Week 5 of the NFL season was especially fun to watch. Several games came down to the wire, a few miscues led to losses and even ties and there were clutch moments that made Sunday exciting.
At least five touchdown catches during the slate of games were worth highlighting.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ Parker Washington, Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Green Bay Packers’ Christian Watson, Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Arizona Cardinals’ Trey McBride each made scoring grabs that may make the highlight reel once Week 18 is all over.
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
Let’s take a look at some of those plays that left you hooting and hollering from the couch.
The Jaguars needed to make a play late in their game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Time was of the essence as Philadelphia owned a 14-10 lead late in the game. With 3:20 left, Trevor Lawrence found Parker Washington going up the sideline.
Lawrence threw a pass on 4th-and-5 only Washington would be able to catch. The wide receiver leaped from the 2-yard line, made a one-handed grab around an Eagles defender and landed in the end zone.
Jacksonville took a 16-14 lead at that point. The Eagles were able to march down the field and take the lead back thanks to a Jake Elliott 48-yard field goalwith 8 seconds left in the game. But a special teams miscue allowed the Jaguars to move the ball up the field and set Cam Little up for the game-winning 57-yard field goal.
Washington finished with six catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Justin Jefferson’s touchdown might not have been as clutch as Washington’s but it was just as pretty.
The Vikings trailed the New Orleans Saints 7-6 in the third quarter and had the ball in the red zone. Kyler Murray batted the ball and found Jefferson in the end zone. A Saints defender misjudged the ball and it landed in the hands of Jefferson.
Somehow, Jefferson was able to fall backward and still make the catch with three New Orleans players around him. The touchdown gave the Vikings the lead at that point. Minnesota held on for the 23-13 victory.
Jefferson finished with six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
If you just looked at the scoreboard and thought the Packers completely owned the Chicago Bears, you would have never guessed Green Bay only led by a touchdown coming out of halftime. That all changed thanks to the connection between Jordan Love and Christian Watson.
On 3rd-and-22, Love dropped back to pass and launched the football 53 yards and found Watson in the back of the end zone. Watson made the catch on top of the Bears defender’s head and stayed in bounds.
Green Bay took a 21-7 lead and didn’t look back. The Packers won 31-7.
Watson finished with six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE
The Bengals probably got a little more from the Miami Dolphins than they originally bargained for. The Dolphins clawed their way back in the fourth quarter but couldn’t do enough to force overtime. Cincinnati won the game 31-24.
As the Bengals were rolling in the middle of the game, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase hooked up for a big touchdown. Burrow found Chase in the end zone late in the third quarter. The catch was far from routine.
Chase had a Dolphins defensive back on him. He was able to box him out around the 1-yard line and twist his way into the end zone for the magnificent touchdown. The 45-yard touchdown proved to be crucial in the Bengals’ win.
Chase had six catches for 77 yards and the score.
Each of the four catches mentioned previously came in wins. The touchdown grabs played a significant part in those teams’ victories on Sunday. Generally, the good teams will find a way to win no matter the obstacle they have to overcome to get it.
It was a little different in Arizona.
Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals were in garbage time against the Detroit Lions, trying to salvage some points as to not make the blowout look worse than it was. Brissett was in the red zone when he found Trey McBride with a smidge of opportunity to make a catch.
The star tight end went over one defender, tipped the ball to himself and was able to get both feet down to make the catch.
McBride finished with nine catches for 66 yards and the touchdown. The Lions won the game 45-21.
