Week 5 in the NFL was an eventful one for sure. It featured a number of games that came down to the final minutes and unfortunately some of the league’s biggest stars suffered some pretty brutal injuries.
But while everyone talks about the finish of the Packers win over the Cowboys all day on Monday, what were some of the lesser notable (but still important) happenings from around the NFL on Sunday?
Browns send DeShone Kizer to the bench
When a team has yet to get a win this season, they are going to do whatever it takes to try and come out of the day with a victory. Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson did not feel that rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer was doing enough on Sunday to give their team a chance for a win over the New York Jets.
So Jackson replaced Kizer in the second half with backup Kevin Hogan.
With Kizer under center on Sunday, the Browns put a whopping zero points up on the board. Once Hogan was inserted into the game, he immediately led Cleveland on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown and the Browns taking a 7-3 lead over the Jets.
Cleveland still lost, but Hogan could be their guy under center for the next few weeks. In just two quarters on Sunday, the Browns quarterback completed 16 of his 19 passes for 194 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
Through five games this year, Kizer is only completing 50.9 percent of his passes while throwing nine interceptions and just three touchdowns with a 49.5 quarterback rating.
The Chargers are no longer winless
Many people this week will be talking about the gruesome injury that New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suffered during the team’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. But the fact that the Chargers came out of the matchup with a win is what will likely be lost among those outside of the team’s fanbase (well, what’s left of it) this week.
The game was pretty competitive for the most part, as each team traded scores back-and-forth throughout the day. But thanks to a 10-yard touchdown catch by running back Melvin Gordon with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, the Chargers took a 27-22 lead and never looked back.
Leonard Fournette has himself a day against the Steelers
This season has already been full of some pretty impressive performances from rookie running backs around the NFL and Week 5 was no different.
Thanks to Leonard Fournette rushing for 181 yards and two touchdowns, the Jacksonville Jaguars and their rookie running back pulled off a big 30-9 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Fournette had a number of impressive runs during the game, including a leaping two-yard touchdown run and a franchise record-breaking 90-yard scamper for a score.
Oh and he also did this.
LEONARD FOURNETTE WAVED ON THE HIT! pic.twitter.com/5MaNCZ5zMd
— Big Cat Country (@BigCatCountry) October 8, 2017
Cooper Kupp sees a Rams win slip out of his hands
As a wide receiver who was drafted in the third round last spring, Cooper Kupp is having a pretty solid rookie season so far for the Los Angeles Rams. However, Sunday featured a moment Kupp will likely want to forget when he looks back on his first year in the NFL.
Trailing 16-10 to the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the Rams faced 3rd and 10 on the Seahawks’ 20-yard line with just 12 seconds remaining. After receiving the snap, Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff saw Kupp open downfield and lasered a pass to the rookie pass catcher for what looked like the game-tying score.
However, the ball bounced off of the rookie’s hands and onto the ground, leaving Rams fans in disbelief.
[Highlight] Rams WR Cooper Kupp drops a potential game-winning touchdown. Game ends Seahawks 16, Rams 10. pic.twitter.com/QppaPvcnMf
— TheRenderNFL (@TheRenderNFL) October 8, 2017
Los Angeles ended up losing the game to Seattle and saw their record fall to 3-2. But being that it is still only Week 5, Kupp should have plenty more chances this season to help Rams fans forget about Sunday’s drop.
