Special teams downright ugly but QB legend Brady keeps on racking up the numbers
Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby makes a field goal against the Bengals in Cincinnati)
TOM Brady closed in on his 600th NFL touchdown pass as he led the Tampa Buccaneers to a 45-17 thrashing of the Miami Dolphins.
The 44-year-old threw five touchdowns and the Super Bowl champions scored six in total as they improved their season record to 4-1.
Brady, the NFL's record holder, has 596 career touchdowns after throwing two apiece to Antonio Brown and Mike Evans and one to Giovani Bernard on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers moved his way up to fifth in the list as his Green Bay Packers edged to a rollercoaster 25-22 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 37-year-old threw two touchdown passes to take his career tally to 422 and move above the retired Philip Rivers. But the game ended in drama as, with the score tied at 22-22, both teams missed field goals in the closing stages of the fourth quarter and at the start of overtime.
Eventually, Packers kicker Mason Crosby found his range as he slotted over from 49 yards with two minutes remaining to move Green Bay to 4-1.
In fact Crosby and the Bebgals' Evan McPherson missed five field goals in the fourth quarter and overtime before Crosby finally connected.
Over the course of the NFL's Week 5, eight kickers combined to miss 11 extra points, increasing the total to 12 to tie the NFL record set in Week 11 of the 2016 season.
Carolina allowed a blocked punt with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter that led to Philadelphia scoring the go-ahead touchdown in a comeback win.
Oh, there were some “special” moments, too. Greg Joseph made a 54-yard field goal as time expired to give the Minnesota Vikings a 19-17 victory over the winless Detroit Lions. Joseph also kicked a 55-yarder, one of nine field goals of at least 50 yards across the league on the day.
Green Bay's Crosby redeemed himself on his fourth try with a 49-yarder to win it late in OT. Overall, however, it was a miserable day for kickers who have one of the most thankless jobs in sports.
They’re mostly considered the most dispensable players on the team with exceptions like Baltimore’s Justin Tucker. When they make a kick, it’s expected because that’s what they’re paid to do. When they miss, especially in key situations, everyone wants to run them out of town.
Kickers would be smart to stay off social media. In many cases, they ought to rent apartments instead of buying houses.
Crosby experienced highs and lows on opposite extremes in the same game. He set a franchise-record for consecutive field goals by making his first three against the Bengals to run his successful streak to 27.
Then, he did his best to make Packers fans forget he hadn’t miss a regular-season field goal since Week 17 of the 2019 season.
Crosby hooked a 36-yard try wide left with 2:12 remaining in regulation. After Cincinnati rookie Evan McPherson hit the right upright on a 57-yard attempt in the final minute, Crosby was wide left from 51 as time ran out.
Crosby made it three misses in a row by pushing a 40-yarder wide left early in overtime. McPherson answered by drilling the ball off a flag just to the left of the upright on a 49-yard try, though he leaped into his holder’s arms thinking he made it.
According to Elias, it was the first time three potential winning field goals were missed in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Crosby, mercifully, ended the streak of futility to lift the Packers to their fourth straight win and keep auditioning kickers away from Lambeau Field this week.
The 15-year veteran isn’t going anywhere. He once missed four field goals and an extra point in a loss to Detroit in 2018.
“I have every confidence I’m going to make every kick,” Crosby said. “I had a couple go bad there. I was really happy to hit that last one. There was a little bit of relief.”
In Los Angeles, Tristan Vizcaino was one of three kickers to miss a pair of extra points Sunday. His second miss nearly cost the Chargers, who had pulled within 42-41 late in the fourth quarter against Cleveland. But Justin Herbert got the ball back and LA scored to beat the Browns 47-42.
“With Tristan, we’re going to have to deal with this. He’s a young kicker in the league,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. “He has a fantastic kickoff leg, and as a kicker, he needs to be in a lot of those situations to make sure he gets his rhythm and timing. He missed two today, that was disappointing. But what we need him to do is bounce back. He’s a talented guy. He’s just like a lot of young players in the league; you have to stay patient because he’s good enough. If he weren’t good enough, that would be a totally different story. But he’s good enough and we have to stay patient.”
The New England Patriots won thanks to a last-gasp field goal as they saw off the Houston Texans 25-22.
Jameis Winston threw a 49-yard 'Hail Mary' to Marquez Callaway during the New Orleans Saints' 33-22 victory over the Washington Football Team, while the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Carolina Panthers 21-18.
In the first of the season's two London games, rookie tight end Kyle Pitts caught his first NFL touchdown pass to help the Atlanta Falcons beat the New York Jets 27-20 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Sunday's late results were led by Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills avenging last season's AFC Conference Championship defeat to Kansas City by downing the Chiefs 38-20.
Allen scrambled to the left on the mushy turf in Arrowhead Stadium, saw the Chiefs defensive back go low for the tackle and made like an Olympian by leaping over him for a first down. Apropos as Buffalo finally cleared one of its biggest hurdles in the AFC.
Allen threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score, Micah Hyde returned a rare pick by Patrick Mahomes 26 yards for a TD of his own, and the Bills rolled to a 38-20 victory over Kansas City in a conference title game rematch that was delayed more than an hour by lightning.
“I think this is going to be made a bigger deal than it is. We’re in Week 5,” Allen said. “Four wins doesn’t get you to the playoffs. We ended up with a win. That’s our goal each and every week, to come out and be resilient through lightning delays. I’m proud of how our team handled the situation.”
Elsewhere, the Arizona Cardinals kept their unbeaten streak alive with a 17-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys demolished the New York Giants 44-20, the Chicago Bears ground out a 20-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Cleveland Browns in thrilling fashion, 47-42.
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