NFL Week 5 Preview

Week 4 saw five of the seven unbeaten teams continue their ways led by Denver's continued dominance. Washington and Minnesota finally got their first win and that leaves four teams searching for their first win. Houston blew a 17 point lead against Seattle to allow the Seahawks to move to 4-0 while Atlanta could not work enough 4th quarter magic to avoid falling to 1-3 as the Patriots stayed unbeaten. The Saints brought the Dolphins back down a peg with an impressive win in the only matchup of undefeated teams in Week 4. The Bears were other undefeated team to fall as they could overcome the mistakes of QB Jay Cutler against Detroit. San Francisco looked really good again while their Super Bowl XLVII opponent, Baltimore, looked horrible as QB Joe Flacco turned it over five times in their loss. Kansas City joins Denver, Seattle, New England, and New Orleans at 4-0. The four games I highlighted to watch last week had a little bit of everything. Seattle staged a crazy comeback against Houston, Denver led by QB Peyton Manning was extremely dominant, the Patriots were able to work magic again with limited talent to outlast a banged up Atlanta team, and QB Drew Brees and the Saints were hard to slow down as Miami just couldn't keep up in the Superdome.

As the focus turns to Week 5, there are 4 teams without a win and two will be on the field while 5 others hope to stay unbeaten with a road slate. Each undefeated win gets an opponent with a little something to prove in different ways so they should be good games. With my picks, I did a little better than last week and went 11-4 to move to 47-16 overall.

Here are this week's top 4 and the rest.

TOP 4

Seattle Seahawks at Indianapolis Colts: Seattle was able to weather a tough first half last week to take advantage of mistakes by Houston. They return to the road against a Colts' team that has had better ball management and Indianapolis' two receivers will provide a major threat to Seattle's stiff secondary. This one should be a close back and forth battle where each team is able to answer scores and plays. As the game enters the 4th, QB Andrew Luck works some late magic for another winning drive for the Colts. QB Russell Wilson does not go quietly as they try one late drive of their own but fall short as cannot come back again this week. PICK: COLTS

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears: There are few if any who question the Saints' ability to score and move the ball at home. The questions circle around if New Orleans can do the same on the road. Their road games this year were not against top teams and going to Chicago could occur in the postseason. The Bears made one too many turnovers last week and if they give QB Drew Brees and the Saints more offensive opportunities that could prove deadly. The two gunslinging quarterbacks find some holes in a decently scoring affair. QB Jay Cutler however throws a costly pick at some points that allows for points by the Saints who have been much improved on defense this year. The Bears stage a late score but it is not enough as the Saints hold on for a close road win to stay unbeaten. PICK: SAINTS

New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals: The Patriots continue to find ways to win games each week despite not really having much besides QB Tom Brady. They lost a key defensive presence in NT Vince Wilfork and his underrated play will be missed. The Bengals know that if they want to take the next step as a contender, they need to beat teams like New England. QB Andy Dalton has someone that Brady probably wishes he had: WR AJ Green. Expect the Patriots defense try to isolate Green to slow down Cincinnati's offense. The Bengals will keep this one tight and in a somewhat low scoring game their defense looks a late score by the Patriots that serves to be the difference as New England escapes another tough road game. PICK: PATRIOTS

Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys: The QB Peyton Manning-led offense will look to continue its record setting season with a trip to Dallas. The Cowboys have an offense led by QB Tony Romo that could certainly try to keep pace with a score-at-will offense in Denver. This might be the closest game for Denver this year as Dallas will likely fling the ball a lot and WR Dez Bryant and TE Jason Witten are capable of doing damage down the field. However, Denver should be able to adjust and find holes in the Cover 2 defense of Dallas. After winning games by roughly three touchdowns, if Dallas keeps it within two that would be a morale win. A morale win is not quite the same as a win as Manning continues to put up multiple touchdowns while protecting the ball. PICK: BRONCOS

THE REST

Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns (Thursday Night): They say a quarterback can change a team's fortunes. One team drafted one and he has given them a chance every week despite being 2-2 while the other team lost their 2012 first round pick to injury and the backup has won them two straight to get to 2-2 as well. Buffalo will fight in a relatively close matchup but QB Brian Hoyer will use his young WR and TE as he has the last two games to move the ball and get the score that puts the game away late in the 4th. PICK: BROWNS

Jacksonville Jaguars at St. Louis Rams: The Rams have seen their offense nearly disappear the last couple weeks and hope to use a game against Jacksonville to get their running game going and prevent so many three and outs. While Jacksonville is almost looking for anything as they are lucky to put up double digit points while keeping the other team under 30 points. The game is fairly deadlocked through most of the first half before QB Sam Bradford gets going and launches two big scores in the second half to pull away. A late score by Jacksonville closes the gap a little but a little too late to make a difference. PICK: RAMS

Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants: They have one win between them  and both have played four games so there is no doubt both teams want a win bad. The Eagles' offense should be able to continue to move the ball well especially this week as New York's defense has not stopped much this year. QB Eli Manning will get big plays and a couple scores but it will be his record pace of turnovers that will shape this game. The Eagles have not been great at protecting the ball themselves so each team will provide some breathing room for their opponent. In the end, the Eagles do enough to survive a close fairly sloppy game. PICK: EAGLES

Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers: Green Bay knows they cannot fall to 1-3 and that will inspire QB Aaron Rodgers to play a lot better than he did against Cincinnati. The Lions looked again to be multi-dimensional on offense and their defense is starting to roar a little. They will bring pressure very similar to last week which will mean Rodgers will need to make smart and quick choices. It is uncertain of what role WR Calvin Johnson will play and if he is not out there, it completely changes the complexion of the game. Regardless of if he plays or not, Rodgers outshoots QB Matthew Staffold as Green Bay will have a few more weapons that will outlast Detroit's best hits. PICK: PACKERS

Kansas City Chiefs at Tennessee Titans: Both teams have been playing very good defense and that will set the tone. It will be a tough back and forth contest throughout. Scoring will be fairly limited. The difference might be the fact that Tennessee is turning to their backup quarterback and it will hard to tell how QB Ryan Fitzpatrick will play while QB Alex Smith has been the ultimate game manager for the Chiefs. They move the ball enough to pull away a bit in the second half and hold on as Tennessee closes things a little but Kansas City escapes with a comfortable win. PICK: CHIEFS

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins ran into a tough New Orleans team on the road and hopes to quickly rebound. While the Ravens had a horrible offensive game as they turned it over six times yet still almost won. The Dolphins have been getting a decent balance on offense getting their running game going and that is something Baltimore has been struggling to truly get off. HB Ray Rice of the Ravens could be an x-factor in this one as he is capable of doing a little of everything and will force Miami's defense to keep an eye on him. The Ravens  will play much sharper and take a lead late in the game before QB Ryan Tannehill is able to move Miami down the field to take the lead late and hold on to survive a tough physical game. PICK: DOLPHINS

Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals: QB Cam Newton was able to truly open up Carolina's offense against the Giants but should be careful when pushing the ball down the field because there are speedy and dangerous guys in Arizona's secondary. CB Patrick Peterson can do a little of everything in that secondary as well as on special teams and don't be surprised if he makes a game changing play. QB Carson Palmer still is not exactly sharp but is still an improvement in that area compared to other years as WR Larry Fitzgerald should be able to get open and do the rest. This will have a slow and not exciting pace to it with Arizona just chipping away as they get the win. PICK: CARDINALS

Houston Texans at San Francisco 49ers (Sunday Night): QB Matt Schaub has been looking about as bad as you be for Houston as he is not only turning the ball over but providing instant points for the other team. Look for San Francisco to apply some pressure with their hard hitting secondary to cause a couple costly turnovers. QB Colin Kaepernick in his own right is still trying to harness the complex dynamic play he had throughout last year. The line of scrimmage will be a major point of focus in this one as well as both defenses have some good pass rushers who will look to cause chaos. Houston continues their struggles as the 49ers move the ball well enough and let their defense do the rest. PICK: 49ers

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders (Sunday Night): In a bit of a weird situation, this afternoon game was pushed back to Sunday night. Chargers' QB Phillip Rivers is looking to continue his mini resurgence but should be leery of veteran S Charles Woodson on the other side. This one has a strange feel to it with the late start and a divisional clash. A couple mistakes by both teams neutralize themselves as it is close late before San Diego gets a crucial score to preserve the win as Oakland gives them a stout test. PICK: CHARGERS

New York Jets at Atlanta Falcons (Monday Night): The Falcons could not have afforded to fall to 1-3 and they definitely do not want to fall to 1-4 as the Saints could improve to 5-0. The Jets have been hard to figure out after four games as they seem to be playing great defense but it is their offense led by QB Geno Smith that is dictating their games and if he can keep control of the ball and limit his turnovers it could allow New York to stay in this one. TE Tony Gonzalez will need to be the consistent threat he has been for QB Matt Ryan if the Falcons are to move the ball effectively as there has been some questions around the Falcons' star receivers. Atlanta finally puts together a good enough game to survive. New York should get a few big shots on Atlanta's defense as New York's defense will make Ryan work for a lot of what he gets. PICK: FALCONS

The Vikings, Steelers, Buccaneers, and Redskins all have off this week and each has struggled this year so it comes at a good time for sure. It should be interesting to see how the five undefeated teams fair in what will likely be five of the better games in Week 5. Teams like Green Bay and Atlanta in the NFC and Baltimore and Houston in the AFC are looking for big games at this early part in the season. Can the Jaguars or the Giants finally break through? How many touchdowns will Peyton Manning put up this week? There will be a good mix of offensive shootouts and some defensive grinders. Also, a couple sloppy less than stellar ones. Should be a good week as the second quarter of the season kicks off!