It was another classic NFL weekend with plenty of twists, turns, and surprises. Let’s check out all of the top headlines from Week 5.
The First To Go
The Washington Redskins have fired head coach Jay Gruden, less than a day after the team fell to 0-5 to start the season. Gruden actually expressed a lack of concern over his job status immediately after the team’s 33-7 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. However, the powers that be felt otherwise.
The Redskins have used three different quarterbacks this season with Alex Smith sitting out the season following last year’s gruesome injury. However, none have been effective, as the Redskins have lost by a larger margin every week of the season, losing by only five points in Week 1 but falling by 26 points on Sunday.
Gruden had one year left on his contract and is still owed $5 million for the 2020 season. He finishes his stint in Washington with a 35-49-1 record, making just one playoff appearance in five-plus seasons.
Offensive line coach Bill Callahan will be the interim coach, presumably for the rest of the 2019 season. Callahan took the Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002 but was fired the following year after going 4-12. He also spent four seasons as the head coach at Nebraska.
Still Around
Another coach on the hot seat got a small vote of confidence after a loss on Sunday. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said he would not make a coaching change at this time after the team lost to the Texans 53-32 to fall to 1-4 on the season. After the loss, some speculated that head coach Dan Quinn could be let go, but Blank is going to give him more time to see how things play out.
“We’ve got a lot of football left. This staff has performed before, and my hope is they can fix what needs to be fixed and start winning some games,” said Blank. “Obviously, the coaching is not where it needs to be. They’re challenging themselves, questioning themselves, examining everything they know how to examine. That’s all they can do is work really hard at it, take this as seriously as they can, and feel the pain.”
First Setback
The most surprising result of Week 5 was Kansas City losing at home to the Colts 19-13 at Arrowhead Stadium. Despite missing Darius Leonard and other key pieces, the young Indy defense held the Chiefs to just 13 points, their lowest point total since Patrick Mahomes took over at quarterback.
The loss comes one week after the Chiefs endured a close call on the road against the Lions, needing a late touchdown to secure the win. As a result of the loss, the Patriots and the 49ers, who play on Monday, are the only unbeaten teams left in the NFL.
Another One Bites the Dust
The Steelers suffered multiple setbacks on Sunday, losing in overtime to the Ravens and seeing quarterback Mason Rudolph leave the game with a concussion. Rudolph was on the ground for a few minutes after taking a hit from Earl Thomas. He was taken to the hospital and released, but his status remains uncertain moving forward.
Backup Devlin Hodges took over but couldn’t lead Pittsburgh to a win. If Rudolph can’t play next week, Hodges will become the team’s third different starting quarterback of the season.
