What We Learned in NFL Week 5: 49ers in Trouble After Losing to Cardinals

San Francisco suffered a concerning loss Sunday, while the Raiders’ future outlook likely improved despite another on-field setback.

George Kittle and the 49ers are out of the NFC playoff picture five weeks into the season. / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

It was a good day for the future of the Las Vegas Raiders. Not because of what happened in their matchup against the Denver Broncos—they lost 34–18 at Mile High Stadium—but because it appears there will be a strong trade market for Davante Adams based on what took place elsewhere Sunday. 

The Raiders reportedly want at least a second-round pick and a quality veteran or two before committing to shipping the star wideout. They might get that haul from the New York Jets, who desperately needed another playmaker to help Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson during a loss in London against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings. 

The Buffalo Bills might seriously enter the Adams sweepstakes after Josh Allen had one of the worst performances of his career in their defeat vs. Stefon Diggs and the Houston Texans. The Cincinnati Bengals are set at wide receiver with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but their two playmakers weren’t enough to beat the Baltimore Ravens in a high-scoring overtime affair.

As for the current Raiders, they put forth an ugly losing performance against the Broncos, who at 3–2 are one of the surprise teams of the season. Here’s what else we learned during Week 5, starting with the Arizona Cardinals’ surprising come-from-behind road victory against the San Francisco 49ers.  

Cardinals erase double-digit deficit to upset 49ers

The Cardinals leaned on their rushing attack to overcome the 49ers’ 13-point advantage during a hot 96-degree day at Levi’s Stadium. Kyler Murray and James Conner moved the chains on a critical drive to set up Chad Ryland’s game-winning 35-yard field goal to lift Arizona to a 24–23 victory over San Francisco.   

Murray and Conner killed the clock on the ground, but Marvin Harrison Jr. kept the pivotal drive alive with a 14-yard catch on fourth-and-5 from Arizona’s 40-yard line. Linebacker Kyzir White sealed the victory by picking off Brock Purdy with 1:16 left in regulation. 

Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and Murray again couldn’t find a way to get Harrison more involved in the game—he had just two catches for 36 yards—but the rookie wideout at least stepped up when it mattered most. Murray, meanwhile, went 19-of-30 for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But it was a productive outing for the rushing attack, with Conner recording 86 of the team’s 169 rushing yards. 

The Cardinals and 49ers now share the same record of 2–3. The Seattle Seahawks (3–2) sit atop the NFC West standings despite a 29–20 defeat against the New York Giants giving them two consecutive losses. Not many expected San Francisco to be in this position after their Super Bowl appearance last season. The offense has missed Christian McCaffrey’s versatility, but the team has at least received standout performances from Jordan Mason, who rushed for 89 yards on 14 carries. Brandon Aiyuk had his best performance of the season with eight catches for 147 yards, but Purdy failed to establish much of anything with Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings.  

It’s strange that the 49ers weren’t able to put away the Cardinals, because they were forced to stay aggressive due to an injury to kicker Jake Moody, who was carted off the field after attempting a tackle on a kickoff. A turnover on downs on Arizona’s 27-yard line in the third quarter proved costly, as a field goal there could’ve helped the 49ers hang on. 

Now the 49ers travel to Seattle before hosting the Chiefs and Cowboys. This three-game stretch could say plenty about how far the 49ers go in 2024.

More reasons for Jets to trade for Adams after Vikings loss 

It was more of the same for the Minnesota Vikings after defeating the New York Jets, 23–17, to head into their bye week with a 5–0 record. 

The Vikings’ defense frustrated Aaron Rodgers with three interceptions, proving that Brian Flores’s defensive play-calls can stifle experienced quarterbacks, too. Rodgers joined Daniel Jones, Brock Purdy, C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love as quarterbacks who have struggled to find success against Minnesota, who held the Jets to 254 total yards and 36 rushing yards. 

But the Jets’ offensive problems extend further than just facing a dominant defense on Sunday. Once again, Rodgers (29-of-54, 244 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions) struggled to develop chemistry with his wide receivers, an issue that surfaced on the final drive when the four-time MVP threw an interception to Stephon Gilmore to seal the result. Jets wide receiver Mike Williams was targeted on the play, one of many times he and Rodgers weren’t on the same page. 

Rodgers finally established a connection with Garrett Wilson (13 catches, 101 yards, one touchdown), but he’s likely going to see plenty of double coverages throughout the season if New York doesn’t get more consistency from its other playmakers. At 2–3, the Jets don’t have much time to waste, giving the team more reasons to agree on a trade with the Raiders for Davante Adams. The price tag might be high for Adams, but the Jets need to prioritize the present with Rodgers turning 41 in December. 

Also, let’s not forget that GM Joe Douglas still hasn’t found a resolution with edge rusher Haason Reddick, who hasn’t reported to the team since being traded by the Philadelphia Eagles in April. Clearly, playing hard ball hasn’t worked as the Jets continue to search for solutions on the field. 

Sam Darnold hasn’t had chemistry issues with his playmakers, but he did have trouble against the Jets’ defense, failing to throw for a touchdown for the first time this season. Darnold completed 14-of-31 passes for 179 yards and one interception, with Justin Jefferson (six catches, 92 yards) as his lead playmaker. 

The Vikings’ defense made up for the rocky performance and even generated points after Andrew Van Ginkel’s pick-six in the first quarter gave Minnesota a 10–0 lead. The Vikings raced out to a 17–0 lead against the Jets, one week after scoring the first 28 points in their game against the Green Bay Packers. Darnold has an ideal situation in Minnesota, something that’s worth repeating on the day he beat the team that drafted him with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft.   

Derrick Henry uncorked a 51-yard run in overtime to put the Ravens in position for a game-winning field goal in overtime. / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Ravens rally late to steal victory from fading Bengals 

Everything was looking good for the Bengals against the Ravens when they held a 10-point lead with less than nine minutes left in regulation. It looked like Cincinnati was going to get its season back on track with Ja’Marr Chase doing enough to get handed a blank check before he got on the team bus. 

But the lead quickly evaporated after a series of mistakes, giving the Ravens a come-from-behind 41–38 victory in overtime and putting the Bengals’ season on life support. Joe Burrow threw a costly interception, followed by a three-and-out drive and a missed 53-yard field-goal attempt by kicker Evan McPherson in overtime. Punter Ryan Rehkow botched the hold before McPherson’s missed kick, which would have won the game for Cincinnati (1–4). Before that, Bengals coach Zac Taylor sat on the ball instead of gaining more yards for his kicker or giving Chase a shot in the end zone. 

The Ravens (3–2) nearly squandered the Bengals’ gifts, with Lamar Jackson’s fumble in overtime looking especially damning in the moment, but Derrick Henry capitalized on McPherson’s miss by ripping off a 51-yard run to set up Justin Tucker’s 24-yard game-winning field goal. 

The Bengals’ offense had a prolific performance before Burrow’s critical pick—the unit had 442 total yards, albeit only 71 rushing yards. Chase recorded 10 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard catch-and-run score to put Cincinnati ahead, 38–28, with 8:54 left in the fourth quarter. Burrow finished 30-of-39 for 392 yards, five touchdowns and the one killer interception. 

If the Bengals are going to save their season, they’re going to need more near-perfect performances from Burrow and Chase because the defense has mostly been a mess. The Ravens produced 520 total yards and 175 rushing yards. Jackson went 26-of-42 for 348 yards and four touchdowns. Henry was contained for most of the game before the long overtime run to finish with 15 carries for 92 yards and one touchdown. 

The Bengals look foolish for not paying Chase before the season, but they probably don’t care about the price tag going up because of how dominant the star wideout has been this season. Chase’s negotiation position should improve even more if the Bengals’ season back on track—they next have back-to-back road games against the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns.  

Texans bailed out by Bills’ poor clock management 

Many scratched their heads Sunday over Buffalo’s poor clock management, which helped Houston eke out a 23–20 victory after Ka’imi Fairbairn’s clutch 59-yard field goal as time expired. 

It appeared the Bills (3–2) were going to steal a road victory after C.J. Stroud fumbled on Houston’s 15-yard line with 4:21 left in regulation. The Bills added a field goal to tie the game and fully erase a 20–3 deficit, but that’s as far as they got against the Texans (4–1), who missed wide receiver Nico Collins after he exited early with a hamstring injury.

Bills coach Sean McDermott made the strange decision to allow offensive coordinator Joe Brady to call three pass plays with the offense backed up on its own 3-yard line and 32 seconds left in the tied game. Taking one shot to see if the offense can possibly get in field-goal range is one thing, but logging three straight incompletions to give the Texans one more opportunity is simply stupid. 

After the Bills’ punt, Stroud managed to gain five yards to help his kicker and quickly called a timeout with two seconds left on the clock. That play alone erased a tough performance from Stroud, who missed his top target in the second half. Collins and Stroud connected on a 67-yard touchdown to give the Texans a 14–3 advantage in the first quarter. Stroud finished 28-of-38 for 331 yards, one touchdown and two turnovers. Josh Allen had a brutal outing, ending 9-of-30 for 131 yards and one touchdown. 

The Bills’ defense played better in the second half, a good sign after how poorly the unit played last week in their loss against the Ravens. But Allen struggled to sustain drives, partly because the Bills were without wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who was ruled out with an ankle injury. Buffalo punted eight times on a day it could have used Stefon Diggs, who recorded six catches for 82 yards en route to a sweet victory against his former team.  

Packers, Love overcome slow start to defeat Rams on the road 

Jordan Love brushed off an early pick-six to get his first win of the season, guiding Green Bay to a 24–19 road victory against the Los Angeles Rams.

Love (15-of-26, 224 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) mustered enough offense on a day the Packers were without wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson. Love turned two Green Bay takeaways into a pair of passing touchdowns to tight end Tucker Kraft. Love was 0–2 prior to the win, with the team going 2–0 while Malik Willis filled in for the injured Love. 

It was a crucial victory for the Packers (3–2) to keep pace in the NFC North, with the Vikings (5–0) and Chicago Bears (3–2) both winning Sunday. Caleb Williams guided Chicago to a dominant 36–10 home victory against the Carolina Panthers. The Detroit Lions (3–1) were off with a bye week. 

As for the Rams, they’re saddled with a 1–4 record as they head into their bye week. But it’s too soon for the team to wave the white flag on the season, with wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp expected to return from injury after the bye week. The Rams’ defense showed improvement against the Packers and didn’t allow them to pull away to give Matthew Stafford (29-of-45, 260 yards, one touchdown, one interception) a last-ditch effort to pull off the upset before a turnover on downs sealed the win for Green Bay.