NFL Week 5 winners and losers: Commanders botch overtime as 49ers take command of NFC West

None of the four teams in the NFC East won a game in Week 5 despite the fact that two of them played against each other. Following the Dallas Cowboys' embarrassing loss on "Thursday Night Football" and the Philadelphia Eagles' last-second collapse in London, the rival New York Giants and Washington Commanders played to a 27-27 tie. 

If any of those teams came away from the week feeling good about themselves, it was the Giants, who escaped defeat in that draw. But they tossed away a chance to win that game, too.

On the other side of the country, there is a clear top dog in the NFC West. The San Francisco 49ers might be the best team in football. Their 5-0 start and the statement win over the Seattle Seahawks are impossible to ignore.

And back on the topic of this week's international game, the Jacksonville Jaguars stunned the Eagles with a walk-off field goal. It was fitting that they put the game away on special teams, considering the third phase was, for multiple reasons, the story of the day in England. That narrow victory improved them to 4-1 and made them one of the biggest winners in the NFL on Sunday.

Here are the other major winners and losers from Week 5.

Loser: Overtime execution in Washington

After both teams went scoreless on their first possession of overtime, all Cam Skattebo needed to do to help the Giants defeat the Commanders was hang onto the football. He and the New York offense were on the plus side of the field in a next-team-scores situation when he coughed it up and dashed the Giants' chances of stealing one in the nation's capital.

Then the game's execution got even worse. Washington threw away the gift it received by squandering a game-winning opportunity of its own. The contest ended in an unbelievable 27-all tie.

The Commanders were in field goal range with under a minute to play and did not have any timeouts remaining. Jayden Daniels took his time orchestrating what proved to be the final play of the contest and left everyone baffled by what happened after the snap. With his receivers covered, Daniels scrambled around the pocket and went down to the ground, and he appeared unaware of the situation as he sat on the turf with no sense of urgency as the clock ticked toward triple zeroes. By the time Daniels made it back to the line of scrimmage, it was too late to spike the ball.

Washington coach Dan Quinn chucked his headset in frustration. Giants players celebrated as if they won the game. Nobody quite believed what they had just witnessed. It was the second time between the Giants and Commanders in their last nine meetings following a draw in 2022, and it was one that should have never ended with a level score.

Winner: 49ers' NFC West outlook

The NFC West runs through San Francisco. The 49ers have already played every other team in the best division in football and defeated each of them. Sunday's 32-29 win over the Seahawks not only kept their perfect start to the season alive but also gave them a full two-game lead over the rest of the division. At this point in the campaign, that is an impressive feat, given the presence of both the reigning Super Bowl champions and the preseason favorites.

NFC West standings

Note: Rams to play on "Monday Night Football"

1. 49ers 5-0
2. Seahawks 3-2
3. Rams 2-2
4. Cardinals 1-4

The 49ers are one of just three remaining undefeated teams, and one of them (the Kansas City Chiefs) has only played four games. San Francisco holds two of the best wins of the season with a blowout of the Rams and a road win at the Seahawks. Brock Purdy is a strong early contender for the MVP award. Mike Evans, with his 113-yard effort in Seattle, just continues to do Mike Evans things. Everything about their resume suggests the 49ers are real players in the Super Bowl race.

Winners: Cam Little and DaVon Hamilton

If the Jaguars had lost on Sunday, special teams would have been a major reason why. A missed extra point on a fourth-quarter touchdown opened the door for the Eagles to take a one-point lead with a mere eight seconds to play, but that was just enough time for the Jaguars' placekicking operation to redeem itself and walk things off in London with a win.

The failed PAT was largely a product of a high snap from defensive tackle and backup long snapper DaVon Hamilton, who took over special teams duties when starter Ross Matscik suffered an injury. Hamilton was thrust back into action minutes later when Ameer Abdullah rattled off an electric kickoff return to set the Jaguars up with a game-winning field goal attempt, and while he was a tad high with that snap, too, it was accurate enough to help Cam Little nail a 57-yarder for the 19-17 victory.

Little, known for his prowess on lengthy attempts, saved the day and prevented the Jaguars from dropping a game to the injury-riddled and highly scrutinized Eagles. His kick made up for the team's pair of fourth-and-goal failures and his prior miss while extending the Jaguars' winning streak to three games and building on an early-season cushion atop the AFC South.

Losers: Ejected players

Two players saw action on only one play in the Week 5 international game. Jaguars defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. (not to be confused with their wide receiver, Brian Thomas Jr.) and Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. both received unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after they tangled up in a scuffle on the opening kickoff, and the officiating crew ejected them from the game.

The apple did not fall far from the tree in the Trotter family. Trotter's father, Jeremiah, was ejected ahead of the 2005 season opener when he got into a pregame fight with an opponent.

Later in the day, Dre Greenlaw had to watch about two and a half quarters of the San Francisco 49ers' game against the Seattle Seahawks from the locker room. After he drew a flag for a late hit on Sam Darnold, the 49ers linebacker got into an altercation with several Seahawks on their sideline and head-butted linebacker Ernest Jones, who did not have his helmet on at the time. Greenlaw was ejected for that head-to-head contact.

Winners: Drake Maye and the Patriots

The biggest disappointment in the NFL through three weeks is no longer a letdown. Drake Maye has the New England Patriots cooking with their first set of consecutive victories this year. The bounce back from a terrible three-game stretch has been emphatic, too. One week after they defeated the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills, the Patriots demolished the Las Vegas Raiders in the biggest offensive performance of the Mike Vrabel era and their greatest victory, by margin, of the year.

Maye led the league in interceptions and fumbles through four games but was turnover-free for the first time this season in Sunday's 45-17 rout. He did not just limit mistakes, though. The former first-round pick was the catalyst of the high-scoring effort with his 26-for-34 passing effort, 403 scrimmage yards and five total touchdowns. It was an outing that more closely resembled those of his MVP runner-up campaign than the head-scratching first month of the 2026 season.

Drake Maye's best games by passer rating

If this is the version of Maye the Patriots see the rest of the year, they should be right back in the playoff hunt as expected. It seems as though he turned the corner, and he could be even better in the weeks to come when A.J. Brown returns from his high ankle sprain and elevates the wide receiver group's ceiling.

Winner: Texans

The Houston Texans won on and off the field in Week 5, which was quite the reversal of fortunes from the first month of the season when they went without a single victory. They have a long way to go if they are to become the first team since the 1992 San Diego Chargers to bounce back from an 0-4 start and make the playoffs, but Sunday was a start.

First, Houston convincingly defeated the Tennessee Titans in a battle between winless AFC South squads. Something had to give with their combined 0-8 record, and the Texans made sure they were the ones to avoid sole possession of last place in the division with their 26-3 rout on the road in Nashville. The defense finally lived up to expectations, and quarterback C.J. Stroud played a clean game with 261 passing yards and a touchdown.

Then, after the game, the Texans made a splash on the transaction wire. They executed a trade with the Arizona Cardinals to acquire wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., adding to their wideout depth and reuniting former Ohio State teammates Harrison and Stroud. Here are the trade details:

• Texans receive: Marvin Harrison Jr., 2027 seventh-round pick
• Cardinals receive: 2027 second-round pick, 2027 sixth-round pick

Marvin Harrison Jr. trade grades: Cardinals extract near-max value from Texans for former top-5 pick

Garrett Podell

Loser: Jim Harbaugh's job security

It could be a while before the Los Angeles Chargers win their first game. Now 0-5, the AFC West bottom-dwellers will be underdogs in at least their next two contests, which come on the road against the Chiefs and in a designated road game against the Rams. How deep of a hole will the front office let them dig before it starts making changes? Jim Harbaugh's inability to deliver a postseason win in his first two seasons, combined with the dreadful start to 2026, raises real concerns about his fitness for the job.

Entering Sunday, the Chargers had taken just eight snaps with a second-half lead all season. They finally put themselves in a position to push for a win and even maintained a second-half advantage for five full drives against the Broncos, but even then, they could not close it out. Justin Herbert's late-game struggles were largely to blame, as he committed two turnovers in the fourth quarter and has now coughed up the ball in the final frame of all five games. His nine total turnovers are tied for the most in the league.

With an offense that cannot get out of its own way and seemingly has no second gear, it is difficult to see the Chargers getting right. Harbaugh could be forced to make an offensive coordinator change to save his job, but as recently as last week, he said that Mike McDaniel is safe.

Winner: Lions offense

The formula for the Detroit Lions to win games is simple: Score, score and score again. The defense played its best game of the year against the Cardinals, helping the team cruise to a 45-21 win, but this remains a team that has to put the ball in the end zone a handful of times to have a chance at victory. To that end, rostering Jahmyr Gibbs and Jared Goff does not hurt. With them commanding the offense, the Lions put up their second-most points in a road game in the last 70 years, extended their streak of 25+ points to five games — good for the most to start a season in team history. They also posted their highest-scoring quarter since 2013 with 24 points in the second.

In the process, Gibbs established multiple milestones:

• Gibbs' 58 touchdowns are the most by any player before age 25 in NFL history.
• He is the second player in Lions history with 150+ rushing yards and 50+ receiving yards in a game.
• His three games with 200+ scrimmage yards before age 25 are a franchise record.

Goff also entered rare company:

• Goff joined Drew Brees (2018) as one of two quarterbacks with 1,400 passing yards and no turnovers in the first five games of a season.
• His 12 passing touchdowns and 1,485 yards are the most and third-most, respectively, without an interception across the first five games of a season.
• He is the second player in Lions history with at least three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in a road game.

Winner: Packers

There was no more unimpressive .500 team in the NFL over four games than the Green Bay Packers, but with their Week 5 win over the Chicago Bears, they finally offered reasons to believe they are as good as their record suggests. Prior to Sunday, none of the Packers' wins came by more than three points, and none of them came against teams with winning records. Now they have a blowout victory over a 3-2 opponent on their resume.

Yes, the Bears trotted out a backup quarterback for the third straight game. But they had not lost with either Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum in the starting lineup, so to defeat them -- and to do so by holding them to only one touchdown in a 31-7 destruction -- was a notable achievement. It started with the run defense, as the Packers limited the league's top rushing team to just 81 yards on the ground, and extended to the pass-stopping scheme and its three interceptions and four sacks.

As if the best win of the Packers' season was not an accomplishment enough, gaining it against their biggest rival was icing on the cake.