Welcome to Monday Morning JB! NFL columnist Jarrett Bell has covered the league for decades. Here are the moments, players and results that caught his eye in Week 5.
ATLANTA – Part of the gig for Tyler “Snoop” Huntley as he prepared to fill in again for Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson involved the needle from Derrick Henry.
“I have been messing with him all week,” Henry said after the Ravens rallied to upset the Atlanta Falcons 30-23 in overtime on Sunday night. “I was like, ‘I want to see the 2025 Green Bay Snoop.’
“We were laughing about it. He told me it is 2026, and I won’t mention 2025 no more. He got it.”
Huntley wasn’t bad in 2025, winning both games when filling in for an injured Jackson, including the matchup at Lambeau
Field when he passed for 107 yards and a touchdown.
But he was better than “Green Bay Snoop” in the ATL. The seventh-year pro took it to a notch higher – especially in crunch time when he went 11-for-11 passing to help the Ravens rally from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter. He threw for a touchdown and punched in a rushing TD on the game-tying and game-winning drives in the fourth quarter.
And as first-year Ravens coach Jesse Minter saw it, “Snoop is just like one of the coolest dudes. He doesn’t really get rattled.”
All of this fits a certain narrative. It’s 2026, which is shaping up as the Year of the Backup Quarterback.
Huntley’s effort followed the Thursday night shocker in Dallas, when undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past the Cowboys. Before that, there was Case Keenum’s big moment for the Bears in Week 3, a day after Marcus Mariota led Washington to an upset win against Seattle. Carson Wentz came off the bench in Week 2 to lead the Vikings to a victory against the Packers, then survived as the starter the following week at Chicago. Drew Lock came off the bench for the Seahawks against the Patriots in Week 1, then won the next week as the starter at Arizona. And Jameis Winston still hasn’t lost (2-0-1) in his starts for the Giants since Jaxson Dart’s season-ending knee injury.
Now the Ravens (4-1) are off to their best start since 2021, while Jackson nurses a left ankle injury. Jackson, who missed the second half of the win against Tennessee, pushed to make it back for Sunday’s game. With another week of rehab, he could return in Week 6 at Cleveland.
Jackson was still plenty active on Sunday night, listening on the headset to the play calls from coordinator Declan Doyle, then huddling on the bench with Huntley between series.
“That is probably the best thing you can have when you are coming off the field, just somebody who has been there before,” Huntley said. “He is able to just tell you what he sees and that translates over.”
Jackson told me that it was also important to be the quintessential supporter.
“I just told him to be himself,” Jackson said. “He knows what to do.”
The Ravens won for the third consecutive time with Huntley filling in for Jackson. No, he doesn’t replace Jackson’s skill set, but he still possesses considerable mobility. And they know they can win with him.
“I thought of the clip of Jameis Winston saying, ‘I’m not the backup’ or whatever he said,” said Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton who made the game-sealing interception of Tua Tagovailoa in overtime. “When Snoop gets the chance to go out there, it is a Snoop game. It is not a backup quarterback playing. Snoop is going to go out there and do what Snoop does. He’s done that countless times.
“That is the reason why we need him here and why he has been here.”
Every team needs a Snoop, a quarterback to capably fill in during a pinch. Especially during a season when quarterbacks are seemingly sustaining injuries at an increasing rate.
Strikingly, the contrast wasn’t hard to find on Sunday night. When Michael Penix, Jr. left the game late in the fourth quarter with a rib injury and couldn’t go in overtime, it became rather apparent that the Falcons became a different team.
Tagovailoa’s pick virtually hit Hamilton in the numbers. It was more of the same for a team that floundered with Cooper Rush and briefly with rookie Jake Strand when Penix missed the first two games while coming off knee surgery.
The good news for the Falcons, maybe, is that Penix doesn’t expect that he suffered a long-term injury. An MRI on Monday will provide more details.
Without him, the Falcons can only wish they could call on someone for a “Green Bay Snoop” game.
What I learned (again)
Situational football matters. The fiasco that likely cost the Commanders an overtime victory in the crazy game against the Giants – the clock ran out before Washington could spike the ball and set up a field goal – is the type of scenario that costs coaches their jobs.
What happened? Who blew it? What was the plan? Did they think they had a timeout?
The lack of clarity in explaining the misadventure following the 27-27 tie did little to get to the bottom of it.
Just as stunning, when Commanders coach Dan Quinn met with the media, he said he has not even talked about the end of the game mess with quarterback Jayden Daniels.
And Daniels, who seemed to lack urgency in getting up after running on what turned out to be the final play of the game, never directly answered the question about knowing whether they had a timeout.
Teams practice such end-of-game situations as a matter of routine. Yet somehow, the Commanders weren’t prepared enough to receive the gift from the Giants, who blew their chance when Cam Skattebo fumbled while in field goal range.
Hard lessons for Quinn, Daniels, offensive coordinator David Blough and more.
Did you notice?
For the second time in three weeks, both teams scored in the final 10 seconds of a game as the Jaguars finished off the Eagles with Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal as time expired in London. It followed the Ravens triumph against Dallas in Rio, when they had all of seven seconds to set up Tyler Loop’s 56-yard kick.
How rare is this? Well, this is the 107th NFL season…and it’s never happened before.
Two scores in 10 seconds? It sounds more like something that will happen on the basketball court during March Madness. Go figure.
Two-minute drill
- It would be a shock if the NFL doesn’t suspend 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw for head-butting Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV on the sideline in Seattle. Greenlaw, who sparked the brouhaha with a flagrant out-of-bounds hit of Sam Darnold, was ejected from the game via a new rule that allows for ejections from the NFL’s officiating command center. Now the league can go a step further with more discipline as Greenlaw rammed his helmet into a player not wearing a helmet.
- The completion of the mystery trade that sends Marvin Harrison Jr. from the Cardinals to Houston is undoubtedly a big win for the Texans as the talented receiver – who has just five catches this season – reunites with quarterback C.J. Stroud, his teammate at Ohio State. But it’s a much bigger loss for Arizona, which drafted Harrison fourth overall in 2024 and gets a second-round pick in 2027, plus a sixth-round choice in the exchange. The Cardinals also sent a seventh-round pick with Harrison. Of course, time will reveal. But it’s worth the risk for Houston.
- Kyler Murray completed his first 12 throws and finished with 229 passing yards in Minnesota’s win at New Orleans. Yet what he did with his legs was even more striking. Murray scrambled seven times for 54 yards – the most times he’s bolted for runs on dropbacks since 2020. And three times, he ran for first downs on third downs. If that layer of his game returns in addition to meshing with Kevin O’Connell’s system, it just might result in the Murray who was envisioned when drafted No. 1 overall in 2019.
- The Broncos won their 13th straight one-score game dating to last season, coming back to topple the Chargers. There’s something to be said for Denver’s clutch gene, but in taking over the play-calling duties Sean Payton can’t be happy with the 1-for-12 measure on third-down conversions.
Studs of the Week
- Jaylen Warren: What a monster day for the Steelers running back. It’s not just that Warren compiled 188 yards from scrimmage (101 rushing, 87 receiving) to fuel the victory against the Colts. It’s how he did it. Warren took a short pass to the flat and zipped 80 yards up the sideline for his first touchdown. Later, he took a handoff, cut inside, weaved through traffic and streaked up the middle for a 50-yard score.
- Drake Maye: My, did the Patriots quarterback light up Las Vegas. The Raiders defense, that is. Maye, 24, passed for 374 yards and four TDs, posting a 150.9 passer rating in the romp. That makes him the youngest player in NFL history to throw for 350 and four TDs, while topping a 150 rating. It was also significant that in posting his first 300-yard game of the season, Maye didn’t throw a pick for the first time all season. After his shaky start to the season, he’s showing just how he can get his groove back.
- David Bailey: The Jets rookie edge rusher led the eight-sack assault on Deshaun Watson by collecting three sacks. And that’s not the whole picture. Bailey also tied for the team high with seven tackles, including three for losses, and registered four quarterback hits.
- Jahmyr Gibbs: Another week, another milestone for Detroit’s multi-dimensional threat. In amassing 207 yards (151 rushing, 56 receiving) to help bury the Cardinals, Gibbs, 24, scored his 58th touchdown from scrimmage. It has added significance because he topped the 57 TDs that Lions legend Barry Sanders had before turning 25.
What intrigues me about Monday Night Football
Maybe it’s a preview of Super Bowl 61. Sure, we hear that so often when contenders meet in intra-conference matchups. But this has legs, with past two NFL MVPs, Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen, pitted at SoFi Stadium (site of Super Bowl 61). Then again, this game also marks the return of Aaron Donald. Of course, he came out of retirement a few weeks ago, but now the return is from the injured list after he missed the Week 4 contest at Philadelphia due to a back problem. The Rams defense had a monster performance without Donald last week. But those were the Eagles. With Allen coming to town, it would be a good time for Donald to notch his first sack of the season.
What I’m looking forward to in Week 6
Cowboys at Packers. Months ago, this primetime encounter at Lambeau Field was pegged as a potential target for Micah Parsons to return from his torn ACL and face his former team. That’s not the case now, with recent reports indicating that Parsons isn’t expected to return until late October or November. In any event, the defense that Dallas has been trying to rebuild since trading Parsons to Green Bay will be in the spotlight – and that hardly seems like a good thing, given the issues the unit has had all season under new coordinator Christian Parker. Will the 10 days of rest since the embarrassing (the limo driver’s word, not mine) loss against Tampa Bay make a difference? Even worse, Packers quarterback Jordan Love comes in hot. According to NextGen Stats, Love connected on six of eight deep passes (20+ air yards) for a career-high 258 yards, with two touchdowns, against Chicago on Sunday. If he could torch the Bears with an array of deep heaves, imagine what he might do against Dallas’ suspect secondary.
Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: From super Snoop to stunning ineptitude, what stood out in NFL Week 5 | Monday Morning JB
