NFL Predictions Week 5: Pittsburgh Steelers and 3 Teams That Will Keep Sliding

You know how hope supposedly springs eternal? Well, I wonder, how often is it said that those hopes fall flat on their faces, particularly in the NFL?

These three teams, all playoff contenders from last season, will lend gravitas to my proposed quip come the end of Week 5.

Pittsburgh Steelers

What happens when you take a 2-2 Steelers squad, remove Ben Roethlisberger (foot), Rashard Mendenhall (hamstring), James Harrison (eye), Aaron Smith (foot) and Jason Worilds (left quad) and then bring a tough Titans team to town?

Hmmm...is that a home loss I smell? Or is that just the unsettling aroma of futility wafting off the Allegheny?

Either way, Pittsburgh is pretty well screwed if it can't, with its 23rd-ranked rush defense, find a way to keep Chris Johnson down to pre-Week 4 levels of productivity. Now, that infirmary-filling flock I mentioned earlier could very well be ready to play on Sunday, or the Steelers could end up with some on the field and others still sidelined.

But that doesn't change the fact that Pittsburgh is banged-up and not particularly impressive even when healthy. Tennessee, meanwhile, sports a top-10 defense and an offense that, surprisingly enough, can score points with Old Man Matt Hasselbeck under center.

In other words, get your gas masks out, Pittsburghians (assuming that's what you'd prefer to be called), because the variety of Heinz you'll be breathing in is one of a disappointing stomping.

Philadelphia Eagles

Whether east or west, the state of Pennsylvania is not having an easy go of things in the world of football these days. The Eagles find themselves at 1-3 one month into their "dream" season, which much more closely resembles some sort of sick, twisted, free-agent-based experiment.

Philly's losing streak, which now stands at three games following their season-opening win over the 0-4 Rams, will stretch to four in Week 5 when Michael Vick and his battered band of ballers fly north to Buffalo. Once there, they'll find a much-improved Bills team, still smarting from its first loss of the season, that has made storming back from double-digit deficits at home against quality teams something of an art in 2011.

Certainly, the Eagles would be all too happy to oblige, especially after relinquishing a 23-3 lead in the fourth quarter to lose to the 49ers at home on Sunday. 

New York Jets

If there's anything we learned from Sunday night's defensive extravaganza, aside from the fact that the Ravens are as opportunistic as any team you'll find in football, it's that the Jets are a bit of a mess right now, a far cry from the Super Bowl contender that Rex Ryan's been blathering about for years now.

Mark Sanchez would improve if he had an offensive line to protect him and a running game to support him, and the run defense is surprisingly putrid at this point.

Other than that, Gang Green is in great shape.

What's more, they'll have the opportunity to redeem themselves with a smooth victory over the rival Patriots in Foxboro in Sunday.

Wait, I'm sorry. Did I say smooth victory? I meant agonizingly embarrassing defeat. The Pats' defense may stink, but it's not like they'll have to hold down a point-scoring juggernaut just to keep it close.

And now that New England has something of a ground game, between BenJarvis Green-Ellis and rookie Stevan Ridley, it'll be entertaining to see how exactly the Jets decide to handle the most explosive offense in football this side of the Motor City.

It may be easy to forget that New York would (and, perhaps, should) be 1-3 if not for Dallas' monumental collapse in Week 1, but you can be Tom Brady and company will remind the Jets of that fact early and often while sending them to their third loss in a row.

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