NFL Week 5 Predictions: Projections for the Early Lines, Spreads and Odds

It is never too early to look ahead toward the next week of NFL action, especially with a few games that could end up being important for the remainder of the season.

There are a number of cases in Week 5 where teams off to fast starts face their toughest test of the season. Meanwhile, a few struggling squads have a chance to get back on track with favorable matchups. 

Although it is difficult to predict games against the spread early in the week before we know more about injuries, here is an initial look at the opening lines for the upcoming week's battles.

Date	Away	Home	ATS Pick*
Oct. 2	Minnesota Vikings	Green Bay Packers	GB -9.5
Oct. 5	Chicago Bears	Carolina Panthers	CHI +2.5
Oct. 5	Cleveland Browns	Tennessee Titans	CLE +2
Oct. 5	St. Louis Rams	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI -7
Oct. 5	Atlanta Falcons	New York Giants	NYG -4
Oct. 5	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	New Orleans Saints	TB +11.5
Oct. 5	Houston Texans	Dallas Cowboys	DAL -4
Oct. 5	Buffalo Bills	Detroit Lions	DET -7
Oct. 5	Baltimore Ravens	Indianapolis Colts	IND -3.5
Oct. 5	Pittsburgh Steelers	Jacksonville Jaguars	PIT -6.5
Oct. 5	Arizona Cardinals	Denver Broncos	ARI +8
Oct. 5	Kansas City Chiefs	San Francisco 49ers	SF -7.5
Oct. 5	New York Jets	San Diego Chargers	SD -7
Oct. 5	Cincinnati Bengals	New England Patriots	CIN +2.5
Oct. 6	Seattle Seahawks	Washington Redskins	SEA -7

Best Bets

Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions (-7)

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Matthew Stafford has put up big numbers for years but often struggled with ball control while forcing the ball to Calvin Johnson. With Megatron limited for most of the Week 4 game with an ankle injury, the quarterback came through with an impressive effort against the New York Jets. 

Tony Dungy of NBC Sports certainly likes what he saw from the player:

With another week of rest, Johnson should be able to get back on the field and make this Lions offense even more explosive.

Meanwhile, the defense has been just as impressive against both the run and the pass, the latter being a bit of a surprise after dealing with various changes to the secondary.

The Bills started the year well with two solid wins, but they have lost two in a row with EJ Manuel struggling with his accuracy. With the Lions defensive line likely to put him under pressure all game, you can expect even more mistakes from the young quarterback.

Detroit should be able to get an easy win at home to stay in first place in the NFC North.

New York Jets vs. San Diego Chargers (-7)

The Chargers offense has been impressive all year, even with running backs Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead going down with injuries. Philip Rivers has put the team on his back and has found a way to consistently move the ball up and down the field.

However, it is the defense that has been more of a surprise, allowing just 15.8 points per game through the first four weeks.

Head coach Mike McCoy was proud of the team's ability to force three turnovers in the Week 4 matchup, via Ricky Henne of Chargers.com:

"

I think (turnovers) come in bunches at times. You do certain things and you force teams to throw the ball when you stop the run and you get good pressure up front. We’ve had our hands on plenty of balls this year.  We might not have caught every one of them, obviously, but we played the plays today when they were there.

"

While it was the Jacksonville Jaguars with rookie Blake Bortles making his first career start, it was still a strong performance nonetheless. 

This could be bad news for Geno Smith, who has thrown at least one interception in every game this season. Without many weapons around him offensively, the New York Jets will not be able to keep up with the Chargers on the scoreboard.

San Diego continues to prove it is one of the best teams in the NFL this season, and this game will be another stepping stone to greatness.

Seattle Seahawks (-7) vs. Washington Redskins

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The Seahawks are clearly not as good on the road as they are at home, but they are still the defending Super Bowl champions. With wins over the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos this season, this team remains a favorite to win the title yet again.

Seattle's defense is as good as ever, while the offense could be even better with an improving Russell Wilson and a healthy Percy Harvin.

On the other hand, the Washington Redskins are coming off an embarrassing defeat at home, losing 45-14 to the New York Giants. The defense was terrible, but it still was not as bad as Kirk Cousins at quarterback.

Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon provides this interesting look at the backup quarterback's play:

Cousins finished with five turnovers against a defense that had not been all that impressive until this point. Going up against the Seahawks secondary could end up being scary.

Seattle is well-rested after a bye and should be able to earn an easy victory against a poor opponent.

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