NFL Picks Week 5: Breaking Down Weekend's Most Exciting Games

While not every week in the NFL features good matchups between the league's top teams, Week 5 does exactly that.

Eight of the 14 games this week include two .500 or better squads at this point of the season. That does not even include the 1-2 Green Bay Packers, who will likely be well above that mark by year's end.

Of course, that makes picking games that much harder. This will certainly be a separation in pick 'em and survivor leagues after this week.

Hopefully, this will help you come out on top. Here is a look at the best games set to take place on Sunday.

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears

Monday night's blowout win over the Miami Dolphins proved that the New Orleans Saints are once again one of the top teams in the NFL. However, it is still a task to get things done on the road.

In the Saints' only game away from home this year, they struggled to get points on the board against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and narrowly escaped with a 16-14 win. Unlike the Bucs, Chicago has the offense to stay around with New Orleans.

Still, the Saints have made huge improvements defensively since last season. They are now capable of putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback, which will lead to mistakes from Jay Cutler.

Add this to the recent troubles Chicago has had defensively, and Drew Brees should be able to win a squeaker on the road.

Prediction: Saints 28, Bears 27

New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals

This game will largely be based on the health of each team. While the Patriots have been able to survive without Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola, the Bengals struggled mightily without most of its defensive secondary last game.

These players will have to be available in order to slow down Tom Brady next week.

The good news for the Bengals is that they should be refocused after a disappointing showing in Cleveland last week. It was obvious that the players were not prepared for the seemingly inferior opponent after a big win against the Packers the week before.

Look for receiver A.J. Green to have a big showing as he helps lead the offense back in a huge victory at home.

Prediction: Bengals 31, Patriots 28

Seattle Seahawks at Indianapolis Colts

The defense bailed out Seattle in a win over the Texans, but it overshadowed the continued struggles of Russell Wilson and the offense on the road.

In two games away from CenturyLink Field, the team only scored two offensive touchdowns. The young quarterback was able to gain yards on the ground, but he struggled to sustain drives thanks in part to a 3-for-14 conversion rate on third downs.

With the Colts improving dramatically on defense since the start of the year, it will once again be a low-scoring game.

The biggest question in this is whether Andrew Luck can hold onto the football. He threw 18 interceptions as a rookie last year, but has cut that down to two this season. If he can avoid bad mistakes that could fuel the opposing defense, he can lead his team to a big upset win.

Prediction: Colts 17, Seahawks 13

Houston Texans at San Francisco 49ers

Turnovers can be devastating to any team trying to win a football game. Interceptions returned for touchdowns are even worse.

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has thrown a pick-six in each of the last three games, and all of them could have been avoided with better decision making. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely the veteran changes his ways this week on the road.

San Francisco should be able to move the ball offensively the same way the Seahawks did last week: running the ball. Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch combined for 175 rushing yards in the game, which is something that Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore will try to replicate in a win.

Prediction: 49ers 24, Texans 20

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.