Week 5 NFL Players of the Week

 What a week this was for QBs and offense in general. Out of the first five weeks, this was the hardest and closest battle for awards we've had yet. You will see very shortly who we went with but there were a couple other guys that came as close as can be to getting the nod and would have likely taken it home any other week. 

OFFENSIVE Player of the Week: Lamar Jackson, Quarterback, Baltimore Ravens

Statline: 442 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs passing | 62 yards rushing on 14 carries (500+ total yards)

Lamar Jackson is a former MVP winner as we all know, but this performance on Monday night vs the Colts might have been the best performance of his career so far. Just when NFL defenses might have thought they figured him out, it turns out they haven't. Lamar Jackson is becoming an elite PASSER right before our eyes. That is a nightmare scenario coming to fruition for opposing defenders as Jackson is already as hard as it gets to stop on the ground, but now he can really sling the ball. With 442 yards passing, Jackson easily broke his previous career high in that regard. He also tossed 4 TD passes with no picks and added 60+ yards rushing on the ground to get over 500 total yards on offense. With just over 1800 total yards so far this year, Jackson himself has more yards than 18 franchises do themselves. That is crazy to think about 5 weeks in. If Lamar Jackson wasn't back in the MVP conversation before Monday night, he definitely is now. Jackson becomes the 3rd QB in 5 weeks to win OPOTW.
// Last Week's Winner: Cordarrelle Patterson (RB/WR, Falcons)

DEFENSIVE Player of the Week: Marshon Lattimore, Cornerback, New Orleans Saints

Statline: 6 pass breakups, tackle

The unsung hero of week 5 now gets some big recognition as he takes home our week 5 defensive player of the week. In probably the worst week for single-player standout performances on defense, Lattimore was one of the few studs. His statline may not look like anything insane, but it really is. 6 pass breakups in a game is pretty much unheard of. Having even 2 of those in one game is considered elite at times and so the fact that he had 6 is wildly impressive. Washington WR Terry McLaurin had been balling out before meeting up with Lattimore this week in which he was shutdown in. Lattimore had an amazing rookie season but since then he has not been anything crazy for the Saints. This performance shows he is still an elite corner in the game. While it may not catch your eye as the flashiest performance ever, he was damn good and really deserves this DPOTW award in our opinion.
// Last Week's Winner: Trevon Diggs (CB, Cowboys)

SPECIAL TEAMS Player of the Week: Calais Campbell, Defensive Tackle, Baltimore Ravens

Statline: Game-saving blocked field goal

Seeing a Raven in the ST player of the week is no rare occurrence, it isn't who you think this week though. One of the best pass rushers over the last 10 years in the NFL in Calais Campbell gets the award this week, but for his work on special teams compared to on the D-line. After trailing 22-9 at one point in the 4th quarter, the Ravens scored and were still in the game with little time to go. The Colts drove down the field and were in easy field goal range to take a kick that would push the score back to double digits. Then came Calais Campbell who broke through the inner line and blocked the kick. This allowed the Ravens to stay in the game which they ended up coming back and winning. Without the play by Campbell, the Ravens are 3-2 and not 4-1. What an unlikely player to win this one, but Campbell is your ST player of the week. 
// Last Week's Winner: DeAndre Carter (KR, Washington)

ROOKIE of the Week: Kadarius Toney, Wide Receiver, New York Giants

Statline: 10 receptions, 189 yards receiving

With the injury bug running wild through the Giants' roster, the team turned to Kadarius Toney in week 5 to step up and be their no. 1 target. He delivered to say the least. The 20th overall pick in this year's draft proved why he deserved to go that high and why he deserves to continue starting. He was simply a problem all day long for this improved Cowboys defense. Already one of the shiftiest and hardest to corral players in the league, Toney is just getting started. With double digit grabs, Toney was able to rack up close to 200 yards in really just his second full game of NFL action. Toney could have potentially gone for even more if he wasn't ejected late in the loss due to a fight with a Cowboy player. Kadarius Toney is likely to keep getting a ton of playing time and targets and is looking like one of the better rookie WRs since OBJ in his limited action so far. The Giants may have struck gold with this joystick like player. Kadarius Toney is week 5's rookie of the week and keeps the streak of no player winning this award twice yet going.
// Last Week's Winner: Zach Wilson (QB, Jets)

TEAM of the Week: Buffalo Bills (4-1) beat Kansas City Chiefs (2-3) | Final Score: 38-20 Bills

Our no. 1 team in the NFL right now made a statement victory this week on the road vs the defending AFC champs, and now look like the team to beat in the conference. The Bills broke out big-time last season but simply didn't have enough to overpower the Chiefs in the AFC title game. Now it is looking like the roles have reversed just mere months later. The Bills boast a top 5 offense and a top 5 defense and look like the most well-rounded team in the sport. The Chiefs are falling apart as their defense is the worst in football and their offense looks like it's starting to falter as well. The Bills said that they treated this week like any other game, but we all know it meant a little extra for them to beat the team that blocked them from heading to the Super Bowl last season. Now the Bills look like the AFC favorite to make it to the big game and were easily the team of the week for this gigantic win.
// Last Week's Winner: Arizona Cardinals

Honorable Mentions:
-Bucs QB Tom Brady
-Packers WR Davante Adams
-Bills QB Josh Allen
-Chargers QB Justin Herbert
-Chargers WR Mike Williams
-Eagles CB Darius Slay
-Patriots DE Matt Judon
-Seahawks P Michael Dickson