The Armchair Quarterback’s Guide To The NFL: Week 5

The Armchair Quarterback’s Week 5 Predictions

It was a decent week for the Armchair QB predictions last week, going 10-5. That brings the overall record on the year to 42-21. I could be mistaken, but I believe that would put me ahead of all of our fearless fansided.com staff in their weekly picks (what’s up fellas?). Alright, enough gloating, on to this week’s picks.

Bills at Browns

Before the season started I thought the Browns would be a tough team, and the Bills would be pretty bad. After going 0-2 and trading Trent Richardson, it looked like the Browns were going to be the bottom feeders. However, after winning two straight, the Browns look like a real spoiler team that will give teams problems all season. The Bills are a hard team to get a read on. One week they’re beating the Super Bowl champs, the week before they lost to the Jets. The Bills are 0-2 on the road, so with this game in Cleveland, the smart pick is the Browns.

Bills 20
Browns 23

Patriots at Bengals

The Bengals got punched in the mouth at home last week by their in-state rivals from Cleveland. The Patriots went into Atlanta and dropped the Falcons to 1-3. I keep picking the Patriots to drop one because of all the loses they’ve sustained and they keep proving me wrong. The Patriots are the smart pick here, but I’m not going to be smart. I think that Marvin Lewis will have the Bengals ready to go after a down week last week and the Pats now have to add Vince Wilfork to the list of players lost to injury.

Patriots 24
Bengals 27

Lions at Packers

The Lions got a big win against the undefeated Bears last week, in large part because Reggie Bush returned in a big way from injury. The Lions are a much improved team with a healthy Bush in the lineup. If this game was in Detroit, the Lions would have the advantage. However, not only is the game in Green Bay, but the Packers got an extra week to prepare as they are coming off their bye. Look for Aaron Rodgers and company to put up enough points to win a close game.

Lions 27
Packers 31

Seahawks at Colts

The Seahawks narrowly escaped their trip to Houston last week, largely because of Matt Schaub’s generosity. The Colts on the other hand have won their last two games by a combined score of 64-10. If this game was in Seattle, the Seahawks would be the sure fire pick here. However, Seattle has not been near as impressive on the road this season and the Colts have been playing much better defense of late. This one should be close, but I’ll take the Colts at home in what some may call a slight upset.

Seahawks 20
Colts 21

Ravens at Dolphins

These teams are both coming off deflating loses. The Dolphins may be kicking themselves for not making a deal for left tackle Branden Albert in the offseason. They are giving up the most sacks in the NFL right now. The Ravens, while not the elite defense that they used to be, are in the top ten for team sacks. I think that will make the difference in a very close game.

Ravens 20
Dolphins 17

Saints at Bears

It’s astounding the turnaround the Saints have made this season with the return of Sean Payton and the arrival of Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator. If Peyton Manning wasn’t playing the best football in history, more people would be talking about how well Brees is playing. The Bears, on the other hand, are hard to get a read on. They are 3-1, but were only a couple of plays away from being 1-3 and Jay Cutler was not sharp last week. The Bears pass defense also hasn’t been great thus far, so look for Drew Brees to continue his success this week in Chicago.

Saints 31
Bears 24

Eagles at Giants

This is a battle of two struggling NFC East teams. These are the two lowest ranked teams in the NFL for points allowed, so don’t look for a defensive battle in this one. The bottom line here is that the Eagles run the ball well and the Giants don’t. Also, the Giants have to prove they can stop turning the ball over before they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Eagles 34
Giants 31

Chiefs at Titans

(Homer Alert) Despite the fact that my favorite team was preparing to face the Titans, I was still really disappointed to see Jake Locker go down with a hip injury. Locker was in the process of proving a lot of his critics (myself included) wrong. I was really looking forward to seeing him face the Chiefs, because I’ve thought that his play this season was very similar to that of Alex Smith. Locker’s ability to extend drives and protect the football were a big part of the Titans early success. Without Locker, I think the Chiefs have the edge here. These teams are very similar, but I think Smith has an edge over Ryan Fitzpatrick and the KC pass rush has been lights out so far.

Chiefs 24
Titans 20

Jaguars at Rams

I think the Rams are in trouble this season. Their offense just doesn’t look right. I’ve never been a huge fan of Sam “Blank Stare” Bradford, but his run game is giving him no help and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer needs to be sent packing. That having been said, the Jaguars stink. They stink bad. The small but fanatical group of fans that are clamoring for Tim Tebow to come to town need to start watching some tape on Teddy Bridgewater. I think that’s about all the Jags have to look forward to.

Jaguars 16
Rams 27

Panthers at Cardinals

Cardinals fans may be starting to realize that a competent QB wasn’t all that their team was needing to become a contender. Their offense really struggled against Tampa Bay, and had rookie Mike Glennon not thrown them a cookie last week, they probably would have lost. The Panthers two loses are by a combined 6 points. They completely shut down the Giants last week and held Seattle to just 12 points in their opener. The Panthers are also coming off a bye week to prepare, so look for the Panthers to get the road win in this one.

Panthers 20
Cardinals 17

Broncos at Cowboys

If you read the “Take of the Week” this week on Manning, you know how good he has been thus far. Picking against the Broncos until they come off this incredible run would be foolish. The fact that Dallas is currently rated 27th in pass defense just makes this pick all the easier.

Broncos 37
Cowboys 27

Chargers at Raiders

Confession, as a Chiefs fan I am required to HATE Phillip Rivers. Sometimes he makes it pretty easy to do. I’m sure he’s one of those guys that you love if he’s on your team, but can’t stand if he’s not. That having been said, Rivers is a VERY good QB. He struggled the past couple of seasons, but Mike McCoy seems to have him back among the elite QBs in the league. The Chargers defense has really struggled at times, but Oakland doesn’t have the firepower to win a shootout with Rivers (especially if Darren McFadden is hampered by a bad hamstring). Oakland will keep it close, but ultimately they will find themselves out-gunned by the Chargers.

Chargers 27
Oakland 23

Texans at 49ers

The Texans are a really hard team to figure out. They are #1 in passing yards allowed and are in the top ten for both rushing and passing offense. Despite that, they are 2-2 and could have easily lost the two games that they did win. They were on their way to beating a very good Seattle team last week when Matt Schaub threw one of the worst interceptions of recent memory. The 49ers struggled early on, but got back on track last week against the Rams. Jim Harbaugh had a few extra days to prepare coming off a Thursday night game and the prime time San Francisco crowd should help get the Niners fired up. The Texans should keep it close, but may find themselves with a losing record coming out of this one.

Texans 23
49ers 24

Jets at Falcons

The Falcons being 1-3 to start the season is one of the biggest disappointments of the season thus far. That having been said, the teams that they have lost to are a combined 11-1 on the season. So it’s not like they are losing to bad teams. The Jets are coming off their worst game of the season as they were blown out by the Titans. The Jets defense will keep them in the game and Geno Smith may make a few plays, but the Falcons are too good of team to lose two straight prime time home games.

Jets 17
Falcons 24

Now on to the food/drink/tailgating suggestion of the week…………