Cover 32: Look out NFL, Drake Maye has his swagger back; plus games balls, biggest gaffes from Week 5

Call it the yips, a slump, or just being downright bad, whatever had been plaguing Drake Maye through the early part of the season appears to be a thing of the past. The Patriots quarterback emphatically announced the return of his swagger with a dominant five-touchdown performance in New England's 45-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. 

Maye looked like the MVP runner-up he was a year ago in this contest, completing 26-of-34 for 374 yards and four passing touchdowns. He added 25 yards and another score on the ground to his day as well. That helped Maye become the first quarterback in team history to have at least 300 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown in a game. Of course, the most important element of Maye's day was the zero he posted in the turnover column. 

Outside of keeping it clean in the turnover margin, Maye's eruption against the Raiders was particularly notable when it comes to his deep ball. Last year, Maye was regarded as the most efficient deep ball passer in the NFL, but that was noticeably absent in his game during the early struggles this season. On Sunday, Maye completed 72.7% of his passes (8-of-11) that went for 10-plus air yards for 206 yards and three touchdowns, giving him a 154.4 passer rating. Those passing yards and passing touchdowns were a season high for the former first-round pick.

Really, Maye's resurgence began to sprout last week in New England's win over Buffalo. Over these last two games, Maye has completed 19-of-29 passes of 10-plus air yards for 390 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. When making the same throws over his first three games, Maye was 13-of-31 for 340 yards and four interceptions. 

What's helped Maye not only stabilize his season but also return to elite form has been his ability to better handle pressure. Over the past two games, Maye's been pressured on 30 dropbacks. In that span, he's completed 12-of-26 throws for 136 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, while being sacked just twice. Conversely, on the 42 dropbacks he was pressured over the first three weeks, Maye was 12-of-28 for 183 yards and three interceptions, while being sacked eight times. A night and day difference, particularly in the turnover department. 

It's funny how quickly the narrative can change in the NFL. After that 1-2 start, where Maye and the Patriots looked absolutely lost, the sky felt like it was falling in Foxborough. They've since ripped off two key wins in the AFC (including a head-to-head against the Bills in Buffalo) to move over .500 for the first time this season. 

Not only that, but Maye looks like the MVP contender he was a year ago, which completely changes the complexion of this team and the overall season outlook. There's also a case to be made that his high-level play could continue or even improve with the return of A.J. Brown looming. If that proves to be the case, New England is firmly back in the Super Bowl conversation, which is something nobody thought coming off that 3-point dud they produced in Jacksonville in Week 3. 

Game Balls

How Game Balls work: Six are awarded to standout players from the slate of teams that won their contests, and only one player on a team can get a game ball. 

David Bailey

NYJ • LB • #31

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• Week 5 stats: 7 tackles, 3 sacks, 4 QB hits, 

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft had his coming-out party in Week 5 as the Jets outlasted the Browns to move to 2-3 on the year. Bailey became the first rookie with three or more sacks in a game since James Houston in 2022 and just the second Jets rookie in franchise history to have three or more sacks, joining Hugh Douglas (1995). So far this season, Bailey has five sacks, which makes him the first rookie with five or more sacks through five games since Von Miller in 2011. 

Christian Watson

GB • WR • #9

TAR40

REC26

REC YDs474

REC TD6

FL0

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• Week 5 stats: 6 receptions, 143 yards receiving, 2 TD receptions

Watson continues to be the key cog in Green Bay's passing attack and was a go-to option early for Jordan Love amid the Packers 31-7 demolition of the Bears on Sunday. On the first offensive possession of the day for Green Bay, Love uncorked a 42-yard touchdown to Watson, which gave the Packers the lead, and they effectively never looked back. He also hauled in a 53-yard pass on a third-and-22 play in the third quarter. Watson is the second Packers player with multiple 40-yard touchdown receptions since 2000, joining Jordy Nelson. 

Jaylen Warren

PIT • RB • #30

Att70

Yds410

TD1

FL1

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• Week 5 stats: 15 carries, 101 yards rushing, 1 rushing TD; 6 receptions, 87 yards receiving, 1 TD reception

Warren has come on strong for the Steelers over the last three weeks, averaging 107 rushing yards per game over that stretch. The Pittsburgh back made his presence felt in the passing game in Week 5, taking a first-down swing pass from Aaron Rodgers 80 yards to the house midway through the first quarter. Not only did Warren lead the team in rushing, but he also was tied for the lead in receptions and led the team with 87 receiving yards. He's the first Steeler ever with a 50-yard rushing touchdown and a 50-yard receiving touchdown in the same game. 

Jahmyr Gibbs

DET • RB

Att80

Yds353

TD5

FL1

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• Week 5 stats: 25 carries, 151 yards rushing, 2 rushing TDs; 5 receptions, 56 yards receiving 

Once again, Jahmyr Gibbs put together video game-like numbers in Detroit's 45-21 win over the Cardinals. With his two rushing touchdowns, Gibbs passed Barry Sanders for the most total touchdowns (58) before turning 25 in NFL history. This was also Gibbs' third career game with 200-plus scrimmage yards, which is the fourth-most in franchise history.  

Parker Washington

JAC • WR • #11

TAR35

REC22

REC YDs352

REC TD4

FL0

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• Week 5 stats: 6 receptions, 124 yards receiving, 2 TD receptions

While Ameer Abdullah and Cam Little get the glory for their late-game heroics that ultimately won Jacksonville the game, they wouldn't even have been in a position to go for the victory had it not been for Washington. Once again, the Jags' wideout was superb and hauled in two touchdowns in London. His last touchdown was jawdropping as the Jaguars kept the offense on the field for a fourth-and-5 attempt from the Philadelphia 27-yard line, trailing 14-10 with just over three minutes to play in regulation. Trevor Lawrence dropped back and found Washington, who made a diving one-handed catch in the end zone. 

Mike Evans

SF • WR • #5

TAR24

REC17

REC YDs213

REC TD2

FL0

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• Week 5 stats: 7 receptions, 113 yards receiving, 1 TD

Evans was a linchpin to San Francisco going into Seattle and taking down the Seahawks to remain unbeaten on the season. On top of catching a touchdown earlier in the contest, Brock Purdy looked Evans' way in a critical moment of the game, converting a 2-point attempt to put the Niners up by a field goal, 29-26. Specifically, Evens came alive in the fourth quarter, totaling four catches for 75 yards to go along with that 2-point conversion over the final period. 

Notable Week 5 gaffes

Nick Sirianni helps Jags kick game-winning FG 

We had some late-game chaos in London as the Jaguars hit a walk-off 57-yard field goal to defeat the Eagles. The only reason why Jacksonville was within range to kick the game-winner was thanks to Abdullah ripping off a 53-yard kick return. 

That decision to give the Jaguars a returnable ball with just eight seconds remaining in regulation and a 17-16 lead was puzzling, to say the least. Head coach Nick Sirianni took the blame for the decision, which ended up costing his team the game.

"I didn't make the right decision, and I lost us that game, and that's what I said to our guys, and what hurts there is that the guys fought so hard and then I don't make the decision that I should make at the end of the game and I cost us that game," Sirianni said. "I put that fully on me."

Philadelphia is now 2-3 on the season and is below .500 for the first time since they were 6-7 entering Week 15 during the 2021 season. 

Commanders botch clock in OT, end up tied with Giants

Despite blowing a 27-13 fourth-quarter lead and allowing the Giants to force overtime, Washington had an opportunity to win the game after recovering a fumble by Cam Skattebo. After the turnover, the Commanders drove the ball well within field goal range and sat at the New York 24-yard line when they faced a second-and-8. 

Inexplicably, the Commanders kept the offense on the field despite nine seconds remaining on the clock. Even more inexplicably, Jayden Daniels snapped the ball, scrambled and was sacked. With no timeouts in their pocket, the Commanders couldn't get back to the line to spike the ball, the clock hit zero and the game ended in a tie without a game-winning field goal even being attempted. 

That was the culmination of an utter collapse by the Commanders, who are now 1-3 on the year and 0-3 in the NFC East. 

Calamity in the red zone between Bengals and Dolphins

We had a Bad News Bears-style moment in Bengals-Dolphins, where the ball hit the ground not once but twice in the red zone for both teams. With about seven minutes remaining in the first half, Joe Burrow completed a short pass to Chase Brown. After the catch, the Bengals back had the ball stripped, and the Dolphins recovered. That momentary swing of momentum was short-lived, however, as Chop Robinson — who recovered the loose ball — fumbled himself as Ja'Marr Chase was able to slap the ball free. 

Fortunately for Miami, pass rusher Josh Uche recovered that fumble, so they maintained possession. Unfortunately for Miami, Malik Willis threw an interception three plays later, the Bengals scored on the ensuing drive and jumped out to a 21-7 lead en route to the win. 

Fight breaks out on opening kickoff in London

Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Jaguars defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. were ejected after getting into a fight on the opening kickoff of Sunday's matchup in London. The two went at it during the kickoff and needed to be separated after the play ended. After the officials huddled, they announced that both were disqualified from the game. 

Jaguars rookie Josh Cameron ripped off a 90-yard touchdown on the kickoff, but the scoring play was nullified after offsetting penalties by both teams (not related to the fight), so it was quite the eventful start to the game. 

Browns fumble punt, setting up Jets' go-ahead TD

It was a slog for most of this Week 5 matchup between the Browns and Jets, but Cleveland did let the victory literally slip through its fingers. The Browns lined up to punt the ball back to New York from the Jets' 43-yard line and just over four minutes to play in regulation. In rainy conditions at MetLife Stadium, the snap was high, and the ball slipped through the hands of punter Corey Bojorquez. The Jets jumped on the loose ball and took over from the Cleveland 23-yard line. 

Three plays later, Braelon Allen ran for a 22-yard touchdown that put the Jets up and eventually proved to be the go-ahead score, winning 17-12. 

Jaxon Smith-Njigba makes a critical fourth-quarter drop

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has some of the most sure-fire hands in the entire NFL, but he came up short in the biggest moment of Sunday's loss to the 49ers. On a third-and-10 snap from midfield, Sam Darnold delivered a pass down the field that hit a leaping Smith-Njigba in the hands. However, the ball slipped through his fingers and fell incomplete. 

Had Smith-Njiggba hauled it in, Seattle would've been well within field goal range to tie it up or possibly even take a few shots to the end zone for a possible game-winning score. Instead, Cooper Kupp was short of the stick on the ensuing fourth-down play, and San Francisco kneeled to kill the clock and secure the win. 

Two-minute drill

Here are some of my quick-hitting takeaways/notes from Week 5:

• Denver scored 10 points in the first half, with Sean Payton calling plays again, and went on to beat the Chargers, but the offense still looks clunky. How does Jaylen Waddle have just 64 total receiving yards over his last three games? 
• Things aren't positioned well for Nick Sirianni at the moment. After botching the kickoff in London, they come back from an international game to face a Panthers team that was just on the bye. Then, they play the Cowboys on "Monday Night Football" in Week 7. If they go 0-2 over these next couple of weeks, that's a recipe for a possible firing. 
• It's hard to gauge Fernando Mendoza's first taste of NFL action after coming in for Kirk Cousins in a blowout loss to New England. The Patriots were playing soft coverage and simply didn't want to get beaten deep (or get hurt), but the No. 1 overall pick was sharp. He finished 6-of-8 for 48 yards and scrambled for three yards. 
• Kyle Monangai's absence was felt dramatically in Chicago's loss to Green Bay. The Bears rushed for just 81 yards on 24 carries (3.4 yards per carry), and their 3.6 yards per play average was the lowest in any game of Ben Johnson's coaching career (head coach or offensive coordinator). 
• Robert Saleh said he's standing by Cam Ward as Tennessee's starter despite an 0-5 start to the season and the offense being limited to just a field goal on Sunday. Overall, it's the right approach with the former No. 1 pick. Ride it out so you get the full scope by the end of the season, but Ward's future as QB1 beyond 2026 is firmly in question. 
• A second-round pick for Marvin Harrison Jr. feels a little too rich for the Texans, especially after starting the year 1-4. 
• Malik Willis is simply not a franchise quarterback. If the Dolphins end up with the No. 1 overall pick, they need to forgo wide receiver phenom Jeremiah Smith and take a swing at one of the quarterback prospects. 
• This was Joe Burrow's 10th career game with at least four passing touchdowns. 
• Kyler Murray came alive in New Orleans with his best performance of the season. If he can continue that level of play — particularly his 51 rushing yards — we can take the Vikings seriously in the NFC North and conference in general. 
• After averaging 300.8 passing yards per game entering Week 5, Tyler Shough was limited to just 96 yards through the air on Sunday. He also turned the ball over twice. 
• Braelon Allen and Garrett Wilson accounted for 80% of the Jets' total yards on Sunday (220 of 276). 
• The Colts are 3-11 since starting 7-1 last season. 
• This was the sixth tie in series history between the Giants and Commanders, with the last coming back in 2022. 
• Despite the botched ending, Jayden Daniels looked solid in his return, particularly on the ground as he rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns. 
• The Chargers are 0-5 and now travel to Kansas City to face a Chiefs team that was on a bye in Week 5. 
• Over his last three starts, Tyler Huntley is 3-0, completing 77% of his passes, has five total touchdowns and no turnovers for a 112.1 passer rating. 
• Hard not to feel bad for Michael Penix Jr. after he couldn't finish the overtime loss to Baltimore due to a rib injury. He's given the Falcons a clear bump when he's been under center, but his availability is always going to be a major question, it seems. 
• Remaining winless teams: Dolphins, Titans and Chargers
• Remaining undefeated teams: Vikings, 49ers and Chiefs (4-0) 
• International games continue: Jaguars will host the Texans at Wembley Stadium next Sunday
• Bye weeks: Cincinnati, Detroit, Miami, and Minnesota will all be on the bye in Week 6.