NFL Week 5 Roundup: Cleveland and Washington made to pay for costly blunders

Jaguars steal last-second win - literally

More than 61,000 spectators at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London were treated to an epic finish when Philadelphia Eagles claimed a one-point lead via a 48-yard Jake Elliott field goal with just eight seconds to play. 

The Eagles looked to have iced the game when Elliott then planted the subsequent kick-off to the eight-yard line, forcing Jacksonville running back Ameer Abdullah to opt for a return instead of a touchback.

Abdullah made up an astonishing 53-yard gain on the subsequent kick return, putting the Jags just within kicking range, and Cam Little slotted an improbable 57-yarder with one second on the clock to silence the mostly pro-Eagles crowd. 

Our own Anthony Paphitis was at the ground in London and covered all of the action below, so we won't repeat ourselves here.

JAC 19-17 PHI: our comprehensive report from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is available here.

Vikings control NFC North with unbeaten record

Was there anybody on the planet bold enough to predict the Minnesota Vikings launching 2026 with a 5-0 start?!

Even despite carrying the momentum of a five-game winning streak to end 2025 into the new year, the Vikings' offence looked to be back to their toothless ways during pre-season and were forecast to win 8-9 matches throughout the season. 

Defence and special teams has been the bedrock of their success and that was again on show in Week 5 as they kept the New Orleans Saints to just one touchdown on home soil, that coming in the second quarter through running back Kendre Miller for his first of the season.

Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray was also excellent in putting up an 80% pass completion rate for 229 yards, though it was Aaron Jones' first running touchdown of the season that gave his side an unassailable lead in the final quarter.

New Orleans' woes at home continue. Now on a 1-4 record for a second consecutive year, all three of their losses this season have taken place at Caesars Superdome, a long-gone 'fortress' of former glory days where they have now lost 14 of their last 17 matches.

New Orleans Saints 13-23 Minnesota Vikings: see all scores and statistics here.

Texans are finally away

History also repreated itself in Nashville as, for the second straight year, they ended a winless start to a season by scoring 26 points against the Tennessee Titans. 

Having come under fire last year for his underperformance in the playoffs, CJ Stroud threw for 261 yards, recording one touchdown and a running TD of his own in the third quarter, whilst the Texans held the Titans to just 187 yards gained - their lowest account for their 0-5 start to 2026. 

Tennessee gained an abysmal 49 yards across the second and third terms, during which they were outscored 16-0 in a listless display that confirmed precisely why they are amongst the favourites to finish last in the AFC.

Titans QB Cam Ward was sacked four times for a loss of 40 yards, with this one pretty much summing up just how the afternoon went for Tennessee, who also gave away 11 penalties for 95 yards during the match.

The final score could have been a complete rout were it not for the Texans failing to convert two separate entries into the Titans' 20 in the first half. 

Tennessee Titans 3-26 Houston Texans: see all scores and statistics here.

Costly punt error halts Cleveland's momentum

Constant heavy rain marred a crucial AFC clash between New York Jets (2-2) and Cleveland Browns (2-2) and it was only fitting that a sloppy error in the horrendous weather would become a decisive fourth-quarter play. 

With four minutes to play in the last and their team ahead 12-10 in enemy territory, kicker Corey Bojorquez had a wayward snap come his way, above head height in driving rain. 

Already needing to jump to attempt to take the catch, Bojorquez inadvertently let the greasy ball slip through his hands before the Jets recovered less than 30 yards out and scored the match-winning TD just three plays later on third-and-9.

It came on an afternoon where the Browns finished with a season low of 198 net yards and 13 first downs - somewhat forgivable considering the conditions - but their 25% conversion rate on third downs also left a lot to be desired, particularly as the Jets went at 47% in that category.

That punt snap error would turn out to be the match-changing play, but not before the Browns had an opportunity to record a fourth successive go-ahead drive after closing out nailbiting wins over the Buccaneers, Panthers and Steelers in successive weeks, but the offensive team turned the ball over when QB Deshaun Watson fumbled following a sack with 0:57 left on the clock. 

Edge rusher David Bailey, the Jets' number two pick at the 2026 draft, was exceptional in defense with three sacks, eight tackles - four of them for a loss - and one forced fumble.

New York Jets 17-12 Cleveland Browns: see all scores and statistics here.

Packers fans enjoy Love-ly revenge at Lambeau Field

A regular season triumph is cold comfort when your team squandered a 21-3 half-time lead against the same side in a wild-card play-off loss just last season, but Green Bay Packers enjoyed just their second win from their last five against Chicago Bears - and did it in style to move level with their NFC North rivals on 3-2.

Packers QB completed 25 of his 31 passes for a massive 367 yards gained, a record high for a Green Bay QB against the Bears at Lambeau Field.

Wide receiver Christian Watson racked up 143 yards from eight receptions - not his highest tally of the season - but it was certainly his most impactful, as he got onto the end of long throws in both the first and third quarters to ensure that the Bears never got a look-in. 

Number one Bears QB Caleb Williams missed a third consecutive week with a hamstring injury and, after they defeated the Eagles with Case Keenum and the Jets with Tyson Bagent in their two previous games, both players got a run this week.

Keenum completed 11 of 19 for 108 yards before being replaced in the final quarter by Bagent, who went 12 of 21 for just 87 yards. 

Both QBs were sacked twice each, two of them coming from Devonte Wyatt's three tackles for the game. 

Possession was shared evenly between the teams -  29:36 to 30:24 - but Love's efficiency made all the difference. 

The highly anticipated handshake between rival head coaches Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur could have best been described as "anticlimactic", with the two men exchanging very few words and no pleasantries.

Bengals back in winners' circle as Dolphins go 0-5

Miami Dolphins finally racked up some points, but it counted for little in the end after they recorded their sixth 0-5 start to a season in franchise history.

Going into Week 5 with just 46 points scored in four games - the second time in eight years they failed to score more than 13 points in their first four games - the Dolphins again looked to be in similar pain when Cincinnati took a 28-10 lead into the final change.

It was far from a ruthless performance from the Bengals, although Joe Burrow was solid with ball in hand, giving away no sacks or interceptions and a completion rate of 72% including four throwing touchdowns; the result at least ensured they avoided going into their bye week with three losses on the trot.

One of the highlights of the match came from Ja'Marr Chase, who converted a 45-yard throw with a ridiculous one-handed grab - despite missing training during the week following last weekend's concussion. 

One glimmer of hope for winless Miami was that their running game was promising in the absence of Pro Bowl running back De'Von Achane.

Their 217 yards from 34 carries, at an impressive average of 6.5, was led by 88 from 18 from Ollie Gordon II and 74 rushing yards from QB Malik Willis, who got over the line for the fifth running TD of his career. 

But another completion rate of just 55% from Willis underlines where their problems continue to lay.

Miami Dolphins 24-31 Cincinnati Bengals: see all scores and statistics here.

Washington pay the price for crucial tactical blunder

Whilst Cleveland were made to pay for bad execution in the afternoon slate of matches, Washington Commanders botched a chance for the Commanders to clinch an overtime win with a field goal as they had to settle for a 27-27 tie with the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium. 

It would have been most frustrating for Washington fans that the game was taken to OT in the first place after they held a 14-point lead seven minutes into the final quarter courtesy of QB Jayden Daniels making his second running TD of the match, having also done so in the third quarter to put his team up 19-6. 

A crucial two-point conversion following the second ensured that the Giants would need at least one two-pointer of their own, but they settled for kicks on both occasions following a pair of 17-yard throwing TDs from Jameis Winston to Isaiah Likely and Malik Nabers respectively.

Making his third appearance of the season after missing Weeks 3 and 4 with an elbow injury, Daniels had a mixed return to the field, completing 68% of passes but registering five sacks, his most since going for eight against the Saints in Week 15 of 2024. 

Daniels' most costly mistake of the match came with seconds to go in overtime when, with the Commanders already in field goal range with the ball planted at the 24 yard line, he went on a run to record no gain with 12 seconds left. 

Washington attempted to spike the ball to stop the clock but it expired before they could do so, causing an irate Dan Quinn to furiously rip off his headset. 

Considering that Giants kicker Dominic Zvada missed three of his five field goal attempts, including one in overtime, perhaps this was one neither team deserved to win. 

Washington Commanders 27-27 New York Giants: see all scores and statistics here.

Evergreen Rodgers and Warren combine to bury Colts

42-year-old Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning shared an NFL record during the week, having each thrown 579 career touchdowns (regular season and postseason combined). 

Rodgers added another three on Sunday to his total to move to outright third on the all-time list, with his 582 only behind Drew Brees (608) and NFL GOAT Tom Brady (737), as his Pittsburgh Steelers earned a crucial win in a very competitive AFC North Division, where all four teams could be tied on 3-2 records if Baltimore Ravens lose away to Atlanta in the prime time game as expected. 

Former undrafted rookie Jaylen Warren was on the end of two of them, topping the game counts for both receiving and rushing yards for both teams in one of his finest performances to date. 

Once the he Steelers took a 7-3 lead in the seventh minute of the first quarter through an 80-yard catch-and-run from Warren and never looked back, keeping a hard-fighting Indianapolis Colts at arms length throughout. 

Warren made 87 yards from his six receptions - 80 of them coming from that opening touchdown of the game - in addition to gaining 101 yards from his 15 carries, more than double that of direct opponent Jonathan Taylor (45 from 15).

Courtesy of a 50-yard run in the third quarter, Warren became the NFL's first player in 40 years to record a TD catch of 80+ yards and TD run of 50+ yards in the same game - a feat he described after the match as "unbelievable" and "an honor" before crediting his teammates for the achievement.

With 490 yards from his three games without injured partner Rico Dowdle, Warren has already earned himself a permanent role in a "one-two punch"-style tandem setup with Dowdle when the latter eventually returns.

For the Colts, they were left to rue an inability to convert territory into TDs, settling for five field goals - to the bemusement of head coach Shane Steichen, who viewed each field goal as four points lost in the grand scheme of the match.

Pittsburgh Steelers 34-22 Indianapolis Colts: see all scores and statistics here.

Pats rout Raiders with biggest score in four years

No Mack Hollins? No Carlton Davis III? No Christian Gonzalez? Pfft, who needs them anyway!

The New England Patriots were 3.5 point favourites at home to Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, expected to have the roster depth to carry them through the absence of leading receiver Hollins (209 yards from 15 receptions) as well as their two starting cornerbacks.

They blew that forecast completely out of the water before half-time as Drake Maye threw a total of four touchdowns - two of them to DeMario Douglas - and ran one himself from three yards out as the Patriots claimed a second consecutive win with their biggest score since piling on 50 against Jacksonville in the penultimate week of the 2022 regular season.

Maye completed 26 of his 34 passes for 374 yards, just six shy of his career best of 380 against Baltimore last year and just the second time of his career that he exceeded 300, whilst becoming the first for the franchise since Brady in 2018 to throw 3+ TDs in back-to-back games. 

"There’s still some out there,” Maye gleefully joked in reference to his wealth of passing options, five of whom made at least three catches each. 

Eli Raridon and Efton Chism III topped the team count with five each, despite neither scoring TDs. 

Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.