EchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Center|NFL Week 5 winners, losers: What's wrong with floundering 49ers?

Week 5 in the NFL,EchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Center thanks in part to a lengthy weather delay ahead of the Dallas Cowboys-Pittsburgh Steelers game, saw action spanning more than 15 hours on Sunday.

And there was no result more surprising than the defending NFC-champion San Francisco 49ers dropping their third game of the season, this one to the Arizona Cardinals. For San Francisco, it’s the start of a concerning trend; the team has now lost a pair of games in the last three weeks against NFC West teams after holding a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Elsewhere, the Buffalo Bills had a dumbfounding sequence late in the game, and the Cincinnati Bengals are already reaching an inflection point in their season.

Here are the winners and losers from Sunday of Week 5 in the NFL.

WINNERS

Problems remain, but Cowboys withstand Steelers

The NFC East may be one of those divisions where at least three teams have a legitimate shot to win the title, so every game will be crucial. The Cowboys gutted out a massive 20-17 victory against the Steelers, one that keeps them one game back of the surprising Washington Commanders.

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Dallas did a nice job of overcoming many of its faults. It held Pittsburgh’s rushing offense, which entered Sunday ranked 10^th in the NFL, to just 92 yards, more than 30 below its average. The Cowboys (3-2) also got solid production down the stretch from running back Rico Dowdle (20 carries for 87 yards) and controlled the clock late in the game, culminating in a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Dallas still has a lot to clean up and needs to get healthy on defense, but this could spark some positive momentum in what has been a rather middling season thus far.

This is a glimpse of what the Bears can be (if they pass protect)

No. 1 overall rookie Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears posted their best offensive game of the season in a 36-10 rout. No surprise, it came against the moribund pass rush of the Carolina Panthers. Chicago’s offensive line has been a weakness all season, but on Sunday it showed what this offense could be with consistent pass protection.

Still, Williams (20-of-29 for 304 yards and two touchdowns) needs to be better getting rid of the ball, finding checkdowns or deciding to scramble. On a second down midway through the third quarter, in the red zone, Williams bounced around in the pocket and nearly took a sack (twice) before he frantically threw the ball out of bounds. He took so long that a Chicago (3-2) lineman was ineligible downfield. This came with the game already decided, but in a closer contest, a mistake like that could prove to be unnecessarily costly.

Broncos stack wins, building a young, competitive team

It doesn’t always look pretty, and maybe the offensive stats won’t impress, but after a 34-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the young Denver Broncos have now won three in a row and boast a fierce defense that is quickly becoming one of the NFL’s best.

The Broncos forced four turnovers from the Raiders, including cornerback Patrick Surtain II’s 100-yard pick-six. Denver fell into an early 10-point deficit but ripped off 34 unanswered points to put Vegas away. The Broncos generated consistent pressure off of their blitz, flustering Raiders quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. A defense like this is the best gift a rookie quarterback can ask for, and Bo Nix is making plays and taking care of the ball; during Denver’s three-game winning streak, Nix has scored five total touchdowns and hasn’t committed a turnover.

Saquon who? Giants find dynamic playmaker at RB

OK, so maybe fifth-round rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. won’t make New York Giants fans entirely forget about Saquon Barkley, who left in free agency to join the Philadelphia Eagles. But at the very least, Tracy showed he should get immediate playing time and perhaps take over as starter even when Devin Singletary (groin) is healthy enough to return.

In a 29-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Tracy ran 18 times for 129 yards — averaging 7.2 yards per rush — and was the anchor of New York’s offense. He flashed excellent vision and patience and also slipped through the grasp of Seattle tacklers. Tracy’s production also helped open up the passing game, which was without star rookie Malik Nabers (concussion). The Giants (2-3) will need more consistent offensive production to be a contender, and Tracy’s big-play ability could be key to unlocking that.

LOSERS

The 49ers forget how to finish

In two of the last three games, the 49ers held 10-point leads in fourth quarters against division opponents. San Francisco lost both. In fact, the 49ers (2-3) were shut out entirely in the second half of Sunday's 24-23 defeat against the Arizona Cardinals.

Most of San Francisco’s offensive issues stem from inattention to detail and carelessness with the football; the four possessions in the second half resulted in an interception, a turnover on downs (because place kicker Jake Moody was ruled out with an ankle injury), a lost fumble and a game-sealing interception. Exacerbating that is the context. The Niners held a two-point lead late in the fourth. A touchdown would’ve almost certainly iced the game. Yet the 49ers were inside the 10 and running back Jordan Mason had the ball punched out. The Cardinals recovered. Arizona answered with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that set up the eventual game-winning field goal.

Buffalo’s mind-numbingly unaware, inexcusable game management

The Buffalo Bills looked like they’d have a lot to be proud of; they battled back to tie the game against a good Houston Texans team after being down 17. Then, Buffalo (3-2) got arrogant and greedy and lost the game on an astonishingly foolish decision bordering on malpractice.

With the Bills pinned at their own 3-yard line with 32 seconds left to play in the tied game, offensive coordinator Joe Brady opted to drop back three straight plays. The results: an offensive pass interference (declined), an incomplete heave down the middle and another deep misfire that was another low-percentage prayer. Buffalo punted deep from its own end zone, the Texans got a decent return and Ka’imi Fairbairn drilled a 59-yard field goal as time expired to seal a 23-20 win. It’s rare for a coaching decision to so clearly sink a team’s chances. Brady and coach Sean McDermott pulled it off.

Cincy’s season may already be slipping away

The Bengals saw quarterback Joe Burrow throw five touchdowns, while they held a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson inexplicably fumbled the ball at midfield in overtime. And yet Cincinnati still lost 41-38.

After recovering that fumble, the Bengals played far too conservatively, running the ball up the middle three straight times. That set up a 53-yard field goal attempt, on which the snap was inaccurate and the hold was even worse. The Bengals (1-4) simply don’t have a reliable rushing attack, and Zack Moss banged up his right ankle. Their rushing defense isn't much better. Cincinnati’s season may already be on the brink, as the Bengals, with tiebreakers, are currently in last place in the AFC.

Nick Chubb won’t save Cleveland or an offense broken beyond repair

Most issues start with Deshaun Watson and the worst contract in NFL history. The Browns are stuck with Watson, who is as close to untradeable as a player can be. His fully guaranteed contract has two-and-a-half seasons before it voids. The dead cap number is so oppressive that, before cutting him, the team is better off letting him waste away on the bench — an unprecedented sunk cost fallacy in the NFL.

After the 34-13 loss to the Commanders, coach Kevin Stefanski said “we’re not changing quarterbacks,” but Watson doesn’t have command of the offense. His inability to push the ball down the field is compounded only by his inability to sense pressure. Cleveland (1-4) went 1-of-13 (8%) on third-down conversions. In fact, the Browns started the game 0-for-12 on third downs, meaning that — going back to last week’s loss against the Raiders — they had a stretch of 19 consecutive third downs without a conversion.