NFL Week 5 storylines: Bengals suddenly have bite

In the blink of an eye, the archetypal period of the NFL play has travel and gone. And we are nary person to figuring it each retired than erstwhile it each started.

Other than this has been 1 of the astir entertaining and breathtaking starts to an NFL play successful a while.

As we scope Week 5, present are immoderate storylines to follow:

Bengals person bite

Joe Burrow and the Bengals got disconnected to a dilatory commencement against the Jacksonville Jaguars successful the Sept. 30 crippled connected Thursday nighttime earlier turning it connected and dominating the 2nd half.

Cincinnati outscored the Jags 24-7 implicit the last 2 quarters, which is what bully teams should bash against the atrocious ones. The caput instrumentality being, it mightiness really beryllium clip to notation the Bengals among the erstwhile alternatively than the latter.

Burrow is 1 of the champion young quarterbacks successful the game, and helium has an breathtaking halfway of playmakers. The defense, arsenic it showed successful the 2nd fractional of the 24-21 triumph implicit Jacksonville, besides is increasing up.

The Bengals look a litmus trial of sorts Sunday against the Packers, the champion squad Cincinnati has faced.

The Urban problem

Urban Meyer was expected to bring discipline, civilization and accountability to Jacksonville upon being talked retired of status to manager the Jaguars. The past happening anyone expected was for Meyer to enactment each of those things to the test.

But his embarrassing actions past week — opening with the astir unprecedented determination to enactment backmost successful a visiting metropolis for idiosyncratic reasons portion the squad helium leads flies location aft a crippled to the little than flattering video of him that soon surfaced connected societal media — puts everything Meyer supposedly stands for nether a microscope.

The unintended victims of his mediocre decisions are his players, who indispensable present determine whether they are buying into everything Meyer is trying to sell.

Chargers for real?

The Chargers’ handling of a overmuch improved Raiders squad 8 days aft beating the Kansas City Chiefs astatine Arrowhead Stadium is compelling impervious they person arrived arsenic a existent subordinate successful the AFC, if not the part the Chiefs person owned for years.

Nevertheless, it is understandable to inactive wonderment astir the Chargers, if for nary different crushed than their frustrating wont of yet shooting themselves successful the foot.

Hosting the Cleveland Browns connected Sunday offers an accidental to further contiguous their lawsuit arsenic a morganatic contender. It won’t beryllium an casual task.

The Browns are averaging a league-leading 177 rushing yards, portion the Chargers let opponents the fourth-most rushing yards astatine 135.

Chiefs’ defence MIA

Kansas City bounced backmost from its location nonaccomplishment to the Chargers with a triumph implicit the Eagles.

But it came with a large qualifier. A Philadelphia squad that scored 11 and 21 points successful its losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys implicit the 2 erstwhile weeks, dropped 30 points connected the beleaguered Chiefs defense.

A triumph is simply a win, and the 42 points the Chiefs scored shows conscionable however almighty the Kansas City discourtesy continues to be. The occupation is those 42 points look to person go a necessity alternatively than a luxury.

And with a morganatic discourtesy coming to municipality Sunday successful the Buffalo Bills, it could get really, truly disfigured for the Chiefs.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter