Best of the NFL: Week Five features Christian McCaffrey leading a running back revival
Monday 7 October 2019 15:49, UK
After another thrilling week of the NFL, we pick out the top action and performances from Week Five.
Plays of the week
Click on the video at the top of the page to watch the best plays from Week Five!
The Carolina Panthers running riot over over the Jaguars, Steven Sims' speedy end-around, and Desmond King's epic punt return were just some of the best moments from Week Five's Sunday action.
Watch those plays and more on the video above!
Running backs racking them up!
It's a quarterback-driven league. Or so we hear. Don't get it twisted, quarterback is still king in the NFL but, in Week Five, there were a fair few running backs who did their best to challenge for supremacy over those selfish signal-callers!
Aaron Jones outdid a certain Aaron Rodgers for Green Bay, tying a Packers franchise record of four rushing touchdowns in a road win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Rookie Josh Jacobs racked up 123 yards and two scores in London as the Oakland Raiders triumphed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Christian McCaffrey, meanwhile, continues to put together a compelling early-season MVP claim for the Carolina Panthers - 237 yards and three scores on 25 touches of the football in besting the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Teddy Bridgewater wins third straight
The New Orleans Saints' Super Bowl push was in danger of being derailed when, in Week Two, star starting quarterback Drew Brees went down with a thumb injury that required surgery. Teddy Bridgewater came in, but the Saints stuttered to a 27-9 loss to the very team that dumped them out of the playoffs at the NFC Championship game last year.
Since then, however, Bridgewater has led the team to a three-game win streak that has kept them well and truly alive in the NFC. Teddy looked at best a game-manager in registering the first two of those wins, but he really broke out against the Buccaneers, to the tune of 314 yards and four touchdown passes in the 31-24 win over Tampa Bay.
Kyler Murray gets his first
It has been a difficult NFL baptism for No 1 draft pick Kyler Murray with a rebuilding Arizona Cardinals team, but that is not to say he hasn't shown huge flashes of potential through his first four weeks.
His flashes of potential, however, haven't translated into wins, with a Week One tie with the Detroit Lions - coming courtesy of a Kyler-led comeback - the closest he has got. He will be thrilled, therefore, to register his first 'W' as the Cards came out on top 26-23 in Cincinnati with a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Bengals, Redskins, Jets stay winless
While the Miami Dolphins appeared to be streaking out in front in the race for the No 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft through the first four weeks of the season, on a bye in Week Five, it was left to some alternative contenders to state their case.
The Cincinnati Bengals (0-5), Washington Redskins (0-5) and New York Jets (0-4) all stay winless, with the Bengals beaten by Murray's Cardinals and the Redskins and Jets suffering respective hammerings by the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
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