The National Football League is starting to get some fans in the seats now for some games, with social distancing a significant priority it seems. Here are five intriguing storylines from the fifth week of the NFL season.
5) Torn ACL for Taylor Lewan–The three-time Pro Bowler from Loomis, Arizona tore his ACL in the Titans’ 42-36 overtime win over the Houston Texans on Sunday. The loss of Lewan is huge for the Titans, as Lewan provides an intimidating presence for defensive linemen at 6’7″, 310 pounds. It will now be interesting to see how the Titans offensive stars of quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry adjust without having Lewan there for protection and space to run. The Titans, who have been hit hard by coronavirus, are remarkably one of the three undefeated teams in the NFL at 5-0.
4) Steelers defense has been marvelous. We have talked about the Steelers offense in recent weeks. Now it is time to briefly discuss their defense. On Sunday it was magnificent, as they limited the Cleveland Browns to only 145 yards passing and 75 yards rushing in a dominant 38-7 win. The Steelers sacked Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield four times and intercepted him twice. Pittsburgh becomes only the second team ever (the other are the 1985 New York Giants) to have a minimum of three sacks and one interception in each of their first five games. The Steelers are also 5-0 for the first time since 1978 and have given up the fewest points in the NFL with 94 points against.
3) Buccaneers are not all about Tom Brady. Yes, the Buccaneers have one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history at the helm in Tom Brady, but one must give the entire Tampa Bay Buccaneers team praise for their impressive 38-10 win over the Green Bay Packers in the “Bay of Pigs” game Sunday afternoon. The best Buccaneer offensive player was Ronald Jones II who had 113 yards rushing and two touchdowns. What was also mighty impressive in Tampa’s win was that they limited the previously undefeated Packers to 160 yards passing, 94 yards rushing, and no touchdowns through the air.
2) NFC East is really bad. With a record of two wins and four losses and getting hammered 38-3 to the Arizona Cardinals, the Dallas Cowboys are still first in the NFC East. They have become the first team to lead their division after week six with a losing record. The Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and the Washington Football Team are a combined five wins, 18 losses, and one tie. To put everything into perspective, six teams in the NFL right now have as many wins as the four teams in the NFC East combined.
1) Clyde Edwards-Helaire should remain the Kansas City Chiefs no.1 running back. With the addition of Le’Veon Bell late last week from the New York Jets, some expected that the Kansas City Chiefs would utilize a running back tandem of Bell and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. After Kansas City’s convincing 26-17 win over the Buffalo Bills in upper New York on Monday, those rumors were laid to rest. Edwards-Helaire was terrific as he had 161 rushing yards in 26 carries. The rookie from LSU is clearly a better running back now than the 28-year-old Bell, so fantasy owners should have their mind at ease with the belief that Bell is a backup.
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