NFL Picks Week 5: Denver Broncos and 3 Home Teams Who Will Struggle

In Week 5, three home teams are set to have a rough go against difficult visiting squads. The Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers are hosting three of the best teams in the NFL, and it will be an uphill battle for them to gain the upper hand, regardless of home-field advantage.

Denver faces the division rival  San Diego Chargers on Sunday afternoon. The Broncos are coming off of a Week 4 49-23 defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, and I'd be surprised if the final score this week is much different.

On all sides of the ball, the Chargers are the superior team. The Broncos' defense has faltered against both the run and the pass, allowing 507 net yards and six touchdowns in the loss to Green Bay, and the Chargers are also set to take advantage of this leaky defense.

Denver quarterback Kyle Orton has been backsliding every week; though he's not likely to be supplanted by backups Brady Quinn or Tim Tebow any time soon, his mounting interception total (now six on the season) belies an offensive system with which he is not yet comfortable.

A team that has far fewer problems than the Broncos—but will ultimately struggle this Sunday—is Atlanta, who hosts the Packers in the day's primetime matchup.

The Packers are the most dominant offensive team in the NFL, following up their Super Bowl-winning season with yet another string of impressive performances. Through four games, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has gone 103-of-141 for an astounding 73 percent completion rate. He has 1,378 yards in the air and on the ground thus far, with 12 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns to his name.

To say that the Packers have proved to be the league's best team only scratches the surface. That shaky secondary, as seen Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints, has tightened up as the weeks have gone by, and they're just as dominant against the run.

The Falcons have looked good so far this season, with quarterback Matt Ryan throwing six touchdowns for 1,135 yards. He's been susceptible to pressure, however, behind a less-than-stable offensive line, and the Packers' pass rush will likely exploit this on Sunday night.

Beating the Packers is a major task for any team, no matter how good, and the Falcons will be the fifth team to fall to the defending champions.

The Carolina Panthers can't seem to catch a break this season. Despite inspired play from rookie quarterback Cam Newton, the rest of the team has yet to match his level of play, leaving the team 1-3 on the season.

A struggling defense and an under-performing running game has seen the team playing from behind in every contest this season, and it will likely do so again when it hosts the New Orleans Saints this Sunday.

Only the Packers are a better team than the Saints so far this season, with New Orleans boasting one of the most balanced squads in the NFL. Their running, passing and defensive play are on-point, as evidenced by their 23-10 Week 4 destruction of the Jacksonville Jaguars and their 3-1 record.

There's too much the Panthers have to do to stop the Saints, while the Saints just have to carry on being themselves to get a win this Sunday.

While Newton might have yet another breathtaking stat line when Carolina finds itself frantically passing the ball trying to close the scoring gap, he remains the only thing going for a team that had just two wins in 2010.