Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown. Recaps week five of the NFL, including the Baltimore Ravens overtime win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Washington Commanders at the top of the NFC East, the Pittsburgh Steelers falling to the Dallas Cowboys, and the Buffalo Bills loss to the Houston Texans.
Now, let's get some quick hitters that stood out from Week five yesterday.
First order of business I'll start with is.
The Baltimore Ravens who beat the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime forty one to thirty eight. Two things became very apparent yesterday. Number One, Lamar Jackson is making some noise. I know a lot of people out there think he's in root for his third MVP trophy. I'll touch on that in a minute. The second thing is disappearing as actually is how silly the Dallas Cowboys look for passing up on Derek Henry. Let's get to that first order of business first. For those of you who think that Lamar Jackson is in roof to his third League MVP, pumped the breaks. Pump the breaks.
I say that not because of.
Some absence of greatness on his part, because he was absolutely phenomenal yes day. Three hundred and forty eight yards passing, twenty six to forty two, four touchdown passes, Okay, fifty five yards rushing, I get it, even though Joe Burrow did his thing as well. Here's the thing that you have to remember when we look at the success of the Baltimore Ravens. Obviously, their defense is leaving a lot to be desired for the most part to see, and thus far their offense has been prolific, particularly over the last three weeks. We look at Lamar Jackson and we say, damn, he's a big reason as to why that is. Here's the other big reason. How about Derek Henry. Have you seen a rushing with the football. He ran for one hundred and fifty one yards against Dallas, ran it for one hundred and ninety nine yards a week later, had a fifty one yards camper in overtime to set up the game winning field goal for them yesterday.
The brother is spectacular.
He's a big boy, he's a man amongst boys at the running back spot, and we know what he brings to the table. That's gonna be the reason why it's going to be hard for you to give Lamar Jackson the MVP.
If Lamar Jackson was flinging a.
Football to a wide receiver Allah Tyreek Hill or somebody and he was catching for eighteen hundred to two thousand yards receiving, well, somebody threw him the football, so you could give the MVP to Lamar Jackson. But when you handed the ball off to Derek Henry, and this brother is running rough shot over the competition and gets what all of a sudden that changes things because you're handing him the football. So that's going to dilute some of the prowess and the impact that you have towards capturing League MVP on is yet again, that's my position. But as it pertains to Derek Henry and the Dallas Cowboys, how silly do you look right now if you're the Dallas Cowboys for passing up on Derek Henry.
Let's think about that for a second.
Here we're talking about a situation involving Derek Henry where you're the Dallas Cowboys and you have no running game over the last two weeks. Even though you stopped the run, it was against the Giants and the Steelers.
That don't count not much anyway.
I would feel a lot better about the Steelers if they had that cab warrant in the backfield with Naji Harris as opposed to just Nag Harris.
Cause it ain't the same.
But when you look at the Dallas Cowboys without Michael Parsons, without de Marcus Lawrence, they still beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Major props to them, but they didn't look good. Dak Prescott was in route to one of his worst games ever before he came to the rescue with that four yard touchdown catch Jolen Talbot.
In the end. What it comes down to.
Is this, the Dallas Cowboys could have used the form a formidable running game that would have relieved Dak Prescott of a lot of responsibilities, which would have been better for him. They didn't do that, which is why we don't assume they're going anywhere. That's one reason. Here's the other. It's going on in Washington, d C. Where the Commanders are for and one and on top of the NFC East. The Commanders beat down the Cleveland Browns yesterday, led by rookie quarterback Jaden Daniels, who threw for two hundred and thirty eight yards in one touchdown, also rushed for another eighty two yards and eleven carries. That's a legitimate MVP candidate right there, Jaden Daniels. If you don't know now, you know, they're four and one. They got a lot to prove. But when you consider the fact that the Brothers completed seventy seven percent of his passes, he's already thrown for over eleven hundred yards. He's thrown for just two interceptions on the season. He's one of the prolific rushers out from behind sen at the quarterback position in the National Football League, and they're winning football games. These Washington Commanders don't look like the same Washington Commanders. Just think about it for a second. There's no longer Daniel Snyder. They got a new ownership with Josh Harris and Magic Johnson and their group. Okay, you got a new head coach and Quinn all right, you got a new offensive coordinator of Cliff Kingsbury. You got a star new quarterback and Jaden Daniels, who's reminding you.
Of RG three, except he appears to.
Know how to slide and not take on vicious hits like he was doing at LSU. So all of those things spell good times in the Nation's Capitol. We're not accustomed to saying.
That about the Nation's Capitol, but we gotta.
Change our thinking when we're watching this brother produce. I can tell you that much. Now, let me move on to Pittsburgh, where the Steelers lost to the Cowboys last night twenty to seventeen. Like I told you earlier on Dak Prescott's game winning touchdown, throwing the final seconds, quarterback Justin Fields didn't play particularly well, throwing for just one hundred and thirty one yards, had a total QB rating of just thirty five point five. Having said all of that, though, I still believe there's no problem with him remaining the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Here is why.
Because he's not their problem. Where's your running game? It's virtually non existent. As a receiving group, you have a grand total of one touchdown, which is tied for worse than the National Football League. You clearly need another receiver to go alongside George Pickens. Friar Muth and Pickens ain't enough for you. Van Jefferson ain't gonna be enough for you, along with whoever that else the hell.
Else you have at the white House spot.
The Pittsburgh Steelers need to go out and either get Deontay Johnson back, get a guy like Davonte Adams or somebody else. They need help. They need help at the wide receiver spot. You need somebody that's going to get open. And this cat picking to our light because he's a scud. You can't have some eye black under your eyes saying always fing open.
You can't do that, and then you don't catch the ball.
You had two receptions for about four yards last night until that twenty two yard reception you caught in the fourth quarter.
That's it. That ain't enough. You need more. Stellers need some help.
They need some help with an additional wide out, and they need Warring back from his spraying right knee. When that happens, if your quarterback still looks the same, didn't come talk to me outside of that. Whether you keep justin fields in the lineup or you're placing with Russell Wilson. I don't expect much from the quarterback position, and receivers can't get open. It's really that simple. For the last NFL quick hit it, we'll go to Houston, where the Bills lost to the Houston Texans twenty three to twenty.
The Bills had the ball.
Deep in their end zone with less than a minute on the clock, and through three consecutive passes feeling to kill tom off the clock, the Texans got the ball back and eventually kicked the game winning fifty nine yard field goal to win it. Sean McDermott looks horrible here. Simple, you're the coach of the Buffalo Bills. The clock is on your side. You've got the ball at your own five yard line. You know you need time clicking off the clock, and you throw the football all three times. There's no Stefon Diggs there anymore. There's no Gabe Davis there anymore. You got cole men and others, but you don't have all your weapons, and you still put it in Josh Allen's hands to.
Throw the football on three consecutive possessions. That is as bad as it gets.
The only credit Sean McDermott deserves is for acknowledging it and manning up to his mistakes. I don't know what he's thinking of, but I know Bill's mafia and the rest of the fans in Buffalo have grown tired of this man. They are not happy with what they're seeing from him.
They are not happy.
So somehow, some way, he's not the kind of coaches gonna get fired during the season. But if things keep on this course, don't be surprised if there's a change in Buffalo. You can't waste away the great years of Josh Allen.
Can't do it, can't do it. H m hm