Top-5 in Week 5 - Brees Breaks Hearts and Records

Drew Brees heads NFL Week 5’s top stories, but the Saints’ quarterback isn’t the only tale from this past week. Kansas City, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Arizona all made the list. Check out why Brees tops my list of Top-5 NFL Week 5 stories!

Saints’ Drew Brees Breaks Peyton Manning’s Passing Yards Record

Brees’ 62-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith broke the NFL’s yardage record. Brees then went on to pass for a few more yards to pad it in the Saints’ impressive 43-19 win over the Washington Redskins.

Week 5’s Monday night contest saw Brees shatter the previous mark after throwing for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns. Brees sits on 72,103 yards with a ton of football left in his career to play. Unless he gets hurt, he might hang onto the record forever. By the way, Brees never gets hurt. He has played in at least 15 games per season for the last 14 years.

Next Game: BYE (Saints), Carolina at Washington -1.0

Chiefs Demolish Jaguars’ Defense

Hailed as a battle between the top scoring unit and stingiest defense in the NFL, Kansas City versus Jacksonville turned out to be a yawner, but it didn’t turn out to cause naps because of the Chiefs’ offense or the Jaguars’ defense.

Kansas City beat Jacksonville 30-14 because they picked off Jags’ quarterback Blake Bortles 4 times and also caused the quarterback to lose a fumble. Chiefs’ defensive end Chris Jones took one of Bortles’ interceptions to the end zone for a pick 6.

Chiefs face the Patriots in Week 5. If they can prove as capable at stopping Tom Brady, Kansas City becomes the favorite to win Super Bowl LIII.

Next Game: KC at New England -3.5, Jax -3.0 at Dallas

Browns Climb to .500

Many NFL handicappers pegged Ravens -3 over Browns their top pick in Week 5. Baltimore entered Cleveland on a 2-game winning streak. So, it made sense why many felt the Ravens were the team to back against the spread.

Not only did the Browns cover the spread, they also beat Baltimore straight up. Don’t be fooled into thinking Cleveland only leaned on stopping the Ravens in the 12-9 win. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 342 yards, a TD, and an interception.

Now at 2-2, Cleveland’s only a game behind Baltimore in the AFC North. Crazy to think the Browns could make the playoffs after going 0-16 in the previous season.

Next Games: LAC -1.0 at Cleveland, Baltimore -3.0 at Tennessee

Steelers Get Going on Both Sides of the Ball

Steelers fans had waited four weeks for a performance like the one Pittsburgh put on in Week 5. The Steel Curtain didn’t pull back by holding Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan to 285 passing yards and a TD pass.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger keyed the 41-17 win with 3 TD passes, but that’s not the biggest news for Pittsburgh. Running back James Conner rushed for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns, proving that the team can move on if Le'Veon Bell is traded (or doesn't come back). Big Ben and the Steelers are at their best when the threat of rushing the ball is there, and on Sunday we saw it in full force.

Next Games: Pittsburgh at Cincinnati -2.5, Tampa at Atlanta -3.5

Cardinals Notch First Win

Many believed that San Francisco could sneak past Arizona with home field advantage. But Arizona leaned on David Johnson, who scored 2 touchdowns, while demolishing 49ers quarterback CJ Beatheard with 4 sacks and 2 interceptions.

Josh Rosen only went 10-of-25, but he didn’t turn the football over. If your Arizona, you’re happy with Rosen’s performance. Rosen must play mistake free football in Week 6 for the Cardinals to have any shot against Minnesota, which is easier said than done. Arizona will take the 28-18 victory over a divisional opponent, but face an uphill climb next week. So do the 49ers.

Next Games: Arizona at Minnesota -10.5, San Fran at Green Bay -9.5