2018 NFL Week 5: The wildest week for kickers ever

The 2018 NFL week 5 slate of games did not disappoint. Not so much in terms of their excitement but more in terms of their utter craziness.

There were some big games that went down to the wire and a lot of them involve some absolutely unexpected moments. That’s what football fans love to see. More than anything, there were some definite revelations about some of the teams everybody thought they had figured out. None more so than the defending Super Bowl champions who have looked nothing like the team that ended a decades-long drought with such flourish a few months ago.

Graham Gano led an insane three-hour period for NFL kickers

Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano has a career-long 54-yard field goal going into the game against the New York Giants. With six seconds left and trailing by one, he has to try beating that mark by nine yards. He succeeded. nailing a 63-yarder for a 33-31 stunner. It wasn’t just him though.

Packers kicker Mason Crosby had a miserable afternoon in Detroit, missing a total of five kicks that ultimately cost his team the game 31-23. Last but not least? New Browns kicker Greg Joseph, a South African native, gave his team a 12-9 win in overtime with a 37-yard knuckleball that barely cleared the crossbar.

Tennessee Titans learn that winning ugly isn’t as easy as they think

It felt like the Titans were starting to believe they’re all that after beating the Eagles in overtime. They neglected to remember that they haven’t won a game in convincing fashion all year. There was a serious danger that Buffalo could be a trap game for a team that was believing too much in their own hype. Sure enough, the Bills stunned them 13-12. Marcus Mariota barely completed half his passes for 126 yards and an interception. Ugly indeed.

63 YARDS FOR THE WIN.@GrahamGano!!!#KeepPounding https://t.co/C81R4IQxe1
— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2018

Miami Dolphins suffered a second-straight brutal loss

After starting 3-0, it looked like the Miami Dolphins were for real. Then they got blasted 38-7 in New England. It was a rough showing, but a trip to Cincinnati gave them a chance to get the sour taste from their mouths. It worked. For a half anyway. They went up 17-0 and were up 17-3 going into the 4th quarter. Then the wheels came off. The Bengals scored 24 points in the final 15 minutes including two defensive touchdowns to stun the Dolphins.

Blake Bortles, not Patrick Mahomes, kept the Chiefs unbeaten

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Patrick Mahomes was good enough against the Jaguars though he did throw two interceptions. No, the quarterback who led the Chiefs to their 5-0 start this year was Blake Bortles. He was atrocious the entire game, throwing four interceptions. Kansas City doesn’t need that much help. In fairness, the Jaguars were losing running backs left and right. They couldn’t run the ball, so Bortles had to throw 61 times. The results were fairly predictable.

The Denver Broncos defense is a shell of what it once was

Fans have tried to insist the Broncos defense can still be as good as it was three years ago. Each week is proving otherwise. Giving up three touchdown passes to rookie QB Sam Darnold was bad enough. Far worse was their surrendering 333 yards on the ground. That’s not a type-o. Isaiah Crowell and Bilal Powell absolutely shredded them all game long. It was an embarrassment and another sign that the interior of the front seven is weak.

True to form, the Pittsburgh Steelers righted the ship just in time

Every time it looks like they’re about ready to fall apart, the Steelers manage to plug the holes and prevent the ship from capsizing. They were a mess after a dispiriting loss to Baltimore. Dropping one at home to Atlanta as well might’ve ended their season. The old guard of Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown refused to let that happen. They hooked up six times for 101 yards and two touchdowns and the defense sacked Matt Ryan six times.

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