Week 5 has a great slate of games with some old rivalries renewed and other floundering teams trying to right the ship. There are established best teams in the league, but always remember they are one injury away from going down the tank. Matt Ryan is playing the best football at the QB position this season. If he goes down, Luke McCown is not going to carry the Falcons to a Super Bowl run. There is only one divisional game this week (Cardinals/Rams) so it is a great time for teams to flex their muscle against teams they might see come playoff time. We will also start to see personnel changes on underperforming teams, the first of which will be Tim Tebow starting for the Jets as early as next week.
Baltimore is heading to Kansas City for what seems like an easy win against a struggling Chiefs team. If the Ravens show up to play from the start it will be a win going away for them. What must be factored in is the long travel to a hostile environment against a team that has a bad record but potential to put up points. Arrowhead stadium is notoriously one of the toughest road stadiums. Joe Flacco will need to be on point to have success on Sunday. I like the Ravens to win, but this game will be closer than anyone expects.
The Saints are on the edge of the cliff trying to not completely lose their season. They face a tough test with the Chargers coming to town. Phillip Rivers will throw the ball around all night against the Saints terrible defense. This will be the last game the Saints have their home crowd supporting them if they cannot pull off a win. Drew Brees has a lot of pride and talent, but the pieces around him are not what he needs to get a win. Somehow the Saints are favored in this game, but it will be a surprise to see them get off the schnide this week.
Last week Baltimore was favored by 13 over the Browns, but Cleveland was one hail mary away from tying the game at the end. This week the Browns have the opportunity to do the same thing at the Giants. NYG are a solid team but they pick and choose the games they show up for. There is the chance they feel over confident at home against the winless Browns. Trent Richardson plays like a machine and Brandon Weeden is making progress which should allow him to throw the ball against an ailing Giants secondary. This is another game to watch out for the underdog staying in the game early and forcing the opposition to make some plays down the stretch to pull out the win.
Seattle has a great defense at home, but as we saw last week they are not the same on the road just as it was last season. Cam Newton does not present an easy task this week in Carolina. Newton should be able to make plays both throwing and with his feet. The Panthers defense is not solid, but the Seahawks have a dismal offense. Russell Wilson is a great guy but needs to show more progress in his passing game. Marshawn Lynch will be the man Seattle relies on to get a win on the road, but in the end Newton will make enough plays to get the win for Carolina.
The battle of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh will be an interesting game to watch. The Eagles have a nice 3-1 record, but have turned the ball over a lot and squeaked by in every win leaving many doubters as to the legitimacy of that record. The Steelers have not been impressive, but will hope the bye week gave them a boost of energy and an improvement on the defensive side of the ball. These kind of in-state rivalry games are exciting to watch and is very important for both sides. If the Steelers can establish their solid D again and make Mike Vick turn the ball over, the Steelers will win this game easily with Ben Roethlisberger making plays as he always does. The Eagles have been shaky so I like the Steelers off the bye week.
The best game of the week is the Broncos/Patriots game. The Patriots are automatically favored because the game is not in Denver. The Patriots offense looked very impressive in the second half last week against Buffalo, but otherwise has appeared disjointed and lacking in creativity. Perhaps it just took some time for them to click, and if so they will be tough to beat at home. If they are not sharp, Peyton Manning will be ready to take advantage. Manning has improved each week to the point now he looks near his peak. In the end the Broncos do not have the weapons the Patriots do and will struggle to keep up if it becomes a shootout. The Broncos D must be ready to attack Tom Brady and shutdown the run game. This will be a very entertaining game with the Patriots pulling away for the win.
Here are all my picks for Week 5:
- Falcons -3 at Redskins
- Eagles +3.5 at Steelers
- Packers -6.5 at Colts
- Browns at Giants -8.5
- Titans +5.5 at Vikings
- Dolphins at Bengals -3
- Ravens -6 at Chiefs
- Seahawks at Panthers -3
- Bears -4.5 at Jaguars
- Broncos +6.5 at Patriots
- Bills at 49ers -9.5
- Chargers +3.5 at Saints
- Texans -8 at Jets
We are entering the meat of the NFL season. Most teams have their identity or are at least showing signs of it. I had a great week going 10-5 in Week 4, and I expect to keep a solid pace as we learn more about teams each week. Even with MLB playoffs starting, football will still take center stage Sunday. Enjoy your football!
Week 4: 10-5
Season: 32-27-2
No comments:
Post a Comment