5 things we learnt from NFL week 5

 

So the NFL is well underway as most teams have played five games with six teams who have only played four due to early bye weeks. There are only six teams with a perfect record now and this pool of teams with get lesser each week.

We are also seeing the sides who look like they will get a play-off place and those who are going to struggle this season.

 

Aaron Rodgers is Human after all.

Aaron Rodgers holds many NFL records and one of them was most consecutive touchdown passes without a interception at home (48)and his last interception was in Week 3 of the 2012 season. His long standing of no interceptions as quarterback finished on Sunday when he threw two against the St. Louis Rams at Lambeau. He is usually regarded as one of the best quarterbacks around and started his career as a first round pick in 2005 for the Packers. Since then he has gone on to hold 43 NFL records.

Despite the two interceptions from Rodgers, the Packers went on to keep their perfect 5-0 season record with a 24-10 win and this was largely down to the four interceptions thrown by Ram’s quarterback Nick Foles. Question is can Rodgers beat his record?

 

What has happened to the Lions?

The Detroit Lions have been the only real challengers for the Packers in NFC North, usually finishing 2nd and getting a wild card playoff place. However this season they are the only team left to win a game. An embarrassing 42-17 loss to the Cardinals, including 28 points in the 2nd quarter on Sunday just emulates their season. Last year they took the Packers to the final game and even got a wild card playoff place.

This year they are having a really bad start, what has gone wrong? They have a similar team to last year so something must have happened to the players over the close season. Stafford and his offence aren’t playing with the same intensity as they had last year, which is costing them in attack. Their defense seems to lack strength and offences appear to be pushing through them too easily.

 

The Cowboys injury problem is costing them too much.

The Cowboys have been hit with a big injury crisis and this may cost them a playoff place this season. The Cowboys started off well in their first two games and looked a really strong team. Both their offence and defense looked like they could easily get a playoff place. However between Week 2 and 3 they were hit with some big injuries, including quarterback Tony Romo who is out for a minimum of eight weeks and star wide receiver Dez Bryant. These key players have left the Cowboys squad very depleted and this could cost them their season.

They must get their quarterback situation sorted out as 739 yards and two passing touchdowns in three games are not good enough, especially as they face the Giants and the Seahawks in their next two games after their bye this week. These are hard defenses to run against and they will find it hard if they cant pass the ball well. If they can fix this then there is a good chance that they can the playoffs.

 

The Patriots are still winning big.

The Patriots have just come back from a bye week and destroyed a very depleted Cowboys team. Their previously weak defense shone against a weak offence who had a second quarterback playing with their star wide receiver playing. They have come under fire from controversial plays involving illegal picks in which Gronkowski ripped through the Cowboys defense. However they are still a really dominant team in the NFL and will probably win the AFC East and find their way into the play offs.

However one bad point for the Patriots is their quarterback protection from the front line is weakening as Tom Brady managed to get sacked five times throughout the game, though no interceptions. However Brady still managed to get two passing touchdowns and 275 yards in the game.

 

The Bengals are a stronger team than people think.

The Cincinnati Bengals are one of them teams that always manage to find their way into the playoffs, though they have a hard Division. They have only managed to win their division three times in the last ten years but have made the playoffs six times, including the last four playoffs (2011, 12, 13 & 14) but they are always underestimated and rarely get the peoples pick to go onto to win the AFC.

They could probably go onto winning the AFC this year and have a good chance of beating the Patriots if they should meet. Dalton has the second longest passing yards with 1518 and is joint second for the amount of passing touchdowns with 11. They also have got a strong defence, with four interceptions and 15 sacks. Alongside their perfect 5-0 record, the Bengals could be in for a good and successful season.

 

All stats and scores were from NFL.com