NFL Week 5 Predictions: Early Vegas Odds Advice, Lines and Spread Picks

After four weeks of preseason action and the first quarter of the regular season, we now have the kind of information needed when it comes to handicapping NFL games.

Many factors will impact results from this point forward, not the least of which is injuries, but after four regular-season games (for all but the New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans), football analysts know the makeup of each team and how it plays.

At this point, we have to analyze our information and come to a conclusion. What we don't want to do is overthink what we have seen so far and start rationalizing.

The first four weeks of the season are often difficult because there is simply not enough viable information. Now there is, and we are ready to jump in with both feet.

A note of caution, however. While we know a lot more than we did a month ago, so do the linemakers. We have to respect their opinions or else we could find ourselves in a deep hole before midseason.

Here's our early look at the Week 5 games, with all lines courtesy of Odds Shark.

Game	Line	Selection
Indianapolis at Houston	NL	Indianapolis
Washington at Atlanta	Atl. -9	Washington
Cleveland at Baltimore	Balt. -9	Cleveland
Seattle at Cincinnati	NL	Seattle
St. Louis at Green Bay	GB -10.5	Green Bay
Chicago at Kansas City	KC -10.5	Kansas City
New Orleans at Philadelphia	NL	Philadelphia
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay	TB -3	Tampa Bay
Buffalo at Tennessee	Buff. -3	Buffalo
Arizona at Detroit	NL	Arizona
New England at Dallas	NL	New England
Denver at Oakland	Den. -5.5	Oakland
San Francisco at New York Giants	NYG -7	New York Giants
Pittsburgh at San Diego	NL	San Diego

Redskins have formula to stay close to streaking Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons could not have asked for a better start under first-year head coach Dan Quinn. 

The former Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator has taken this franchise and whipped it into shape after back-to-back losing seasons that earned former head coach Mike Smith a ticket out of town.

The Falcons have ridden the accurate passing of Matt Ryan and the spectacular playmaking ability of wide receiver Julio Jones to a 4-0 getaway. 

While we believe the Falcons are a good team that can cause problems for a lot of teams the rest of the way, we don't look at them as a Super Bowl-caliber team that can challenge Green Bay, Arizona or Seattle in the NFC.

The Redskins have also played better than expected. Many of the preseason preview magazines had them as the worst of the 32 teams, but head coach Jay Gruden made the bold move of benching Robert Griffin III during the preseason and inserting Kirk Cousins into the starting lineup. The Redskins have responded with a 2-2 start.

While the Falcons are sleek and quick, the Redskins are big and nasty. The Redskins may not be the fastest team, but they have power and ballast. The Falcons can't match the Redskins in size and strength.

The Redskins are a nine-point underdog at this point as they ready themselves for a trip to the Georgia Dome. We don't expect the Redskins' power running game to earn a road win, but they will stay within the number.

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

Bounce-back Bills will get it done against Mariota & Co.

The Buffalo Bills had a chance to make a statement in Week 4 against the New York Giants. Fresh off their road victory over the Miami Dolphins, the Bills had a roaring crowd, a hot young quarterback in Tyrod Taylor and a powerful defense in their favor.

But the Giants were rested, having not played since Sept. 24 in a Thursday night game. The Giants seemed to be refreshed, and their defense kept the Bills largely in check. New York was able to finish off the Bills with little problem and record a 24-10 victory.

Now the Bills must face the rested Tennessee Titans, who are coming off their bye week.

It looks tempting to take Marcus Mariota and the home underdog Titans, but we are not about to do it. The Bills appear to be a team that can bounce back after a flat performance.

They disappointed in Week 2 against New England and came back the following week to pound the Dolphins 41-14 in Miami. The Bills regularly get pumped up for the Dolphins and have a hard time getting prepared the following week.

We expect the Bills' pride will take over after being held in check in Week 4, and they will prepare hard. They also have the players who can get after Mariota with their pass rush. Mario Williams, Marcel Dareus and Jerry Hughes can be formidable.

We like the Bills to cover as three-point road favorites.

Brad Penner/Associated Press

Giants prepared to go on a roll

The Giants have bounced back nicely from two heartbreaking losses in the opening two weeks of the season.

Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin had severe brain cramps with their clock management against the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons, and that caused them to cough up a pair of fourth-quarter double-digit leads.

The Giants survived a smaller case of clock mismanagement in Week 3 against Washington and registered their first win of the season. There were no issues in Week 4 as they disposed of the Bills.

Now they have a chance to make it three in a row against the lifeless 49ers. First-year head coach Jim Tomsula does not look like he was the proper choice to take over for Jim Harbaugh. After an opening-night win against Minnesota, the Niners were pummeled by the Steelers and Cardinals before losing at home to the Packers.

Now they must travel to New Jersey to do battle against the Giants' high-powered passing attack. While the Giants didn't get Victor Cruz back last week, they have Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle. 

The Giants have been installed as seven-point favorites, and they should cover that rather easily against the struggling Niners.