Bye... or goodbye?
| Week 5 results | ||||
|
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| 46-32 7-7 |
52-26 9-5 |
44-34 10-4 |
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| Thursday, October 5, 2023 | ||||
| Chicago @ Washington | Washington | Washington | Washington | |
| Sunday, October 8, 2023 | ||||
| Jacksonville @ Buffalo (London) | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | |
| Houston @ Atlanta | Houston | Atlanta | Atlanta | |
| Carolina @ Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | |
| Tennessee @ Indianapolis | Tennessee | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | |
| N.Y. Giants @ Miami | Miami | Miami | Miami | |
| New Orleans @ New England | New England | New England | New England | |
| Baltimore @ Pittsburgh | Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore | |
| Cincinnati @ Arizona | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | |
| Philadelphia @ L.A. Rams | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | |
| N.Y. Jets @ Denver | N.Y. Jets | N.Y. Jets | N.Y. Jets | |
| Kansas City @ Minnesota | Kansas City | Kansas City | Kansas City | |
| Dallas @ San Francisco | San Francisco | San Francisco | San Francisco | |
| Monday, October 9, 2023 | ||||
| Green Bay @ Las Vegas | Green Bay | Green Bay | Las Vegas | |
| Byes: Cleveland, L.A. Chargers, Seattle, Tampa Bay | ||||
| © 2023 Gehlke Bros. Football | ||||
We’ve reached the “bye weeks” portion of the season when the NawFuL starts scheduling a week off for each of the league’s 32 teams. Between now and Dec. 11, when the bye weeks draw to a merciful close at the end of Week 14, only the Thanksgiving holiday weekend will offer a full 16-game lineup. But while the teams can look forward to a scheduled week off, there is no rest for the Gehlke Bros. — and certainly not for the Senior Bro, who can’t seem to catch a break barely a month into a season that is quickly unraveling.
We had an even number of splits in Week 5 for the fifth consecutive week. This time it was just two games, but that means someone has to sweep for anything to change in the standings. And change they did. Sean rode both home teams to victory, with the Colts outlasting the Titans, 23-16, and the Falcons overcoming a late deficit for a game-winning field goal against the Texans, 21-19.
The results represent the third 2-game swing in favor of the Junior Bro this season, putting him up 6 games — the largest lead after five weeks since Glenn led by 10 games at the same juncture in 2014. The good news for Sean: Since 1998, no Bro leading by at least three games after Week 5 has ever lost a GBF Championship. The good news for Glenn: There is no good news, except that there are still 13 weeks to go and anything can happen.
Sean’s widening advantage aside, it was Ben who recorded the best record in bye-shortened Week 5, going 10-4. Sean was second at 9-5, while Glenn’s 7-7 mark put him in third and breaking even. We all picked Detroit, Miami, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, N.Y. Jets, Kansas City and San Francisco to win. No one predicted Chicago, Jacksonville, New Orleans or Pittsburgh to get W’s.
