15 BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS OF NFL WEEK 5

While there were some exceptions, Week 5 was not a great one if you were a quarterback, or especially a kicker. There were a lot of notably underwhelming performances, including a handful of high-profile quarterbacks and a kicking nightmare in Detroit. Those were hardly the only positions to suffer, though, as receivers, defenses, and even coaches were left looking a bit silly after Sunday’s events.

HERE’S A LOOK AT 15 OF THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS OF NFL WEEK 5.

MASON CROSBY, K, PACKERS

It’s safe to say Crosby had the worst kicking performance of the 2018 season. His first miss, wide left from 41 in the first quarter, was unusual, but sometimes good kickers just blow one. Then he missed off the right upright from 42, followed by another wide right from 38, and it was clear that something was going on. A missed extra point in the third confirmed that Crosby’s confidence was shot and initiated a Twitter pile-on, and sending him out there in the fourth to miss from 56 — more understandably — felt like cruel and unusual punishment. It was so bad for Crosby that the Packers saw fit to let him hit one from 41 with seven seconds left just so he could see one go through the uprights. Crosby has five seasons, including the previous three, where he missed just four kicks all season. To say this was uncharacteristic for him is an understatement.

HOUSTON TEXANS’ GOAL-LINE OFFENSE

The Texans left a lot of points on the table Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys with their poor goal line play calls and execution. Though the Texans cashed in their first red-zone appearance with a touchdown, they only got nine points out of their next four trips combined. The first time they got stalled at the two and took a field goal. The next time was the worst when they lined up in shotgun from the half-yard line before halftime and got stopped on a Deshaun Watson attempted scramble on 4th down to come away with no points. They had a 1st-and-goal at the 4 in the third quarter and came away with three points. They had a 1st-and-goal at the 1 in the fourth quarter and couldn’t score a touchdown, instead settling for another field goal. They should have won the game easily in regulation rather than narrowly in overtime.

C.J. BEATHARD, QB, 49ERS

There was some hope that the 49ers might not be as damaged as they seemed to be when Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending injury. Beathard held his own a week ago against the Los Angeles Chargers, but despite facing an inferior team Sunday, reality set in. Beathard was forced to throw a lot and got 354 yards and two touchdowns out of it, but was also responsible for two interceptions, the second one a backbreaker late in the 4th quarter. Beathard is probably going to be rather inconsistent for the 49ers, and Sunday was definitely one of his bad days. It’s almost impossible to win when your team turns it over five times.

DENVER BRONCOS

We could single out a lot of things here. We could look at Case Keenum, who finally threw his first touchdown pass since Week 1 but ultimately didn’t do enough to spark the offense, turning it over twice. There was a running game that didn’t really get going and never had the chance. There was a defense that was bludgeoned repeatedly, especially by Jets running back Isaiah Crowell and his team-record 219 rushing yards. All of it combines for a brutal loss that totally takes the shine off the Broncos. Vance Joseph’s seat is getting hotter by the week, and the comments of Derek Wolfe should lead to more concern.

BLAKE BORTLES, QB, JAGUARS

Sunday summed up the Blake Bortles experience in many ways. His 430 yards look great on paper, and he made several good throws. He was also picked off four times and lost a fumble, with one of the interceptions coming on a screen pass and another rather comically going off the helmet of one of his linemen. The expected battle between the Chiefs’ offense and the Jaguars’ defense went the way of Kansas City, and that meant Bortles had to be on his game to keep Jacksonville in it. He wasn’t, at least not enough.

MICHAEL CRABTREE, WR, RAVENS

Rainy weather in Cleveland meant it wasn’t the greatest day to be tasked with throwing or catching a football. Even taking that into account, however, Crabtree’s drops conceivably cost Baltimore the game. Those drops have plagued him all season, but he blew two key third down passes with his inability to catch the ball. Worst of all, he had a game-winning touchdown in his hands at the end of regulation but failed to reel it in. That sent the Ravens into an overtime period that they couldn’t win. Crabtree took responsibility after the defeat, but this has become an ongoing problem that needs to be fixed.

DEREK CARR, QB, RAIDERS

The Raiders didn’t get the chance to collapse in the fourth quarter this week because they were rather thoroughly wiped out by the Chargers before then. Carr was particularly flat, not hitting the 200-yard mark until midway through the fourth quarter when a garbage time touchdown allowed him to salvage his numbers a bit. Carr only turned the ball over once, but it was a bad one thrown when the team had the ball at the Chargers’ 1-yard line. Things did not work for him at all today as the Raiders continued to struggle. This was probably their worst offensive performance yet.

PETE CARROLL, SEAHAWKS COACH

Carroll’s tactical blunder may have inadvertently cost his team the chance to get the ball back late in their loss to the Los Angeles Rams. With the Rams prepared to punt with about a minute and a half left in the fourth, Carroll called timeout on 4th and 1, giving the Rams a chance to reconsider and put their offense on the field to try to get the first. They did so, and instead of getting the ball back, Carroll was left with egg on his face. Sure, Seattle would have only had about a minute had the Rams punted, but they’d have had the ball and a timeout down two, requiring only one big play for a potential game-winning field goal. This one really backfired on him.

MARCUS MARIOTA, QB, TITANS

More and more questions are being asked about Mariota by the week. On what was a brutal day for both offenses, the Titans quarterback managed just 129 yards on 14 completions, not finding the end zone and throwing a pick. He did have one touchdown pass dropped, so that’s not his fault, but it does little to change the fact that he made a lot of bad throws against a defense that cannot be considered one of the league’s elite units. It’s a performance that will slow down the Tennessee hype train quite a bit, and raise new concerns about his consistency.

RAHEEM MOSTERT, RB, 49ERS

The 49ers’ injury-plagued running back situation haunted them this week, as they were forced to turn to journeyman Raheem Mostert against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Their faith was not repaid. Early in the second quarter with the Niners driving into Arizona territory, Mostert fumbled. That fumble was returned all the way to the San Francisco 18-yard line. When Mostert fumbled, the Niners were nearing field goal range trailing 7-6. The fumble led directly to seven points for Arizona, putting them up 14-6 in a game they eventually won. The Niners never seemed to recover and lost 28-18.

LOS ANGELES RAMS’ RUN DEFENSE

Rivals have been poking at the Rams looking for weaknesses for some time now, and the Seahawks seemed to have found one, at least on Sunday. Seattle grabbed 190 yards on the ground, with Chris Carson running for 116 and Mike Davis adding 68 more. Seattle averaged 5.9 yards per carry as a team. This may just be a one-off, as the Minnesota Vikings didn’t have anywhere near as much success on the ground a week ago, but this clearly worked for the Seahawks — and didn’t work for the Rams, as they needed a rally to win this game.

NICK WILLIAMS, WR, TITANS

The disappointing Titans have had a lot of problems this season, but this is the second consecutive week that a Tennessee receiver has dropped a sure touchdown in a tight game. This week it was Williams, who had a clear shot at the end zone but dropped an easy pass from Marcus Mariota. That could have given the Titans a 13-10 lead with a little over ten minutes to go. Williams also arguably cost Mariota an interception by not fighting more for another pass in the game. Williams’ dropped touchdown on third down forced the Titans to kick their first of two field goals in the fourth, but that left enough room for the Bills to hit a game-winner as time expired, relegating the disappointing Titans to a painful loss.

RYAN TANNEHILL, QB, DOLPHINS

We’re a long ways away from the first three weeks of the season when Tannehill was one of the league’s most efficient quarterbacks. His last two weeks have been so bad that Coach Adam Gase had to field a question about potential quarterback changes after Miami’s total collapse against the Cincinnati Bengals. Tannehill managed just 185 yards and committed three turnovers, all of which came in a fourth quarter that saw the Dolphins outscored 24-0. One was a pick six, another was a fumble, and both were returned for touchdowns to go with another interception. The Dolphins and Tannehill are quickly returning to earth.

ALSHON JEFFERY, WR, EAGLES

Jeffery looked great in his season debut a week ago, perhaps unfairly raising expectations for a tough matchup with Xavier Rhodes and the Minnesota Vikings. The star Philadelphia receiver was, in fact, a non-factor on Sunday. Carson Wentz targeted him eight times but he only caught two of them for 39 yards, missing out on a key third reception that would have converted on third down as the ball was jarred loose by a hard hit. Jeffery will have better days, but the matchup with Rhodes came a bit too soon for him.

MATT RYAN, QB, FALCONS

For the last several weeks, Ryan and the Atlanta offense have kept the Falcons in the game in spite of their struggling, injury-depleted defense. The latter held true Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but not the former. Ryan could finally no longer keep up with the demands of his defense, taking six sacks and turning the ball over once. He couldn’t even find star receiver Julio Jones until the fourth quarter, by which point the result was in little doubt. Ryan should rebound quickly, but his road performances are becoming a concern at this point.