NFL Week 5 Predictions: The Lions and Other Winners on the Week

Well, well, we made it to week 5, and things are getting desperate for some teams. The Steelers are getting pummeled and can't keep Big Ben on his feet right now. The Colts keep dropping games in the absence of a certain Manning, most recently in late-game situations he was sensational at.

The Falcons can't find any consistency. The Dream Team Eagles can't play up to that lofty nickname at all, dropping three games in the fourth quarter while scoring zero and allowing 36 points, both combined.

There are some good things going though. The Packers and Lions are both 4-0 and doing so in impressive fashion on both ends. San Francisco is 3-1 now somehow, Houston and Tennessee are both 3-1 in the AFC South, Washington and the injury-plagued Giants are both 3-1 in the NFC East and the Chargers are actually holding a good record to start the season for once.

Without further ado, the Week 5 picks, which I can only hope are as good as my Week 4 picks (13-3 in those by the way).

Philadelphia @ Buffalo

The so-called Dream Team is failing miserably right now, getting dropped because of fourth quarter mishaps and is an overall underachieving team. The Bills finally lost this year, to the Bengals of all teams, and now have to find a way to get back on pace. Both teams have good offenses, so expect it to be a shootout. I think Fitzpatrick and Co. will be the ones who make the most plays here and take it from the exceedingly disappointing Eagles while continuing their own impressive start.

BUF 31 – PHI 27

Kansas City @ Indianapolis

The Chiefs finally got off the winless boat in taking down the Vikings, while Indy gave a great effort but couldn’t take down the Bucs. Kansas City is starting to look like they know what they are doing finally, by keeping it close against San Diego and beating Minnesota. So they could be poised to get their record more towards where they want it.

Indy won’t be anywhere close to their usual heights, but they have enough pieces to not end up winless. That being said, there aren’t that many games that they SHOULD be able to win. This is one of those games they could win though, and I think they do it behind relentless pressure from Dwight Freeney.

IND 16 – KC 12

Arizona @ Minnesota

The Cardinals ended up losing to the Giants despite playing well enough most of the day to win it. Minnesota kept their game close, but lost in the end as they have made a habit of doing. Both teams appear headed for underwhelming seasons now, but with a win one can at least give themselves hope for things to be able to turn positive.

It’s in Minnesota, and the Cardinals are not as good on the road, but I think they have to be in desperation mode with San Fran at 3-1 and themselves sitting at 1-3. They also played better this past week and showed an ability to run the ball, something Minnesota couldn’t even do against Kansas City. I choose them to take it.

ARI 19 – MIN 13

Seattle @ N.Y.Giants

Seattle almost stole one from the Falcons while the Giants did “steal” one from the Cardinals. The Seahawks were playing at home though, so it was a bit more understandable for their comeback then. Now, I doubt they will last anywhere near as long against a Giants team hitting its usual early season stride. Giants win.

NYG 33 – SEA 16

Tennessee @ Pittsburgh

The Steelers are getting pummeled this year, and they have barely made it to 2-2 at this point with that awful O-Line and injury-riddled defense. The Titans on the other hand, have been playing above expectations, especially Matt Hasselbeck. If there’s a time to beat the Steelers, this is the best situation for them to do so, with their offense working, their defense strong and the Steelers being weak everywhere right now. I say they do so in emphatic fashion.

TEN 27 – PIT 13

New Orleans @ Carolina

Drew Brees led his team to another victory as expected, while Cam Newton impressed us all again despite another loss. This should be a highly entertaining game that features tons of offense, with the ball getting slung everywhere on the field. This will end up going to the team with the defense best suited to make a play or two when needed, and that will be the Saints D who does so despite another monster game from Cam Newton.

NO 35 – CAR 30

Cincinnati @ Jacksonville

Cincy surprisingly is 2-2, while Jacksonville is predictably 1-3. Even more surprising for Cincy is that not only did they shut down Buffalo last week on D, but they have the No. 1 defense (yardage-wise) right now. I say they keep the surprises coming with a win here to end up 3-2 and getting people talking even more.

CIN 16 – JAX 9

Oakland @ Houston

The Raiders couldn’t keep their nice play going enough against the Patriots, so they are 2-2 while Houston made it through a rough game against the Steelers despite losing Andre Johnson to a hamstring injury. It’ll be a good one because Oakland is just that good at running the ball, but Houston is good in its own right and still have a pretty decent passing game even without Johnson. Texans take it.

HOU 27 – OAK 20

Tampa Bay @ San Francisco

The Bucs and San Fran both keep finding ways to win, but someone is going to end up with a loss this week. It’s as simple as that. I have to go with the Bucs here, figuring that San Fran will start to show its NFC West roots a bit more and even out more towards the pack there.

TB 23 – SF 13

N.Y.Jets @ New England

The Jets offense is getting destroyed right now, mostly because of a line that suddenly couldn’t block a plastic bag. The Patriots made a quick recovery from the loss to the Bills in beating the Raiders. I expect to see the Patriots win this one, but it’ll be closer than it would be expected based on last week.

NE 24 – NYJ 20

San Diego @ Denver

San Diego has been pressing a bit and not playing at the top of its game, but it finally has a decent record to start the season for the first time in years. Denver is still trapped in endless mediocrity right now, and it doesn’t look to end any time soon. The Chargers will only add on to the Broncos pitiful season, and with the same fashion the Packers did last week.

SD 44 – DEN 17

Green Bay @ Atlanta

Had I been asked at the start of the year, I probably would have chosen the Falcons here. But as the weeks have gone by so far, the Packers have looked as good or better than I thought they would, while the Falcons have been very inconsistent.

I mean come on now, they even made Tarvaris Jackson look good against them! If they scored 30 and barely beat the Seahawks, how can they expect to even be competitive against Green Bay, fresh off a 49-point showing? I cannot see it at all.

GB 31 – ATL 20

Chicago @ Detroit

The Bears are the defending division champs. The Lions are the new up-and-comers everyone is hopping on. The Bears need to make a statement here if they have any hope of defending the division crown, while the Lions need to show they can actually start a game well for once, instead of staging huge comebacks every week, which won’t last. This week they show that what they did in Week 2 to KC is still possible (48-3), though it’ll be a little bit closer than that.

DET 34 – CHI 23