NFL Picks Week 5: Latest Odds, Over/Under Lines and Predictions for Every Game

Many of the NFL spreads have inflated a bit heading into Week 5 with a few lopsided matchups on paper, but that only makes for tougher bets against the spread.

A vast majority of lines in recent weeks have been pretty close, with little separating some opponents entering games. But with four weeks of 2014 in the books, most of the teams are starting to show just where they reach on the measuring stick—and it's hard to tell for many of them, considering the difference from one week to the next.

But just because there is danger ahead doesn't mean it's not possible to navigate the treacherous waters and steer your way to some serious coin with the right picks.

Here's a look at the Week 5 odds and over/under spreads, along with picks and analysis of the most intriguing matchups.

Matchup	Time (ET)	Over/Under	Spread	Prediction
Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers	1 p.m.	46	CAR (-1.5)	CHI 27-24
Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans	1 p.m.	44	Even	CLE 20-16
St. Louis Rams at Philadelphia Eagles	1 p.m.	47.5	PHI (-7)	PHI 31-17
Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants	1 p.m.	50	NYG (-4)	NYG 27-23
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints	1 p.m.	48	NO (-11)	NO 34-20
Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys	1 p.m.	47	DAL (-7)	DAL 21-17
Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions	1 p.m.	43	DET (-7.5)	DET 27-14
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts	1 p.m.	48.5	IND (-3)	IND 24-20
Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars	1 p.m.	47.5	PIT (-7)	PIT 31-16
Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos	4:05 p.m.	48	DEN (-9)	DEN 28-24
Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers	4:25 p.m.	44	SF (-5.5)	SF 21-20
New York Jets at San Diego Chargers	4:25 p.m.	43.5	SD (-7.5)	SD 31-27
Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots	8:30 p.m.	46	Even	CIN 28-18
Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins	8:30 p.m. (Mon.)	45	SEA (-8.5)	SEA 35-24

Note: Odds via OddsShark.com, updated as of Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. ET

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts

Gail Burton/Associated Press

After turning around their season amid an 0-2 start, the Indianapolis Colts stay at home to face a surging Baltimore Ravens squad.

The Ravens opened up with a close loss to Cincinnati but have since looked untouchable. They knocked off divisional opponents Pittsburgh and Cleveland to follow it up, before trouncing the Carolina Panthers 38-10 in Week 4.

Indianapolis hasn't been quite as successful in big early-season games, falling in tight affairs to Denver and Philadelphia to start the season. The Colts have since throttled AFC South opponents Jacksonville and Tennessee by a combined 85-34, but those teams have a total record of 1-7.

As head coach Chuck Pagano told 1070 The Fan's Conrad Brunner, Sunday's game will be a much better measurement of where they stand:

"

#Colts Pagano: This is a good time for a measuring stick. Ravens a team, if you find a way to win, you get back in the conversation in AFC.

— Conrad Brunner (@1070Bruno) October 3, 2014"

For Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, well, he opted to rattle up the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd in days leading up. He mentioned to the media, according to Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com, a long-standing rumor that the Colts "pipe crowd noise in there" over the stadium speakers—an illegal practice in the NFL.

But if Harbaugh and the Ravens' recent success—or lack thereof—in Indianapolis is any indication, they might want to keep focus between the lines, per Curt Cavin of The Indianapolis Star:

They will have their hands full dealing with Andrew Luck, the NFL's leading passer through four games who has his Colts topping the charts in the aerial game. He lost his only game against Baltimore, but it was in the playoffs of his rookie season and step one of the Ravens' Super Bowl run.

Despite a 3-1 record, the Ravens secondary has struggled. It ranks 24th in the league giving up 260 pass yards per game, allowing 290 through the air from Cleveland's Brian Hoyer and 248 from Cam Newton in winning results—and neither of those teams has had near the success through the air that Indianapolis has.

USA TODAY Sports

The Ravens have surprised with a strong running game that has them ranked eighth in the NFL, but the Colts front seven has impressed with an 11th-ranked run defense. Baltimore can shut down the run just as well, but the Colts boast a passing game that few can stop and one that can thrive even without a run game.

Two strong defensive fronts will keep this game hotly contested, but there's no stopping Luck when he's playing at this level.

Prediction: Colts 24, Ravens 20

Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The struggling New England Patriots could really use a visit from one of the NFL's cellar-dwellers in Week 5 but instead welcome one of the league's two unbeaten teams coming off a bye—the Cincinnati Bengals.

After Cincinnati's blistering 3-0 start to the season, injuries piled up in the opening few weeks, and that meant the Week 4 bye couldn't have come at a better time. Star wideout A.J. Green was removed from the injury report in Week 5, while linebacker Sean Porter and running back Rex Burkhead returned to full practice this week.

It's much, much more than injuries holding the Patriots back through the opening 25 percent of the season. They shook off a Week 1 loss to the Dolphins with two straight wins but were relegated to .500 in a Monday Night Football embarrassment to the Kansas City Chiefs.

A 2-2 record would be promising for many teams but not one with as high of hopes as the Patriots. The urgency couldn't be higher for New England entering this home matchup, as NFL Network's Albert Breer reported:

Conventional wisdom over recent NFL seasons would suggest the Patriots are due for a bounce-back performance. But with previous shortcomings against the Bengals and coming off a disappearing act in Kansas City, it's hard to see New England being able to turn things around convincingly in Week 5.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com reported just how bad of a time it is to be playing the AFC North giants:

Alex Smith threw for three touchdowns with no turnovers against the Patriots' once-vaunted secondary, and Andy Dalton has vastly superior weapons at his disposal. With Green back to full health, Patriots cornerbacks should be quivering with fear after the big plays the two have combined for this season.

But this game is much more likely to get out of hand on the other side of the ball. The Bengals have generated seven sacks through three games, and Tom Brady has been sacked nine times in 2014 behind a makeshift offensive line.

It would normally be like playing with fire to predict the Patriots not bouncing back, but they face a Bengals team that is just way too complete.

Prediction: Bengals 28, Patriots 18

Follow Steven Cook on Twitter to chat football.