Week 5 NFL Preview and Capsules

NEW YORK — Sept. 30, 2025 — Through the first month of the 2025 season, phenomenal finishes and exceptional special teams have been a common theme. There have been 18 games to feature a game-winning score in the final three minutes of regulation or in overtime, the most in 42 years and tied with the 1983 season for the most-ever through Week 4. There have been 11 special teams touchdowns, the most at this point in 13 years and the 3,624 kickoff return yards amassed last week is the most in a single week in NFL history.

For Week 5 capsules, click here.

Here’s a look at a few interesting storylines entering Week 5:

London calling: When the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network) on Sunday, it begins three consecutive weeks with an international game in the United Kingdom. The Vikings, after appearing in the first regular-season game in Ireland against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, are the first team to play consecutive international games in different cities. In Week 6, the Denver Broncos and New York Jets meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and in Week 7, the Los Angeles Rams take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.
Two undefeated teams remain: The Philadelphia Eagles are 4-0 for the third time in the past four seasons while the Buffalo Bills improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2020.
- Denver (2-2) at Philadelphia (4-0) (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Eagles can become the first team to begin 5-0 three times in a four-year span since the Indianapolis Colts (2006-07, 2009) while head coach Nick Sirianni can become the second coach ever to begin 5-0 in three of his first five seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Brown.
  - Philadelphia, with a blocked field goal-return touchdown in Week 3 and a blocked punt-return touchdown in Week 4, became the fourth team since 2000 with a blocked field goal-return or punt-return touchdown in consecutive games, joining the 2014 Philadelphia Eagles (Sept. 28-Oct. 5), 2008 San Francisco 49ers (Oct. 12-19) and 2002 Baltimore Ravens (Nov. 24-Dec. 1).
  - Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is the first quarterback in NFL history with five touchdown passes, four rushing touchdowns and no interceptions in his team’s first four games of a season.
  - Denver quarterback Bo Nix totaled three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in the team’s Week 4 win over Cincinnati. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, Nix is one of three quarterbacks, along with Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, with at least 35 touchdown passes (36) and five rushing touchdowns (five).
  - The Broncos lead the NFL with 15 sacks this season and are tied with Jacksonville for the fewest sacks allowed (three) in 2025.
- New England (2-2) at Buffalo (4-0) (Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): The Bills have started a season with five straight wins in three previous seasons: 1964, 1980 and 1991.
  - Buffalo, from Week 11 of the 2023 season through Week 4 of the 2025 season, are the fourth team ever to win 14 consecutive home regular-season games and score at least 24 points in each game, joining the 1997-98 Denver Broncos (15 consecutive home wins), 2017-19 New England Patriots (15) and 2022-23 Dallas Cowboys (14).
  - Bills quarterback Josh Allen has 45 career regular-season games with both a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown, tied with Cam Newton for the most such games in NFL history.
  - Buffalo running back James Cook ranks second in rushing yards (401), tied for second in scrimmage touchdowns (five) and fifth in scrimmage yards (490) this season. He is the sixth player in the Super Bowl era with at least 100 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in each of his team’s first four games of a season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers O.J. Simpson (1975 with Buffalo) and Emmitt Smith (1995 with Dallas) as well as Christian McCaffrey (2023 with San Francisco), DeMarco Murray (2014 with Dallas) and Billy Sims (1981 with Detroit).
  - New England quarterback Drake Maye, from Weeks 2-4, became the first player ever under the age of 24 with at least two touchdown passes and a completion percentage of 75-or-higher in three consecutive games, minimum 15 pass attempts in each game.
Matchups of 3-1 teams: Four of the nine teams with three wins this season are set to meet in Week 4.
- San Francisco (3-1) at the Los Angeles Rams (3-1) (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video): The Los Angeles Rams defeated San Francisco in both matchups during the 2024 season, recording fourth-quarter comeback victories in both games.
  - 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey ranks third in the NFL with 31 receptions and 530 scrimmage yards (305 receiving, 225 rushing), becoming the third player since 1990 with at least 300 receiving yards and 200 rushing yards in his team’s first four games of season, joining Matt Forte (2011) and Alvin Kamara (2018 and 2020).
  - Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua had 13 receptions for a career-high 170 yards and one touchdown in the team’s Week 4 win over Indianapolis. Nacua leads the NFL with 42 receptions this season, tied with Cooper Kupp (2022 with the Los Angeles Rams) and Michael Thomas (2018 with New Orleans) for the most receptions by a player in his team’s first four games of a season in NFL history.
- Tampa Bay (3-1) at Seattle (3-1) (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS): Both the Buccaneers and Seahawks are celebrating their 50th anniversary seasons after joining the NFL in 1976 and each club will be wearing throwback uniforms for this Sunday’s matchup.
  - Since joining Tampa Bay in 2023, quarterback Baker Mayfield leads the NFL with 77 touchdown passes and ranks second with 9,448 passing yards.
  - Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka leads all rookies with 282 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions this season and has recorded a touchdown catch in three of his first four games. In the past 20 seasons (2005-24), only four players have had a touchdown catch in four of their first five career games: Martavis Bryant (2014), Ja’Marr Chase (2021), Terry McLaurin (2019) and Hakeem Nicks (2009).
  - Seattle leads the NFC in scoring defense (16.8 points per game allowed) and have recorded seven interceptions this season, tied for the second-most in the NFL.
Turnovers key on Monday night: The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1) are set to host the Kansas City Chiefs (2-2) on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) in Week 5. Jacksonville leads the NFL with 13 takeaways (league-high nine interceptions, four fumble recoveries) while Kansas City is one of three teams, along with Buffalo and Philadelphia, with only one giveaway this season.
- Jacksonville is the fifth team since 2002 with at least three takeaways in each of its first four games of a season, joining the 2024 Green Bay Packers, 2013 Chicago Bears, 2004 Seattle Seahawks and 2002 Philadelphia Eagles. Since 1990, only two teams have recorded two-or-more interceptions in each of their first five games of a season – the 1996 Green Bay Packers (first eight games) and 2021 Dallas Cowboys (first five).
- Last week, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had four touchdown passes and reached 250 touchdown passes in his 116th career game, surpassing Aaron Rodgers (121 games) for the fastest player in NFL history to reach 250 career touchdown passes. Mahomes has 43 career games with at least three touchdowns and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (42 games) for the second-most by a player in his first nine seasons in NFL history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (46 games).