NFL Week 5 preview: Five things to watch out for

By CNN Newsource

Published October 3, 2024 4:33 AM

By Andy Scholes and Ben Morse, CNN

(CNN) — It’s hard to believe it’s already Week 5 of the NFL season!

We have now officially reached the bye week portion of the schedule with four teams having a week off this time around: the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers and the Tennessee Titans.

This is the point in the season where we are really starting to find out who truly is going to be a contender and who may be heading for a premature end to the year.

Here are five things to know heading into Week 5.

Will the Dolphins ever get a lead?

The Miami Dolphins have not led for even one second this entire season. Amazingly, Miami does have a win as they kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Dolphins are the first team since the 2017 Cleveland Browns to not have a lead at any point in their first four games of a season. The Browns went 0-16 that year.

The good news is that the Dolphins play at the 1-3 New England Patriots this Sunday. The bad news though is that they still don’t have Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback.

Tyler Huntley, who the team signed off the Baltimore Ravens practice squad a week ago, may start again if Skylar Thompson hasn’t recovered from a rib injury. Huntley threw for just 96 yards in the loss to the Titans on Monday night.

The Dolphins had the No. 1 offense in the league last season, but their fans are still waiting for any semblance of that.

Despite the 0-4 start, Miami head coach Mike McDaniel believes that, with one week more under his belt, Huntley is in a position to have more success against New England.

“I think (Huntley’s) a professional and there was a lot of things that were very impressive when you put into context the timeline, the language and how he’s able to do things that our guys are used to, and then there’s a lot of room for growth, as well as getting to learn him, not just from soundless tape,” McDaniel told reporters on Wednesday.

“So absolutely, positively, did he learn a ton and was this walkthrough today or was the team orchestrated stuff today absolutely better than last week? Yes, it was. I think he’s sinking his teeth into trying to not just do but have ownership, and I think all of the guys feel like they have to do a better job around him and he feels like he needs to do a better job. I feel like I need to do a better job, and I don’t see another formula for a better product than everyone trying to do their jobs better.”

All Hail the Commanders!

The surprise of the NFL season thus far has been the success of second overall pick Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.

Many thought this could be a fun offense, but this good? No one saw it coming.

What Daniels and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury did in the first four games is incredible. Washington is currently first in completion percentage (82.1%), 3rd down percentage (53.5%), points per drive (3.56) and turnovers (one).

These would be incredible numbers for Patrick Mahomes, but Daniels has put up those numbers in the first four games of his NFL career.

After Washington’s impressive Week 4 victory against the Arizona Cardinals, Daniels spoke about his relationship with Kingsbury and the dividends it has paid already.

“It’s awesome. Me and Kliff just have that communication, that honesty,” the 23-year-old told reporters. “I’m able to go into his office and say: ‘Hey, I don’t like this.’ He’s here for it, he wants us to put us in the best spot.”

The Commanders host the Browns on Sunday. This might have been an underwhelming game last season in front of a sparse crowd. But now, Commanders fans are the most the excited they have been in years after the 3-1 start.

Big AFC showdown in Houston

The Buffalo Bills will travel to Houston to take on the Texans on Sunday. This is the only matchup of the week featuring two 3-1 teams – and it’s the Stefon Diggs revenge game.

Diggs was traded to Houston this past offseason after being an All-Pro receiver for the Bills. However, towards the end of the last campaign, Digg’s unhappiness with his situation was evident as his usage in Buffalo’s offense declined.

The change of scenery so far is working out for both sides. Diggs has 25 receptions for 233 yards and two touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown through four games with Houston. While for Buffalo QB Josh Allen, he is having an MVP-caliber season with nine total touchdowns and no interceptions, despite coming off a heavy defeat to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4.

Ahead of the Week 5 match-up with Diggs’ former team, Houston quarterback CJ Stroud spoke to the impact the 30-year-old has had on the Texans’ young wide receiver room.

“It’s been great. We kind of talked about that throughout the offseason, just how they would all help each other out by if you want to double Tank (Dell) one night, then the other dudes will go off,” Stroud told reporters on Wednesday.

“Or you want to double so and so forth, just basically them eating off each other and really just, I think a lot of the attention has gone towards Nico (Collins) and Stef and it’s been good to see both of them kind of do well as the year has gone on. So I think they all help each other a lot.”

The result of this game could end up being very important at the end of this season when it comes to seeding in the AFC.

America’s Team heads to Steel City

Two of the NFL’s most storied and popular franchises will go head-to-head on Sunday Night Football as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Dallas Cowboys.

This rivalry goes back 64 years and includes three Super Bowl matchups: the Steelers beat the Cowboys for two of their three of championships in the ‘70s, while the Cowboys got their revenge in 1996.

Steelers fans still have the bragging rights though as they own six Super Bowl titles to the Cowboys’ five.

Ahead of their rivalry being renewed, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke about the legacy of the two organizations.

“The strength of the brands is something that is to be respected, but I respect that every day, man,” Tomlin told reporters on Wednesday. “When I get out of that car in this parking lot, it’s a responsibility to represent the black and gold, and I would imagine the guys in Dallas feel the same way.

“You can’t put a price tag on standards and legacy, and both organizations have that. We walk on the ground that’s been paved for us by those that have come before us, and so we feel really blessed and honored to do so, and I’m sure that that will be reflected in the way that both teams play this weekend.”

The Cowboys are winless at home this season but are 2-0 on the road. Dallas desperately needs a great game from quarterback Dak Prescott as the team is dealing with a number of injuries heading into this one. The defense will be without stalwart DeMarcus Lawrence for several weeks and could be missing its best player, Micah Parsons, for Sunday’s trip to Pennsylvania.

However, ‘America’s Team’ will face a stiff test traveling to play in front of a rowdy crowd at Acrisure Stadium, cheering on TJ Watt and the vaunted Pittsburgh defense.

The Steelers lost their first game of the season last week despite mounting a late comeback attempt against the Colts, so look for this game to be a rumble.

Sunday Morning Football

For the next three weeks, US-based fans will wake up on Sunday and be able to watch NFL action as the league heads to the United Kingdom.

The first game in London see the New York Jets take on the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. The Jaguars will then go to London for two weeks, taking on the Chicago Bears on October 13 then the Patriots on October 20.

This will be a very important trip for Jets head coach Robert Saleh as he’s been the subject of criticism following the team’s lackluster performance in New York’s 10-9 home loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Jets offense struggled to move the ball in the game, mustering just nine points, the first time in Aaron Rodgers’ 20-year career that his team failed to score a touchdown in a home game in which he played the entirety.

Could there be changes in New York if the team leaves London with a loss?

Conversely, there are only good vibes around the Vikings as they enter Week 5 as one of two undefeated teams left in the NFL.

The team has been expertly captained by Sam Darnold, with his offensive weapons firing on all cylinders led by Justin Jefferson.

Set your alarms as kickoff from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is at 9:30 a.m. ET.

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