“I think there’s a lot of bad football, from what I watch. I’ve watched a lot of bad football. Yeah, poor quality of football, that’s what I see.”
That was Tom Brady answering a question from a reporter earlier this week about the league-wide parity that’s resulted in a whole lot of 2-2 records and very few outright dominant clubs. Just eight clubs currently have a winning record.
Of course, that strong quote could also be applied to Thursday night’s nightmare of a game between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts. Let’s just hope that mess wasn’t a sign of things to come this Sunday.
The football gods owe us now, right?
Here’s a stat or storyline to tee up every Week 5 game still to come.
Giants (3-1) @ Packers (3-1) | Sunday 9:30 a.m. ET (in London)
A few firsts for the fine folks of London: This is the first time the Green Bay Packers are playing across the pond – the final franchise to do so. It's also the first time a London matchup features two teams with winning records.
Lions (1-3) @ Patriots (1-3) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
Four weeks into a season that features the Chiefs, Chargers, Bills, Dolphins, Rams, Ravens, and Bengals, and it’s the Detroit Lions who lead the league in touchdowns tallied and points registered. And yet despite averaging 35 points and 437 yards a game, their record is stalled at 1-3.
The Patriots, too, have looked better than their record indicates.
Injuries to major players on both teams – Lions De’Andre Swift and Amon-Ra St. Brown and Patriots QB Mac Jones makes this matchup impossible to predict.
Steelers (1-3) @ Bills (3-1) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
Welcome to the Kenny Pickett era.
Lots of strange, full-circle coincidences in this one.
Chargers (2-2) @ Browns (2-2) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
''They're No. 1 in passing, so if there's a game that you've got to get up for and be locked in for, it's this one,” Browns safety John Johnson III said this week of facing the Chargers. ''We've had some flashes of good things, but I think each and every play we've got to be locked in or we're going to get torched.
''If there's a game that we need our best effort from the secondary, it's this one.''
Texans (0-3-1) @ Jaguars (2-2) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
A rebound victory for the Jaguars in this divisional matchup would see them remain atop the AFC South for another week and break an eight-game losing skid to Houston that dates back to 2017.
Falcons (2-2) @ Buccaneers (2-2) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
It’s been 20 years since Tom Brady, whose Buccaneers are coming off a pair of defeats, suffered three straight losses. Wild, right?
He’s also never lost to the Atlanta Falcons, going 10-0 against the team.
Dolphins (3-1) @ Jets (2-2) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
In the wake of the Miami Dolphins' handling of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in concussion protocol in Week 3 and the scary scene that unfolded on the Thursday Night Football stage just four days later, the NFLPA announced Friday it wants a change in protocol enacted in time for Sunday's games.
With Tagovailoa out, the Dolphins turn to Teddy Bridgewater.
Bears (2-2) @ Vikings (3-1) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
Saquon Barkley ran all over the Bears last week, exploiting Chicago's league-worst run defence to the tune of 146 yards. A date with Dalvin Cook and the Vikings probably isn't the bounce-back opportunity they're looking for.
Titans (2-2) @ Commanders (1-3) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
Last week’s Titans looked like last year’s Titans on offence, and that’s due in large part to a breakout game for Derrick Henry. He ran for 114 yards and a touchdown against the Colts last Sunday, registering his first 100-plus yard rushing game in nearly a year dating back to Week 6 of the 2021 season against Buffalo (he was injured two weeks later and out for the remainder of the season).
Has the king returned to claim his crown?
Seahawks (2-2) @ Saints (1-3) | Sunday 1 p.m. ET
Of all the early-season developments across the league, this one has to be the best:
49ers (2-2) @ Panthers (1-3) | Sunday 4:05 p.m. ET
With his most iconic college football moment – the planting of an Oklahoma flag on Ohio State's logo, post-victory back in 2017 – Baker Mayfield gave Nick Bosa (a Buckeye at the time) a lifetime supply of billboard material against him.
In hindsight, maybe Bosa wasn’t the best bear to poke.
In return, Bosa – who tallied two sacks enroute to a 31-3 49ers victory over Mayfield's Browns in their first (and until now, only) meeting in the pros in 2019 – gifted Mayfield a lifetime supply of nightmare material.
With six sacks to his name through four weeks of 2022, Bosa's playing some of his best football while Mayfield has been at his worst since joining the Panthers.
Eagles (4-0) @ Cardinals (2-2) | Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
This year’s last undefeated team standing meets last year’s early-season standout, but the connections here are more personal. Jalen Hurts succeeded Kyler Murray at Oklahoma, and the pair of dual-threat QBs are often compared because of it. Their first NFL meeting brought offensive fireworks, with both tallying four TDs in a shootout.
Cowboys (3-1) @ Rams (2-2) | Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
Last year’s dynamic offence is looking one-dimensional so far this season, and concerns along the offensive line don’t bode well for the defending champs’ outlook against Dallas, which has the third-most sacks so far this season (15).
Bengals (2-2) @ Ravens (2-2) | Sunday 8:20 p.m. ET
"I love watching him play," Bengals QB Joe Burrow said of Sunday's opponent, divisional rival Lamar Jackson. "If feels like every couple of minutes he just makes a play that makes your jaw drop. I mean you look at the defence and [say], 'What are we supposed to do with that guy?'"
Baltimore’s defence also faces a tough task. The team is building itself a reputation for frittering away second-half leads, and considering the Bengals’ knack for comebacks, this divisional matchup could be fun.
Raiders (1-3) @ Chiefs (3-1) | Monday 8:15 p.m. ET
Raiders running back Josh Jacobs is coming off a career-best performance against the Broncos, his 144-yard effort with two touchdowns earning Vegas its first win of the season and saving the club from digging itself an early grave.
Meanwhile, we're all just excited to see what magic Mahomes can pull off through the air against a secondary that's struggled so far this season.
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