• Kirk Cousins took advantage of the numbers: Cousins completed 23 of his 28 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns targeting the area inside the gridiron, earning a PFF grade of 75.4 on those throws. The Buccaneers struggled to protect the middle of the field, and Cousins took full advantage of the mismatch.
• MVP, MVP… Lamar Jackson finished 26 of 42 for 348 yards and four touchdownsand he added another 55 yards on the ground. Jackson was sacked just once, demonstrating his ability to avoid pressure from all sides. He earned a passing grade of 78.1 and registered three big shots.
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Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
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TB@ATL | New York@MIN | BUF@HOU | MY@NO | IND@JAX | BAL@TSIN CAR@CHI | CLE@WAS | LV@DEN | ARI@SF | NYG@SEA | GB@LAR | DAL@PIT | NO@KS
Atlanta Falcons 36, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30
Why the Falcons won: Kirk CousinsThe heroic performance was the driving force behind the Falcons’ victory, but its real impact was in the numbers. He completed 23 of his 28 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns targeting the area inside the gridiron, earning a PFF grade of 75.4 on those throws. The Buccaneers struggled to protect the middle of the field, and Cousins took full advantage of the mismatch.
Why the Buccaneers Lost: The Buccaneers’ defense has been plagued by injuries this season and the secondary has been battered by Cousins, who has thrown for a career-high 509 yards. The defense allowed 228 yards after the catch while Lavonte David and defender slot Taiki Smith allowed 18 catches on 22 targets, with most of those catches coming in the middle of the field.
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Minnesota Vikings 23, New York Jets 17
Why the Vikings won: The Vikings did a great job getting to Aaron Rodgers. The veteran quarterback was hit on 54.4% of his throws, and in those games he completed 17 of 28 pass attempts for 118 yards, throwing an interception and recording two turnover-worthy plays. The rushing game was all the Jets’ passing attack had, and Rodgers averaged 4.2 yards per attempt on the blitz, earning a 37.1 passer rating on those throws.
Why the Jets lost: The Jets offense lacked balance. The passing game was tough, but they didn’t have a rushing attack to fall back on. Brice Hall And Braylon Allen carried the ball 14 times for 36 yards and had no missed tackles on their attempts, both averaging 2.6 yards per attempt.
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Houston Texans 23, Buffalo Bills 20
Why the Texans won: C.J. Stroud completed 21 of 26 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown from a clean pocket and was nearly perfect on the blitz, completing eight of nine pass attempts and earning an 86.4 passer grade on those throws.
Why the Bills lost: On the other hand, this might be one of the worst games ever. Josh Allencareer. Allen failed to complete any of his 13 pass attempts under pressure and completed only nine of his 30 attempts in the entire game. It’s a miracle the Bills came into this game late.
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Miami Dolphins 15, New England Patriots 10
Why the Dolphins won: The Dolphins’ offensive line was excellent against the Patriots’ defensive front, as the group allowed just five total attacks between them, and Tyler Huntley pressure was applied to only nine of his reservists.
Why the Patriots lost: New England simply doesn’t have enough juice in the passing game. Demario Douglas led with 59 receiving yards, but the quarterback Jacoby Brissett averaged just 4.7 yards per attempt—and an even worse 1.7 yards per attempt on blitz plays, where he finished 3 of 12 for 18 yards.
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Jacksonville Jaguars 37, Indianapolis Colts 34
Why the Jaguars won: Trevor Lawrence had his best game of the season in Week 5, and he picked the Colts defense alive out of a clean pocket. Lawrence completed 28 of his 33 attempts for 371 yards and two touchdownsaveraging 11.2 yards per attempt and a passing grade of 86.3.
Why the Colts lost: On the other hand, the Colts’ pass rush has been abysmal. Lawrence was so often allowed to work with a clean pocket because the pass rush wasn’t producing anything. The Colts pressured Lawrence with just one defender, which simply wasn’t enough.
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Baltimore Ravens 41, Cincinnati Bengals 38
Why the Ravens won: Lamar Jackson The MVP campaign is alive again. Jackson finished 26 of 42 for 348 yards and four touchdownsand he added another 55 yards on the ground. Jackson was sacked just once, demonstrating his ability to avoid pressure from all sides. He earned a passing grade of 78.1 and registered three big shots.
Why the Bengals lost: The Bengals’ inability to turn pressure into sacks cost them dearly. The defense produced 28 total pressures and pressured Jackson on 42.6% of his dropbacks, but the team sacked the quarterback only once. Jackson had a pre-sack pressure rate of just 5%, and his ability to extend and sustain plays was crippling defenses.
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Chicago Bears 36, Carolina Panthers 10
Why the Bears won: Rookie Defender Caleb Williams was excellent, but the Bears defense continued to run the show. The defense produced a total of 27 pressures and six sacks. Andy Dalton by 45.5% of its returns.
Why the Panthers lost: On most teams, Williams has struggled for his life several times this season, but not on the Panthers’ defense. Carolina pressured Williams on 17.1% of his throws, allowing him to throw for 304 yards in the clean pocket.
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Washington Commanders 34, Cleveland Browns 13
Why “Commanders” won: It was the best the Commanders defense had looked all season and they tore the Browns apart. They sacked Watson seven times, applying pressure a total of 28 times. Dorance Armstrong, Daron Payne And Frankie Luvu everyone registered five or more.
Why the Browns Lost: Changing the quarterback is likely was scheduled to take place in Cleveland, but Watson was still under pressure in 47.4% of his refusals. However, under pressure, he completed only three of his 10 attempts for 21 yards.
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Denver Broncos 34, Las Vegas Raiders 18
Why the Broncos won: Denver’s defense was excellent again, and the efforts of their starting guards gave them momentum. Pat Surtain II And Riley Moss everyone got hooked interceptionswhile Surtain returned it for a pick-six. The pair earned coverage grades of 92.1 and 80.1, respectively, and between them they allowed just five receptions for 58 yards.
Why the Raiders lost: Gardner MinshewHis benching came down to his inability to push the ball downfield. The veteran quarterback finished just 2-for-6 on passes thrown 10-plus yards downfield and earned a grade of 38.0 on attempts from 0-9 yards.
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Arizona Cardinals 24, San Francisco 49ers 23
Why the Cardinals won: The Cardinals came back from behind in the fourth quarter and were able to rely on the ground game to create yards. James Conner rushed for 86 yards on 19 attempts, forced eight fumbles and earned a grade of 76.5 while Kyler Murray also threw a 50-yard touchdown.
Why the 49ers lost: Brock Purdy was forced to hold onto the ball too often and plays outside the structure simply did not materialize. His average time per shot per game was 3.7 seconds, and Purdy completed just 54.3% of his pass attempts. Under pressure, he held the ball for an average of 5.35 seconds and was sacked twice.
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New York Giants 29, Seattle Seahawks 20
Why the Giants won: The Giants may have something in their rookie running back. Tyrone Tracywho rushed for 129 yards on 18 attempts. Tracy forced just one fumble, but had four runs of 10 yards or more and earned a grade of 77.3. The offense was able to lean on his productivity.
Why the Seahawks lost: The Seahawks just couldn’t defend. Geno Smith. The veteran quarterback was pressured 18 times and was sacked seven times, completing just 3 of 10 passes under pressure.
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Green Bay Packers 24, Los Angeles Rams 19
Why the Packers won: Jordan Love–To-Tucker Craft Communication was the difference in the game. Craft caught four passes for 88 yards and two touchdownswith one touchdown on a 66-yard screen. Kraft earned a receiving grade of 87.7, while Love’s passer rating when targeting him was 109.7.
Why the Rams lost: The Rams offensive line continues to struggle. Stafford was under pressure on 33.3% of his passes, and only 46.2% of his pass attempts were completed under duress. Starting left back Logan Brass allowed seven attacks and earned a pass blocking grade of 0.0.
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Dallas Cowboys 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
Why the Cowboys won: The Cowboys’ defense came under fire in 2024, but for the second week in a row the team remained solid – And they were without Micah Parsons And DeMarcus Lawrence. The Cowboys held Najee Harris just 42 yards on 14 attempts; they stopped the Steelers’ running game and held them to just 3.4 yards per carry.
Why the Steelers lost: The Cowboys did a good job of overloading the field, and nothing downfield helped. Justin Fields and crime. Fields averaged just 4.9 yards per attempt and was 0-for-6 on attempts of 20 yards or more. On top of that, he completed just two passes of more than 10 yards.
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