NFL Week 5 aftershocks: Has the Vikings' luck run out?

The NFL delivered in Week 5 with another action-packed slate of games. While many fans across the league are basking in their teams' victories, others are are pushing the panic button on their struggling franchises. Here's a look at four aftershocks from this week.

The Vikings luck has run out

On the heels of a strong 13-win season, the Minnesota Vikings entered 2023 hoping to replicate many of the miraculous comebacks and improbable victories from a year prior. After a 1-4 start, it seems their luck has run out.

Minnesota narrowly won 11 one-score games last season — the most in NFL history — and became the first team to win at least 13 games despite boasting a negative point differential. (The Vikings scored 424 regular-season points yet allowed 427.) 2023 has not been as kind to quarterback Kirk Cousins and Co., as their four losses have all been one-score contests. 

Things look like they'll get worse for the Vikings before they get better, with star wideout Justin Jefferson departing Sunday's game early with a hamstring injury.      

Bill Belichick, Sean Payton miss their longtime quarterbacks

The struggles of two of the NFL's most successful active coaches is shedding light on the age old question: What comes first, the quarterback or the coach?

Belichick and Payton currently find themselves in unfamiliar territory, with the Patriots and Broncos each sporting 1-4 records. Their teams' poor performances are a stark contrast to the unparalleled achievements they accomplished over the last two decades. 

Belichick won 219 games in New England with Tom Brady as his signal-caller, making them the winningest quarterback-coach tandem in NFL history. Payton follows close behind at No. 2, producing 142 victories while coaching quarterback Drew Brees on the New Orleans Saints.

With Brady and Brees no longer in the league, their longtime coaches are struggling to find answers at the quarterback position. The Patriots' Mac Jones threw his fourth pick-six in three seasons at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, tying Brady's career total in Foxborough over 17 seasons. The Broncos' Russel Wilson additionally lost a costly fumble that was returned for six against the Jets, leading to an earful from Payton on the sideline.