2020 NFL: Week 5

Tom Brady doesn’t make mental mistakes. That’s a declarative statement that can now be easily proven false. And to be honest, it feels great.

There’s nothing more heartwarming than watching someone patently better than you commit a major flub on national television. And the greatest quarterback to have ever played the game did us a solid on Thursday night. While trying to drive the Buccaneers for a game-winning score against the Bears, Brady threw incomplete on fourth down with 33 seconds left.

Game over, right? Tom didn’t think so as he lingered on the field holding four fingers up with a confused look on his face. As was apparent to everyone watching, he thought the previous play was third down. Whoops … awkward.

The great Pat McAfee said on his show that the best way to describe 2020 is watching “our greatest player of all time” lose a game while “not knowing that their offensive series was over.”

And the response on social media was the biggest blowup since a fly landed on Mike Pence’s head. Uh, oh! Brady is showing his age! This never would have happened under Bill Belichick’s watch! The Bucs committed 11 penalties!

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Talking heads blustered, haters cackled and on and on.

You know who must have been really annoyed by all this talk? Bears fans. There’s nothing more irritating than watching your team win a big game in front of the entire country and all everyone wants to talk about is what the losing team did wrong.

As the media shouts, “did you see Tom’s mistake?” Bears Nation’s response is to channel Shooter McGavin and say, “Sorry, I was too busy WINNING.”

So, my message to Chicago is this: Don’t worry, I see you. Your team pulled off a gutsy win on a short week after a tough loss and you deserve kudos for that. Who cares if Tom Brady thought it was third down? Even if it was, he would have thrown incomplete on Fourth Down 2: Electric Boogaloo anyway, right?

Matt Nagy for coach of the year!

NFL’S TOP 10

1. Chiefs — They’re in the top spot, but they’ve got some things to work. Specifically, if they face Bill Belichick in the playoffs and the Patriots have Cam Newton in the lineup, they’re in trouble. That Monday night game was too close for way too long. Not saying that adjustments can’t be made, but Belichick’s defenses have presented problems for Patrick Mahomes.

2. Ravens — Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lamar Jackson missed two practices? What’s that? A KNEE injury, you say? And a stomach illness, as well? Heavens, no! Relax, everyone. He returned to practice on Friday and says he feels “100 percent.” Stop breathing into paper bags. And after beating the Washington FT last week, they have two very winnable games coming up against the Bengals and Eagles before going into their bye. Life is good.

3. Packers — They’re on their bye this week, but we can still look back with a fond heart at their performances thus far. Four consecutive games with at least 30 points scored. And with an MVP candidate under center. Speaking of life being good, amirite?

4. Bills — Yes, they’re 4-0. We’re all impressed with their progress and expect a bright future for the organization. But for right now, they face a challenging schedule over the next couple weeks. Assuming the game is actually played (thanks, coronavirus!), they will travel to face the Titans before coming home to play the Chiefs. And if they drop one or both of those games, we might see a trampling to get off that bandwagon.

5. Steelers — They’ve managed to crawl up these rankings because we haven’t seen them in a while. Their Week 4 game was postponed (again, thanks to the coronavirus!) and now they face the struggling Eagles. NFL expert Greg Cosell believes Pittsburgh has the best defense in the league. That’s good enough for me. Even though I disagree.

6. Seahawks — You can’t make excuses for their lack of defense. Russell Wilson is still my leader for MVP, but that might not be enough in the long run. But they’ll never be out of a game as long as he’s under center.

7. Colts: This might be the NFL’s best defense. They lead the league in yards allowed, passing yards allowed and points per game. As much as I made fun of them for signing Philip Rivers in the offseason, as it turns out, they’re winning in spite of him.

8. Buccaneers — While that was quite the embarrassing ending on Thursday night, they’re dealing with so many injuries that I give them credit for even being in the game. And I can guarantee that Tom Brady won’t ever make that mistake again. There’s too much talent on this roster (when health) to not rank them in the top 10.

9. Browns — I’m not saying I’m a believer yet, but I’m coming around. They just need to repeat this to themselves: Keep pounding the rock, keep pounding the rock.

10. Rams — They’re lucky to be here after their showing against the Giants at home last week. They did some strange things on offense and that’s concerning as they head for yet another 1 p.m. ET start on Sunday. That’s three times in the first four weeks.

WHAT’S THE CHATTER?

What about Chicago?: While I will agree the Bears pulled off a big win and they’re now sitting pretty at 4-1, I still couldn’t put them in the top 10. Perhaps I need to see more proof. And we should get all the evidence we need over the four weeks as the Bears face the Panthers, Rams, Saints and Titans. Let’s see how the Nick Foles Experiment fairs during that stretch. If they put together some solid performances, even if one or more end in a loss, then I’ll buy in.

Welcome back, man: All signs are pointing to the 49ers getting Jimmy Garoppolo back in the lineup on Sunday as it appears his injured ankle is holding up. All it took was one bad Nick Mullens game before people started realizing how much more reliable Jimmy G is.

Virus, virus, virus: Ignore the panic. We’ve seen some more positive tests and that is concerning. Some game schedules have been changed around. But the sky is not falling. The NFL needs to just stick to the script, continue their testing and encourage players to not put themselves in risky positions. If things get worse, that can be dealt with and bigger decisions may need to be made. But don’t fall for histrionics.

Fact of NFL life: Tyrod Taylor is the king of bad luck. The poor guy just lost his starting job with the Chargers and he didn’t do anything wrong. All he did was try and get a shot to dull the pain in his broken ribs and … well, you know the rest. Head coach Anthony Lynn had seen enough from rookie Justin Herbert to know that he needs to stick with the kid. Sorry, Tyrod. The NFL is a cruel place.

In case you were wondering: Did Tom Brady get some bad information before that fateful play? Nope. Bucs coach Bruce Arians said, “We all knew it was fourth down. I think he saw what he saw.” There you go. Man, Arians isn’t afraid to let his quarterback shoulder the blame. Mark of a true leader.

APPOINTMENT VIEWING FOR WEEK 5

Panthers at Falcons: Every Atlanta game is worth watching to see if Dan Quinn will be the second coach this season to be fired. Bill O’Brien could use some company.

Eagles at Steelers: The battle for Pennsylvania! Yinzers and Pittstains (I made that up just now) in a showdown for state bragging rights. Meanwhile, they’re both blissfully unaware that the rest of the country hates them.

Rams at Washington: The FTs are a sexy pick to pull off the upset here, but I submit: How big of an upset would that actually be? An attacking defense at home against a precision offense. And plus, Kyle Allen, reunited with head coach Ron Rivera, will get the start at quarterback instead of the benched Dwayne Haskins. No surprise if Washington wins here.

Bengals at Ravens: Here’s hoping Cincinnati makes sure Joe Burrow gets out of this game in one piece. Especially with running back Joe Mixon being questionable with a shin injury.

Colts at Browns: Grab your popcorn. This is probably the best game of the week.

Bills at Titans: Again, if this game is actually played (screw you, coronavirus!), we should be able to learn a lot from the outcome.