NFL Picks Week 5: Indianapolis Colts and 3 Locks to Break Cold Streaks

When a team is off to a surprisingly good start, it probably means that another is off to a surprisingly bad start.

To be fair, I don't know if any of these teams were expected to have great seasons, but they are all off to slow starts. Only one of these teams has a win, and that came in Week 1, which means that every one of them has lost at least three games in a row.

They won't necessarily have great seasons, but their fans will get a break this week.

Indianapolis Colts

With Curtis Painter as the quarterback, the Colts are improving. No, they are not at the level they were with Peyton Manning. No, they're not even close.

However, the team are showing signs of improvement. He seems better equipped to get the best out of the Colts' skill position players.

Indianapolis' matchup against the Chiefs is not a bad one. Even though the Chiefs are coming off a win, they are in a lost season. In Indianapolis, I like the Colts to give their fans a temporary week off from the annoyance that has been the 2011 season.

Minnesota Vikings

We go from the team that is playing the Colts, to the team that just lost to the team that is playing the Colts.

The Vikings have been competitive against teams that are far better than the Cardinals.

While Arizona has had nice moments this year, they are still 1-3 and not terribly far from 0-4. Losing to the Seahawks does not bode well for their future.

The Vikings have issues, but they can put them away for a week. Why am I so confident? Well, check out the following three reasons.

1. The Cardinals are also struggling
2. The Vikings are at home
3. The Vikings have this guy:
   

I'll take those three factors and predict a Vikings win.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Of all the picks I have made, this is the one that I am least sure of. I really do like Blaine Gabbert. While I expect the Bengals to have some good, individual performances, I am going to go with a home win for the Jaguars.

Again, I will go with Blaine Gabbert to get his first ever NFL win. I expect a good game from Maurice Jones-Drew to make the difference in this one.

This will come down to the end. In a close game between rookie quarterbacks, I'll take Gabbert over Andy Dalton, especially when Gabbert's team is at home.