Last week once again marked some more reinvented territory for me, as I recognized one player from 14 of Week 4’s winning teams and three players from the other winning team of that week.
And as for this week, at least one player from each of the 15 winning teams for Week 5 will be recognized, as both the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions had their bye week.
Check out the bullet points and text below to see which minimum 15 players got recognized as the Impact Players Of The Week for Week 5:
- Los Angeles Rams Vs. Seattle Seahawks-I ended last week’s Impact Player segment with handing out a three-way Impact Player award to Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward and their two starting outside linebackers, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree, for their thorough domination of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Daltron in the Steelers 27-3 win. And just like that game, this game will also have a three-way award, with Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson being one of the players for his 5-yard touchdown pass to his teammate, running back Chris Carson, on fourth-and-goal with 2:28 remaining in the game. Carson, a three-time Impact Player award already, gets a share of this game’s award for catching that aforementioned 5-yard touchdown pass, as well as rushing for 118 yards on 27 carries. And finally, there’s Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright, whom was the closest defender in holding Rams tight end Gerald Everett to a nine-yard reception on a 3rd-and-15 pass play. And as to why that’s important, well a yard or two closer and Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein would have most likely made the possible game-winning field goal. But instead, Zeurlein missed from 44 yards out, due in large to Wright forcing Everett to go out of bounds, thus making the nine-year linebacker out of Mississippi State the third Impact Player award winner of this game.
- Arizona Cardinals Vs. Cincinnati Bengals-The trend of three continues, as Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, and Cardinals running back David Johnson and Chase Edmonds accounted for the 62 yards that the Cardinals needed to win the game, 26-23, at the buzzer. And given that all three players put Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez in position to beat the buzzer from 31 yards out, all three of them get a three-way Impact Player award for this game.
- Buffalo Bills Vs. Tennessee Titans-After a rough outing the previous week against the New England Patriots, Bills quarterback Josh Allen bounced back, as he went 23-for-32 for 204 net passing yards and two touchdowns, the second of which ( a 7-yarder to Bills wide receiver Duke Williams) was the difference in Buffalo’s margin of victory. Allen then added the final dagger against the Titans, as he picked up five yards on a third-and-three run play to enable the Bills to run out the clock in Nissan Stadium. The Bills have four victories this season, thanks to Allen, whose performance once again gives him another Impact Player award.
- Chicago Bears Vs. Oakland Raiders-Back in Week 1, a Bears scoring opportunity got thwarted by a momentum-killing interception by their former player in safety Adrian Amos, the inaugural Impact Player award winner. And of course, the Bears lost that game, 10-3. And just like that game, the Bears had a chance to tie or take the lead late against Khalil Mack’s former team, as they had the ball on Oakland’s 47-yard line, down 24-21. But Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley killed Chicago’s momentum this time around, as he picked off a Chase Daniel (Bears back-up quarterback) pass intended for Bears wide receiver Anthony Miller at the Oakland 23-yard line. The Raiders would then go on to run out most of the clock, thus leaving the Bears with only 13 seconds to utilize. The interception was a huge part in the Raiders being over .500 for the second time this season, thus making Conley the Impact Player of this game.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vs. New Orleans Saints-After guiding the Saints to four drives that ended in field goals, Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater responded, by airing it out with 26 completions in 34 pass attempts for 314 yards and four touchdowns. All four of his touchdown passes proved to be crucial, as all of them either erased early deficits, broke ties or prevented the Buccaneers from late-game rallies. Bridgewater’s performance makes him the Impact Player of this game.
- Minnesota Vikings Vs. New York Giants-It’s another game of three’s company, as three Vikings player get a three-way Impact Player award for this game, with the first player being Kirk Cousins, whom had his best game by far this season, by going 22-of-27 for 306 passing yards (279 net) and two touchdowns. Adam Thielen, the player whom Cousins apologized to in between the loss to the Bears and this game, was the recipient of 130 of those gross yards and both touchdowns, thus making him the second Impact Player of this game. And as for the third Impact Player of this game, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, whom had his fourth 100-yard rushing game this season, as the third-year running back out of Florida State rushed for 132 yards on 21 carries.
- New York Jets Vs. Philadelphia Eagles-This award can go to anyone on the Eagles defense, whom allowed 6 points and 128 total net yards. Oh yeah, they also had 10 sacks and two defensive touchdowns. And while I’m tempted to have this game’s Impact Player award be a multi-way award, I instead want to give it to the player whom applied the pressure to enable Eagles linebacker Nathan Gerry to have a 51-yard pick-six. That’s right, I’m taking Eagles defensive end and Super Bowl LII hero Brandon Graham, whom also had three of those 10 sacks.
- Baltimore Ravens Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers-After going negative four yards on their first overtime possession, the Ravens seemed destined to lose a third consecutive game. But in the hostile environment of Heinz Field, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey forced a fumble of Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and proceeded to recover it in Pittsburgh territory. Lamar Jackson & Company then did the rest, as they moved the ball six more yards to set up Justin Tucker’s game-winning field goal from 46 yards out. However, the 46-yarder wouldn’t have been possible without Humphrey going all Charles Tillman with his forced fumble of Smith-Schuster, thus making the third-year cornerback out of Alabama this game’s Impact Player.
- New England Patriots Vs. Washington Redskins-It was a bit of a rough game for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, as this week marked the second consecutive week in which he threw a red zone interception. Plus, he got sacked four times by a ferocious Redskins pass rush. However, he withstood all of that to throw for 312 net passing yards and three touchdowns, two of which broke the game open in the second half. Brady’s age-defying performance against the Redskins makes the future Hall Of Famer the Impact Player of this game.
- Jacksonville Jaguars Vs. Carolina Panthers-Down seven, the Jaguars had a chance to be over .500 for the first time since this time last season had they scored a touchdown on that last untimed down. But thanks to Panthers outside linebacker Mario Addison chasing around Jaguars Gardner Minshew II on that untimed down, and thanks to Panthers inside linebacker Luke Kuechly batting Minshew’s last-second heave on that same play, the Panthers were able to hang on for the 34-27 victory. The two Carolina defensive veterans are the co-Impact Players of this game for collaborating on that final defensive stop.
- Atlanta Falcons Vs. Houston Texans-Every time that the Falcons got back in the game via a touchdown, the Texans responded with a touchdown of their own, thanks mostly to the brilliance of quarterback Deshaun Watson. A player with a knack for both getting hit and sacked a lot, Watson played a very clean game, as he had no turnovers and got only hit once, the latter of which didn’t result in a sack. Oh yeah, let’s not forgot his passing numbers, as the third-year quarterback out of Clemson went 28-of-33 for 426 yards and five touchdowns. His performance, along with the performance of Texans wide receiver Will Fuller V (14 reception, 217 yards, three touchdowns), make the quarterback and wide receiver duo co-Impact Players of this game.
- Denver Broncos Vs. Los Angeles Chargers-The Chargers inconsistency in stopping the run reared its head again, as they allowed Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay to rush for 114 yards, the last 45 of which came on the Broncos final possession to turn a 17-10 Broncos lead into a 20-10 Broncos lead via a 46-yard Brandon McManus field goal with 1:55 remaining. The 114-yard rushing performance by Lindsay makes him the Impact Player of this game.
- Green Bay Packers Vs. Dallas Cowboys-Another Aaron (Jones) led the Packers to a fourth consecutive win in AT&T Stadium, as the third-year running back out of UTEP punished the Cowboys with 107 rushing yards and all of Green Bay’s touchdowns via the ground on 19 carries. It was Jones’ second game of 100 yards or rushing against the Cowboys, thus making him the Impact Player of this game.
- Indianapolis Colts Vs. Kansas City Chiefs-There have been a lot of two-way and three-way Impact Player awards in this entry. But there’s never been a four-way Impact Player award until now, as four Colts get such an honor. I’ll start with Colts defensive end Justin Houston, whom made the Chiefs look stupid for releasing him this past off-season. Houston’s knowledge of the Chiefs offense played a big part in the Colts limiting his former team to 13 points, the lowest single-game point total among Patrick Mahomes’ 24 starts as quarterback for the Chiefs. Plus, Houston racked up a sack against his old team, along with funneling Mahomes into suffering another sack that was split by Colts defensive ends Jabaal Sheard and Komoko Turay. Oh yeah, and there’s Houston’s tackle of Chiefs running back Damien Williams for a 1-yard loss in Kansas City territory that set up Adam Vinatieri’s crucial 29-yard field goal to make the game a two-possession game with 2:27 remaining. After Houston, the second award winner is Colts running back Marlon Mack, whom helped the Colts enjoy a 37:15 edge in time of possession with 132 yards rushing on 29 carries. After Mack, the third winner is a player whom played a huge role in Mack getting those rushing yards, with that player being Colts left offensive guard Quenton Nelson. It’s no coincidence that Mack ran to the Colts’ offensive left side often, as Nelson was credited multiple times for his blocking in that game. And finally, there’s the sure-handed tight end Jack Doyle, whose recovery of Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s onside kick put the finishing touches on the hard-fought 19-13 Colts victory.
- Cleveland Browns Vs. San Francisco 49ers-Last week’s Monday Night Football matchup between the Bengals and Steelers started the movement of naming multiple Impact award winners. And just like that Monday Night Football game, I once again name three players as Impact Award winners. I’ll start with 49ers running back Matt Breida, whom set the tone with an 83-yard touchdown run on San Francisco’s first play from scrimmage as a part of his 114-yard rushing night. Joining him is fellow running back Tevin Coleman, whom had a touchdown run (19 yards) of his own and finished three yards shy of joining Breida as the second set of teammates to run for 100 yards or more this season. And finally, 49ers rookie defensive end Nick Bosa had a coming out party in primetime, as he led a San Francisco defensive effort that yielded only three points and 180 total net yards, along with racking up four sacks as a team and forcing three of the four turnovers. Bosa’s stat line in that game was a tremendous one, as the second overall pick in this past April’s draft had five hits and two sacks (one featured a forced fumble) of Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Plus, he also recovered a fumble, along with causing an intentional grounding penalty of Mayfield that should have been another sack for him and put the pressure on Mayfield that led to Richard Sherman’s second interception this season. Bosa’s performance proved why he was worth the number two overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, thus making him the third Impact Player of this game.