Overreactions from Week 5 of NFL season: Eagles on heels of another collapse? Jets, Cardinals should fire HCs?
Which overreactions are worth the trouble or which are reality?
By
Jeff Kerr
•
8 min read
What initially appeared to be an unspectacular Week 5 of the NFL season turned out to provide a slew of exciting finishes. The Denver Broncos erased a 14-point deficit to upset the Philadelphia Eagles (and hand them their first loss of the season), while the Carolina Panthers rallied from 17 down to defeat the Miami Dolphins.
The New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans won't go winless, as the Titans mounted a storming comeback to beat the Arizona Cardinals. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Seattle Seahawks in a thriller, and the Washington Commanders are back in the NFC East race with Jayden Daniels returning to the lineup.
There were plenty of overreactions to go around from the Sunday slate. Which ones are really overreactions and which are reality?
Drake Maye is a franchise quarterback
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Drake Maye has been playing good football throughout the season, but the Patriots quarterback finally had an opportunity to showcase his talents on the "Sunday Night Football" stage. He didn't have a Josh Allen- or Patrick Mahomes-type performance, but emerged victorious as the Patriots handed the Bills their first loss of the season.
The second-year quarterback finished 22 of 30 for 273 yards with a 100.1 passer rating, playing turnover-free football in a game with plenty of mistakes. The Patriots were expected to be a better team this year, but Maye's sold performances his rookie season with a bad team have carried over to a better team.
Maye has thrown for 1,261 yards through five games while completing an impressive 73.9% of his passes with seven touchdowns to two interceptions (107.8 rating). He's playing like a top 10 quarterback in football, getting the most out of a Patriots offense that has its flaws.
As the Patriots grow under Mike Vrabel, so does Maye. Their rebuild will go smoothly because they have a franchise quarterback in Maye, something they haven't had since Tom Brady left.
Eagles on the heels of another collapse
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
The Eagles finally lost a game, but this was one they were supposed to win. Philadelphia was up 17-3 over Denver in the fourth quarter before allowing 18 unanswered points in a 21-17 loss -- their first of the season. The offense changed it up this week, throwing the ball 37 times and running just 11. Saquon Barkley had a career-low six carries in a game he started and finished.
The Eagles clearly aren't on the same page offensively, and it's showing week to week. After going up 17-3, the offense ran 14 plays for 27 yards -- punting four times. The defense, in turn, allowed Bo Nix to go 9 of 10 for 127 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter (152.1 rating). The Broncos scored two touchdowns and a field goal on their final three possessions, as the Eagles' defense couldn't get off the field.
Philadelphia has been outgained in every game this season, yet is somehow 4-1. The Eagles don't turn the ball over, but they're keeping teams in games thanks to offensive inconsistency and an inability to find the right mix of passing and running. They also haven't gotten Barkley going, which is a major problem.
Does this mean the Eagles are collapsing? No. This team is talented and making enough plays to win games. The schedule gets easier before the bye week, and there's a good chance they'll be 7-1 by November.
The offense has issues that need fixing, but this Eagles team isn't collapsing despite the yardage differential and inconsistency. Sunday's game should have been a win, but this group has still emerged victorious in 20 of its past 22 games.
No collapse is happening in Philadelphia.
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John Breech
Aaron Glenn won't last the season as Jets coach
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Glenn has been a hot topic in the overreaction room over the past few weeks, especially since the Jets have looked abysmal every single week. They were down 30-3 late in the third quarter in Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, falling to 0-5 on the season -- and failing to record a single takeaway in any game (Glenn is a defensive coach).
The list of coaches to start a season 0-5 with the Jets? Adam Gase (2020), Rich Kotite (1996) and Walt Michaels (1980). That's not a very encouraging sign for Glenn, even if he's in his first year as a head coach. Things may be getting even worse for New York, as it heads overseas to face Denver -- which just handed Philadelphia its first loss of the season.
The Jets were noncompetitive in this one and ill-prepared. The message Glenn is trying to send isn't resonating with this locker room, and the culture is nonexistent. There's little reason to believe in Glenn at this point.
Even though the Jets look like the worst team in the NFL, they have the Panthers and Bengals after they get back from London. Let's reserve full judgment on Glenn, but if they lose both of those games, he may not survive the bye week.
Raiders will bench Geno Smith at some point this year
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Smith was supposed to be a good trade for the Raiders, who picked up a veteran quarterback who could be a bridge signal-caller for a year or two as Pete Carroll looked to establish an identity in Las Vegas. Here's the issue -- Smith has been atrocious.
Smith threw two interceptions and had a 63.8 passer rating in the Raiders' 40-6 loss to the Colts, which is essentially par for the course this season. He has six touchdowns to nine interceptions and a 75.6 passer rating through five games, ranking 27th out of 30 qualified quarterbacks in passer rating and first in interceptions (by three over Joe Flacco, who was benched).
The Raiders don't have a good roster, but Smith was supposed to be better. Without Brock Bowers, he was horrible.
At some point, the Raiders are going to go to Kenny Pickett, no matter what they gave up for Smith this offseason -- and despite the two-year, $75 million extension they agreed upon as well. Smith just isn't a starting NFL quarterback anymore, and the Raiders need to turn the page.
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Tyler Sullivan
Ravens will fire Zach Orr as defensive coordinator this season
Overreaction or reality: Reality
No matter how many starters are injured on defense (five) or how much salary cap is missing on the roster (43%), the Ravens' defense has been ridiculously bad. In a weekend full of bad performances, the Ravens' defense may have been the worst of all -- giving up 44 points to the Texans at home.
Baltimore's defense is the reason the Ravens are 1-4, as they've given up 37-plus points in four of their first five games. They are the first team in 71 years to allow 37 or more points in four of their first five games and are allowing 35.4 points per game this season.
Kyle Van Noy gave a noncommittal answer on Orr, and John Harbaugh is doubling down on his defensive coordinator. Truth is, the Ravens just aren't competitive -- and were bad on defense even before they were missing five starters.
This defense isn't good, and getting players healthy won't fix all the issues. Orr shouldn't survive this season, not while underperforming with this much talent on defense.
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Rico Dowdle should start over Chuba Hubbard
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Getting Dowdle in this conversation showcases the amazing day he had. Dowdle led Carolina's comeback victory over Miami, rushing for 206 yards -- the second-most in a player's first start with a team since 1970.
Dowdle torched the Dolphins' run defense, averaging 9.0 yards per carry and adding 74 rushing yards and a score in the fourth quarter. Thanks to Dowdle, the Panthers are 2-3. Should they go to him as the RB1 over Chuba Hubbard if he's healthy enough to return next week?
The Dolphins' run defense isn't very good, which is why Dowdle had such a big day. They rank 30th in the NFL in yards per carry allowed (5.6), 29th in yards before contact per attempt (2.03) and 28th in yards after contact per attempt (3.56). This isn't a good unit, which makes Dowdle's performance somewhat deceiving.
Dowdle deserves more touches, but he shouldn't be thrust into the RB1 role just yet.
Emeka Egbuka will break the rookie receiving yards record
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Look out, Puka Nacua -- Emeka Egbuka is coming for your mark of 1,486 receiving yards, the most ever by a rookie in league history. Egbuka was dominant in Tampa Bay's thrilling win over Seattle, catching seven passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. This was Egbuka's second straight game with 100-plus receiving yards -- and the second straight game in which he had a 50-plus-yard reception.
How do you turn 3rd-and-13 into a 57-yard gain? Emeka Egbuka.
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
TBvsSEA on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/VV935v5Awd
Simply put, Egbuka is figuring things out in the NFL. He has 25 catches for 459 yards and five touchdowns through five games -- an average of 18.4 yards per catch. He's averaging 91.8 receiving yards per game and is on pace for 1,561 yards this season.
The Buccaneers already have a WR1 in Egbuka, and he'll keep getting targeted with Baker Mayfield slinging the ball downfield and Mike Evans sidelined with a hamstring injury. They may already have a top-10 wideout in the NFL, and Egbuka is showing no signs of slowing down.
If Egbuka doesn't hit the rookie wall, he'll get that record.
Baker with a DART to Emeka 🎯
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 5, 2025
📺: #TBvsSEA on CBS pic.twitter.com/dp2oTrsIXK
Jonathan Gannon won't last past this season in Arizona
Overreaction or reality: Reality
The Cardinals looked strong with a 2-0 start, even with unimpressive victories over the Saints and Panthers. Then they lost a pair of one-score games to division foes -- the 49ers and Seahawks -- both on walk-off field goals.
Arizona lost to Tennessee on a walk-off field goal Sunday to fall to 2-3, but this one should have been preventable. Emari Demercado dropped a ball going into the end zone that resulted in a turnover -- and would have put Arizona up 28-6 in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals then either fumbled or punted on six of their final eight possessions. They also allowed Cameron Ward to go 13 of 18 for 193 yards in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning drive that set up Joey Slye's walk-off field goal.
Picked!
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
Fumbled!
Touchdown!
A WILD @TITANS TD! pic.twitter.com/o22RMgaghL
The Titans are one of the worst teams in the NFL, and the Cardinals blew a commanding lead at home. For a team that needs to either make the playoffs or be competitive enough to push for one, that can't happen.
The losses are close, but Gannon has little wiggle room. He needs to turn this around, or his tenure with the Cardinals won't last much longer.
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