Five Wide: 2026 Week Five

By Thomas Willoughby

Week 5, man. This thing’s flying by. Three teams currently sit without a win, three teams currently sit without a loss. And then you’ve got the biggest mess of middling teams going. There are like 20 teams that I look at right now and do not know if they’re good or not.

We’re also two thirds of the way through our London games slate, and two thirds of the way through our European leg of NFL fixtures. Say it every year, but enjoy it while it lasts, folks. These games are fleeting, and you’ll miss them when they’re over.

Anyway, here’s what you came for.

Lots of laughs

There have been times where entire divisions have gone a weekend without any side winning. It’s not that uncommon, the team I support is in a division where the overall winner of it has finished with a losing record on more than one occasion, it’s not unreasonable to imagine all four teams have gone a weekend without winning a game. So, when I tell you that the NFC East didn’t produce a team capable of winning one game this weekend, you’re not going to be shocked.

And yet you should be.

The Dallas Cowboys hosted the 0-4, utterly decimated Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night. The Cowboys are an odd team, but they’ve plenty of good players and really should be beating pretty rubbish Tampa Bay side missing their starting QB. So, obviously, they didn’t. Bucs in 24-16. It was 24-10 going into the 4th quarter. A shambles from Dallas, whose legitimacy may start being brought into question sooner rather than later.

You know what happened with the Eagles in London, we won’t go back over that. And, somehow, that wasn’t the craziest ending to an NFC East sides game. The Commanders hosted the Giants, and jumped out to a big lead. The G-Men came roaring back, and found a way to tie it up 27-27, and extend the game into overtime.

The Giants received the kick off, drove down the field and set up a 46 yard field goal attempt, which Dominic Zvada missed. Washington, knowing they only needed a field goal, were forced to punt 4 plays later following some offensive mishaps. Despite everything, the Giants were back on for the win. And they looked good value for it, except Cam Skattebo ran the ball from the Washington 24, well within field goal range, only to fumble it for a Washington recovery. Now Washington drove down, reaching the Giants 24. A field goal would win it. So tell me why, instead of kicking said field goal, did they opt to have Jayden Daniels run around aimlessly, get sacked, and allow time to expire? What’s going on there? 27-27, a result neither side can complain about because they both refused to win the game.

Is th NFC East the new meme division? We’ll find out soon enough. Ending the weekend 0-1-2 is very funny, though.

Philadelphia East

I’ve been to quite a few NFL games in London in my time. Between 2017 and 2022, I’m pretty certain I went to them all. So I think I’m fairly well placed to compare these games through history. I don’t say it lightly: that crowd on Sunday was quite possibly the most one-sided I think London has ever seen. Of the nearly 62000 people in there, I’m going to conservatively estimate that 75% of the crowd were Eagles fans.

In terms of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Ben Isaacs reckons the Bears, Bills, and now Eagles are the fanbases that have taken over the ground the most. I know the Eagles are extremely well supported, both in the States and more, but I didn’t expect it to be as overwhelming as it was. Even in 2018, when these two sides played out a 24-18 Eagles victory at Wembley Stadium, it felt a little closer to even. Part of me thought that the Jaguars’ efforts to become London’s team would pay off here, but no. Dominance in the stands.

For my money, this was THE most one-sided support in NFL London history. Until now, I had the Seattle Seahawks as the fanbase to takeover a stadium most in a London game, when they beat the Raiders 27-3 in 2018. That felt unbeatable at the time. I guess it’s up to Seattle to come back over and reclaim the crown. Cowards if they don’t.

A Starr is born

Our third half time show of the international slate introduced us to the stylings of Ayra Starr. Not to be confused with Arya Stark, of Winterfell, Starr is an MTV VMA NOMINATED singer-songwriter. Sorry, when I say “introduced us to”, what I meant was “introduced me to”. Because this was the first time I’d heard of, let alone heard, the Nigerian star.

Ah listen, there’s only so much of the worlds music you can expect me to know. While I’m clearly an expert in Latin American pop, Afrobeat is not a genre I’m overly familiar with. So when I say I’m not qualified to talk about this performance, you’ll have to believe me.

This one wasn’t for me. Bit slow for my tastes, but she has a really great voice so far play to Ayra for that. Having this performance juxtaposed by “The Rick Parfitt Jnr Band”, a covers band fronted by late Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt, was a choice, though. They seemed to have a nice afternoon, as did Ayra, and, really, isn’t that what matters most? Having fun at work?

Harrison's son on the move

The big story of the week, away from the on field stuff, was the future of one Marvin Harrison Jr. Ohio State’s favourite nepo baby looked to be the future of the wide receiver position when he entered the league in 2024. But he’s found success hard to come by at the NFL level, with his rookie seasons efforts, when he managed 885 yards and 8 touchdowns. Can we blame the Cardinals decision to not buy a specific jugs machine when asked by Harrison Jr. on his arrival?Who’s to say.

The story broke on October 10th, when Adam Schefter tweeted that the Cardinals were finalising a trade for Harrison Jr. to leave. But to who, Chris Kamara?!? Wouldn’t you like to know! Speculation began to fly as to his destination. The Colts were mooted, the Chiefs were suggested. In the end, popular opinion landed on the Houston Texans. If you can’t make a swing at 0-4, when can you?

In the end, that opinion proved to be correct. The trade was confirmed not long after the Texans logged their first win of the season, and that was that. Harrison Jr and a 2027 7th round pick for the Texans’ 2027 2nd round and 6th round picks. Houston are very much banking on Harrison Jr. and CJ Stroud to pick up where they left off in 2022. My fantasy team could certain do with them hitting it off again, let me tell you.

Kitwatch 2026: Part V

Another Rivalries debut for us this week, with the Green Bay Packers stepping up against the Chicago Bears. The Packers’ home jersey hasn’t changed for basically a century, so this feels like a big deal. So what do we have? A muted-green as the base colour, with gold detailing, makes the whole jersey look classy. There’s an “interlocking GB logo” on the front, rather than the current Green Bay Packers logo, which was kicking about during the Lombardi era, apparently. I saw someone wearing it around Spurs on Sunday, and it looked ok. It’s a nice jersey, but I think I prefer the current home design. The best of the Rivalries designs we’ve seen so far this season.

We discussed the Patriots red “Patriots Pat” jersey last season, and my opinions have not changed. It’s alright! As alternates go, there are plenty worse out there. The uniformity of the shoulder stripes across the Patriots’ wardrobe is to be admired, even if it works to the detriment of this one. It’s alright! What can I say.

The Cardinals rolled out in their all-black ensemble for the first time this season. Now, I like these. Almost every aspect of this get up works. I’m a big believer in red detailing on black, and it shines on these jerseys. But, the helmet, for some reason, puts me off. Maybe if it were matte rather than shiny? Maybe if it were a different colour entirely? Would that defeat the point? Probably. But this is a 9/10 and I can’t put my finger on what the missing point is.

Features Image Credit: Kiel Leggere – Philadelphia Eagles

THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER

Rated 5 out of 5