A tie?!
With 12 seconds remaining in overtime, the Washington Commanders were in the New York Giants’ territory when they snapped the ball to gain a few more yards and ease the pressure for the would-be game-winning kick.
The only problem? No one had communicated to the offence that they didn’t have a timeout and they had to quickly spike the ball to stop the bleeding clock. A last-second scramble ensued but it was far too late.
The scoreboard read triple zeros and, more importantly, 27-27 to give the NFL its first tie since the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys ended at 40-40 in Week 4 of 2025.
New York was left as stunned as everyone else — they had just watched running back Cam Skattebo fumble the ball and what seemed to be the game on the previous possession after fighting to force an extra frame with two late touchdowns.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn ultimately took responsibility after the game, stating they should have just “clocked” the ball on the previous play as they were already well within field-goal range.
To perfectly sum up the debacle, minority owner Magic Johnson chimed in on X: “I’m in total disbelief my Commanders had such poor clock management in today’s overtime game against the Giants. All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game!”
Wild finish in London
International games have produced back-to-back incredible finishes after a tough start to the NFL’s global campaign with a slog fest Down Under in Week 1.
An early injury to the Jacksonville Jaguars long snapper influenced a missed extra point on their go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, leaving the door open for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jake Elliott punched in a field goal to take the 17-16 lead with just eight seconds on the clock and the shorthanded Eagles appeared to have avoided their third straight loss playing without stars Saquon Barkley or DeVonta Smith.
Jaguars return specialist Ameer Abdullah had other plans and delivered a lightning quick 53-yard dash on the ensuing kickoff in just six seconds of clock time to set up a Cam Little 57-yard attempt.
The shaky snapper delivered and the Eagles were left stunned with a long flight home.
There have only been two games in NFL history to feature lead-changing field goals in the final 20 seconds of a game — the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Cowboys 34-31 Week 4 in Rio and this stunner at the home of the Tottenham Hotspur.
Next up, the Houston Texans will join the Jaguars in London for a clash at Wembley Stadium in Week 6.
NFC (L)East
It was a forgettable week for the entire NFC East.
Not only did the Commanders, Giants and Eagles find new ways to lose but the Cowboys also failed to show up on Thursday night.
They managed to squander a halftime lead to the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing with a backup rookie quarterback, on the road, as nearly double-digit underdogs.
This marks the first time in NFL history that all four teams in a division failed to record a win in a week that included a divisional matchup.
The division “race” remains wide-open with the quarterback-less Giants currently leading the way at 3-1-1.
49ers takedown Seahawks to remain undefeated
Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers rolled into the home of the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and put their 4-0 record to the ultimate test.
Despite losing another wide receiver to injury when Deebo Samuel hit the turf as he fumbled a running play, Mike Evans stepped up to finish with a season-high 113 yards including a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
The contest saw an NFL season-high seven combined turnovers but the 49ers prevailed 32-29 after Eddy Pineiro drilled a field goal with just under two minutes remaining. It wasn’t without more drama, as a fourth-down play to Cooper Kupp was ruled short to put an end to the Seahawks last-minute push.
The NFC West is an entirely different story than the aforementioned East. The 49ers now sit atop the stacked division and have looked like the team to beat — but no one is crowning division winners in Week 5.
Seattle can rest knowing they weren’t at their best as Sam Darnold threw a pair of interceptions into the hands of Renardo Green and now has five in his three games since coming back from a lower-body injury.
With their Super Bowl MVP-winning running back Kenneth Walker III thriving as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs and Zach Charbonnet still sitting on the shelf, they’ll need their offence to clean up the turnovers to chase down a championship repeat.
Maye-be we judged the Patriots offence too quickly
Drake Maye’s third season began as horribly as Patriots fans could have possibly imagined. After stepping into the MVP conversation and losing in the Super Bowl, the 24 year-old had his coaches and teammates answering questions about the entire operation.
In a rather quick turnaround, Maye erupted for 374 yards and four touchdowns in their 45-17 thrashing of the Las Vegas Raiders to back up last week’s strung-together win over the Buffalo Bills.
That gives the North Carolina product seven touchdowns to one interception with a depleted offence in the two weeks since alarm bells were officially rung.
A home test against the Jets in Week 6 should set them up to continue in the right direction.
Notably on the other side of the blowout, Las Vegas turned to 2026 No. 1 overall pick quarterback Fernando Mendoza late in the fourth quarter as NFL fans caught their first glimpse of the 2026 National Champion with the Indiana Hoosiers. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 48 yards on his only drive.
This wasn’t an official benching of Kirk Cousins but more of a chance to give a rookie some snaps in a game situation despite the score. However, if the Raiders' surprising start turns into more blowout losses they may look to hand over the keys.
Grading new (old) playcallers
Two head coaches took over their play calling duties heading into Week 5 after poor starts left their franchises searching for answers.
Heading into 2026, Denver Broncos boss Sean Payton handed the reins of the offence to Davis Webb in an attempt to keep the highly-sought after young coach with the team.
But with poor showings on the offensive side of the ball in four consecutive weeks with Payton’s protégé calling his own offence, they were left with no choice but to admit it wasn’t working.
The switch paid off in the end, as the Broncos defeated the winless Los Angeles Chargers 23-17, but even Payton admitted himself post-game he has some more work to do shaking off the rust.
Grade: B-
In Houston, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans snatched the play sheet back from defensive coordinator Matt Burke and while his first test was the lowly Tennessee Titans, he passed with flying colours.
The Texans looked more like the dominant group they were in 2025 as they handled Cam Ward’s punchless offence.
Perhaps Ryans’ best call of the day was announcing the Texans had acquired receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals at his post-game availability.
Speaking of Ward, Titans fans are beginning to question whether he is a legitimate NFL quarterback. While he hasn't had the best environment to develop, the Titans will soon be forced to make a true decision on the former No. 1 overall pick in the midst of his second season.
Grade: A-
Handshake Gate
After Ben Johnson took over as head coach of the Chicago Bears to begin last season, a comment during his introductory press conference twisted the knife deeper into rivalry with the Packers — and more specifically head coach Matt LaFleur.
When asked about his prior success in the NFC North as offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions he quipped: "And to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year."
Well, after Johnson enjoyed a 2-1 record against the Packers in Year 1, including a win in the NFC wild card, LaFleur got some revenge.
The Packers trounced the Bears 31-7 thanks to two long touchdown catches from Christian Watson to fuel a second straight win after tough losses to the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons.
Chicago is still missing quarterback Caleb Williams, who sat his third straight contest with a hamstring injury. They hope to welcome him back Week 6 in Atlanta.
As for the handshake? Not as dismissive as the previous meetings but it was certainly not a friendly one.
Multiple ejections
North America woke up with a wild start to the proceedings in London. On the opening kickoff, Josh Cameron looked to return the ball 90 yards for a touchdown only for it to be called back by a holding penalty.
But on the same play, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Brian Thomas Jr. were ejected for fighting at midfield — all technically before one second came off the clock.
Later in the day, around 7,720 kilometres east in Seattle, 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw decided to head-butt a helmet-less player (while still wearing his) after he was flagged and confronted for shoving Darnold late as he was running out of bounds. He was immediately ejected and could face further discipline.
This isn’t the first time Greenlaw has been under scrutiny by the NFL, he was suspended for one game after he “chased down” referee Brad Allen following a game in 2025 when he was a member of the Broncos.
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