NFL Week 5 takeaways – What we learned, big questions for every game and future team outlooks

Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season featured a few wild endings Sunday, including a thrilling overtime game between the Packers and Bengals. After five missed field goals between the two teams, Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby finally hit a game winner. And after the Lions had thought they pulled off an improbable victory against Minnesota, the Vikings’ Greg Joseph hit a 54-yard field goal to get the win.

Elsewhere, the Buccaneers’ and Saints’ offenses were on full display, the Steelers’ defense showed up in a big way against the Broncos, the Eagles engineered a comeback in Carolina, the Patriots hung on for a closer-than-expected win against the Texans and the Jaguars’ rough start to the season continued. Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts had a big day in London, and the Rams slid past the Seahawks on Thursday night — after Seattle lost quarterback Russell Wilson to an injury.

In the late games, the Giants lost QB Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver Kenny Golladay in a loss to the Cowboys. The Chargers beat the Browns in a shootout, the Bears beat the Raiders and the Cardinals stayed undefeated.

Our NFL Nation reporters react with the major takeaways and lingering questions from this week’s action. Plus, they each look at the bigger picture with their current team confidence rating — a 0-10 grade of how they feel about the team’s outlook coming out of the week. Let’s get to it.

Jump to a matchup:
NYJ-ATL | MIA-TB | NO-WSH | GB-CIN
DEN-PIT | PHI-CAR | DET-MIN | NE-HOU
TEN-JAX | LAR-SEA | NYG-DAL | CLE-LAC
CHI-LV | SF-ARI

Cowboys

What to know: With their 24-point win against the New York Giants, the Cowboys keep raising the possibilities of what they can be in 2021. Yes, the Giants were decimated by injuries to Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones and Kenny Golladay, but the Cowboys were able to put away their NFC East rivals thanks to three Dak Prescott touchdown passes, a third straight game of at least 95 yards rushing from Ezekiel Elliott…