NFL Picks Week 5: Oakland Raiders and 3 Teams Poised for a Road Win

The road win does not come easily or often, but it's not impossible.

Home-field advantage does not matter if the visiting team is clearly the superior squad. Today, three teams are poised to get that ever-elusive road victory.

The Oakland Raiders travel to Houston to take on the surging Texans, who are coming off of a Week 4 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Prior to the death of Raiders owner Al Davis, I had the Raiders winning this contest, and that hasn't changed since yesterday's sad news. In fact, I can see Oakland playing with added fire to honor the memory of their late leader.

Despite uneven play from quarterback Jason Campbell, the Raiders have managed a 2-2 record, dropping to the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills while besting the Denver Broncos and New York Jets.

They've relied to an extent on Campbell's passing game, but the bulk of the offensive production is attributable to top-three rusher Darren McFadden.

The Texans will have to rely on their run game more than ever, with top receiver Andre Johnson out for as many as three weeks while he recovers from hamstring surgery. This will force them into a more one-dimensional offense than they are used to, making the Raiders defense's job easier this week.

While the Texans do boast a top-five offense, so do the Raiders. At the same time, the Texans have the 30th-ranked rush defense. While Houston will put up a fight today, it's not looking like it will be enough to stop the visiting Raiders.

Statistically, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense is slightly better at stopping the run than the Texans, but it's hard to believe it. They've allowed two 100-yard rushers this season—with the Tennessee Titans coming to town today, that total may increase to three.

Titans running back Chris Johnson had his biggest game of the season thus far last week, running for 101 yards against the Cleveland Browns. While he has yet to score a touchdown, expect that to change against the Steelers this afternoon.

Pittsburgh, for all their issues stopping the run, have the top-rated pass defense. This, combined with the fact that receiver Kenny Britt is lost to injury for the remainder of the season, will likely force the Titans to focus on the run today.

Against any other team, this may reduce the Titans to a one-dimensional offense, making it easier for the defense to stop them. However, against the Steelers, this becomes a major advantage.

At the same time, the number of injuries plaguing both the Pittsburgh offensive line and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will play right into the hands of the Titans' fourth-ranked defense.

The surprising Tennessee defense, second against the run and fourth against the pass, gives little reason to believe that either the Steelers' generally impressive cadre of receivers or starting running back Isaac Redman will be able to produce on offense today.

All in all, it's a perfect formula for the Titans to leave Pittsburgh with a 4-1 record.