Week 5 Preview: After the Bucs Stunned Dallas, London and the NFC West Take Center Stage

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026 — Week 5 of the NFL season opened with a stunner: the winless Buccaneers walked into AT&T Stadium as 8.5-point underdogs on Thursday night and beat the Cowboys 24-16 behind undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, according to NBC Sports. Now the weekend slate takes center stage — starting Sunday morning in London, where the reeling Eagles (2-2) face the surging Jaguars (3-1), and continuing into the late afternoon with the undefeated 49ers visiting the Seahawks for first place in the NFC West. Monday night closes it out with the preseason Super Bowl pick: Bills at Rams.

01 Thursday Night: The Bucs' Shocker in Dallas

The Cowboys led 10-7 at halftime and then completely fell apart. Tampa Bay outscored Dallas 17-0 in the third quarter and outgained the Cowboys 197-59 in the frame, per NBC Sports. Jalon Daniels — starting in place of the injured Baker Mayfield — went 19-of-25 for 189 yards and a touchdown, becoming, per USA Today's Nate Davis, the first undrafted rookie quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to start a game in Week 4 or earlier, and then the first undrafted rookie in the common draft era to complete his first eight passes in a game. That opening 15-play, 73-yard touchdown drive set the tone, and Daniels has his first NFL win.

Bucky Irving did the heavy lifting: 21 carries for 165 rushing yards and a touchdown, plus a 5-yard touchdown catch from Daniels on the opening drive — 175 yards from scrimmage and two scores, per USA Today. Tampa Bay finished with 419 yards of offense, 241 of it on the ground.

Dallas had its chances and threw them away — literally. Prescott went 24-of-42 for 316 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, but both picks came on deflected passes, including the backbreaker: with the Cowboys driving to tie it late, a Prescott pass bounced off Jake Ferguson's hands and facemask into Alex Anzalone's arms with 1:16 left. George Pickens caught nine passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort, NBC Sports reported. It got worse in the fourth quarter: CeeDee Lamb left with a quad injury and left tackle Tyler Guyton with a back injury, and the Cowboys now sit at 2-3 with a mini-bye before an October 18 trip to Lambeau Field — where, as USA Today noted, old friend Micah Parsons may be waiting in a Packers uniform.

02 London Calling: Eagles vs. Jaguars

Sunday's action starts across the pond at 9:30 a.m. ET, with the Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) facing the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on NFL Network — and the Jaguars are favored by a touchdown, according to USA Today. The Eagles have lost two straight, to the Bears and the Rams, blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in the latter, and the injury report is grim: Saquon Barkley is week-to-week with a hamstring injury, Tank Bigsby is on injured reserve, DeVonta Smith is dealing with a hamstring of his own, and perennial All-Pro tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement effective immediately, TSN reported.

That leaves Jalen Hurts and a patchwork offense walking into a buzzsaw. Jacksonville's defense is allowing just 13.3 points per game, leads the league with six interceptions, and ranks second in the NFL against the run at 74.3 yards per game, per PhillyVoice and TSN. Covers.com notes the Jags are 7-0 against the spread as favorites of 3+ points since the start of last season, outscoring those opponents 232-73. Trevor Lawrence, meanwhile, has Jacksonville at 3-1 after a 22-17 win in Cincinnati last week — and the Jags are in their London home away from home for the 15th time, per TSN.

03 First Place in the West: 49ers at Seahawks

The game of the week might be the late-afternoon NFC West showdown. The undefeated 49ers (4-0) travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks (3-1) at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX, with first place in arguably the league's best division on the line, per Sports Illustrated. These are two of the three remaining undefeated-or-nearly teams in football, and the NFC West race could come down to these head-to-head meetings.

But San Francisco is held together with tape. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is out multiple weeks with a knee hyperextension and bone bruise, starting safety Marques Sigle is out at least a month with a high-ankle sprain, and Nick Bosa will miss his third straight game, NBC Sports Bay Area reported. Nickel back Upton Stout is day-to-day with a shoulder sprain, and Mike Evans is limited with a rib injury though expected to play. The good news: defensive end Mykel Williams is eligible to come off the PUP list and should be good to go, per 49ers Webzone. Seattle has its own concerns — Leonard Williams is questionable — but at home, the Seahawks are 3-point favorites, per Sports Illustrated.

For the full breakdown of San Francisco's walking-wounded act, read our look at the 49ers' injury crisis heading into Seattle.

04 The Rest of the Slate

The most anticipated game of the weekend lands Monday night: the Buffalo Bills (3-1) visit the Los Angeles Rams (2-2) in what was billed a month ago as a Super Bowl 61 preview, per USA Today. Buffalo lost for the first time last week against New England; the Rams avoided a 1-3 start with a comeback win at Philadelphia, per the Tennessean.

Sunday night has the Baltimore Ravens at the Atlanta Falcons — the Falcons' third straight week in prime time, with the Ravens possibly without an injured Lamar Jackson, USA Today reported.

Elsewhere: the 3-1 Browns visit the 1-3 Jets after Deshaun Watson's game-winning drive beat Pittsburgh 27-24 last week on Andre Szmyt's 56-yard field goal, per the Associated Press via TSN. Cleveland is 3-1 for the first time since 2021. The 2-2 Steelers host the 2-2 Colts, with Pittsburgh favored by 2.5 despite both teams' uneven starts, per the Indianapolis Star. The winless Texans and Titans meet in Nashville in a battle of 0-4 teams.

The full Sunday card, per CNN: Giants at Commanders, Browns at Jets, Colts at Steelers, Texans at Titans, Vikings at Saints, Raiders at Patriots, Bengals at Dolphins, Bears at Packers, Broncos at Chargers, Lions at Cardinals, 49ers at Seahawks, and Ravens at Falcons. The Chiefs and Panthers are the first teams on bye — enjoy the baby-bye weeks while they last, fantasy managers.

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