NFL Week 5 Preview: 49ers, Purdy look to unravel Seahawks defence

If you had been selecting an MVP by means of 4 weeks of the NFL season, it will be exhausting not to decide on Brock Purdy.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback has appeared almost flawless as he is led his group to a 4-0 begin.

Purdy leads the league in various classes, together with passing touchdowns (11), passer ranking (126.2) and whole anticipated factors added (59.24).

But in Week 5, he faces the final word take a look at — a take a look at he failed a number of occasions final yr.

The 49ers head to Seattle on Sunday to tackle Mike Macdonald’s vaunted defence.

In the final two conferences between these two NFC West rivals, a Week 18 showdown and the divisional spherical of the playoffs, the 49ers had been outscored 54-9 and could not handle a single landing.

To be honest to the 49ers, they had been considerably banged up on the finish of final yr, however it nonetheless wasn’t fairly, significantly on offence.

Purdy was held to only a 64.9 passer ranking over the 2 video games and averaged simply 4.7 yards per go try.

“They did a really good job against us with out-physicaling us and getting to the ball fast and flying around and closing the windows in the pass game and stuff,” Purdy advised reporters this week. “… Obviously, for me it sucked how final yr ended and never getting ultimately zone and scoring and stuff like that. So for positive went again and watched some stuff this low season. Sort of similar to, ‘All right, what was it? How could I have played better? And what did I need to do?’ Sort of simply being exhausting on myself in that regard. But each sport is new.”

While each sport is new, the Seahawks defence seems to be in the identical kind as final yr.

Macdonald’s unit leads the league in yards allowed per sport (246.5) and yards allowed per play (4.0).

Sunday will give us an opportunity to seek out out simply how good this 49ers offence actually is.

Here are another storylines to regulate in Week 5:

Broncos, Texans swap up playcallers

It’s by no means an excellent signal when a group makes a serious teaching adjustment simply 4 weeks right into a season, however that is precisely what the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans have been pressured to do.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton introduced this week that he will probably be taking up offensive playcalling duties from first-year offensive co-ordinator Davis Webb.

The Broncos offence has appeared anemic at occasions beneath the design of Webb, particularly within the first two quarters, as Denver has managed to attain simply 13 first-half factors by means of 4 video games.

“Certainly this isn’t championship football,” Payton mentioned of his group’s begin to the season this week.

The Broncos are nonetheless 2-2, and the sky is not fully falling, however they’re already two video games behind the Chiefs within the AFC West.

The similar cannot be mentioned concerning the Texans, who’re off to a 0-4 begin and are at risk of seeing this season slip away.

The winless begin has prompted Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans to take over defensive playcalling for a unit that has largely disenchanted over the primary 4 weeks.

After main the league in yards allowed (277.2) and rating second in factors given up (17.3) final season, the Houston D has taken an enormous step again in 2026, permitting 343.75 yards and 27.25 factors a sport.

Desperate occasions name for determined measures, and we’ll see on Sunday if both teaching shake-up could make a giant distinction.

Falcons look to make one other prime-time assertion

No group has modified its outlook extra over the past two weeks than the Atlanta Falcons.

With third-string QB Cooper Rush on the helm over the primary two weeks, the Falcons had been borderline unwatchable.

It had many (together with this author) questioning why the NFL would topic us to a few straight weeks with the Falcons in a prime-time slot.

Well, all that appears foolish now, because the return of third-year QB Michael Penix Jr. has fully turned this round in Atlanta.

The Falcons have dominated their final two prime-time video games, with convincing wins over the Packers and the Saints to get again to 2-2.

Bijan Robinson could very properly be probably the most thrilling participant within the league to observe with the ball in his palms, and Penix’s return has made Drake London appear like a star huge receiver as soon as once more.

The Falcons have one other probability to indicate what they’re able to this week after they tackle the Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

If they win this one, it is perhaps time to start out interested by playoff soccer in Atlanta.

Game to observe: Buffalo Bills (3-1) @ Los Angeles Rams (2-2) — Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

Outside of the Seahawks-49ers conflict, the subsequent finest sport of the week comes on Monday night time when the Rams host the Bills.

The final time Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen went head-to-head two seasons in the past, the Rams received a thriller 44-42 in a sport the place Allen accounted for six whole touchdowns.

Now, the 2 groups face off once more, every with one thing to show.

The Rams are fortunate to not be 1-3 as they scraped out a win over the Eagles final week. They have not appeared something near the group many predicted them to be this season, significantly on offence.

A big motive for that’s the play of Stafford, who has thrown six interceptions over the primary 4 weeks. For context, he did not throw his sixth interception of the season till Week 17 final yr when he received MVP.

On the flip aspect, the Bills are coming off a disappointing loss to the Patriots final week wherein Allen threw a late-game interception he in all probability needs again.

Monday’s sport is the right spot for certainly one of these groups to make a press release to the league with everybody watching.

Forrest’s Favourites (Season file: 3-3)

Browns @ Jets — Pick: Browns +2.5: The 3-1 Browns have impressed early this season, and now they’re getting factors in opposition to a Jets group that has misplaced three in a row.

Colts @ Steelers — Pick: Steelers -2.5: The Steelers have a giant relaxation benefit on this one, as not solely did they final play on Thursday, however the Colts are additionally getting back from a London journey.

Bears @ Packers — Pick: Bears -1.5: Ben Johnson has proved that it would not actually matter who’s at quarterback for the Bears to achieve success. Meanwhile, the Packers have not proven any indicators that they’re on the identical degree because the Bears.

Full Week 5 schedule (all occasions ET):

Thursday, Oct. 8
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, Dallas Cowboys 16

Sunday, Oct. 11
Philadelphia Eagles vs Jacksonville Jaguars (Tottenham, London), 9:30 a.m. ET
Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET
Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. ET
Cleveland Browns at New York Jets, 1 p.m. ET
Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. ET
New York Giants at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. ET
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. ET
Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 p.m. ET
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, 4:25 p.m. ET
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons, 8:20 p.m. ET

Monday, Oct. 12
Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. ET

Bye week: Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs