Week 5 of the NFL season is almost over. Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs are yet to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, but that doesn’t take anything away from how exciting the week already has been. We saw an overtime thriller on Thursday, multiple second-half comebacks on Sunday, and a ton of players had massive individual performances.
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It was hard to trim this list down. There are several players who deserve to be on this list, but just miss out on the cut.
Here were the top 10 performers from Week 5 of the NFL season.
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QB Matthew Stafford
We were treated to an amazing game on Thursday Night Football between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. After falling behind by 10 at halftime, Matthew Stafford helped the Rams mount a comeback to send the game to overtime, but in the end, the 49ers got the job done. But that doesn’t mean Stafford didn’t have a great game.
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Stafford has always been one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league, and he put his talents on full display, throwing for 389 yards and three touchdowns with no picks in the loss. He was spreading the ball around and just looked completely comfortable in the pocket, so his performance easily lands him on this list.
Stat line: 30-for-47, 389 yards, 3 TDs
QB Mac Jones
We can’t talk about Thursday’s game without bringing up Mac Jones’ performance. Since he stepped in for Brock Purdy, Jones has been magnificent, throwing for 905 yards and six touchdowns in three games. 342 of those yards and two of those touchdowns came on Thursday night against a stout Rams defense, so his performance also lands him on this list.
Stat line: 33-for-49, 342 yards, 2 TDs

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NFL, American Football Herren, USA Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers Sep 21, 2025 Santa Clara, California, USA San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones 10 warms up prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi s Stadium. Santa Clara Levi s Stadium California USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xCaryxEdmondsonx 20250921_rtc_se9, se9_0616
QB Baker Mayfield
With Bucky Irving out, it was clear that, in order to win, the Buccaneers would have to rely heavily on Baker Mayfield’s arm, and that rang true today.
The Buccaneers scored 38 points and totaled 426 yards of offense on Sunday. Just 56 of those yards came on the ground. Mayfield threw for 379 yards and two scores in the win. He took complete control of the offense, and even though Seattle knew he was going to throw it pretty much every play, he kept on making plays while completing 87.9 percent of his passes.
Stat line: 29-for-33, 379 yards, 2 TD
RB Rico Dowdle
How about the performance Panthers running back Rico Dowdle had on Sunday? The Panthers found themselves trailing the Dolphins 17-0 early, but they didn’t abandon the run, and Dowdle helped them scratch and claw their way back into this one. Dowdle rushed for over 200 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers erased a 17-point deficit to come back and win.
Before this, in the first 4 games, he had only rushed for 83 yards on 28 carries as Chuba Hubbard’s backup. Unfortunately, most people probably missed this performance. There were so many other good games on in the early window, so I doubt the Panthers and Dolphins drew much of a crowd. But his performance deserves recognition nonetheless.
Stat line: 23 carries, 206 yards, 9.0 YPC, 1 TD
RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, also known as Bill, was one of the most talked-about players of the offseason. That is, if you’re a diehard fantasy football player. If not, then maybe you hadn’t heard of him before the start of the year. Either way, the Commanders’ seventh-round pick has slowly but surely worked his way up the depth chart this season and has now cemented himself as the guy in Washington.
On Sunday, Croskey-Merritt ran for 111 yards and two scores on just 14 carries while also adding 39 yards in the pass game. It was his best performance of the season, but this is only the beginning for Bill.
Bill Croskey-Merritt Today:
– 14 Carries
– 150 Total Yds
– 111 Rush Yds
– 2 TDSWelcome to the NFL Bill pic.twitter.com/zOfxBMYsOy
— CommandersMuse (@CommandersMusee) October 5, 2025
Stat line: 14 carries, 111 rushing yards, 39 receiving yards, 2 TDs
WR Emeka Egbuka
It felt like every time the Bucs needed a big play, WR Emeka Egbuka found a way to get open behind the defense for a chunk play. The rookie has been sensational this season, but this was easily his best performance yet.
With the game tied at 21-21, Egbuka grabbed a pass for a gain of 19 yards on 1st-and-10. Soon after, he followed it up with 57-yard reception to the Seattle 2 on 3rd-and-13. That led to a Rachaad White touchdown run and a 28-21 lead.
It felt like Egbuka had more than seven receptions, but that’s because he turned those catches into 163 yards and a touchdown. The rookie now has 445 yards and five touchdowns in five games. Everyone’s saying he’s the future of the Bucs offense, but the future is already here.
Stat line: 7 catches, 163 yards, 1 TD
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry
Our first defensive standout is New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, who was lockdown in the Saints’ win over the New York Giants. McKinstry broke up three passes and came down with the first two interceptions of his career in the win.

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NFL, American Football Herren, USA New York Giants at New Orleans Saints Oct 5, 2025 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA New Orleans Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry 4 celebrates after their win against the New York Giants at Caesars Superdome. New Orleans Caesars Superdome Louisiana USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xStephenxLewx 20251005_jcd_la1_0287
It was a breakout performance for the Saints CB, who had defended just 1 pass in his first four outings this season. He finished the Giants game with 3 to his name.
Stat line: 4 tackles, 3 PD, 2 INT
OLB Nik Bonitto
The Denver Broncos‘s reigning sack leader from a year ago, Nik Bonitto, is one of the most underrated players in all of the NFL. He finished last season with 13.5 sacks, and you hardly heard a peep about it. Now, he’s off to another fast start, and he’s finally getting the praise he deserves.
Bonitto had 4.5 sacks on the season coming into Sunday’s game against the Eagles, which was tied for third in the league. After Sunday’s game, though, he may have just taken the top spot. Bonitto was all over Philly’s backfield, recording 2.5 sacks, 3 QB hits and loss of 16 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Just another day at the office for Denver’s star pass rusher.
Stat line: 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 QB hits, 2 TFL
DT Jeffery Simmons
The Tennessee Titans might not have a whole lot of players to be excited about, so it’s easy to forget that one of the best defensive players in the league resides in Nashville. Jeffery Simmons is quietly having a dominant season, and he had yet another massive performance on Sunday.
Simmons logged eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, one TFL, and two QB hits in the Titans’ come-from-behind win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. He was a massive reason the Cardinals didn’t score a single point in the second half, so he deserves to be recognized on this list.
Stat line: 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 QB hits
OLB Josh Sweat
Rounding out our list of top performers this weekend is Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat. The former Eagle made the move to Arizona this offseason, and he’s having a terrific season, logging five sacks in his first five games as a Cardinal. On Sunday, Sweat led the team with two sacks while also recording four tackles, two TFLs and two QB hits.
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Much like Simmons, Sweat was all over the opposing backfield today, but his performance will go largely unrecognized because the Cardinals gave up 19 unanswered points and lost to the 0-4 Titans.
Stat line: 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, 2 TFL
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