NFL Picks Week 5: New Orleans Saints and 3 Locks for Your Survivor League

Losing early in the season in your survivor league is one of the worst things that could possibly happen to you.

Despite the warning signs, plenty of participants were sent packing last week when they selected the Philadelphia Eagles.

Don't fall for the hype this week, and be sure to make the safe play. It's best to play it conservative early in the season, and wait for other participants to take their risks, and drop like flies.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints face the 1-3 Carolina Panthers, who have been riding Cam Newton's arm all season. The Panthers have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, conceding over 140 yards per game on the ground.

Expect Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram to get every opportunity in the world to eat up big yards on the ground, and keep the ball out of Newton's hands. On the other side of things, the Panthers have struggled to run the ball this year, averaging just 105 yards per game, good for 17th in the NFL.

The Saints have boasted a solid run defense this year, conceding just 94 yards per game. They are going to force Newton to beat them through the air, and while he has racked up a ton of yards, he has thrown five interceptions.

Expect a high scoring affair, but you should trust Drew Brees much more than Newton at this point. Look for the Saints to come away with a comfortable victory in this one.

New York Giants

The Seattle Seahawks are a bad football team, while the Giants are tied atop the NFC East with the Washington Redskins.

The Giants haven't done any one thing exceptionally well to this point, but they are without a doubt the more well-rounded team.

The Seattle Seahawks have arguably the worst offense in the NFL at this point. Yes, even worse than the Indianapolis Colts. The Seahawks have the 28th ranked pass offense, averaging less than 190 yards passing per game, while the run game is even worse. The team is currently ranked 31st in the NFL, averaging less than 68 yards per game.

Detroit Lions

This may sound crazy, but the Chicago Bears don't stand much of a chance to upend the Lions this week.

Monday Night Football returns to Detroit, and the crowd is bound to be wild for this game.

The Chicago Bears are 2-2 on the season, but they do nothing well. They only average 211 passing yards per game, good for 25th in the NFL, and really struggle to run the ball. Matt Forte's 200 yards rushing may scare some, but it was against the Carolina Panthers, who have a terrible run defense.

The Bears average just 96 yards rushing per game, and Forte had just over 100 yards per game in the first three games combined.

To make matters worse, Jay Cutler has been hit more than nearly every quarterback in the league. The Bears offensive line is woeful, and the Detroit Lions defensive line is arguably the best in the NFL. Expect the Lions to get plenty of pressure on Cutler.

The Bears, who generally have a solid defense, don't even have that this season. They are ranked 29th against the pass, so it's bound to be a good night for Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson. They can't stop the run either, giving up over 120 yards per game on the ground, so this could be a breakout performance for Best.

The numbers don't add up for the Bears, and this should be a big victory for Detroit.