NFL Week 5 Picks: Rounding Up Top Experts' Predictions

With the way that the 2014 NFL regular season has unfolded so far, who really knows what the heck is going on?

Parity is always rife throughout the league, but this year in particular seems to be taking that idea to the extreme. No team is safe.

As a result, it might be a good idea to consult some experts who know what they're talking about. Even in these trying and unpredictable times, their insight can be invaluable.

Below, you will see the picks from each of Bleacher Report's six national lead NFL writers.

Matchup	Matt Bowen	Mike Freeman	Matt Miller	Ty Schalter	Michael Schottey	Mike Tanier
CHI at CAR	CHI	CAR	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI
CLE at TEN	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE
STL at PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI
ATL at NYG	NYG	NYG	ATL	NYG	NYG	ATL
TB at NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
HOU at DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL
BUF at DET	DET	DET	DET	DET	DET	BUF
BAL at IND	IND	IND	IND	BAL	BAL	IND
PIT at JAX	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT
ARI at DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	ARI	DEN	DEN
KC at SF	SF	SF	SF	KC	SF	SF
NYJ at SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
CIN at NE	CIN	NE	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN
SEA at WAS	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA

Note: You can view picks from all 16 members of B/R's expert panel here.

Most Intriguing Games

Cincinnati Bengals vs. New England Patriots

While the New England Patriots are playing at home, the Cincinnati Bengals have had an extra week to prepare. More importantly for Cincinnati, A.J. Green had a lot of time to fully get over the injured toe that affected him earlier in the year.

He recorded six receptions for 102 yards against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 21, but the toe wasn't yet at 100 percent.

Green will likely be matched up against Darrelle Revis, which alone is worth the price of admission.

Rather than play any mind games and downplay Green's talent, Revis acknowledged the difficult task ahead.

"A.J. Green is one of the best receivers in the league," he said, per Lee Schechter for ESPNBoston.com. "I have a lot of respect for him."

While the Pats haven't been particularly great against the run in 2014, their pass defense is among the best in the league so far. You can see New England's numbers to the left.

The Patriots have really excelled in limiting the opposition's No. 1 target through the air. According to Football Outsiders, they're allowing 9.5 passes and 73.0 yards per game to WR1s. In defense-adjusted value over average, they're fourth in the league.

With that said, New England's problems are twofold.

The defense is giving up 129.8 yards a game on the ground, which could be an issue with the Bengals' thunder-and-lightning combo of Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill.

The Patriots offense also ranks 29th in the league in yards per game. While Cincinnati ranks 15th in yards allowed per game, Football Outsiders ranks the Bengals defense first in DVOA.

This game's going to be close, but the Bengals will walk out with a win.

Prediction: Bengals 27, Patriots 21

Baltimore Ravens vs. Indianapolis Colts

The team that dictates the pace will win this game. It's that simple. The Indianapolis Colts don't want to get dragged into a back-and-forth slugfest just as much as the Baltimore Ravens are loathe to let this turn into a shootout.

Losing to the Bengals in the opening week of the season is looking less and less like a sign of concern for the Ravens. They rebounded beautifully with wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers.

B/R's Matt Miller placed Baltimore seventh in his most recent power rankings:

"

With a complete thumping of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the Ravens asserted themselves again as a top-tier team in the AFC. And if they can get Steve Smith Sr. to play that fired up every week, the rest of the NFL is in big trouble.

With so much negativity surrounding the Ravens due to the Ray Rice incident, it's easy to forget how well they're playing on the field. But right now, few teams present the balance that John Harbaugh's team is showcasing on both sides of the ball.

"

The red flag for Sunday is that the Ravens are giving up 260.3 passing yards a game, 24th in the league. Meanwhile, the Colts are torching opposing secondaries for 326 yards a game, which is tops in the NFL. Andrew Luck looks to have made the transition from promising young quarterback to pigskin-chucking deity.

Jonathan Vilma and B/R's Chris Simms are already talking about Luck possibly eclipsing 50 or more passing touchdowns, which has been done twice in NFL history.

With the game in Indianapolis, the Colts get the slight edge. Luck and the Indy passing game will overwhelm the Ravens defense and outshine Baltimore's offensive balance.

Prediction: Colts 30, Ravens 24

Chicago Bears vs. Carolina Panthers

Can anybody get a read on the Carolina Panthers? They beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Derek Anderson under center and followed up with a 24-7 victory over the Detroit Lions. Then they go and lose to the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers by a combined 46 points.

Yes, Greg Hardy's still on the exempt list, but that alone doesn't explain how the Panthers could go from having one of the best defenses in 2013 to having a below-average defense in 2014.

Chris McClain of 610 The Fan in Charlotte remains pessimistic that the Carolina defense will be able to compensate for the offense, even with some players returning from injury.

Defense could be the least of Carolina's problems on Sunday considering how decimated the team's running back corps is. According to NFL.com, DeAngelo Williams didn't practice on Thursday, while Jonathan Stewart was limited.

That's great news for a Chicago Bears defense that's had some trouble against the pass in 2014. While the Bears rank 20 in yards allowed per game (250), they're 27th in yards allowed per pass attempt (8.2).

The less Chicago must respect the Panthers running game is the more the Bears can gear up to stop Cam Newton, Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olsen.

Granted it came against the Green Bay Packers, but Matt Forte's 122 yards on the ground in Week 4 make you wonder if he's overcome his early struggles.

Jay Cutler has played pretty well by his standards so far, so if Forte can get going, the Bears offense won't have any problems against Carolina.

Prediction: Bears 28, Panthers 20