NFL Week 5 Takeaways: Brian Daboll Is Early Coach of the Year Candidate | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
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NFL Week 5 Takeaways: Brian Daboll Is Early Coach of the Year Candidate
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Brian Daboll (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
No head
coach has done more with less than the New York Giants’ Brian Daboll,
who has immediately turned last year’s 4-13 squad into one of the top teams in
the NFL through Week 5.
Big Blue will
leave London with a 4-1 record after they knocked off the Green Bay Packers
Sunday. Running back Saquon Barkley had another spectacular performance,
racking up 106 scrimmage yards with a touchdown. Leading up to the game,
quarterback Daniel Jones battled an ankle injury, but he went 21-of-27 passing for
217 yards and rushed for 37 yards in the 27-22 victory over the Packers.
The Giants defense
took the field without starting defensive lineman Leonard Williams and
edge-rusher Azeez Ojulari, but that didn’t faze the unit on a game-sealing
fourth-down stop on New York’s 6-yard line.
Beyond the
realization that the Giants look better than many expected, we saw a dominant
performance from the other New York football team that thumped a division
rival. The NFL-NFLPA’s new concussion protocol had an impact on that game.
Lastly, we
have an early leader for best team in the NFC North via head-to-head
competition.
Let’s go
through the biggest takeaways from Sunday’s early action. We’ll provide updates throughout the day.
Brian Daboll Is Getting the Most out of the Giants
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Brian Daboll (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Last
week, we highlighted
running back Saquon Barkley as the front-runner for 2022 Comeback Player of the
Year because he’s the engine of the New York Giants offense. While that still
holds merit, head coach Brian Daboll deserves a lot of credit for making the
most of a mediocre (at best) roster with a few key starters out of action in
Week 5.
Other than
Barkley, the Giants don’t have any reliable offensive playmakers. For the
season, slot receiver Richie James leads the team in receiving
yards (171) and is second in catches (17) behind Barkley. He caught two passes for 16 yards Sunday. In London, wideout Darius
Slayton led the team in both categories, hauling in six passes for 79 yards.
Leading up to the game, he had just one catch for 11 yards.
On Sunday, Big
Blue scored more than 21 points for the first time this season.
This week, the
Giants placed starting cornerback Aaron Robinson on injured reserve (knee). During
the game, they lost their other starting cornerback in Adoree’ Jackson (knee).
Two of their top defenders, defensive lineman Leonard Williams (knee) and edge-rusher
Azeez Ojulari (calf), didn’t suit up for Sunday’s game.
Yet the Giants
made their first
fourth-down stop of the season and prevented six out of 10 Packers third-down conversions.
At some
point, we must admit this isn’t just a gritty Giants team but a club that knows
how to win with its roster pieces. Daboll has put together a quality coaching
staff with offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and defensive play-caller Don “Wink”
Martindale to help lead this team to an impressive 4-1 start.
Packers Need Reliable Pass-Catcher to Cure Second-Half Scoring Woes
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Aaron Rodgers (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
First and
foremost, give credit to the New York Giants defense for a couple of batted
passes on a late-game goal-line stand to secure a victory in London. As for the
Green Bay Packers, they should add a veteran wideout or lean on running back
Aaron Jones a little more in the short passing game.
The Packers
went up 20-10 at halftime, but their offense didn’t score any points in the
second half. The Giants took a safety as they bled the clock.
As we
pointed out last
week, the Packers’ wide receiver corps started to come together in a
matchup against the New England Patriots with Allen Lazard hauling in six
passes for 116 yards and rookie fourth-rounder Romeo Doubs catching five passes
for 47 yards and a touchdown. The young receivers took a step back Sunday.
Sure, Lazard
scored on a four-yard touchdown reception, but he caught just four out of eight targets for 35 yards. Meanwhile, Doubs converted five targets into three
receptions for 29 yards.
Once Big
Blue made a second-half push, Green Bay didn’t have an answer, punting twice,
turning the ball over on downs and finally taking a sack as time expired on its four drives after halftime.
Perhaps the
Packers need to take an aggressive approach in pursuit of wide receiver Odell
Beckham Jr., who could provide a boost once he recovers from a torn ACL. NFL
Network’s Ian
Rapoport expects Green Bay to show interest in him. The 29-year-old wideout
agreed with ESPN analyst Marcus
Spears that the Packers stand out as a potential fit.
As a more immediate impact alternative,
Green Bay should consider a deep threat in Will Fuller V, who’s averaged at least
15.1 yards per catch in three of his six seasons. He has a 62.5 percent career catch
rate. Regardless, the Packers need another veteran receiver besides Randall Cobb, who caught seven passes for 99 yards Sunday. Keep in mind
that Sammy Watkins (hamstring) is on injured reserve.
Vikings Are Clearly the Best NFC North Team Through Week 5
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Justin Jefferson (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
No NFL club can claim a division title after Week 5, but the Minnesota Vikings have an
early edge over their NFC North rivals with a win over all three teams.
On Sunday,
the Vikings beat the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium to go 3-0 in the division. With home wins
over the other two NFC North squads, Minnesota may have the most balance on
both sides of the ball among the four teams.
Even though
the Vikings went into Week 5 ranked 27th in total defense, the unit forced a
fumble to seal a 29-22 victory over the Bears. For the season, Minnesota has at
least one takeaway in all five of its games.
On the other
side of the ball, the Vikings have scored at least 28 points in three consecutive
outings. On Sunday, their stars helped lead
them to victory. Justin Jefferson caught 12 passes for 154 yards; he also threw
a pass for 23 yards. Dalvin Cook rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 27 yards.
Meanwhile,
the Green Bay Packers offense has struggled to put points on the scoreboard in
the second half of games, the Detroit Lions had allowed the
most points and yards heading into Sunday’s contests, and the Bears haven’t scored
more than 23 points in a game this season.
With an
early advantage over every team in the NFC North, an offense that’s recently picked
up some steam and an opportunistic defense that can force turnovers, the
Vikings should feel confident in their squad. They have one of the top three records
in the NFC.
Jets Have Taken Advantage of Early Breaks as Wins Build Optimism
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Breece Hall (Elsa/Getty Images)
In consecutive
weeks, the New York Jets have beaten a couple of teams that tossed rookie
quarterbacks into action with the game in progress.
Last week, the Jets faced Kenny
Pickett, who made his NFL debut after halftime, and on Sunday, they defeated a
Miami Dolphins squad that inserted rookie seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson into
the lineup following quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s early exit (elbow/concussion
protocol).
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Bridgewater passed the protocol tests, but the new guidelines kept him out of action:
Tom Pelissero @TomPelissero
The <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dolphins?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Dolphins</a> say Teddy Bridgewater was ruled out due to concussion protocol. He passed the tests, but because of the new rule — adding ataxia to the “no-go” list — and what the ATC spotter saw, he’s out.<br><br>The first player removed from play under new NFL-NFLPA protocols.
Regardless
of the circumstances Sunday, the Jets earned a dominant 40-17 win led by their
young core.
Rookie
second-rounder Breece Hall had a signature outing, racking up 197 yards (97
rushing and 100 receiving) with a touchdown from scrimmage. Fellow running back
Michael Carter scored twice on the ground. First-round cornerback Sauce Gardner
recorded five tackles (three solo) and his first interception. Quarterback Zach
Wilson scored a rushing touchdown and didn’t turn the ball over.
With a young
squad, you want to see steps in the right direction against whoever lines up on
the other side, and the Jets have shown signs of progress. More importantly,
their youngsters have been contributors in the team’s three victories this season.
Saints Must Continue to Showcase Taysom Hill in Their Offense
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Taysom Hill (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
The New
Orleans Saints needed an offensive spark, and they found it in Taysom Hill, who’s
arguably the league’s most versatile Swiss Army-knife playmaker with the
ability to throw, run and catch the ball.
With Michael
Thomas (foot/toe) and Jarvis Landry (ankle) out and rookie first-round wide
receiver Chris Olave leaving the game early with a concussion, the Saints rode
Hill to a 39-32 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Hill threw and
ran for a touchdown on the Saints’ last two scoring drives. Along with his 22-yard
touchdown pass to Adam Trautman, he finished with 112 yards and three scores on the ground.
Though
quarterback Andy Dalton (16-of-24 for 187 yards, a touchdown and an interception)
started under center and stabilized the offense in place of Jameis Winston
(back), Hill’s versatility elevated the unit.
Because of
the Saints’ injuries at wide receiver, they may need more of Hill in a
pass-catching role in the coming weeks. Over the summer, he focused on the tight end position, so perhaps the coaching staff designs plays to get him
the ball as a receiver in space.
According to
ESPN’s Adam
Schefter, the Saints expect Thomas to suit up for Week 6, though offensive
coordinator Pete Carmichael should keep Hill involved to keep defenders guessing as to his role on any given down.
Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can
follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.
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