The Chosen: Week Five

Season prediction tally: 45-17

I had a nice Week Four, going 13-1, my best this year.

Cincinnati at Baltimore

These teams have bad blood and Cincinnati's defense is much improved, so I am anticipating a close game.

One of these weeks Carson Palmer is going to get his Peyton on and start throwing bombs to Chad Ochocinco and Chris Henry. If the Bengals can't run on Baltimore this may be their week, with Ed Reed and company having an off year to date. However, the Ravens are the superior team coming off a loss and playing at home.

Pick: Ravens

Cleveland at Buffalo

This one is an absolute toss up between two bad teams. Buffalo surprised me with a solid Week One game against the Patriots, but hasn't shown much since. Cleveland was six feet under until Derek Anderson took over at quarterback against Cincinnati, and they almost had their first win.

I'll take the Browns just because I like what I saw from Anderson and WR Mohamed Massaquoi last week, and now that Braylon Edwards has been traded MM becomes the No. 1 target, looking to build off of an eight catch, 148-yard game.

Pick: Browns

Washington at Carolina

This one is an absolute toss up between two bad teams. The Redskins can only beat winless teams and the Panthers can't win.

Jason Campbell showed signs of life last weekend but only after first tossing three INTs. Jake Delhomme has yet to regain his confidence or level of play from last season, and leads the league in INTs.

I'll take Carolina because they are coming off a bye week and have two of the league's most talented players in Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams.

Pick: Panthers

Pittsburgh at Detroit

Matthew Stafford is getting more confident by the game, but he and Calvin Johnson are a banged up and Stafford is now considered doubtful.

The Steelers defense is struggling a little bit but they should get Troy Polamalu back for this game, and he makes all the difference.

Pick: Steelers

Dallas at Kansas City

Tony Romo is taking a lot of criticism lately for his mediocre level of play, but the Chiefs lost to the Raiders people. I don't see them being able to stop the Dallas rushing attack for starters.

Pick: Cowboys

Oakland at N.Y. Giants

It is hard to imagine that the Raiders have actually won a game this season. The Giants may be the team to beat in the entire league. This one is easy.

Pick: Giants

Tampa Bay at Philadelphia

Coming off of a bye week, the Eagles under Andy Reid are 914-1. Or so it seems. I like the Bucs' new starting QB Josh Johnson a lot, but I can't imagine him being able to navigate the Philly blitz well enough to earn a win.

Pick: Eagles

Minnesota at St. Louis

The Rams are a work in progress, putting it as delicately as I can. If they had shown any cohesiveness to date, this could have been the perfect time for a surprise attack on one of the NFC's better teams.

The Vikings are coming off a hard fought, last second win versus the 49ers, and an emotional (at least for one player) game on Monday Night Football, making for a short week made shorter by their need to travel to Missouri. Still, the Rams have to correct too many problems too fast to win this one.

Pick: Vikings

Atlanta at San Francisco

This is an absolute toss up between two good teams. I like the Falcons coming off of a bye week, and Matt Ryan is gold. Yet its defense that wins championships, and San Franciso's is playing great right now.

Pick: 49ers

New England at Denver

The Patriots are not as good as they once were, but they took a giant step towards getting back to that place with a win over the Ravens.

Rookie head coach Josh McDaniels is high on life as his Broncos are undefeated and coming off an impressive victory over the Cowboys. Still, lets not forget who taught Josh everything he knows. Bill Belichick wins in teacher versus student.

Pick: Patriots

Jacksonville at Seattle

These teams are fairly evenly matched, and Seattle should have Matt Hasselbeck back for this game.

Pick: Seahawks

Houston at Arizona

These two teams have a lot in common. They are both in the top ten in passing, and in the bottom three in rushing, and neither can win two games in a row.

Winning 29-6, Houston looked dominant against the Raiders last weekend, but then most teams do.

The Cardinals are coming off a bye week and hope to erase memories of their sorry outing in their last game against the Colts. It doesn't take a mastermind to see that it is the Cardinals turn to win.

Pick: Cardinals

Indianapolis at Tennessee

The Colts are playing lights out, steamrolling opponents and are 4-0. Tennessee has played lousy to date and is 0-4, and their pass defense in particular has been shockingly bad.

This is a divisional game though, and the Titans always play the Colts tough. I want to pull the trigger on this one and go for the upset. Okay against all logic, why not. Jeff Fisher's teams always find a way to dig themselves out don't they?

Pick: Titans

MNF- N.Y. Jets at Miami

Great old school matchup. Not to take anything away from the Jets, but the Dolphins defense is pretty good too. Mark Sanchez is impressing, but the Dolphins need this win more than the Jets, and have home field advantage.

Pick: Dolphins

Byes: Chicago, Green Bay, New Orleans, San Diego

Chicago (3-1) looks like a contender, doing what they need to do to win. Abilene Christian U. product Johnny Knox is a potential superstar.

I can't tell what to make of Green Bay (2-2) just yet. Aaron Rodgers could be one of the best passers in the game, but only if his O-line can give him enough time to throw. The defense is still getting settled under Dom Capers.

New Orleans (4-0) is an example of what you get when an established top ten offense acquires a top ten defense.

San Diego (2-2) is an exciting team to watch when Philip Rivers, Darren Sproles, Vincent Jackson, Chris Chambers, Antonio Gates, and Legedu Naanee are making plays. I'm not sure their defense is championship caliber but their offense always has them fighting and still within reach in every game.

This article also appears on Undrafteds.com