The football week that was isn’t really over until the various awards have been awarded. So let’s award some awards.
Five categories, same as always. Offensive player of the week, defensive player of the week, rookie of the week, coach of the week, and play of the week.
Each one, along with finalists, is spelled out below.
Offensive player of the week: Saints tight end Taysom Hill.
In a 39-32 win over the Seahawks, Hill racked up 112 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He also had a 22-yard touchdown pass, on one attempt.
The one-time quarterback who is now a tight end rarely gets used the way he should be. On Sunday he was. And maybe that’s the key to getting the most out of the New Orleans offense.
Time will tell whether it continues. On Sunday, the Saints used Hill to his full extent, and he delivered like never before.
Other finalists: Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (seven catches, 25 receiving yards, four touchdowns), Bill receiver Gabe Davis (171 receiving yards, two touchdowns), Bills quarterback Josh Allen (424 passing yards, four touchdowns), Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson (12 catches, 154 yards), Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (193 yards from scrimmage, one touchdown), Browns running back Nick Chubb (134 rushing yards, two touchdowns), Commanders receiver Dyami Brown (two catches, 105 yards, two touchdowns).
Defensive player of the week: Colts cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
During a Thursday night stinker in Denver, Gilmore made key defensive plays both late in regulation (with an end-zone interception) and in overtime (breaking up the fourth-and-goal pass attempt) to deliver victory.
After the win, Gilmore had pointed comments for Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson.
“They tried me like two times in a row, the play before,” Gilmore said. “I knew he was going to come back, and I had to make him pay.He kept trying me, so I made him pay.”
The Colts are surely happy they paid Gilmore, an offseason free agent who could have signed with any team.
Other finalists: Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (two sacks), 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Mosley (pick six), Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler (game-winning fumble recovery), Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (two sacks).
Rookie of the week: Jets running back Breece Hall.
The Jets tailback had 197 yards from scrimmage, with 97 rushing and 100 receiving, in a 40-17 win over the Dolphins. He also scored a touchdown.
It was a breakout game for the second-round tailback, who has 275 rushing yards, 213 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns for the season.
Other finalists: Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (interception, forced safety with intentional grounding call), Texans running back Dameon Pierce (99 rushing yards, one touchdown), Seahawks running back Ken Walker III (88 rushing yards, one touchdown), Texans cornerback Derek Stingley (one interception), Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe (17-21, 188 yards, one touchdown, one interception).
Coach of the week: Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
The Lions had been the highest scoring team in the league through four weeks. And the Patriots kept them from adding a single point to that total.
In a league premised on offense, the Patriots pitched a shutout. The game served as a reminder that, for the Patriots, the first four games of the regular season are usually an extension of the preseason. Now, the Patriots may be ready to make a run.
Other finalists: Giants coach Brian Daboll, Jets coach Robert Saleh, Ravens coach John Harbaugh, Bills coach Sean McDermott, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy.
Play of the week: Broncos failed fourth and one play in overtime.
No play generated more discussion in Week Five, even though the outcome was bad -- for one team. Eschewing the run, or even selling the possibility of it, Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett dialed up a pass with the game on the line. He didn’t see, or didn’t try to see, wide-open receiver K.J. Hamler. He threw it toward receiver Courtland Sutton, and Colts cornerback Stephen Gilmore was there to break it up.
The news that Wilson went to L.A. the next day for treatment on his shoulder injury arguably excuses a lackluster performance by Wilson that night. It also merits more questions about why Hackett would think it was the right decision to put the ball in Wilson’s hands if his shoulder was indeed not right.
Other finalists: One-handed touchdown catch by Bills receiver Gabe Davis, 98-yard catch and run by Bills receiver Gabe Davis, one-handed catch by Bears receiver Darnell Mooney, Saints tight end Taysom Hill’s 60-yard touchdown run, Vikings cornerback Cam Dantzler ripping ball from Bears receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette to seal a victory.