NFL Week 5

If you enjoy seeing your football team kneel down in victory formation at the end of the game, you might as well stop watching the NFL. An amazing Week 5 concluded on Monday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers scoring a touchdown on the final play of the game to beat the San Diego Chargers 24-20.

Three of Sunday’s games went to overtime. OT games, of course, end on the final play and two were decided by field goals. The other, the Atlanta Falcons’ triumph over the Washington Redskins, wrapped with cornerback Robert Alford returning an interception 59 yards for a touchdown. On Sunday night, the New York Giants came back against the San Francisco 49ers and scored a touchdown with 21 seconds left to win 30-27.

The Steelers, struggling on offense without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, got a fascinating performance – not a great one, but a fascinating one – from his backup, Michael Vick. Known throughout his career as a runner, Vick nearly went through a game for the first time without a rushing attempt. But when he finally took off, he went 24 yards in the game’s final minute to the Chargers’ 17. He then hit tight end Heath Miller for 16 yards and the ball was on the Chargers’ 5 with five seconds left.

Rather than try to kick a field goal for the tie, the Steelers gambled. They lined up in the wildcat formation, with the snap going directly to running Le’Veon Bell. Bell powered into the end zone off the left side and the Steelers, on the road but playing in front of so many of their own fans, were stealers.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .