NFL: Week 5
It's only Week 5 and already some teams are facing must win games, while others are still looking for their first win and two teams look to remain undefeated.
The Bengals look to improve to 3-2 with a win Sunday over Jacksonville, which is remarkable seeing how most experts had them winning four games at the most.
There are only 13 games this week as Baltimore, Washington, Miami, Dallas, Cleveland and St. Louis have byes, but all of the games have the chance to be intriguing contests. You never know what the NFL will bring each Sunday and here's a look at this week's games.
Week 5 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
Game of the Week
Philadelphia over BUFFALO: There are a lot of good games in week 5, but none bigger than Philadelphia at Buffalo. The Eagles cannot start 1-4, they just can't, and Buffalo needs to rebound after losing to Cincinnati last week. Expect a lot of RB Fred Jackson this week, as the Eagles struggle stopping the run and I think it's going to be a close game. The Eagles season may be on the line Sunday and this is a must win game for them.
PITTSBURGH over Tennessee: It's not the way the Steelers wanted to start off the season at 2-2. They have been hit hard by injuries on the offensive line, RB Rashard Mendenhall is banged up, all-pro LB James Harrison will miss some time after breaking his right-eye orbital bone and QB Ben Roethlisberger is in a walking boot. We might be seeing the end of an era in Pittsburgh, but the Steelers still have a lot of talent and they are tough to beat at the "Big Ketchup Bottle." Tennessee has played well, but the Steelers defense rebounds and leads Pittsburgh to a win.
INDIANAPOLIS over Kansas City: Peyton Manning could return to the sideline this Sunday against Kansas City, but he will still be in street clothes. The Chiefs might have beaten woeful Minnesota last week, but they still aren't a very good football team. Indianapolis may not have many chances to win this season, so they need to capitalize against Kansas City and I think they do.
HOUSTON over Oakland: Texans WR Andre Johnson is out with a hamstring injury, so look for RB Arian Foster to get a lot of touches. Oakland's Darren McFadden leads the league in rushing, so both defense's will be tested stopping the run. Houston has the edge at quarterback with Matt Schaub and with the game in Houston, I like the Texans. Oakland will be playing with heavy hearts as long time owner Al Davis died Sunday at 82, so look for the Raiders to play inspired.
MINNESOTA over Arizona: Minnesota is going to win eventually and no better time to do it than at home against Arizona.
New Orleans over CAROLINA: Carolina QB Cam Newton and WR Steve Smith continue to impress and both could have big days against a Saints defense that struggles against the pass. The Panthers defense is still not very good, so too much Drew Brees for Newton and Carolina to overcome.
NY GIANTS over Seattle: Eli and the G-Men are on a roll and they continue the momentum with a win against Seattle.
Tampa Bay over SAN FRANCISCO: Both teams come in 3-1 and not many would have forecasted that. San Francisco is home from a long road trip after first winning at Cincinnati, then staying in Youngstown, Ohio before going to Philadelphia and overcoming a 20 point deficit. Tampa has looked good this season too and I really like what head coach Raheem Morris is doing with the young Buccaneers. Tampa has to fly to the West Coast, but I still like them by a field goal over the 49ers.
San Diego over DENVER: Chargers have a much better football team than the Broncos and they send Denver to 1-4. If the Broncos lose we could start to see more of QB Tim Tebow in the coming weeks, which will please fans in Denver.
NEW ENGLAND over NY Jets: QB Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense look really bad and you can't win in New England with a bad offense. Patriots DT Vince Wilfork has two interceptions and according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, that's more than nine of the 10 cornerbacks to appear in last season's Pro Bowl. "Holy Crap," and they say defensive line have no hands. Anyway, Brady, Belichick and company, hand Rex Ryan and the Jets their third loss of the season.
Green Bay over ATLANTA: Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are, in my opinion, the best team in football and Atlanta has yet to show me they are a playoff caliber football team. Packers stay undefeated.
DETROIT over Chicago: The Lions on "Monday Night Football?" Detroit is back on MNF for the first time in a decade and look for them to show the country just how good they really are. WR Calvin Johnson is on pace for 32 TD and the Lions are looking to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1956. Detroit is for real and they beat the rival Bears Monday night.
Cincinnati over JACKSONVILLE:
Biggest question is will the Bengals play an entire game of good football? It has yet to happen this season, so the jury is still out on just how good the Bengals really are. QB Andy Dalton has played well in parts of Cincinnati's first four games, but has yet to play an entire good game of football. The same could be said for the rest of the offense.
Defensively, the Bengals are ranked number one overall in total defense and are in the top ten in almost every other category. Granted, they've played Cleveland, San Francisco, Denver and Buffalo who aren't exactly Green Bay, New Orleans or New England. The Bills and 49ers are both 3-1, but they were both bad last year. Cleveland and Denver don't have the most explosive offenses in the league either. So, whether you're a believer in the Bengals defense or not, they do have a good core of players and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has them playing really well right now.
The Jacksonville offense will not pose much of a threat to the Cincinnati defense with rookie QB Blaine Gabbert and their passing game. The Jaguars are dead last in passing and in points per game, but RB Maurice Jones-Drew is a very good player and can make some big plays.
If Andy Dalton and the Bengals offense play like they did in the second half last week against Buffalo or like they did for a half against Denver, behind another solid performance from the defense, the Bengals win this game.
Fans will finally get to watch the Bengals on television, since they are on the road this week, and I think we will see a winner. Bengals 24, Jaguars 13 and Cincinnati moves to 3-2, only a half game out of first place in the AFC North.
Last Week: 13-3
Overall: 46-18
The Bengals look to improve to 3-2 with a win Sunday over Jacksonville, which is remarkable seeing how most experts had them winning four games at the most.
There are only 13 games this week as Baltimore, Washington, Miami, Dallas, Cleveland and St. Louis have byes, but all of the games have the chance to be intriguing contests. You never know what the NFL will bring each Sunday and here's a look at this week's games.
Week 5 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
Game of the Week
Philadelphia over BUFFALO: There are a lot of good games in week 5, but none bigger than Philadelphia at Buffalo. The Eagles cannot start 1-4, they just can't, and Buffalo needs to rebound after losing to Cincinnati last week. Expect a lot of RB Fred Jackson this week, as the Eagles struggle stopping the run and I think it's going to be a close game. The Eagles season may be on the line Sunday and this is a must win game for them.
PITTSBURGH over Tennessee: It's not the way the Steelers wanted to start off the season at 2-2. They have been hit hard by injuries on the offensive line, RB Rashard Mendenhall is banged up, all-pro LB James Harrison will miss some time after breaking his right-eye orbital bone and QB Ben Roethlisberger is in a walking boot. We might be seeing the end of an era in Pittsburgh, but the Steelers still have a lot of talent and they are tough to beat at the "Big Ketchup Bottle." Tennessee has played well, but the Steelers defense rebounds and leads Pittsburgh to a win.
INDIANAPOLIS over Kansas City: Peyton Manning could return to the sideline this Sunday against Kansas City, but he will still be in street clothes. The Chiefs might have beaten woeful Minnesota last week, but they still aren't a very good football team. Indianapolis may not have many chances to win this season, so they need to capitalize against Kansas City and I think they do.
HOUSTON over Oakland: Texans WR Andre Johnson is out with a hamstring injury, so look for RB Arian Foster to get a lot of touches. Oakland's Darren McFadden leads the league in rushing, so both defense's will be tested stopping the run. Houston has the edge at quarterback with Matt Schaub and with the game in Houston, I like the Texans. Oakland will be playing with heavy hearts as long time owner Al Davis died Sunday at 82, so look for the Raiders to play inspired.
MINNESOTA over Arizona: Minnesota is going to win eventually and no better time to do it than at home against Arizona.
New Orleans over CAROLINA: Carolina QB Cam Newton and WR Steve Smith continue to impress and both could have big days against a Saints defense that struggles against the pass. The Panthers defense is still not very good, so too much Drew Brees for Newton and Carolina to overcome.
NY GIANTS over Seattle: Eli and the G-Men are on a roll and they continue the momentum with a win against Seattle.
Tampa Bay over SAN FRANCISCO: Both teams come in 3-1 and not many would have forecasted that. San Francisco is home from a long road trip after first winning at Cincinnati, then staying in Youngstown, Ohio before going to Philadelphia and overcoming a 20 point deficit. Tampa has looked good this season too and I really like what head coach Raheem Morris is doing with the young Buccaneers. Tampa has to fly to the West Coast, but I still like them by a field goal over the 49ers.
San Diego over DENVER: Chargers have a much better football team than the Broncos and they send Denver to 1-4. If the Broncos lose we could start to see more of QB Tim Tebow in the coming weeks, which will please fans in Denver.
NEW ENGLAND over NY Jets: QB Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense look really bad and you can't win in New England with a bad offense. Patriots DT Vince Wilfork has two interceptions and according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, that's more than nine of the 10 cornerbacks to appear in last season's Pro Bowl. "Holy Crap," and they say defensive line have no hands. Anyway, Brady, Belichick and company, hand Rex Ryan and the Jets their third loss of the season.
Green Bay over ATLANTA: Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are, in my opinion, the best team in football and Atlanta has yet to show me they are a playoff caliber football team. Packers stay undefeated.
DETROIT over Chicago: The Lions on "Monday Night Football?" Detroit is back on MNF for the first time in a decade and look for them to show the country just how good they really are. WR Calvin Johnson is on pace for 32 TD and the Lions are looking to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1956. Detroit is for real and they beat the rival Bears Monday night.
Cincinnati over JACKSONVILLE:
Biggest question is will the Bengals play an entire game of good football? It has yet to happen this season, so the jury is still out on just how good the Bengals really are. QB Andy Dalton has played well in parts of Cincinnati's first four games, but has yet to play an entire good game of football. The same could be said for the rest of the offense.
Defensively, the Bengals are ranked number one overall in total defense and are in the top ten in almost every other category. Granted, they've played Cleveland, San Francisco, Denver and Buffalo who aren't exactly Green Bay, New Orleans or New England. The Bills and 49ers are both 3-1, but they were both bad last year. Cleveland and Denver don't have the most explosive offenses in the league either. So, whether you're a believer in the Bengals defense or not, they do have a good core of players and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has them playing really well right now.
The Jacksonville offense will not pose much of a threat to the Cincinnati defense with rookie QB Blaine Gabbert and their passing game. The Jaguars are dead last in passing and in points per game, but RB Maurice Jones-Drew is a very good player and can make some big plays.
If Andy Dalton and the Bengals offense play like they did in the second half last week against Buffalo or like they did for a half against Denver, behind another solid performance from the defense, the Bengals win this game.
Fans will finally get to watch the Bengals on television, since they are on the road this week, and I think we will see a winner. Bengals 24, Jaguars 13 and Cincinnati moves to 3-2, only a half game out of first place in the AFC North.
Last Week: 13-3
Overall: 46-18
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