Chansky's Notebook: An NFL Nuttier Than Ever

The cardiac Panthers and snake bit Giants are typical of today’s NFL.

Can you remember a nuttier NFL season than what has gone on in the first five weeks? And it gets crazier every Sunday.

The 2-1 Panthers were heavy favorites at home but barely avoided their second loss when the Giants went 75-yards in the last two minutes to take a 31-30 lead after having trailed 17-3 late in the first half.

Turned out their hurry-up drive was too fast. Cam Newton sped the Cats down field and Graham Gano boomed a 63-yarder at the gun to pull out Carolina’s third win in four games. The Giants, now 1-4 with three close losses, exemplified the nutty nature of pro football this fall.

Here is what else happened on Sunday:

The Jets, who went in 1-3, crushed the same Broncos team that came within seconds of knocking off undefeated Kansas City last week.

The Super Bowl champion Eagles lost their third game of the season — to the now 2-2-1 Vikings, for whom it was even more of a must win.

After leading 17-0 early in the second half, the once-unbeaten Dolphins gave up 24 unanswered points to the Bengals to drop their second straight game on the road.

The Buffalo Bills, who had been outscored by 77 points in their three losses, stunned the Tennessee Titans, who had won three in a row and were becoming the darlings on the AFC.

The Lions, after having already beaten the Patriots at home, have now upset the Packers there, too.

The Pittsburgh Steelers evened their record to 2-2-1 by crushing the 1-4 Atlanta Falcons, who were favored to win the NFC South.

Cleveland won its second game in the last two years by going into overtime again and beating the Ravens, who are the original old Browns. The Texans, who started 0-3, won their second straight game in OT by beating the always-struggling Cowboys.

Two undefeated teams remain, the 5-0 Chiefs and the 5-0 Rams, who by default are the new favorites to meet in the Super Bowl 17 wacky weeks from now.