NFL Week 5 Lessons: 49ers Made the Best Offseason Signing

It’s understandable why head coaches always take the blame when reporters hound them for answers about notable miscues during games. 

It’s their way of protecting players and the coaching staff, but it’s also an easy way to avoid answers about the blunders. Maybe one day we’ll learn whether coach Dan Quinn reminded Jayden Daniels that the Commanders didn’t have a timeout before Daniels inexplicably killed the rest of the clock and had to settle for a 27–27 tie with the Giants. 

It would also be nice to know why the Eagles’ special teams didn’t let the Jaguars run out the clock on the final kickoff return in London. Philly chose to tackle Ameer Abdullah with one second left on the clock, allowing kicker Cam Little to drill the game-winning field goal and hand Jacksonville a wild 19–17 victory.

As expected, Quinn and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni offered few answers. Instead, they took the blame for the mental collapses.

Also, more teams should be taking blame for allowing Mike Evans to join coach Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. 

But hey, at least Broncos coach Sean Payton is different and doesn’t mind pointing the finger at others—he did that when he took play-calling duties back from Davis Webb earlier in the week. 

Here’s what we learned in Week 5.

The 49ers’ signing of Mike Evans continues to pay dividends

The Seahawks outclassed the 49ers in the two games they played each other in the final three weeks of last season, including the 41–6 divisional round loss in the postseason. 

However, with Evans, San Francisco looked like it was in the same league as the Super Bowl champions on Sunday. The undefeated 49ers beat the Seahawks on the road, 32–29, a much more significant win than their season-opening win over the Rams in Australia. It was a slugfest between Shanahan’s offense and Mike Macdonald’s defense. Still, that proud Seattle secondary had no answer for Evans, who erupted for seven catches, 113 yards and one touchdown. 

Evans’s best moment came when he had to look at the back of Trevon Diggs’s jersey to know who he was trash-talking with. Seattle’s need to sign Diggs and Terrion Arnold signifies how much that group has regressed since last season. It’ll take more than two defensive backs who just got to Seattle to stop the ageless Evans. They do have better options to cover Evans, with Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe also on the roster.  

The Seahawks (3–2) will likely adjust when these two Super Bowl contenders meet again in Santa Clara in Week 12. And yes, I take back what I said about the 49ers having a ceiling on their season because injuries keep happening. (It happened again after Deebo Samuel Sr. left early with a hamstring injury.)

Still, the 49ers should be fine if Evans stays healthy. He has been a difference-maker and the best offseason signing. 

Nick Sirianni's seat was already heating up before kickoff strategy 

It’s common for a head coach to take the blame for a disastrous outcome as a way for his players and staff to avoid scrutiny. Sirianni took that route after reporters demanded answers for the Eagles’ improbable collapse in the final eight seconds against the Jaguars. 

Still, Sirianni didn’t need to take the blame for not kicking the ball into the end zone. That one could have been chalked up to hindsight being 20/20. Even former Eagles center Jason Kelce, one of the TV analysts for the wild game in London, said Philadelphia kicking to Abdullah made more sense than opting for the touchback because of what occurred between the Cowboys and Ravens in Brazil two weeks ago. 

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer opted for the touchback kick in a similar situation and the Ravens stole the game in the final seven seconds. After the touchback, Lamar Jackson and his offense executed a 27-yard play from their 35-yard line to set up Tyler Loop’s game-winning 56-yard field goal. 

In the Eagles’ game, Abdullah returned the kickoff 53 yards, giving Little ideal field position to drill the walk-off 57-yarder in the game’s final second and hand the Jaguars a stunning victory. Sirianni and Schottenheimer were on opposite sides of this difficult decision, and both took heartbreaking losses.

But, understandably, Sirianni took blame, saying, “I cost us that game.” The Eagles (2–3) are on a three-game losing streak, and someone needed to take accountability for the string of meltdowns, including a blown lead against the Rams last week. 

Sirianni probably should have taken the blame for his special teams unit not giving Abdullah the final second to kill all of the remaining clock before tackling him. For that critical mistake, Sirianni said, “That’s not my place.” That sounds like Sirianni told his special teams coordinator, Michael Clay, to remind his players about clock awareness, especially since the decision was made to allow the kick return.

Regardless of whether Sirianni took the blame for the error, his seat is clearly getting warmer. This offense hasn’t been the same without A.J. Brown, who was traded in the offseason (though in fairness they were also without Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith on Sunday). Additionally, the defense has taken a step back this season (22.4 points allowed per game), and the offensive line is in shambles after the abrupt retirement of Lane Johnson and Cam Jurgens being traded to Baltimore. 

Still, I don’t see Sirianni getting fired midseason. He won a Super Bowl in 2024 and has guided his team to five consecutive playoff appearances. But all of that past success won’t matter if the Eagles keep losing in ugly fashion. 

Jayden Daniels, Commanders made the biggest mistake of the season 

It seems every team in the NFC East wants to win the biggest blunder of the year award. Still, it will be hard for any team in any division to top the mistake Quinn and Daniels committed on the final play against the Giants that resulted in a tie.

Quinn, like Sirianni, took the blame for his offense not stopping the clock to give kicker Drew Stevens a chance to win in overtime. However, that didn’t help Daniels receive less criticism for the gaffe because, ultimately, he’s the one on the field with the ball in his hands. Daniels ran around as if he didn’t know his team didn’t have a timeout. That was followed by Daniels smiling at the podium, messing with his expensive earring and pinning the blame on team communication, which wasn’t a very good look for the star quarterback.  

Sure, Quinn can take responsibility for not reminding his quarterback of the situation, but Daniels, who’s in his third year as a pro, should have known that his only options were either to spike the ball or throw it away. (The Commanders’ receivers ran upfield as if they expected the ball to go near the sideline.) 

But if Quinn doesn’t want to leave his quarterback alone under the spotlight of scrutiny, then they can both accept the honor of blunder of the year because it’s going to be difficult for someone else to top what transpired on the final play of the error-filled game—and as mentioned above, there have been many notable mental miscues through nearly five weeks of the season. 

Also, Cam Skattebo, who fumbled in the final minutes of overtime, can thank Daniels—and Quinn—for letting his team leave Washington with at least a tie. 

Sean Payton having more say didn’t immediately fix the Broncos 

Payton didn’t follow common practice when he demoted Webb from offensive play-caller to offensive coordinator, a role that no longer calls plays. 

He didn’t have to say it, but Payton practically pinned the first month’s offensive woes on Webb. It was an impulsive decision that surprised me a bit because Payton knew Bo Nix better than anyone. 

However, it wasn’t surprising to those who have watched Nix over the past three years that the offense didn’t suddenly turn it on against the Chargers because Payton was again calling plays. Yes, Denver won 23–17, but the majority of the credit should go to defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and his ferocious unit. The Chargers had only 237 total yards, still 13 more yards than Payton’s group. 

Nix (16-of-27, 123 yards, TD) struggled again and Jaylen Waddle (two catches, 19 yards) was a nonfactor, too. Waddle, the team’s prized offseason acquisition, has cracked 35 receiving yards in a game only once this season. 

Then there’s an argument that Payton should never have relinquished play-calling responsibilities in the first place. But he did, and he should have stuck with that decision for at least a month. There may now be awkwardness between Webb and Payton, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Webb takes another job in the offseason.   

Expect Joseph and the defense to keep bailing out this Denver offense, as they have in the past few seasons.