The NFL Roundup Week 5 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Jim Mone/Associated Press)

Week 5 ended up being full of surprises. While most of us, this writer included, expected some status quo to occur, we ended up bearing witness to one wild game after another that shocked the fans of some teams and brought utter joy to others, proving once again that anything and everything can happen on Sunday and this week's games taught us quite a bit about our favorite teams. So without further ado, here is what we learned from Week 5 in the NFL.

The Minnesota Vikings deserve to be 5-0.
​At first glance that may seem like a silly statement. They won those games, of course they deserve it. But let's be honest, every year a couple of overrated teams that have luck fall their way finish the season with some awesome records before getting blown out and embarrassed in the playoffs (the 2015 Carolina Panthers are a fine example of this). But some teams...well they work hard, execute on the field and earn every single win that comes their way, and that's what Minnesota is doing. They continue to shut down one offense after another, find ways to score and the end result is that they are the absolute best team in the NFL right now and they should be incredibly proud of what they've accomplished.

The Denver Broncos enjoyed a little humble pie on Sunday, and it's a good thing.
Sometimes in sports writing, you have to eat a little crow and Sunday afternoon, mine was served up piping hot because I firmly believed the Broncos were going to roll over the Falcons and instead...they were completely exposed in their first loss of the season. Atlanta broke the mighty Denver defense with a sound run game and took advantage of every single weakness the Broncos offensive line had to offer and when all is said and done, I'm glad the Broncos lost. It's a humbling experience to know that you're not invincible in the NFL and the sting of a loss after riding a streak reminds players of how important it is to play hard every down of every game and I'm sure the Broncos will rebound in no time, but for now...it turns out they're human after all. 

The Blaine Gabbert Experiment has come to an end in San Francisco.
Chip Kelly came into San Francisco hoping to do two key things. Show everyone in the NFL that he is still an offensive genius, that anyone can run his system and run it successfully and in the process, revitalize the career of quarterback Blaine Gabbert. However, none of that has come to fruition. Chip's system is the exact same one that he ran in Philadelphia, the one that everyone and their cousin figured out and Blaine Gabbert is just awful at running it. To date he's completed only 58% of his passes and thrown for five touchdowns and six interceptions alongside a paltry 890 yards and thankfully as of press time, this botched experiment has come to an end. Gabbert is heading to the bench and Colin Kaepernick is returning to the starting lineup. Will that make a difference, most definitely since #7 is has plenty of starting experience but this change is just one part of the equation. Chip Kelly needs to adjust his stringent game planning to bring the best out of his players, but in the meantime, sitting Gabbert down is the right thing to do and if Kaepernick can run Chip's wild offense...the sky will be the limit.

It's official, Brock Osweiler is a free agent bust. 
Speaking of quarterbacks that are causing concerns for their team...Brock Osweiler continues to be an outright disaster for the Houston Texans and there's not much that Houston can do about it. By handing him all that guaranteed money this year, cutting the cord on a player that has that kind of financial investment sunk into his role would cripple the team salary cap wise, and benching him now would acknowledge they made a terrible mistake. Which means, they have to ride this nightmare out and hope that Brock improves, but considering his 'stellar' 58% completion rate, and 6/7 touchdown to interception ratio when he has a decent offensive line and a couple of awesome receivers to throw to...this is as good as it gets and Osweiler is an outright Jay Cutler-esque bust that will cost someone his job for certain. 

The San Diego Chargers need to make some coaching changes, and soon.
The Chargers are in a funny place right now. They have the second highest scoring offense in the NFL, right behind the mighty Atlanta Falcons and much of that is thanks to Philip Rivers and his phenomenal play through five games. They've also dealt with some ugly injuries and have still managed to accomplish wonders after losing those players, which means...they should be right in the mix with the Raiders and Broncos in the hunt for the AFC West Division Championship. Except...they've lost three in a row, close ones for that matter too and these epic collapses continue to come in the fourth quarter. The defense is suddenly helpless in the fourth quarter and that falls upon the Defensive Coordinator since the offense did their job. That means, it's time to make some coaching changes, starting with DC John Pagano since the team isn't responding to him, but considering how bad these games have gone and the fact that the Chargers are fighting to show the people of San Diego that the team deserves a new stadium...don't be shocked if ownership decides to fire Head Coach Mike McCoy to make a statement on what they expect out of this team. Either way, change is coming to the Chargers coaching staff, it's simply a matter of who is going to go first.

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