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Here’s What Happened in N.F.L. Week 5

 

Aaron Rodgers can freeze time. The Packers trailed the Cowboys by 3 points, were on their own 25-yard line, and had just 1 minute 13 seconds left in the game. Most teams would be ecstatic to come away with a field goal, but Green Bay was not playing for a tie. Rodgers, as he has so many times in recent seasons, aggressively moved the team down the field, needing just 62 of the 73
seconds to put his team back on top for good.
■ Sometimes, the N.F.L. provides free anatomy lessons for viewers. Odell Beckham Jr. of the Giants fractured his fibula near his ankle, and J.J. Watt of the Texans fractured the very top of his tibia, and with that both superstars could be out for the rest of the season. While both injuries are disastrous for their respective teams, and led to a great deal of medical talk during the various broadcasts, neither was nearly as gruesome to watch as the one suffered by Chris Conley of the Chiefs. The young wide receiver came down awkwardly on his foot and you could see his entire calf ripple as his Achilles tendon broke free. The NBC broadcast showed the play live, and then “treated” viewers to at least two angles of replay, one of which was in slow motion.
Cam Newton was not distracted, even if his Carolina teammates were. It was a sloppy start to the game for the Panthers, with the team piling up more than 70 yards of penalties in the first half. Newton, who spent the week dealing with an off-field sexism scandal of his own creation, remained calm and had his second consecutive game of more than 300 passing yards and three touchdowns. His recovery from off-season shoulder surgery is, apparently, complete.
■ Old game managers can learn new tricks. The knock on Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith has always been that he can’t generate any excitement, even if his turnover-free style of play tends to win a lot of games. But in his 13th season, the veteran quarterback has remade himself into the gunslinging leader of the N.F.L.’s last undefeated team. He threw for more than 300 yards in a wild 42-34 win over Houston, and now has 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions this season.
■ Things actually could get worse for the Giants. Big Blue was 0-4 coming into its game against the Chargers, but 60 minutes of football later the Giants were 0-5 and had four injured receivers. Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall could both be out for the year, and the New Jersey team expected to be the competitive one is suddenly the one eyeing the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft.
■ The Jets — yes, the Jets — have a winning record. Written off before the season after jettisoning several veterans and handing the offense over to the perennially disappointing Josh McCown, the Jets have ridden a weak schedule to a surprisingly impressive record. Wins over the Cleveland Browns, the Miami Dolphins and the wildly inconsistent Jaguars are not enough to convince anyone that the Jets are any sort of contender, but going into next week’s game against the New England Patriots, they are shockingly in a three-way tie with Buffalo and New England for the division lead in the A.F.C. East.
■ The anthem issue has legs. The San Francisco 49ers had numerous players kneeling during the playing of the national anthem in Indianapolis, and it was more than Vice President Mike Pence could take, as he left the game tweeting about how he would not put up with such behavior. Teams had seemingly settled into their routines with the anthem, but with President Trump and Pence ramping things up, the demonstrations and protests could intensify. The vice president missed an exciting game between bad teams, with the Colts winning with a field goal in overtime.
Here’s a look at all the action on the field and along the sidelines on Sunday:
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The Texans’ J.J. Watt was helped off the field after injuring his leg in the first quarter. Credit Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press

J.J. Watt is injured in Texans’ loss.

J.J. Watt, a three-time defensive player of the year, suffered a tibial plateau fracture in the first quarter of the Houston Texans’ 42-34 loss to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The injury, which affects the knee’s stability, will likely sideline Watt for the rest of the season.
Watt appeared to be in tears as he was helped along the Houston Texans’ sideline after he collapsed on the field. On the play, Watt was charging at the quarterback and appeared to land awkwardly on his left foot before falling to his right knee. He was helped off the field, walking gingerly, with the crowd seemingly stunned by an injury to their team’s star.
Houston’s defense, weakened by injuries to Watt and Whitney Mercilus, allowed a touchdown or field goal on each of Kansas City’s first five possessions, falling behind 23-7 at halftime. Deshaun Watson, the Texans’ exciting rookie quarterback, did his best to get his team back into the game, throwing five touchdown passes, but the Chiefs’ offense was able to grind things out by keeping Houston’s offense off the field for huge swaths of time.
On Monday morning, Watt sent a message to Texans fans:
The win came with serious injuries for Kansas City as well. Tight end Travis Kelce left with an apparent concussion and Chris Conley came out late in the game with an Achilles injury. But even with his offensive options limited, Alex Smith continued his unusual breakout season — which is coming in his 13th year. He completed 29 of 37 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. It was Smith’s second 300-yard passing game of the season, which is a career high.
Kansas City will try to stretch their record to 6-0 next week when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Texans prepare to host the Cleveland Browns as they await further word on Watt’s status.

Rodgers rips the Cowboys’ hearts out again.

You can’t give Aaron Rodgers more than a minute.
The Dallas Cowboys took a 3-point lead over the Green Bay Packers with a little more than a minute to play after a back-and-forth N.F.C. battle. That was plenty of time for Rodgers, who showed little interest in tying the game with a field goal, and instead engineered a lightning-fast 75-yard drive, winning the game with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams.
In an on-field interview after the game, Adams seemed nonchalant about the latest heroic performance from his team’s quarterback, shrugging and saying “He just reminded us all we need is time and downs.”
Rodgers had three touchdown passes, got some unexpected help from his team’s running game, and had his defense chip in a pick-six to improve Green Bay’s record to 4-1.
Asked after the game about his ability to succeed at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Rodgers, who was named the M.V.P. of Super Bowl XLV in the stadium, smiled and said, “They should have the Super Bowl here every year.”
It was a quiet day in terms of yardage for Rodgers, who completed 19 of 29 passes for 221 yards, but he hit the passes he needed to and did not need to do all of the heavy lifting thanks to the emergence of Aaron Jones. In relief of the injured Ty Montgomery, Jones ran for 125 yards on 19 carries. His 7-yard touchdown near the end of the first half was the start of the Packers’ eventual comeback.
Packers Coach Mike McCarthy was full of praise for Rodgers after the game.”I just don’t know what else to say about him,” McCarthy said. “I’ve got to expand my vocabulary.”
That the Packers were in the game at all was surprising after Dak Prescott threw touchdown passes on each of his team’s first three drives. But for a second consecutive week, the Dallas offense stalled for much of the second half.
Prescott threw three touchdowns and ran for another, but he was part of the problem thanks to a deflected pass that turned into a pick-six for Damarious Randall, who to that point had been a major liability in a game in which the Green Bay secondary lost Kevin King, one of its top performers, to a concussion.

Seahawks get much-needed win over Rams.

Russell Wilson passed for 198 yards and a touchdown, and Earl Thomas forced two of the Rams’ five turnovers in the Seattle Seahawks’ 16-10 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday.
Jimmy Graham scored late in the first half in a defense-dominated win for the Seahawks (3-2), who shut out the NFL’s highest-scoring offense in the second half of their second straight win over their NFC West rivals. — Associated Press
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Odell Beckham Jr. injured his ankle on an incomplete pass in the second half. Credit Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

Odell Beckham Jr. could be out for season with broken ankle.

The Giants dropped to 0-5 after losing 27-25 to the Los Angeles Chargers, but the bigger story of the game was Odell Beckham Jr., the team’s superstar wide receiver, fracturing his ankle in what could be a season-ending injury.
The Giants were up 22-20 with four minutes left in the game when Beckham was brought down by Casey Hayward following an incomplete pass. Beckham’s left ankle turned badly under him, and he was on the ground for several minutes before being carted off the field. ESPN and other media outlets have reported that Beckham has a fractured fibula, and possible ligament damage, but the team thus far has not gone beyond the “fractured ankle” description.
“You never want to see any receivers go down,” Manning said in a post-game news conference. “I told him I’d be thinking about him.”
In a matchup between winless teams, the Giants’ receiving corps was decimated by injuries. Not only did Beckham leave in what could be a season-ending injury, but Dwayne Harris was forced out with a foot injury and Brandon Marshall left after coming down awkwardly on his heel in what could potentially be a season-ending Achilles tear. Sterling Shepard left the game with an ankle injury, meaning the team’s top four receivers are all currently injured.
Beckham had five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown before the injury, but on the next play following his exit, Eli Manning lost a fumble and the Chargers were able to capitalize on the short field with Philip Rivers hitting Melvin Gordon for his third touchdown pass of the game. The Giants got one more chance to win, but Manning threw an interception, which sealed the team’s fate.
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Members of the San Francisco 49ers knelt during the national anthem before the game against the Colts in Indianapolis. Credit Michael Conroy/Associated Press

After 49ers take a knee, Pence walks out of game.

Vice President Pence began the day by tweeting a photo of himself at the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers. Less than two hours later, Pence left the game because of a protest during the playing of the national anthem. President Trump later supported Pence’s decision, saying he had asked his vice president to leave if there were any protests.
Mr. Pence’s first tweet was a photo of himself and his wife, with the vice president wearing a Colts hat and shirt, while his wife was wearing a Colts jersey. He said he was there to honor Peyton Manning, the longtime Colts quarterback who had a statue of himself unveiled in Indianapolis this weekend and was set to have his number retired into the team’s ring of honor at halftime.
But just as they did last week, the 49ers had 20 or more players kneeling during the anthem in solidarity with their former teammate, Colin Kaepernick. The Colts had a demonstration of their own, with players wearing black t-shirts that said “We Will” on the front and “Stand for equality, justice, unity, respect, dialogue, opportunity” on the back.
At 1:08 p.m. Eastern, just minutes after the anthem was played, Mr. Pence tweeted that he had left the game because of the demonstrations. He said he was unwilling to “dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem”.
After several tweets explaining his reason for leaving, Mr. Pence tweeted a photo of himself and his wife standing during the anthem, with a member of the military next to them.
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Panthers quarterback Cam Newton celebrated during the first half. Credit Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Cam Newton shakes off the distractions to win.

The question coming into the game was whether off-field distractions would affect Cam Newton, but the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers was at his best, leading his team to a 27-24 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Newton, who lost a sponsorship this week over sexist remarks made to a female reporter, survived his team committing numerous sloppy penalties early in the game. He completed 26 of 33 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns. It was the second consecutive game in which he had 300 passing yards and three touchdowns, and this week it was a result of his repeatedly taking advantage of Detroit’s inability to handle Ed Dickson. Asked to fill in for the injured Greg Olsen, Dickson, a tight end, caught five passes for 175 yards, repeatedly extending drives that appeared on the verge of stalling out.
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Jaguars safety Barry Church scored after intercepting a Ben Roethlisberger pass in the second half. Credit Charles Leclaire/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

Jaguars pick apart Roethlisberger and the Steelers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a team of many flaws, but when it comes to pass defense they are among the best in the game. The Pittsburgh Steelers found that out the hard way, losing at home to Jacksonville, 30-9.
Ben Roethlisberger, who publicly quarreled with his receiver Antonio Brown this week, had one of the worst games of his career, throwing a career-high five interceptions while completing 33 of 55 passes for 312 yards.
Two of Roethlisberger’s interceptions were returned for touchdowns, and Jacksonville’s other touchdowns came as a result of short fields following Roethlisberger interceptions, meaning the Pittsburgh turnovers led to 27 of the Jaguars’ 30 points.
The game showed off the best aspects of Jacksonville’s defense, as the team moved to 3-2. Jalen Ramsey broke up several big plays to go along with his interception, Tashaun Gipson intercepted two passes in the second half, while Barry Church returned his pick for a touchdown. The team also got a pick-six from Telvin Smith, a starting linebacker.
The Jaguars defense was not all interceptions, however, as they tightened things up considerably when Pittsburgh got the ball into the red zone, with the Steelers not scoring on any of their three drives that got inside the 20-yard line.
The lack of offense by the Steelers was exacerbated by a great game from Leonard Fournette, the rookie running back who had 181 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including a 90-yard score in the fourth quarter. He has now scored touchdowns in four of his first five career games.
Despite recent tension between them, Brown defended his team’s quarterback following the disastrous performance, saying the Steelers do not point the finger, but point the thumb at themselves when they fail.“He’s our general,” Brown said of Roethlisberger. “We rally around him, the good and the bad. We know there’s going to be more good.”
Thanks to Roethlisberger’s interceptions, no offense was necessary.

Here’s what teams did during the national anthem on Sunday.

San Francisco 49ers: More than 20 Niners knelt during the anthem, with several of their teammates standing behind them. Vice President Pence walked out of the game shortly after the anthem, stating on Twitter that he would “not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.”
Indianapolis Colts: The Colts wore black t-shirts with the words “We Will” on the front and “Stand for equality, justice, unity, respect, dialogue, opportunity” on the back for the second straight week. During the anthem, the players stood with their arms locked.
Tennessee Titans: Receiver Rishard Matthews stayed in the locker room during the national anthem for the second straight week. The rest of the Titans stood during the song.
Miami Dolphins: Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills, safety Michael Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas stayed in the locker room during the anthem before their game against the Titans. All three players knelt before last Sunday’s game against the Saints in London
Philadelphia Eagles: Malcolm Jenkins, with teammate Chris Long’s arm around his shoulder, raised his first above his head during the anthem before the game against the Cardinals. Rodney McLeod joined him by raising a fist.
N.Y. Giants: Injured defensive end Olivier Vernon knelt during the anthem before the game against the Chargers, as he has done in previous weeks. Linebacker Keenan Robinson raised his fist in the air, while the rest of the Giants locked arms.

Around the N.F.L.: Jets win again; Browns still winless.

Josh McCown came back to Cleveland and beat the team that cut him, throwing two touchdown passes and leading the surprising New York Jets to a 17-14 win over the winless Browns, who benched rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer and fell to 1-20 under coach Hue Jackson.
McCown threw a 2-yard TD pass to Austin Seferian-Jenkins in the third quarter and a 24-yarder to Jermaine Kearse in the fourth to give the Jets (3-2) a 17-7 lead en route to their third straight victory.
■ The Indianapolis Colts scrapped the Peyton Manning playbook Sunday. Instead, they relied on ball control and patience.
After blowing a 14-point lead in the final eight minutes or regulation and surviving an interception in scoring position in overtime, Marlon Mack’s 35-yard run set up Adam Vinatieri for a 51-yard field goal that beat San Francisco 26-23. — Associated Press

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