Josh Allen-led offense would be able to make it down to the edge of the Texans’ red zone at the 20-yard line. However, they were unable to go further with this, setting up a 38-yard field goal attempt from Bills kicker Trevor Bass. He was successful with this, and Buffalo was on the board.
But their small lead did not last long. On the next drive of the game, Texans quarterback C.J Stroud would be able to bring his offense down to the Bills’ 15-yard line. From here, Cam Akers found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to give Houston the lead
It only took one play for the Texans to add to their lead. From their 33-yard line, Stroud found Nico Collins for a 67-yard touchdown pass. However, soon after this, Collins would be out of the game with a reported hamstring injury.
For the rest of the half, the two teams traded punts. This was until the dying seconds of the half when Texans kicker Kai’imi Fairbairn kicked a 50-yard field goal to end the half.
This meant that as both teams went into the locker rooms, the Texans had a 17-3 lead over the Bills.
The second half opened in the same way in which the first half ended. The Texans’ offense would stall at the Bills’ 29-yard line, setting up a 47 yard field goal attempt for Fairbairn, who would be successful, extending the Texans’ lead.
But on the next drive of the game, the Bills would be able to cut into the Texans’ lead. Allen and company moved the ball down to the Texans’ five-yard line. From here, James Cook found the endzone for the rushing touchdown.
It would become a one-point game after the following drive from the Bills. From the Texans’ 49-yard line, Allen found former Florida State Seminole Keon Coleman for the touchdown pass. This reduced the Texans’ lead to three points.
Then, midway through the fourth quarter, the Texans made a mistake. A pass by Stroud was intercepted by the Bills defense on Buffalo’s 20-yard line. Luckily for Houston, the Bills were unable to convert this into points.
But they were not lucky on their next drive. Stroud made another mistake, this time by fumbling the ball on the Texans’ eight-yard line. The ball would then be recovered by the Bills, giving them a very short field to score. Buffalo were unable to move from the 15-yard line, setting up Bass for a 32-yard field goal attempt which would be successful, tying the game with a few minutes left in the game.
After a few drives ending in punts, including one from the Bills end zone, the Texans had possession only needing a field goal to win the game.
CJ Stroud was able to bring his offense down to the Bills’ 41-yard line, setting up Fairbairn with a 59-yard field goal attempt to win the game. Fairbairn’s kick went through the uprights sealing a 23-20 victory for the Houston Texans over the Buffalo Bills.
Houston was the stronger team in this game. But, if it wasn’t for the Bills’ last drive of the game to end up on the edge of their endzone, the game would likely have gone to overtime. Here anyone could have won it. The victory gives the Texans a 4-1 record, while the Bills fall to 3-2.
Next week, Houston faces the New England Patriots, while Buffalo plays the New York Jets.
Kirk Does it Again!
Under Kirk Cousins, the Atalanta Falcons have been playing a brand of exciting football. However, this has not always been able to translate into victories, with the Falcons 2-2 coming into the game. This week, they faced divisional rival the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa has had a good start to the season have had some big wins. What would we see when these teams collide?
The Falcons had the first possession of the game and would have the first score from it. Starting from their 30-yard line, Cousins was quickly able to bring the offense down to the Buccaneers 18-yard line. From here, he found Drake London for the touchdown pass.
In reply to this, Tampa Bay was also able to score from their first drive of the game. Led by quarterback Baker Mayfield, the Buccs offense made their way down into the Falcons’ red zone and then down the two-yard line. Here, Mayfield found Mike Evans for the TD pass to level things up.
Atlanta then tried to extend their lead after their drive stalled at the Buccs 23-yard line. Falcons’ kicker Younghoe Koo attempted a 41-yard field goal, however, the ball went wide, denying the Falcons any points
.But, what the Falcons could not do, the Buccaneers were more than able to. They also attempted a field goal on their next drive. This was taken by Chase McLaughlin from 53 yards out, and was successful, handing Tampa Bay a slim lead
.The lead did not last long, as the Falcons would again find the endzone. This time, a 24-yard pass from Cousins to Darnell Mooney returned the lead to Atlanta. But, this lead was in their possession for around two minutes, as on the next drive, Mayfield found Evans for a 23-yard TD pass.
The scoring continued on the next drive from Atlanta. Cousins and company were able to get the ball down to the Buccs’ 36-yard line but no further. This set up Koo with a 54-yard field goal attempt, which, unlike his previous one, was successful.
This tied things up again, but the parity did not remain. In reply to the field goal, Mayfield brought his offense down to the Falcons’ four-yard line, before finding Sterling Shepard for the TD pass. This meant after a high-scoring first half, the Buccaneers had a 24-17 lead over the Falcons.
Atlanta would be able to cut into this lead to begin the second half. They slowly made their way down to the Buccaneers 30-yard line, where the drive would stall. Following this, Koo would kick a 48-yard field goal.
In reply to this, as we have seen many times in the game already, Tampa Bay was able to respond with a similar play. On this occasion, McLaughlin was able to kick a field goal from 32 yards out.
But, Atlanta would again cut into this lead on their next drive. Cousins would bring the offense down to the Buccs 12-yard line, where he would then find Mooney for the touchdown pass to tie the scores up again.
Tampa Bay would again retake the lead following their next drive. However, a 53-yard field goal would only give them a slim lead. Atalanta tried to tie things up from their next drive, but the field goal attempt missed.
With under three minutes to go, the mistakes would come. Buccaneers’ running back Bucky Irving would fumble the ball and lose possession on the Falcons 25-yard line. However, instead of using this to get any points, Cousins’ pass was intercepted.
In the last few seconds of the game, Atlanta had possession, knowing that all they needed was a field goal to take this game into overtime. They were able to get down to the Buccaneers’ 34-yard line, setting up a 52-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo to tie the game. He was successful with this, and this meant that the game would be going to overtime.
The Falcons had the first possession of the period, knowing that a touchdown would be enough to win the game. Kirk Cousins was able to move his offense down to the Buccaneers 40-yard line. From here, he found KhaDarel Hodge for the game-winning touchdown to give the Atlanta Falcons a 36-30 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This game was an entertaining watch, something that does not happen om Thursday night games. The Falcons showed that they are capable of competing with the biggest teams. Special mention needs to go to Kirk Cousins, who threw for 509 yards (42 from 52) and scored four touchdowns. The victory gives the Falcons a 3-2 record, while the defeat gives the Buccaneers the same 3-2 record. Games like this may become pivotal in the race for the normally close NFC South.
Next week, both teams face divisional rivals as Atlanta faces the Carolina Panthers, while the Buccaneers play the New Orleans Saints.
The Pain Continues for Cincinnati
For the last few seasons, the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals have been in contention to win the AFC. This year, while the Ravens are still looking strong, the Bengals are not. They usually go 0-2 before starting a winning run, but coming into this week, they are 1-3. A win here over a divisional rival would be vital if they are going to have any hope of making the playoffs with a healthy Joe Burrow.
The Ravens had the opening drive of the game and would be able to have the first score of the game as well. Starting from their 30-yard line, the Ravens offense, led by quarterback Lamar Jackson was able to move the ball down to the Bengals’ five-yard line. From here, Jackson would run the ball in for the touchdown. However, the subsequent review of the play ruled that Jackson did not break the plane, and only was able to get to the one-yard line. However, this did not stop the Ravens, as on the next play, Derrick Henry found the endzone for the TD.
A couple of drives later and the Bengals would be able to reply to this. Led by Joe Burrow, Cincinnati was able to make their way down to the Ravens’ 11-yard line. From here, Burrow found Tee Higgins for the TD pass to tie the score.
Then, Baltimore was able to gain back the lead. A 16-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Rahod Bateman would be the play to hand the Ravens a seven-point advantage.
However, their following drive was nowhere near as successful. The drive started on their two-yard line, and Baltimore only went backward from here. Henry was tackled in his own endzone to give the Bengals two more points.
Cincinnati would be able to take the lead before halftime when Burrow found JaMarr Chase for a 41-yard touchdown pass. This paired with a successful two-point conversion gave the Bengals a 15-14 lead at the half.
The Bengals would open the second half by extending their lead. On a long drive, Burrow was able to bring his offense down from the Bengals 30-yard line to the Ravens five. Then, he found Higgins for the wide receiver’s second TD of the game.
However, the Ravens immediately came back, when Jackson found Ishiah Likely for a one-yard TD pass to make it a three-point game. But Joe Burrow and the Bengals replied straight away with a four-yard TD pass to Chase Brown to restore their 10-point lead.
The back-and-forth scoring drives continued this time with Baltimore scoring to cut back the lead. A two-yard TD pass to Charlie Kolar brought the Ravens closer. But, then the strong partnership of Burrow and Chase struck again, this time from 70 yards out.
The Ravens did again get it back to three points on the very next drive with a six-yard TD pass to Likely.
However, the scoring streak would end there, as the Bengals made a costly mistake. With three minutes left on the clock, Burrow threw an interception. Then, with the Ravens now in possession they made their way down to the Bengals’ 38-yard line. From here Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker kicked a 56-yard field goal to tie the scores up.
There was enough time for one more drive from the Bengals. All they had to do was score a field goal to win the game. They were unable to do anything on this drive, so overtime it was.
The Ravens had the opening drive of overtime, needing a touchdown to win the game. However, on the Bengals’ 39-yard line, Jackson fumbled the ball, which was then scooped up by the Bengals.
Now only needing a field goal to win the game, Cincinnati was this time able to get into field goal territory. This set up Bengals kicker Evan McPherson with a 53-yard field goal Attempt to win the game. It missed and handed Baltimore another chance of victory.
It took the Ravens one play to get into field goal range thanks to a 51-yard run down to the six-yard line. Then Tucker attempted a 24-yard field goal, which he was successful with, giving the Baltimore Ravens a 41-38 overtime victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
For Cincinnati, their woes now continue. They were leading for most of the game, and the missed overtime field goal and the interception which caused the period to happen in the first play were what caused them to lose a winable game. The victory moves Baltimore to 3-2 on the season, while the Bengals fall to 1-4, and any chance of the playoffs is now extremely slim.
Next week, the Ravens face the Washington Commanders, while the Bengals face the New York Giants.
The Vikings Win in London
Week five also brought us the first London game of the season between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Jets. The Vikings are one of two unbeaten teams left in the NFL, while the Jets are having mixed results with veteran QB Aaron Rodgers. International games are rarely entertaining affairs, would this one be any different?
The Vikings would be the first to score after a poor drive from the Jets to start the game. Starting on their 11-yard line, the Vikings would be lucky to have possession at all, after a fumble on the first play of the drive. Minnesota recovered after this, as Sam Darnold (who was originally drafted by the New York Jets) led the Vikings down to the Jets’ 36-yard line. This set up a 54-yard field goal attempt from kicker Will Reichard. He was successful, and Minnesota took an early lead.
However, the Vikings made a mistake on their next drive. In the same location to which the field goal was taken on the previous drive, Darnold fumbled the ball, and it was scooped up by the Jets.
But, they could not hold on to it for long. The Jets’ offense would be able to get down to the Vikings’ 38-yard line before Aaron Rodgers’ pass was intercepted and then returned for a pick-six touchdown.
This would give the Jets possession again. But, as before, they were not able to hold onto it for long, as Rodgers’ pass was again intercepted. Luckily for the Jets, this wasn’t returned for a TD.
However, a few drives later, the Vikings would be able to find the endzone again. Darnold and the offense were able to move down to the Jets’ two-yard line before C.J. Ham found the endzone for the rushing TD.
Near the end of the first half, the Jets would finally have some luck. Taking advantage of a short field length, the Jets’ offense made its way from the Vikings’ 31-yard line to the 14-yard line. From here, Rodgers found Allen Lazard for the TD pass.
This meant that at halftime, the Vikings had a 17-7 lead.
The second half would not open well for both teams. In the first eight drives of the half, they all ended in kicks. Pretty apt that this game was being played at the home of Tottenham then.
Out of those eight kicks in this Festival of Kicking, two of them were field goals. The Jets got the first one when Greg Zurlein scored from 32 yards out. Then, Reichard made one from 53 yards out to make keep in a 10-point game with 12 minutes to do in the fourth quarter.
But then, Minnesota made a mistake that could have cost them the game. Darnold’s deep pass was intercepted on the Vikings’ 42-yard line. The resulting drive ended in a one-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Garrett Wilson. This made it a three-point game with more than enough time for the Jets to make a comeback.
However, the Vikings’ lead was extended on their next drive through a 41-yard field goal from Reichard. This gave Aaron Rodgers the ball back with three minutes to do, needing a touchdown to win the game. Could this happen?
The Jets’ drive started from their 30-yard line, and Rodgers advanced the offense down to the Vikings’26-yard line. From here, Rodgers’ pass to Mike Williams was intercepted, and the game was over.
The Minnesota Vikings had defeated the New York Jets 23-17.
The victory continues Minnesota’s surprise undefeated start to the season. They did enough to win the game. However, those three interceptions from Aaron Rodgers cost the Jets any chance of victory. Maybe it is time for the veteran to call it a day. The game has had ramifications on the Jets coaching staff, as coach Robert Salah was fired a few games after the game. With Bill Belichick available, could he make a return to the team he was in charge of for one day?
Next week, the Vikings are on a bye week, while the Jets face the Buffalo Bills.
What Happened in the Other Games?
The Carolina Panthers faced the Chicago Bears this week. Any hope that the quarterback change the Panthers did two weeks ago would bring a change in fortunes is now gone. The Bears, with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, heavily defeated them 36-10, in a game that will be more remembered for the brawl after Roschon Johnson’s TD in the fourth quarter.
The Miami Dolphins continued life without Tua against the New England Patriots. Both teams struggled in this game, with the Dolphins making slightly fewer mistakes than the Patriots did. A late fourth-quarter TD from Alec Ingold gave Miami a 15-10 win.
The Washington Commanders destroyed the struggling Cleveland Browns to stay at the top of the NFC East. QB Jayden Daniels threw for 238 yards and one TD in their 34-13 win.
The Jacksonville Jaguars upset the Indianapolis Colts on quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s birthday. The Colts came back in the final quarter, but a late 49-yard field goal from Jags kicker Cam Little gave them a 37-34 victory, meaning that they are no longer winless.
The Denver Broncos faced the Las Vegas Raiders this week. A 100-yard Pick-six TD from Pat Surtain gave the Broncos hope after a poor first quarter. Two TDs from Bo Nix solidified Denver’s 34-18 win.
The San Francisco 49ers now have a losing record. They faced the Arizona Cardinals this week and were defeated by a late field goal from kicker Chad Ryland, handing the Cardinals a 24-23 win.
The Green Bay Packers recovered from their loss against the Minnesota Vikings last week in their game against the Los Angeles Rams. Two TDs from QB Jordan Love were the highlights of a game in which the Rams were rarely in it. Green Bay won 24-19.
Sunday Night Football this week was between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the scoreline won’t tell you it, the Cowboys were able to dominate the Steelers in this game. Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott threw for 352 yards as Dallas recorded a 20-17 win.
The Kansas City Chiefs continued their winning season against the once-strong New Orleans Saints. Pat Mahomes threw for 331 yards in the Chiefs’ convincing 26-13 win to keep their undefeated season alive.
Finally, The New York Giants played the Seattle Seahawks in a game that many Giants fans were predicting the team to lose. Without Malik Nabers, the odds were against them. However, a strong performance from Daniel Jones (throwing for 257 yards) and a blocked field goal TD from Bryce Ford Wheaton gave the Giants a memorable 29-20 win. To answer the question: No, the New York Giants did not ruin my weekend.
So, that was week five of the 2024 Season. Next week, the Dallas Cowboys face the Detroit Lions, San Francisco hopes to return to winning ways against the Seattle Seahawks, and another London game, this time between the Jags and the Bears.
