Sunday Rundown: Instant takeaways from Week 5's early slate

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Early kickoffs

Colts are for real

The Raiders may not provide much of a measuring stick, but that wouldn't have stopped previous iterations of the Colts from making things more interesting than they needed to be. This one is different. Sunday's blowout win over Las Vegas was Indy's most complete effort yet. Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor are leading the charge for the NFL's most efficient offense (54.5% success rate), while the defense has taken a major step forward under Lou Anarumo. The special teams units even got in on the fun this week with a blocked punt. The Colts are going to be a problem in the AFC.

Dart struggles

As we discussed last week, Dart is going to be a work in progress throughout his rookie season. It's exciting to have him on the field, and his athletic abilities can absolutely open things up to an extent. But it was never going to be fair to expect him to come in and start lighting it up as passer. Sunday's loss to the Saints gave us a good look at the challenges New York will face with a young passer learning on the fly. Dart accounted for three turnovers on the day, including a bizarre fumble and a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions. With Darius Slayton and Cam Skattebo chipping in fumbles of their own, the end result was the Giants failing to put any more points on the board after jumping out to a 14-3 lead. There will be plenty of fun moments in the months ahead, but that Saints game was easily the most favorable matchup on an incredibly challenging schedule. Giants fans should be prepared for growing pains.

Momentum for Houston

We probably shouldn't put too much stock into the Texans running off back-to-back wins. While the Titans have a real case as the worst team in football, this version of the Ravens - missing as many key players as they are - may not be far off. But the blowout wins against both over the last two weeks are still incredibly encouraging after what we saw from this team over the first three games of the year. C.J. Stroud dicing up Baltimore for 244 yards and four TDs, most notably, is a picture-perfect way for the offense to enter the bye week. Can this inspiring stretch establish a rhythm and allow this offense to look more like the explosive unit we saw during Stroud's rookie season? A Week 7 matchup with a stingy Seahawks defense should tell us everything we need to know on that front.

McDaniel waves the white flag

I don't love making a weekly talking point out of fourth-down calls - it gets a little repetitive for my liking. But whose fault is that? NFL coaches insist on making these mistakes over and over again. Mike McDaniel made his case for the most cowardly decision of the season by effectively conceding defeat late in Sunday's loss to the Panthers. Trailing by three points with 1:10 to play, the Dolphins coach opted to punt the ball back to Carolina. Converting on a 4th-and-17 from your own 15-yard line is certainly a long shot, but there's simply no excuse for giving up possession with such little time on the clock. Three timeouts weren't going to save the Dolphins when the defense had already given up over 200 rushing yards to Rico Dowdle. The Dolphins have looked better after a rough start, but decisions like this aren't going to help McDaniel's chances of keeping his job.

Williams returns to form

Jerry Jones gets a lot criticism for the way he does business, most of which is deserved. The Cowboys entering the season with Javonte Williams as their lead back seemed like the latest example of the owner getting cheap with a clear area of need. It's not looking so crazy now, is it? Williams, finally healthy after a rough road back from injuries in Denver, looks like the player so many thought he could be in the 2021 draft. The former second-rounder is currently the NFL's second-leading rusher after putting up a career-high 135 yards in Sunday's win over the Jets. He's the perfect complement for a passing game that's operating at a high level even without CeeDee Lamb. Not bad for a player picked up on a one-year, $3-million deal.

Vikings have work to do

The Vikings head into the bye week at 3-2 after surviving a scare against the Browns. It's technically enough to keep them in the mix in the NFC, but that's not going to last if they don't find a way to improve the run defense (tied for 24th by EPA/rush) and get more out of the quarterback position. Neither Carson Wentz nor J.J. McCarthy have been able to meet the low bar to keep things humming in Kevin O'Connell's offense. A beat-up offensive line hasn't helped matters, but these shortcomings could really get exposed with the Eagles, Chargers, and Lions up next. The schedule doesn't get much easier after that, either. It's becoming difficult to imagine this team parlaying the offseason excitement into a playoff run.

Patience required

The Browns would have loved to close out the Vikings for a big upset in London, but wins aren't necessarily everything in this case. I'm once again choosing to see the positives despite the end result. This rookie class, led by standout running back Quinshon Judkins, continues to generate optimism for the future. The win total may not be all that impressive by the end of the season, but it's crucial that ownership is able to see the vision. Kevin Stefanski knows how to put together an offense when he's not tasked with catering to Deshaun Watson. Dillon Gabriel looking as comfortable as he did in his first career start speaks to that ability. Stay the course with the current staff, find a quarterback at the top of next year's draft, and this team will be ready to roll by the time it can get out from under the worst contract of all time in 2027.

Dan Wilkins is theScore's senior NFL writer.