NFL Week 5 Schedule: Final Predictions and Analysis for Sunday's Slate

Entering Week 5, the 2014 NFL season has been anything but consistent. Many fans are wondering what happened to the once-dominant New Orleans Saints, while others are shocked by the undefeated standing of an Arizona Cardinals team missing its starting quarterback. Then we have teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers that look like Super Bowl contenders one week but can't get out of their own way the next.

The unpredictable nature of the NFL is sure to return on Sunday.

Week 5 brings a few intriguing matchups. Two red-hot teams face off when the Baltimore Ravens visit the Indianapolis Colts. Alex Smith returns to his NFL roots, as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers. The New England Patriots will attempt to right the ship against an undefeated Cincinnati Bengals team on Sunday night.

Those three games alone exemplify the high level of compelling football we're about to witness. As we impatiently await for continued NFL action, let's take a look at the full slate of Sunday's games, predict the outcome for each and highlight the most intriguing matchups of the week.

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

Analysis for Sunday's Top Games

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Both of these teams are on big hot streaks entering Week 5. The Ravens are on a three-game winning streak that culminated with wide receiver Steve Smith torching the Carolina Panthers—his former team—for 139 yards and two scores in a 38-10 rout. The Colts have won their last two, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans by a combined margin of 51 points.

While Indianapolis and Baltimore have been great on offense, both have struggled against the pass on defense. The Colts and Ravens enter their matchup ranked 21st and 24th in the league, respectively. This game could quickly turn into a shootout.

If that's the case, it only makes sense to go with the hotter quarterback. While Joe Flacco has been impressive lately—he threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns against Carolina—Andrew Luck has been playing out of his mind—he's thrown for at least 370 yards and four touchdowns in each of his last two performances.

ESPN Stats & Info tweeted exactly how good Luck has been so far this season:

Expect to see a close one with the home team emerging victorious on the tail end of a shootout.

Prediction: Colts 31, Ravens 27

Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

This may be the most intriguing matchup of the day. Both teams enter Sunday's contest with 2-2 records and plenty to prove. After two consecutive losses, the 49ers defense held strong against a very talented Philadelphia Eagles offense to record a win. The Chiefs look better every week and have now won two straight after trouncing the Patriots on Monday Night Football.

San Francisco finally got back to its winning formula against the Eagles in Week 4. The team relied heavily on running back Frank Gore and its stout defense to orchestrate a win. Gore racked up 174 yards of total offense, as the 49ers held Philadelphia's offense to just 213 total yards.

Jamaal Charles proved to be one of the league's biggest weapons once again in Week 4. He scored three times and accumulated 108 yards of offense. Meanwhile, Smith was as efficient as ever, and Knile Davis proved to be very useful as a complement in the backfield.

This matchup from the 49ers' official Twitter account will certainly be the one to watch on Sunday:

Expect this one to be a chess match, as San Francisco will attempt to get through Kansas City's shaky offensive line, while the Chiefs will continue to combat the pass rush with quick throws. In the end, it will be the 49ers' ability to control the clock with their running game to notch a very close win.

Prediction: 49ers 23, Chiefs 22

Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots

Al Behrman/Associated Press

Here we have a tale of teams that seem to be heading in opposite directions. The Patriots have dominated the league for years; however, recent offensive line issues and shaky quarterback play have led to a lackluster start to the season. Meanwhile, Cincinnati may be one of the deepest teams in the league, and its 3-0 record is a testament to that.

Tom Brady looked out of sorts against the Chiefs in Week 4. Yes, a big part of that had to do with an offensive line that resembles a slice of Swiss cheese; however, many throws missed their marks entirely, and he turned the ball over three times. Cincinnati has a fierce pass rush, and the future Hall of Famer won't have it any easier on Sunday night.

Chris Wesseling of Around the NFL tweeted NFL Films' Greg Cosell's take on the Patriots this season:

Cincinnati is coming off a Week 4 bye and will be nicely rested for this impending matchup. After facing the Ravens, Atlanta Falcons and Titans, the Bengals defense has only given up a total of 33 points. On the other side of the ball, Andy Dalton has been extremely efficient and looks to be worth every penny of his new contract.

The Bengals have a history of poor showings in prime-time games; however, this team looks mature enough to handle the pressure and come away with a big win.

Prediction: Bengals 27, Patriots 20