NFL: Five Things To Watch For During Week Five Of The 2025-26 Season

We kick off Week Five with an incredibly important game that could impact the 2026 NFL Playoffs when the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers face off for first place in the NFC West. With four teams on a bye and 14 games on the docket, here are five things to watch out for this week.

5. Cleveland starting one of its rookie quarterbacks.

Now that Joe Flacco is effectively done as the starting QB for the Browns, it is up to rookie Dillon Gabriel to show the world what he’s got. He will have the misfortune of having to take on the Minnesota Vikings in London, but at least that is expected to be a neutral-site game, even if the NFL schedule lists Cleveland as the home team. Gabriel is not going to come out there and light the world on fire. But it will be interesting to see how he performs against one of the best-coached defenses in the NFL. He’ll probably commit at least one turnover, but if the Browns’ offense can move the ball well and score some points, it’ll be considered a good outing for the 2025 third-round draft pick.

4. Will the Buccaneers or Seahawks improve to 4-1?

A meeting between a pair of 3-1 teams that both have playoff aspirations is a great way to start the late-afternoon slate of Sunday games. Statistically speaking, this will be one of the best defenses Tampa Bay will face all season. On the other side, Sam Darnold will have his toughest test of the campaign when he has to go against a Buccaneers squad that is allowing the fourth-fewest yards per game in the league this year. This one will be a classic, gut-it-out, low-scoring, 1980s-style football game that sickos love to tune in for. With that being the case, it’s only fitting that both teams wear their throwback uniforms.

3. The first meeting between Jayden Daniels and Justin Herbert.

I hate the idea that quarterback rivalries exist. Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes have never been on the field at the same time for a single snap. However, I can understand the idea of highlighting quarterbacks as the two most exciting players participating in a game. That’s what we will see Sunday afternoon when the Commanders travel to LA to take on the Chargers. Jayden Daniels is the most exciting young quarterback in the NFL. Meanwhile, Justin Herbert has already proven that he is statistically one of the best QBs of all time relative to his age. Defense will undoubtedly play a factor in how this plays out, but in a perfect world, Herbert and Daniels will provide viewers with plenty of offensive fireworks.

2. The battle for first place in the NFC West.

Usually, it feels like Thursday Night Football games are reserved for ugly, turnover-riddled contests between teams like the New York Jets and the Houston Texans. This week, though, there is a lot on the line when the Rams play the 49ers. The winner will move into first place in the NFC West. If the Niners lose, they’ll fall to second place since they own a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks. But if the Rams lose, they could drop to third place in the division. The last four games between these two teams have been decided by 17 points, which means the average margin of victory when LA and San Fran face off is less than five points. We can expect another close contest between these two in Week Five.

1. Can the Jaguars prove they’re a Super Bowl contender against the Chiefs?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have already shown that they’re capable of playing with the big boys by beating the San Francisco 49ers last weekend. Now, they have a truly daunting task of having to take down the Kansas City Chiefs. Just like the New England Patriots of the 2000s and the 2010s, a win against the Chiefs proves to the world that you have arrived and should be looked at as a championship-caliber team. Getting to see the opportunistic Jaguars defense go against the best quarterback of this generation in a standalone game on Monday Night Football when the whole world is watching will be a season-defining litmus test for new coach Liam Coen and his squad.