Week 4 of the NFL season reminded us why football narratives can swing wildly. The Baltimore Ravens opened the season fairly ominously, only to dismantle an undefeated Buffalo Bills team on Sunday Night Football. Everyone had figured out the Detroit Lions’ offense until they put up 42 points on Monday Night Football vs. the Seattle Seahawks.
With all the games in the books, it’s time to peek at the Week 5 NFL coverage map. Let’s see what games are available where. (Fantasy managers, don’t forget that bye weeks start this week! The Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers will be on bye in Week 5).
NFL Coverage Map for Week 5
The people at 506 Sports provide fans with weekly NFL coverage maps. They color-code the maps based on where each game will air across the major networks, and these maps are subject to change during the week.
CBS Early-Game NFL TV Coverage Map
Blue: Baltimore Ravens (2-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
The AFC North was going to be ultra-competitive this season, and a clash between the Ravens and Bengals in Cincinnati will have a seismic butterfly effect on how the divisional crown shakes out. In Week 4, the Ravens annihilated the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills, while the Bengals pulled away late against any potential revenge fantasy that Andy Dalton had for the Carolina Panthers.
Look no further than the ground game in this one.
The Bengals rank last in defensive success rate against the run (48.6%). Now they face a Ravens rushing offense that ranks third in success rate (48.8%). Baltimore has rushed for at least 100 yards in 37 straight games, tied with Buffalo (1973-76) for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history. With another game, they’ll tie the third-longest streak in NFL history, held by the 1935-39 Lions.
Cincinnati has lost three straight home games with Burrow at quarterback, but he’s posted a triple-digit passer rating in three straight games, matching the second-longest streak of his career (2021: five straight).
Green: Indianapolis Colts (2-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4)
The Jaguars are the lone winless team in the NFL, and in theory, they’ll be playing with urgency in Week 5.
For the Jags’ sake, they should hope one historical pattern holds true: Indy has lost nine straight games in Jacksonville despite being favored in six of them. That’s tied for their longest road losing streak vs. any opponent in franchise history (they also lost nine straight at the Steelers from 1974 to 2002).
Will Anthony Richardson be ready to go? Or will the hip injury need some more recovery time and allow everyone’s favorite uncle, Joe Flacco, to lead the Colts’ offense? If so, Flacco has multiple touchdown passes in six straight regular-season appearances, matching Jordan Love for the longest active streak in the NFL.
Simply put, Jacksonville can’t get in a rhythm on offense. The Jaguars are the only team in the NFL that has failed to clear 20 points in seven of their past eight games. Trevor Lawrence had three games last season with 30+ attempts and a sub-60% completion rate — he leaves September this season with three such games.
Red: Buffalo Bills (3-1) at Houston Texans (3-1)
A candidate for Game of the Week, this is an absolutely delicious clash between two teams poised to make playoff runs in the AFC. The winner of this could be in favorable tiebreaker situations later in the year.
In Sunday’s loss, Josh Allen averaged -0.37 EPA (expected points added) per dropback, his worst in any game over the last five seasons. He led the NFL with 0.55 EPA per dropback from Weeks 1-3. Expect a bounce-back performance from the undisputed leader of Bills Mafia.
Despite some injuries on the Bills’ defense, Buffalo is allowing just 5.5 yards per pass attempt this season, which is second best in the NFL and a 17.9% improvement from last season.
The Texans will need to avoid becoming one-dimensional — and the penalties have to stop. Houston is averaging 10 accepted penalties per game, the most in the NFL. That includes the most accepted offensive penalties per game (6.5).
C.J. Stroud has developed patience in his second season. As a rookie, when pressured, he threw quickly (34.2%) and had limited success (6.0 yards per attempt). Through four games, he’s waiting longer (23.5% quick pass rate) and dominating (10.0 YPA).
CBS Late-Game NFL TV Coverage Map
Red: Green Bay Packers (2-2) at Los Angeles Rams (1-3)
Both of these teams were 2023 NFC playoff participants and had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season. However, injuries have thrown wrenches into both teams’ plans.
Jordan Love avoided a major injury with his MCL sprain. Ironically, backup Malik Willis is responsible for both of Green Bay’s wins, while Love is responsible for both losses. However, injuries to Love’s supporting cast are starting to mount. T
Meanwhile, the Rams are as decimated by injuries as any team in the league. Despite the injuries, though, L.A. still ranks second in the league in percentage of possessions that have reached the red zone (43.6%, last season: 29.7%).
Head coach Sean McVay deserves credit for the problem-solving acumen to keep the sticks moving. And hey, having Matthew Stafford helps!
The Packers are averaging 30.7 points and 385.9 yards of offense during Love’s last seven road starts (playoffs included).
Blue: New York Giants (1-3) at Seattle Seahawks (3-1)
For the fourth time in five seasons, the Giants don’t have more than a single win through four weeks. In Weeks 1-4 over that stretch, they are 6-14 and have been outscored by 156 points (-7.8 points per game).
The Giants’ offensive success rate is 35.5% this season — their 36% rate last year was the franchise’s worst of the 2000s.
Is the Seahawks’ defense good, average, or neither? Seattle’s defense led the league in a number of metrics through three weeks, numbers that were accumulated against the Broncos, Patriots, and the Skylar Thompson-led Dolphins. The Lions punched them in the mouth on Monday, scoring a touchdown on three of their first four possessions (all rushing touchdowns while Jared Goff completed all 11 of his passes).
FOX Single NFL TV Coverage Map
Green: Carolina Panthers (1-3) at Chicago Bears (2-2)
The Bears are 2-0 in the friendly confines of Soldier Field this season, and they welcome a Panthers team that has improved offensively since Dalton took over for 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young.
Dalton has five touchdown passes on 77 attempts over the past two weeks; Young has four on 370 attempts over his last 12 starts.
Since Dalton took over, Carolina has averaged 2.61 points per drive, fifth-best over that span. For perspective, that would have ranked third last season behind the Cowboys and 49ers.
Caleb Williams has been improving against pressure in the last two weeks, and it may be coinciding with the reawakening of the Bears’ ground game.
After ranking 31st in yards per rush (3.0) from Weeks 1-3, the Bears averaged a season-high 4.7 yards per rush Sunday vs. the Rams and had more rushing touchdowns (2) than their first three games combined (1). Now, Chicago faces a Carolina defense that ranks 23rd in yards per rush allowed (4.6).
Yellow: Miami Dolphins (1-3) at New England Patriots (1-3)
This AFC East battle features two teams trending in the wrong direction.
Miami has its bye in Week 6. If the Dolphins can stay afloat until then, they may have a chance to contend, as they’ve been one of the better post-bye teams in recent seasons.
- 2020: 5-1 in the six weeks following their bye
- 2021: 3-1 in the four weeks following their bye
- 2023: 5-1 in their six weeks following their bye
In Weeks 7-12, the Dolphins play the Colts, Cardinals, Bills, Rams, Raiders, and Patriots.
The Patriots are the only team in the NFL to start four different OL combinations this season, and it shows. They rank last in pressure rate allowed (46.7%) and 27th in average rush yards before contact (1.0).
Blue: Cleveland Browns (1-3) at Washington Commanders (3-1)
The “F” in NFL doesn’t stand for “fair.” The Browns entered this season 8-4 in regular-season games in which Deshaun Watson appeared. Yet, they’re looking to avoid a fourth loss in five games this season under their near $250 million man this season.
Meanwhile, rookie QB Jayden Daniels is playing lights out for the Washington Commanders, notching wins over Joe Burrow and Kyler Murray-led clubs.
Watson is averaging -0.26 EPA per dropback. That’s tied with 2009 Brady Quinn for the worst by a Browns QB through the first four games of a season since 2000. Daniels has completed 82.1% of his passes, the highest in NFL history through the first four games of a season (minimum 40 pass attempts).
One silver lining for the Browns: The Commanders are the worst third-down defense in the league (54.8%, the Patriots are the only other defense over 50%). If Cleveland can keep manageable down-and-distance situations, they can move the sticks.
Orange: Las Vegas Raiders (2-2) at Denver Broncos (2-2), 4:05 p.m.
This AFC West divisional matchup has a bit of history working against Denver. The Raiders have won eight straight games against the Broncos, tied for the second-longest win streak by either team in the series (Raiders won 14 straight from 1965-71).
Perhaps the historical pattern of head coach Sean Payton will trump the head-to-head pattern. He’s had a losing divisional record for an entire season twice in his career (2008 and 2016; he went 3-3 last season in his first with Denver).
After making changes at right tackle (DJ Glaze) at left guard (Jackson Powers-Johnson), the Raiders rushed for 152 yards on 5.2 yards per clip Sunday vs. the Browns. From Weeks 1-3 combined, Vegas had 153 rush yards on 2.8 yards per rush.
The Broncos own the second-best red-zone defense in the league through four weeks (28.6% opponent TD rate) after ranking 22nd last season (57.6%).
Red: Arizona Cardinals (1-3) at San Francisco 49ers (2-2), 4:05 p.m.
The 49ers have won four straight vs. the Cardinals, all by 16+ points (average margin of victory: 22.0 points per game). However, the Niners have never won five straight by 16+ points vs. a single opponent in their NFL history (they did win five straight vs. the Chicago Rockets from 1947-49 when they were in the AAFC).
The Cardinals have given up 403 rushing yards in the last two games, their most allowed in a two-game span since 2018. They’ve also allowed eight rushing touchdowns — their most through four games since 1975.
Brock Purdy has started 10 career games against the division:
- 125.8 passer rating
- 19 TD passes
- 2 interceptions
- 9.9 yards per attempt
NFL Week 5 National TV Broadcasts
Thursday Night
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) at Atlanta Falcons (2-2) (Amazon Prime)
The Bucs are seeking their fourth straight road division win. If they succeed, they will tie the longest streak in franchise history (1979).
Baker Mayfield has two games this season (Weeks 1 and 4) with 285+ pass yards, 2+ pass TDs, and 10+ rushing yards. The rest of the NFL has two such games (C.J. Stroud and Brock Purdy have one apiece).
Atlanta will need to shore up its third-down offense. The Falcons rank 29th in third-down conversion percentage (26.3%), including 1-6 (16.7%) on 3rd-and-short, easily the worst in the league.
Defensively, however, head coach Raheem Morris’ imprint is becoming clear. Atlanta has played the Steelers, Eagles, Chiefs, and Saints, and are allowing just 6.2 yards per pass (improved from 6.8 last season).
International Series
New York Jets (2-2) at Minnesota Vikings (4-0) (NFL Network)
Hi, London! Jets/Vikings is the first London game of the 2024 season, and it’ll be the first of three consecutive weeks of international action.
Is Jets QB Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles injury firmly in the rearview mirror? Early data suggests yes. Rodgers has seen his pass attempt count (21-30-35-42) and rushing attempt count (1-2-3-5) increase each week this season.
MORE: Simulate the Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor
Additionally, the Jets have the third-highest third-down conversion rate (46.3%), including the best on 3rd-and-long, which is 7+ yards to go (40%). Last year, the Jets ranked last in 3rd-and-long conversions (12.8%).
The Jets have allowed the fewest yards per attempt (5.4) on passes between the numbers. On the flip side, Sam Darnold ranks second in yards per attempt (12.3) and first in EPA per dropback (0.58) on passes between the numbers.
The Vikings are seeking to start 5-0 for the first time since 2016. Bizarrely, two of the last three times Minnesota has started 5-0 or better, they’ve missed the playoffs (2016, 2003).
Sunday Night
Dallas Cowboys (2-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) (NBC, Peacock)
Two of the winningest head coaches in NFL history meet for Sunday Night Football.
The Cowboys have held the ball for just 27:03 per game this season, a rate that would have ranked ahead of only one team in 2023 (Seahawks). The time of possession may be a direct consequence of Dallas’ suffering rush defense (sixth worst).
Over their last 10 games coming off of a loss, the Steelers are 8-2 (seven of those 10 games have been decided by a single possession).
Steelers QB Justin Fields has improved his in-pocket completion percentage in every season of his career:
2021: 61.2%
2022: 63.1%
2023: 65.7%
2024: 71.9%
Dallas’ blitz packages haven’t been consistent generating pressure. An ill-timed blitz could be the big play the Steelers need in a game that should have a minuscule margin for error.
Monday Night
New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN)
Monday Night Football features some peculiar data patterns.
The Saints have a +57 point differential but are 2-2. That’s the best point differential through four games in NFL history by a team that didn’t have a winning record. The prior high was +54 by the 1981 Bills.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, are 4-0 through four weeks with a -4 turnover differential. They are the first team in the 2000s to have four wins through four weeks with more committed than forced turnovers.
Kansas City is the sixth team in the Super Bowl era to start 4-0, with all four wins coming by one score. The last to do this was the 2004 Jets. For what it’s worth, none of the prior five teams won the Super Bowl, and only the 1988 Bengals made it to the end.