In week three, the Raiders lost to the Carolina Panthers. The coach accused players of making “business decisions” and implied the team would be making “business decisions” too. Davante Adams then asked for a trade.

In week four, the Jets lost to the Denver Broncos. The coach blamed the quarterback’s cadence. The quarterback said the coach needed to hold players accountable.

In week five, the Raiders lost to the Broncos after their quarterback threw two costly interceptions – one a pick six. The Raiders benched their quarterback and elevated last year’s starter.

In week five, the Jets lost to the Vikings after their quarterback threw three costly interceptions – one a pick six. The Jets fired their coach after he tried to fire the offensive coordinator.

Davante Adams still wants to go to the Jets.

Injuries aside, these two teams are caught up in a strange competition to be the most dysfunctional team in the NFL. Both teams are 2-3 and certainly still within striking distance of a playoff berth. The Jets might have it a little easier because of the division they are in. It’s going to be easier staying close to Buffalo than it would be having to chase down Kansas City.

The Raiders are probably done for the year. This feels like a season where they are going to win five or six games. Injuries are piling up, the offensive system isn’t living up to its billing. But with the right pick in next year’s draft, optimism could be just around the corner for this team.

The Jets are in a much worse situation. They sacrificed a lot to bring Rodgers in. They revamped their coaching staff. They changed their schemes. They ceded power to a player over the coaching staff. And they are tied to him for the next couple of years unless he decides to retire. So they will likely trade for Davante, they will win a few more games than the Raiders but still not make the playoffs. And where’s that optimism? Where’s that hope for next year?

Oh by the way, the quarterback the Raiders benched? Gardnew Minshew, yeah that guy, who’s quarterback rating is four points higher than Aaron Rodgers’ on the season. Good luck Jets fans!

Stories I’m Following

Drake Maye is making his first start this weekend, which means we’ll now have four of the six first round quarterbacks playing in the league this season. New England has been competitive with Jacoby Brissett on the field, but that offensive line is horrible.

So what can we expect from Maye?

According to reports he’s been progressing well at practice. There are rumors that he actually outplayed Brissett in the offseason and earned the starting job before week one. The plan though was to let Brissett take the punishment this year. Getting Maye beat up in a season with low expectations wasn’t going to help his progression.

What changed?

The Bills lost two games in a row and Josh Allen looks mortal. The Jets might be the most dysfunctional team in the league and just fired their head coach. Tua’s injury has blown up Miami’s offense. There’s a chance, and it might be a small one, that Maye can elevate this offense and with all the problems in the AFC East this team could compete for the division this year.

After this week against Houston, the schedule really opens up for the Patriots. Houston and Chicago are the only teams with winning records the Patriots will face between now and their bye week. They get Buffalo twice in their final four games after the bye. Is it possible? Could this team get on a roll and make a run?

Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix have shown they can win games. All three have a winning record over the first five games. It might not be fair to hold Maye to this standard, and the talent is bad on this Patriots team. It’s likely they are going to break this kid trying to put him out there this early.

But man do I like this move by Jerod Mayo. He’s saying all the right things in the press, but you gotta respect a coach that looks at the state of the division and takes a chance. I’m really interested in watching this develop!

Week in Review

• Tank Bigsby and Bucky Irving proving they are more explosive than the starters on their teams, can the coaching staffs finally see it and give their struggling offenses a boost?
• Van Ginkle – what can’t he do?
• Chuba Hubbard would look good in a Raider uniform
• How bad is your defense Cincinnati? Burrow threw for 392 yards and 5 touchdowns and you still lost
• Is there anything more frightening than Derrick Henry running hard in the fourth quarter/overtime?
• Maybe Lamar Jackson running at any point in the game?
• Is Deshaun Watson actually helping the Browns by being on the field?
• CJ Stroud has a chance to prove his MVP credentials over the next few weeks. Can he elevate this team even with all the injuries on offense?
• Same question different feels: Is Denver a playoff team? Is San Francisco a playoff team?
• Jordan Love plays recklessly, he needs to play like he’s having fun
• If Spencer Rattler can breathe life back into the Saints offense, will Carr see the field again this season?

Power Rankings

Who is playing the best football right now?

Cincinnati is 1-4 and one of the few teams that I’m having trouble ranking. Outside of the New England game, they’ve lost to Baltimore, Kansas City and Washington, teams with a combined record of 12-3. The defense has been horrible in those games. But the slow start to the offense is over. Burrow, Chase, and Higgins have been electric. Looking at the rest of their schedule and right now it looks very winnable. Like 10 out of the remaining 12 games winnable. If they can get just a little bit better on defense, this team could shock us all and go from 1-4 to 11-6.

10. Tampa Bay
    Baker and the boys are a mishandled ball spot at the end of the game away from probably being ranked in the top five. So I’m not going to drop them for a close loss to the Falcons. They are finding balance with Irving in the run game. The defense needs to be more consistent putting pressure on quarterbacks.
11. Atlanta
    Cousins finding his touch was a good sign. His receivers are still struggling to get separation, and I think if they would dedicate themselves to running the football more that will help the passing game. They have two great running backs that are basically being used as extra blockers. Find a way to use all your weapons Coach Morris.
12. Washington
    This is a power run team with a dynamic quarterback. They are going to be looking into a mirror this week against the Baltimore Ravens. No one is going to be able to question their strength of schedule if they can put a win on Lamar Jackson.
13. Buffalo
    Defenses are not afraid of the deep ball against Buffalo. They are rolling up their coverages and challenging the receivers to make a play. It’s frustrating Josh Allen and making it tough to find yards through the ground game. That said they were a bad series away from coming out of Houston with the win. They’ll right the ship, but consistency is going to be a key going forward.
14. Baltimore
    Going to play coverage? Derrick Henry will run right over you. Going to load the box and stop the run? Lamar Jackson will throw the ball down the field. Blitz Lamar? Good luck. These Ravens can beat you so many different ways and that’s absolutely a strength. But this defense is breaking down in the second half of games. They need to find a way to control time of possession as it gets later into the season.
15. Green Bay
    I’m not a fan of the slow starts on offense since Jordan Love came back from injury. But once the offense warms up, they are tough to beat. The defense is opportunistic forcing turnovers. I’d like to see a better pass rush, but right now there are few teams that I’d favor over them.
16. Houston
    Can they survive the injury bug that is crippling this offense? Nico Collins being out is a major red flag. Now is the time for Diggs to prove he was worth trading for.
17. Minnesota
    I worry about what will happen if the Vikings don’t get a fast start. Darnold has been playing well, but against the Jets he passed up short completions while trying to take deep shots against a very good secondary. But more worrisome is the thought that maybe teams are catching up to O’Connell’s system. Are teams making halftime adjustments that the Vikings coaching staff aren’t ready for? It’s something to keep an eye on.
18. Detroit
    The Lions have been relatively healthy to start the season. The early bye week probably wasn’t as helpful for them as it would be for other teams. But getting a chance to get some extra practice in is never a bad thing.
19. Kansas City
    JuJu Smith-Schuster might have just made his case to be the number one receiver for Kansas City the rest of the season. But the explosive plays are going to have to come from Xavier Worthy. He doesn’t have the luxury of developing slowly. Mahomes is going to need him to step up and start producing as a wide receiver instead of as a gadget player.

MVP Watch

Who are the players making the best case for the MVP award this year?

5. Josh Allen – two bad games in a row are taking a toll on his candidacy. If he wants to win, he needs to find consistency through the season. 9/30 looks horrible on a MVP resume.
6. TJ Watt – TJ is playing great even if the rest of his defense is faltering. He can lead the league in sacks, but if the defense is ranked in the bottom half of the league will it matter?
7. Lamar Jackson – the play, you know the one, (fumble, stiff arm, touchdown) is going to be played over and over again when he wins his third MVP
8. Saquon Barkley – it was a bye week for Philadelphia, but was there any performance last week that made you forget Barkley is still having the best season for a running back?
9. Patrick Mahomes – Monday night, national spotlight, and he showed again why he’s the best.

Weekly Predictions

San Francisco at Seattle
Both teams are coming off bad losses at home. But the 49ers are getting healthy and getting their starters back on the field. The Purdy/Aiyuk connection finally showed up last week and I think that’s going to be key in this game. Seattle is struggling to run the football and the 49er defense is not going to make it any easier for them. SF 22 – SEA 13

Jacksonville at Chicago
Williams has been playing much better the past two weeks. You can actually see him getting more comfortable in the pocket and being able to read the defenses. But he’s still young and holds the ball too long. Jacksonville has a pretty good pass rush and I think they’ll be able to disrupt the Bears passing game. The Jaguars also are familiar with these trips to London and that probably gives them a bit of an edge against a team still trying to find its chemistry. JAX 19 – CHI 12

Arizona at Green Bay
The Arizona offense has played well in every game. The difference between their wins and losses has been on the defensive side of the ball. That’s not great news when you are going up against a high profile offense like Green Bay. Jordan Love should have a pretty easy time finding open receivers, but I think this is going to be a game dominated by Josh Jacobs and the power runs up the middle. GB 27 – ARI 17

Indianapolis at Tennessee
Tennessee is coming off the bye week and the question is whether or not Will Levis is healthy enough to play after injuring his shoulder against Miami. Either way, I think the extra down time was good for a team that has been close to winning multiple games this season if not for an untimely turnover. The Colts are dealing with their own injury concerns meaning this could come down to a defensive struggle. I really like the interior of the Titans defense. In a low scoring battle, I like the Titans to eek out a victory. TEN 16 – IND 13

Houston at New England
Drake Maye’s first start of his career. He’s going to be facing a Texans defense that just shut down Josh Allen. With the Texans offense facing several key injuries, the defense is going to need to step up and shut down the Patriots. This could be a long day for the rookie. HOU 31 – NE 15

Tampa Bay at New Orleans
We’re all sending our best wishes to everyone displaced by the hurricane in Central Florida. Tampa Bay left early and spent the week in New Orleans preparing. With Carr out, this offense is going to rely heavily on quick motion and the running game. I don’t know that they’ll have enough juice to keep up with Baker, Godwin and Evans. TB 24 – NO 13

Cleveland at Philadelphia
This is a great matchup for the Eagles defense coming off the bye. Cleveland hasn’t been able to get their offense out of neutral all season. With the return of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, the Eagles offense has no excuses for a bad performance. I expect that this game will restore Philly fans’ faith in the team again. PHI 31 – CLE 16

Washington at Baltimore
So close to being the game of the week. This is a mirror match. Power run team with a massive offensive line? Check and Check. Electric quarterback? Check and Check. Quality wide receivers? Check and Check. Solid defense? Check and Check. Experience? Check and, uhh wait, maybe not yet. Washington can quiet some doubters with a win Sunday, but this feels like a coming back to Earth moment. BAL 36 – WAS 27

Los Angeles Chargers at Denver
Denver is on an improbable three game winning streak. Bo Nix has passed the point of being a rookie quarterback. He’s just simply a starter in the league now. The Chargers were beat up going into the bye week, so an extra week to heal and recover is going to help. But the team is limited on offense and the Broncos seem to be getting more explosive. DEN 23 – LAC 17

Pittsburgh at Las Vegas
The Raiders have decided to move off from Gardner Minshew for now. They are trying to trade Davante Adams. But the under the radar issue that might be more impactful is the injury to Christian Wilkins. With Wilkins on IR, the Steelers should be able to run the ball effectively up the middle. Left tackle Kolton Miller is having one of his worst seasons as a pro and that spells disaster for the Raiders against the pass rush of the Steelers. PIT 24 – LV 13

Atlanta at Carolina
The boost that Carolina got from starting Andy Dalton is over. The defense hasn’t been great all year, and going up against the Falcons is no way to get that fixed. Atlanta isn’t the greatest outdoors on natural turf, but this could be the game that gets their running game back on track. ATL 31 – CAR 17

Cincinnati at New York Giants
I think this is the start of a run for the Cincinnati Bengals. I just don’t know which run it will be. The way the offense has been playing, the Bengals could win the next four or five games in a row. But if they lose to a better than expected Giants team, this could be the confidence crusher that leads the Bengals to a top ten pick in next year’s draft. I see this team possibly winning 10 of the next 12 games, and it starts Sunday night. CIN 26 – NYG 19

Buffalo at New York Jets
The winner of this game will be in first place in the AFC East. Both teams are facing adversity, especially with their offense. Josh Allen hasn’t played well the past two weeks, and may have been concussed. Aaron Rodgers is dealing with a ankle injury, but more devastating is the coaching turmoil that is threatening the rest of their season. The Jets are looking to prove they made the right choice in firing their coach. The Bills are looking to prove they are Super Bowl contenders. BUF 21 – NYJ 17

Game of the week:

Detroit at Dallas
This is the rematch of the thriller from last year. It was the game that confirmed for the world that the Lions were more than just a good story, they were a good team. But that was last year, and these are not the same teams.

Detroit is coming off a bye week after thrashing the Seahawks on national TV. The run game is the engine that powers the Lions offense. Montgomery has been an absolute stud this season, grinding out yards and chewing up the clock. If they can find a way to scheme Gibbs and Montgomery on the field together, they will give opponents nightmares. So far, they have been content rotating them each drive. We’ll see if the bye week gave them time to put new wrinkles into that run game. Goff is still driving the ball down the field, and now he has a healthy wide receiver corps that can generate explosive plays. The defense is improving each week, and Hutchinson is developing into a defensive player of the year candidate. If the Lions can stay disciplined and run the ball, they should dominate the Dallas defense and come out with a convincing win.

Dallas is proving everyone wrong by getting good production from their offensive line early on this season. Rico Dowdle has shown that they can have some semblance of a run game to try and take some pressure off Dak. But, unfortunately, this team is still dependent on Dak and the passing game. He was a MVP candidate last year, throwing for career highs. But historically, he hasn’t held up well under that kind of pressure. I thought the injuries on the defensive line would hurt them against the Steelers last week, but they held up fairly well. I don’t think they can sustain that though, and the Detroit running game is elite.

DET 34 – DAL 27

For four weeks we’ve been following the league and seeing surprises on the field. Week five has finally given us the off-field drama we expect. I feel for you Jets fans. But I’m also a little bit happy that you are taking the lead now on bad decisions. Good luck to all the rest of the fanbases out there, and be sure to follow us on Facebook and check out the Gridiron Voice Podcast!