NFL Picks: Week 5

Last week: 8-6
Season record: 38-24

Wow. A quarter of the NFL season is now in the books. It's been a weird year so far, too....but give it another 4 weeks and we'll see some races start to really materialize. Meanwhile, here are your Week 5 Crystal Ball picks:

Denver at Baltimore--The Broncos gutted out a tough win on the road in Nashville last weekend, but facing the Ravens in Baltimore is altogether different. Ravens 20, Broncos 13

Jacksonville at Buffalo--Sure, the Jags beat Indy a week ago. Sure, the Bills can't seem to beat anyone or even look good in losing games. But that's why the tables will turn this weekend. Bills 23, Jaguars 21

Chicago at Carolina--This is my second out of four picks for 0-4 teams to reach 1-4. I was going to pick the Bears until I saw that Todd Collins would start in place of Jay Cutler. Panthers 20, Bears 18

Tampa Bay at Cincinnati--The Bucs had a bye and some rest, while the Bengals continue to show why they are impostors. Still, they do have some talent and their defense should shut down Tampa pretty good. Bengals 17, Bucs 10

Atlanta at Cleveland--This one should be the Matt Ryan/Roddy White/Tony Gonzalez/Michael Turner show. Sorry, Cleveland. Falcons 30, Browns 17

St. Louis at Detroit--It's really hard to believe that the Rams have given up just 13 points per game, when they gave up an astounding 31 per game a year ago. But Sunday, I just have the feeling that Shaun Hill is just gonna light them up. Lions 38, Rams 24

Kansas City at Indianapolis--Along with the winless teams all winning, it's time for someone to beat the Chiefs. And who better than Peyton Manning? Colts 27, Chiefs 17

NY Giants at Houston--The Giants are about as hard to figure out as any team in the NFL. The Texans just have an explosive offense, and if Matt Schaub can stay upright and hand the ball off to Arian Foster about 25 times, it may just wear down the Giants' D. Texans 33, Giants 24

Green Bay at Washington--If the Packers can ever get some sort of running game going, they could be lethal. But until then, they aren't really able to control the clock. Meanwhile, the Redskins keep scores low and close. Packers 20, Redskins 16

New Orleans at Arizona--The Saints need to get their running game in gear in order to allow Drew Brees to find his receivers down field. But let's face it--this is the suddenly horrendous Arizona Cardinals we're talking about. Saints 23, Cardinals 10

Tennessee at Dallas--This should be a really interesting game. The Titans, like the Redskins, keep games close and low-scoring while hitting hard and making the other team take penalties. That should play right into Jeff Fisher's teams' hands, but Tony Romo and company have had an extra week off and should score enough points to win. Cowboys 27, Titans 17

San Diego at Oakland--When I had Antonio Gates on my fantasy team last year, he didn't do much for me. Which is why he's having an awesome season already. Thanks, Antonio. Chargers 40, Raiders 21

Philadelphia at San Francisco--If Michael Vick were playing, this would be a different ball game. But Kevin Kolb? Against a Mike Singletary team that is winless and extremely angry? Um, no way. 49ers 24, Eagles 20

Minnesota at NY Jets--This is probably the game of the week. The Jets at home on the big stage, Brett Favre returning to the Meadowlands to face his former team, and Randy Moss also returning to the Meadowlands for the second time in the first five games. Jets 22, Vikings 19