NFL Week 5 Picks: Final Overview of Consensus Picks

Through four weeks of the 2014 NFL season, we've seen plenty of interesting developments. Heading into Week 5, the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals remain as the league's only undefeated teams. Meanwhile, the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars are deadlocked for a chance to claim next year's No. 1 overall draft pick.

Other narratives are quite surprising. The New England Patriots continue to fall apart, as future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady hasn't been sharp. Several lackluster performances from the 1-3 New Orleans Saints have been equally as shocking. Not to mention, seeing the Houston Texans atop the AFC South wasn't exactly expected prior to the season.

So, will these trends continue in Week 5, or will we be hit by another intriguing turn of events? Let's take a look at predictions for the remaining slate of games, followed with the outlook of this week's consensus picks.

Matchup	Prediction
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts	IND, 31-27
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints	NO, 31-20
Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars	PITT, 35-13
Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants	NYG, 30-24
Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers	CHI, 27-23
St. Louis Rams at Philadelphia Eagles	PHI, 26-20
Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys	DAL, 24-16
Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans	CLE, 23-20
Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions	DET, 18-10
Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos	DEN, 28-20
New York Jets at San Diego Chargers	SD, 27-20
Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers	SF, 23-22
Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots	CIN, 27-20
Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins	SEA, 34-16

Consensus Picks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints

Tim Sharp/Associated Press

The Buccaneers pulled out a shocker in Week 4, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 27-24 thanks to a last-second touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Glennon to wide receiver Vincent Jackson. Well, Tampa Bay will want to revel in that victory as much as it can, because there is no win in store for the team this week.

New Orleans is a tremendously talented team. However, they simply haven't been playing up to expectations this season. The team suffered a big loss in prime time to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, but luckily a home contest is on the horizon on Sunday.

The Saints won their only home game this season—a 20-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3—and their prowess in the Mercedez-Benz Superdome will continue in Week 5 when quarterback Drew Brees faces the league's 28th-ranked pass defense.

Scott Hanson of NFL RedZone tweeted the difference between Brees' numbers on the road and at home prior to the team's loss to the Cowboys:

Glennon notched a win against Pittsburgh in Week 4. However, he was still only able to complete half of his passes. With no running game to speak of, he'll have a difficult time keeping up with a high-octane Saints offense in New Orleans.

Prediction: Saints 31, Buccaneers 20

Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

The Steelers suffered a tragic loss to the Buccaneers in Week 4, but don't expect that trend to continue in Week 5 against the winless Jaguars.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been on fire of late. He completed 29 of his 40 passing attempts for 314 yards and three touchdowns against the Buccaneers in Week 4, and now he has the privilege of facing the Jaguars and their NFL-worst passing defense. Jacksonville is also allowing an average of a whopping 38.0 points per game.

On the other side of the coin, Pittsburgh's defense has been improving lately. The team held the Carolina Panthers to just 19 points in Week 3, and while Tampa Bay scored 27 in Week 4, that can be mostly attributed to 13 penalties committed by the Steelers. That shouldn't be expected in back-to-back weeks.

Expect Dick LeBeau's defense to apply plenty of pressure on rookie quarterback Blake Bortles. While the first-round selection looked good in a small sample size, facing Pittsburgh's defense is no easy task for an inexperienced player.

According to NFL on CBS, Roethlisberger sees plenty of himself in the way Bortles plays:

Bortles should learn plenty on Sunday, but Roethlisberger will get the win.

Prediction: Steelers 35, Jaguars 13

Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins

John Froschauer/Associated Press

It's not going to get any better for the 1-3 Redskins in Week 5. Quarterback Kirk Cousins looked like the real deal against the Philadelphia Eagles and Jaguars. However, he quickly came back down to Earth against a good New York Giants secondary. Now, he'll have to compete with Richard Sherman and the Seahawks.

Cousins simply looked flustered and skittish in the pocket against the Giants. He was under duress for a good portion of the game, and that led to several poor decisions which resulted in four interceptions. The stats speak for themselves, via Numbers Never Lie:

He won't have it any easier against Seattle.

Washington's defense couldn't contain any of New York's offensive weapons, either. Victor Cruz and Reuben Randle combined for just under 200 receiving yards, and tight end Larry Donnell recorded three touchdown receptions. This unit must now face the efficient, dual-threat Russell Wilson, the bruising Marshawn Lynch and speedy Percy Harvin.

Seattle may be traveling east, but the team is coming off a close overtime win against the Denver Broncos after losing to the San Diego Chargers. Rest assured, the Seahawks will be looking to establish momentum by winning big on Monday night.

Prediction: Seahawks 34, Redskins 16