NFL Week Five: 3 Incredible Matchups To Watch

The New England Patriots vs. Las Vegas Raiders is intriguing because neither team is meeting their preseason expectations. The general public expected the Raiders to finish last in the AFC West and saw 2026 as a gap year before Fernando Mendoza takes the helm. They’re 3-1, with their one loss being a three-point loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and Kirk Cousins leads the league in passing touchdowns with 11.

The Patriots, on the other hand, had big expectations coming into 2026. They came off a Super Bowl appearance, and quarterback Drake Maye played at an MVP level in 2025. The 2026 season has not started well. 

New England is 2-2, including a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They also lost to the Seattle Seahawks on opening night, when backup quarterback Drew Lock led Seattle to victory. Maye leads the league in total turnovers with nine(seven interceptions, two fumbles). 

The Patriots, however, did have an inspiring performance in Week Four against the Buffalo Bills on the road. At 1-2, New England desperately needed a win to keep the season alive and did so on a game-winning drive led by Maye. 

The NFL world will get a better grasp of each team after this game. A win for the Raiders would classify them as a true playoff contender. A win for the Patriots would show that, despite the early season struggles, the victory over Buffalo could be a turning point. 

A sneaky important nugget for this game is the revenge factor for New England. In 2025, the Patriots lost to the Raiders in Week One, 20-13. That loss contributed to New England losing the top seed because, though they were 14-3 just like the Broncos, they lost the common opponents tiebreaker. 

Who will prevail?

San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks

The San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks is a bit difficult to evaluate given the history. In the regular season, Brock Purdy has been undefeated in Seattle, going 4-0. That stat makes it feel like the 49ers have the edge. 

Recent history tells a different story, though. In the last two games these teams faced off, the Seahawks outscored San Francisco 54-9. The latest matchup was a 41-6 beatdown in the divisional round. 

That means Seattle has the edge, right? It’s a tricky matchup to decipher. Looking at this season alone, it’s a classic strength-on-strength matchup.

The 49ers offense has been elite due to Purdy’s play. He has a 126.2 passer rating and has not been sacked in the first four weeks. Seattle, on the other hand, has picked up where they left off last year defensively.

The Seahawks are first in total defense, first in passing defense, and fifth in scoring defense. They also have 11 sacks, which ranks seventh in the NFL. 

One side is going to have to give. Will Purdy have his first bad game of the season? If he maintains his MVP-level play against Seattle’s defense, his case for the award will only get stronger.

Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Rams

The Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Rams is a good matchup. The Bills hit the road to take on the Rams on Monday Night Football. Both teams need to win this matchup.

Los Angeles came off a game where it clawed back from a 20-10 deficit in Philly to stay afloat at 2-2. The Rams need to keep stacking wins if people want to believe they are going to live up to preseason expectations. 

Buffalo, on the other hand, had a great start to the season. Josh Allen made an MVP case, and the offense looked elite. In Week Three, though, Allen threw five interceptions against the Los Angeles Chargers, yet the Bills still escaped with a win.

In Week Four, though, Buffalo lost to a struggling New England team 29-26 off a bad Allen interception to end the game. The Bills’ vibes went from immaculate to uneasy after a couple of subpar performances.

If there’s a team that Allen loves to play, though, it’s Los Angeles. He averages five touchdowns a game against them in his career. Last time these two teams faced each other, he had three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. The Rams, however, won that game 44-42 back in 2023. 

A win doesn’t necessarily fix all problems, but a loss is damaging. Who wins this matchup?

End Of My NFL Week Five Matchups

NFL Week Five begins a new quarter of the season. It might be the most crucial stretch of the season. By the end of these next four games, we know who the contenders are and who the pretenders are. 

A great month of NFL football is upon us.