NFL Picks Week 5: 2 Surprising Teams to Distance Themselves in Divisions

I would say Week 5 is the first time in the season a team can really distance themselves from the rest of their division. 

A few clubs have that opportunity this weekend. Let's take at look which teams will take advantage and gain an early cushion on their rivals. 

San Francisco 49ers

What a luxury it is to play in the NFC West. 

The 49ers aren't super-talented—they are just fundamentally sound, play good defense and get an occasional big play from their offense. 

We saw how good they can be last week, when Frank Gore looked to be 100 percent against the Eagles in the second half of their epic comeback victory. 

Alex Smith is limiting his mistakes, keeping his reads simple and throws solid while getting the ball to the few playmakers he has on the outside.

They face a tough test against the Buccaneers this weekend, but in this battle of teams that are more efficient than explosive, the 49ers should win with stout defense and their improved running game, moving them to 4-1. 

The Seahawks travel all the way to New York to play the Giants at 1 o'clock, Arizona plays on the road in Minnesota against a Vikings team extremely hungry for their first win and St. Louis is on the bye.

San Francisco could easily be three games up through five games when all is said and done on Sunday.

Wow.

San Diego Chargers

 The other West division isn't very deep, either. 

The Chargers haven't been very impressive through four games, but they've taken care of business and captured three victories. 

They control the lead they have this week, when they play on the road against the Broncos—a game they should win, especially because of Denver's weak secondary. 

With the Raiders traveling to face a high-powered Houston Texans team that creates a lot of pressure on the quarterback and the Chiefs on the road against the Colts, there's an outside chance San Diego could have a nice two-game cushion entering Week 5.