Week 5 of the NFL season did not disappoint. On Thursday night, fans were treated to a thrilling matchup between the 49ers and Rams. Then on Sunday, the Vikings, Panthers, Broncos, Saints, and Titans all mounted double-digit comebacks to secure wins. And to think, we still have a Monday Night game ahead.

It was a wild week of football, and here are my 10 takeaways from Week 5 of the NFL season.

The Ravens are in serious trouble

If you had told me before the season that the Ravens would be 1-4 through the first five weeks, I would’ve told you you’re crazy. But here we are, five weeks into the season, and the Ravens are in serious danger of missing the playoffs.

Only 16 teams have started the season 1-4 and gone on to make the playoffs. The Rams did it a year ago, winning nine of their last 12 to make it as a Wild Card, but that was with a fairly healthy team. Right now, the Ravens are down a ton of players, including star QB Lamar Jackson, and it’s unclear when he’ll return.

The Ravens’ defense has also become completely unrecognizable. They used to be one of the best units in the league, but have given up 37+ points in four of their five games this season.

With two games against the Steelers and matchups against the Rams, Packers and Vikings left on their schedule, it’s going to be hard for them to claw back into playoff contention. Luckily, the AFC North isn’t nearly as strong as it typically is, and their only win thus far has come against the Browns, so winning the AFC North is not out of the question.

Dillon Gabriel should start for at least a few more weeks

Joe Flacco missed Sunday’s game with an injury, opening the door for Browns third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel to get his first career start. While the offense was pretty mundane and they kept things simple for him, I thought Gabriel played well and deserves to start for at least a few more weeks.

On Sunday morning, Gabriel completed 19 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. He was decisive and did a good job of avoiding pressure against a very stingy Vikings defense. The Browns will travel to Pittsburgh before returning home to face the Dolphins. I believe Gabriel should start both of those games, and they can decide where to go from there.

Colts are contenders in the AFC

Not too many people had high expectations for the Colts this season. Once Daniel Jones won the quarterback battle, a lot of people wrote them off, but after five weeks of the season, the Colts are legitimate contenders in the AFC.

Offensively, Daniel Jones has been efficient and hasn’t made too many mistakes, but the run game has been the X-factor. Jonathan Taylor has been dominant, rushing for 480 yards and six scores behind a 5.1 average. Shane Steichen has done a great job with this offense, and after five weeks, they’re averaging 32.6 points per game.

The Colts have also been very good defensively. They came into the week allowing 21 points per game, and they just held the Raiders to six points and 296 total yards on Sunday. If they keep playing like this, the Colts could make a serious run in the playoffs.

The Texans’ defense is legit

I know we just talked about the Ravens missing Lamar Jackson and a handful of other players, but we need to talk about the Texans‘ defense. DeMeco Ryans has this unit playing with their hair on fire, and through five weeks, they’re allowing just 12.2 points per game.

They have a strong pass rush with Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Their talented linebacking core is led by Azeez Al-Shaair. Derek Stingley anchors one of the league’s best secondaries. This defense shows up every week. They look ready for a Super Bowl run, if the offense can catch up.

Spencer Rattler is not the problem in New Orleans

Despite the fact that Spencer Rattler is now 1-10 as a starter, he is not the problem in New Orleans. The second-year man out of South Carolina has taken huge steps since entering the league last year, and has managed the Saints‘ offense very well, especially in recent games.

This week, Rattler earned his first career win while throwing for 225 yards and a touchdown. The 25-year-old has only turned the ball over one time this season, and has thrown for 200+ in four of his five games this year.

Is he ever going to be a top 10 quarterback? Probably not. But if the Saints aren’t in love with any of the top quarterbacks in 2026, they can stay afloat with Rattler until they find their franchise guy.

QB controversy in San Fran?

The 49ers might have themselves a QB controversy. Brock Purdy has played two games this season – Week 1 and Week 4 – and has thrown for 586 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s 1-1 as a starter, and normally there wouldn’t be a conversation about who the starter should be, but Mac Jones has balled out in his place.

The 27-year-old has opened three games this season and has thrown for 905 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception. He is unbeaten in his appearances this year, having defeated the Saints, Cardinals, and Rams.

Purdy just signed a five-year, $265-million contract in May, so it’s hard to believe that, if Purdy’s healthy, they won’t play him. But if the first five weeks of the season are any indication, Jones may be the man for the job until he proves otherwise.

Game of the year candidate

We were gifted one of the best games of the season on Sunday afternoon when the Buccaneers took a trip across the country to face the Seahawks. This game was a track meet from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, and man was it entertaining.

These two teams combined to score 73 points and totaled 889 yards of offense. Both quarterbacks threw for over 320 yards while completing over 82 percent of their passes. We also got to see two of the best young receivers in the league – Emeka Egbuka and Jaxon Smith-Njigba – combine for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

This game had it all, and of course, it ended in theatrics. Sam Darnold committed the first turnover of the night in the closing minutes, and the Bucs won on a game-winning field goal. There’s still a lot of football to be played, but this was one of the best games of the year.

Get ready for a Broncos win streak

The Broncos were one of the most disappointing teams through the first four weeks of the season. Some were picking them to dethrone the Chiefs in the AFC West, but they started 2-2 and just didn’t look good. They started slow in their Week 5 game, but were able to scratch and claw their way back into it and escape with a 21-17 win over the undefeated Eagles.

Get ready for the Broncos to go on a win streak. Bo Nix looked fantastic in the second half, completing 13 of his 16 attempts for 163 yards and a touchdown. He’s got some of his swagger back, and with a couple “easy” games against the Jets and Giants coming up, the Broncos could be 5-2 by the time they host the Cowboys.

Are the Jets really the worst team in the league?

After their loss to the Cowboys on Sunday, the Jets are the only winless team in the NFL this season. The Saints and Titans both got their first win of the season this week, and the question has to be asked, are the Jets the worst team in the league?

I don’t think so. Despite what their record says, I think the Jets are definitely better than the Titans. There’s also a case to be made that they’re better than the Giants, Saints, Raiders, Dolphins and Browns, who all have one win.

For starters, the Jets offense is actually pretty good. Justin Fields has led the Jets to 32, 21 and 22 points in his three starts this season. When he plays, they are capable of putting points on the board. The same can’t be said for the Titans, Raiders, Browns and Dolphins, who have completely unreliable offenses.

The kicker is their defense, which is arguably the worst in the league. They can’t stop a nosebleed, which is obviously a massive problem. But I still believe that if they were to play the Titans, Raiders or Browns, they’d win. And they’d have a shot against the other teams I mentioned earlier.

The Patriots are building something special

The Patriots are building something special in New England. They’ve found their franchise quarterback in Drake Maye and have assembled a defense that’s capable of shutting down their opponents. They’re still a couple years away from being real contenders, but they’ve got something special brewing.

On Sunday night, the Patriots went on the road to face a red hot Buffalo team that they had no business hanging around with. And yet, they marched into Orchard Park and took it to the Bills for 60 minutes and handed them their first loss of the season.

Drake Maye was great, throwing for 273 yards and leading the Pats on a 37-yard drive to set them up for a game-winning field goal. The defense held the Bills to just 20 points on the night, which is by far their lowest total of the season.

The Patriots are cooking something special, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re back in contention for a Super Bowl.