The 15-Play Drive

15 thoughts on week-5 in the NFL...

1. On an emotional Sunday for the entire Raiders organization, it was only fitting they paid tribute to owner Al Davis, who died Saturday at the age of 82, with a victory. Davis, an NFL icon who came up with phrases such as "Just win baby" and "Commitment to excellence", would have loved the team's inspired performance in Houston. Running back Darren McFadden told me and Steve Torre on the Sunday Drive: "We wanted to go out there and do it for Al."

2. The league's biggest disappointment through week-5 is clearly the 1-4 Eagles, who can't seem to get out of their own way. So what's the problem? I could give you a laundry list of issues, but I'll chalk it up to three T's.

Turnovers: Philly is -10 in turnover differential

Tackling: In what has become a weekly occurrence, the Eagles missed 13-tackles against the Bills

Trust: There's plenty of individual talent on this team, but too many guys are trying to do it all by themselves. In other words, they don't feel like they can rely on their teammates to get it done.

3. No coincidence the Eagles latest loss was sealed by yet another unforgivable mental mistake. Trailing by a touchdown with 1:23 remaining, Philly had a chance to get the ball back as Buffalo faced 4th and short at their own 49-yard line. The Bills lined up to go for it, went with a hard count, and got Eagles defensive end Juqua Parker to jump offsides. At the same time, I'm guessing cheese steaks were being hurled at television sets all over Philadelphia. That's a big mess, but then again so are the Eagles.

4. The Bills don't giveth, but they definitely taketh away...And that has as much to do with their success as anything else. Buffalo has a league best 16-takeaways, including 2-games where they picked off the opposing QB 4-times (Michael Vick & Tom Brady).

5. Wonder if Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan still thinks Dallas has better receivers than Calvin Johnson, or if Chris Carter still believes Johnson isn't an elite wide receiver? Johnson now has a league leading 9-TD receptions. That's the most through 5-games for any player since 1940, and he's on pace to break Randy Moss' NFL record of 27-TD catches set in 2007. Johnson has 2-more touchdown grabs than Larry Fitzgerald, Vincent Jackson and Roddy White do combined. If you doubt his ability, I have to doubt your sanity.

6. I'm not buying into Tebow-mania, but I also didn't see any way Broncos head coach John Fox could keep quarterback Tim Tebow out of the starting lineup. Tebow absolutely provided a spark in Denver's 29-24 loss to San Diego. He ran for one 2nd half touchdown, and threw for another to turn a blowout into a nail biter. At 1-4 and with Kyle Orton struggling, it was time to find out what Tebow can do.

7. Speaking of quarterbacks, 49ers first year head coach Jim Harbaugh is fast proving to be a miracle worker. Harbaugh hasn't turned water into wine, but turning Alex Smith into a competent QB is nearly as impressive. Smith came into this season with 51-career TD passes and 53-interceptions. Through 5-games, he's thrown for 7-touchdowns with just 1-INT. Now if Harbaugh can just get Michael Crabtree to consistently catch the ball...One miracle at a time I guess.

8. Rex Ryan can make all the bold proclamations he wants, but not only are the Jets not Super Bowl bound, their once formidable defense isn't scaring anyone. Trailing 27-21 with over 7-minutes to go Sunday, the Jets defense needed a stop to give Mark Sanchez and company an opportunity to win the game. Instead, they allowed the Patriots offense to steamroll right down the field with a 13-play, 69-yard drive that took more than 6-minutes off the clock, and resulted in a field goal. And this wasn't the Tom Brady show either. BenJarvus Green-Ellis inflicted the damage with 10-carries for 59-yards. Forget about a damn snack...Ryan's going to need a 7-course meal to get over this one.

9. That was a cheap shot Roman Harper. I know Panthers receiver Steve Smith slowed down, but he was well into the end zone when Harper, the Saints veteran safety, popped him. It was a late hit, and a dirty play.

10. The Todd Collins award of the week goes to Kyle Orton. The Broncos QB completed just 6 of 13-passes for 34-yards with an interception before being pulled in favor of Tim Tebow Sunday...And lost his starting job in the process.

11. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin wasn't kidding when he said: "This is about as miserable a feeling as we've had around here in a long time." Seattle hadn't won a game on the east coast since 2007. Enter the Giants, who played as if they knew that fact and nothing else Sunday. They turned it over 5-times, allowed 20-points in the 4th quarter alone, and watched as the immortal Charlie Whitehurst rallied the Seahawks to a 36-25 victory. With a schedule that turns brutal after week-8, the Giants will wish they had this game back.

12. The best tight end in football this season hasn't been a household name like the Falcons Tony Gonzalez or Cowboys Jason Witten, its been the Saints Jimmy Graham. Through 5-weeks he's hauled in 32-receptions for 496-yards and 3-TD's. That gives him more receiving yards than some of the game's top WR's including Calvin Johnson, Greg Jennings and Larry Fitzgerald.

13. You can call it a tale of two halves when it comes to Colts quarterback Curtis Painter. In the first half he's been good completing 58% of his passes with 3-touchdowns. But over the final 2-quarters, Painter's completion percentage drops to 40% with just 1-TD. And the 0-5 Colts have taken their cue from Painter blowing back to back halftime leads.

14. Matty Ice has been defrosted on more than one occasion this year, and something seems off with the Falcons QB. He's thrown for more than 1-TD in only 1-game, and has 6-interceptions to go along with 3-fumbles. With Ryan struggling, Atlanta has been held to 14-points or less in all 3-losses, including Sunday night's defeat against the Packers when they found the end zone on their first two possessions, but never scored again.

15. In what's been an unpredictable season, the Bengals defense is by far one of the league's biggest surprises. Among teams that have played 5-games, they rank 1st in yards allowed, and are giving up an average of just 18.8-points. All of this despite losing marquee free agent cornerback Jonathan Joseph this off season. Credit defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who has future head coach written all over him.