NFL Week 5 takeaways – What we learned, big questions for every game and future team outlooks

Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season featured a few wild endings Sunday, including a thrilling overtime game between the Packers and Bengals. After five missed field goals between the two teams, Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby finally hit a game winner. And after the Lions had thought they pulled off an improbable victory against Minnesota, the Vikings’ Greg Joseph hit a 54-yard field goal to get the win.

Elsewhere, the Buccaneers’ and Saints’ offenses were on full display, the Steelers’ defense showed up in a big way against the Broncos, the Eagles engineered a comeback in Carolina, the Patriots hung on for a closer-than-expected win against the Texans and the Jaguars’ rough start to the season continued. Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts had a big day in London, and the Rams slid past the Seahawks on Thursday night — after Seattle lost quarterback Russell Wilson to an injury.

In the late games, the Giants lost QB Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver Kenny Golladay in a loss to the Cowboys. The Chargers beat the Browns in a shootout, the Bears beat the Raiders, the Cardinals stayed undefeated and the Bills knocked off the Chiefs.

Our NFL Nation reporters react with the major takeaways and lingering questions from this week’s action. Plus, they each look at the bigger picture with their current team confidence rating — a 0-10 grade of how they feel about the team’s outlook coming out of the week. Let’s get to it.

Jump to a matchup:
NYJ-ATL | MIA-TB | NO-WSH | GB-CIN
DEN-PIT | PHI-CAR | DET-MIN | NE-HOU
TEN-JAX | LAR-SEA | NYG-DAL | CLE-LAC
CHI-LV | SF-ARI | BUF-KC

Bills

What to know: This was the all-around statement win that the Bills needed — with an exclamation point. The Bills bested the Chiefs in all three phases. The offense had success downfield, with quarterback Josh Allen completing 5 of 6 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns on throws of 15 yards or more. The Bills have scored 35 points in four straight games for the…