If you love offense, then week five kicked off in the manner that you enjoyed. In the Thursday Night Football Game, the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-30 in an overtime thriller. Kirk Cousins was the obvious choice for player of the game after delivering a dominant comeback performance in which he carved up the Buccaneers defense. Cousins completed 42 of 58 passes for 509 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Cousins smashed the previous franchise record held by Matt Ryan, who threw for 503 yards as a Falcons quarterback. In the process, Cousins became the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 450 yards in a game with three different teams. As for the rest of week 5, the headline matchups involve a trek across the pond, matchups involving familiar foes and tradition at stake. In this article, we preview and predict the five hottest games in week 5.
1. New York Jets (2-2) vs. Minnesota Vikings (4-0) in London-Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET NFL Network
The Minnesota Vikings Cinderella unbeaten run continued last week when they held off the Packers on the road. Sam Darnold has turned doubters into believers by being accurate with the football and utilizing his weapons. Last week, he added Jordan Addison back to the fold by combining for three catches, 72 yards, and a touchdown. The Jets will rue their dreadful loss against the Broncos last week because the schedule gets tougher starting this week. The Jets’ offense has sputtered in the opening month, and it will face a tough matchup against the Vikings’ ranked 5th in the league in points allowed. The Jets will also need to improve their discipline after being penalized 13 times last week, and the majority were offensive snaps in a home game. I think this will be a low-scoring game due to the elite defenses on both sidelines. However, I still trust the Vikings to make more plays on offense and to avoid self-destructive mistakes like the Jets. Sam Darnold gets his revenge on the team that gave up and traded him to the Panthers.
Vikings 20-Jets 17
2. Baltimore Ravens (2-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)-Sunday, 1 p.m. CBS
At the start of the season, both teams would have thought this game would be for the division lead. Instead, this game is for the survival in the race for playoff contention. The Ravens are winners of back-to-back games after thrashing the Bills at home. Baltimore has rediscovered its backbone by running the ball through Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson. The team leads the league in rush yards by tallying 567 yards, 118 yards higher than the second-place team, the Chicago Bears. On the other hand, the Bengals got into the win column last week after defeating the Carolina Panthers 34-24. The offense looked back to their best with the return of Tee Higgins, but the defense remains suspect after allowing a combined 62 points to the Commanders and Panthers in back-to-back games. I think the Ravens’ offense will give the Bengals trouble and keep Joe Burrow on the sideline by chewing out the clock. I think the Ravens will win in this divisional matchup.
Ravens 30-Bengals 24
3. Buffalo Bills (3-1) at Houston Texans(3-1)-Sunday, 1 p.m. ET CBS
This is a matchup of teams with winning records in the conference. However, the big matchup is Wide Receiver Stefon Diggs facing his former team, who traded him last off-season. Diggs will be motivated to up-stage his former teammates. The game will be decided based on the quarterback duel between Josh Allen and C.J. Stroud. Allen will be motivated to rebound after last week’s paltry performance, where he recorded a rare zero combined touchdown performance. On the other hand, Stroud showed grit last week to come from behind to beat the Jaguars, and he has better weapons including Nico Collins, who tallied 12 catches, 151 yards, and a touchdown. I think Houston wins this game and Diggs gets his revenge.
Texans 31-Bills 27
4. Dallas Cowboys (2-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)-Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET NBC
These two teams hardly face each other because they are in different conferences but are classic rivals based on history. The Steelers’ dominant run occurred in the 1970s when they won two of the four championships against the Cowboys. However, Dallas enjoyed a partial revenge in 1996 when they defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. On Sunday, I have a hard time seeing any other result than a Steelers win. The Cowboys’ defense is banged up with Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence missing the game. The offense struggled last week against the Giants by scoring touchdowns and field goals. The Giants, on the other hand, mustered only five field goals which kept the game close. Despite the struggles against the Colts, I think the Steelers’ defense will get back to its best in attacking the quarterback. I think the rush attack led by Justin Fields and Nagee Harris will follow the Jackson and Henry duo in Baltimore by winning this game on the ground.
Steelers 24-Cowboys 20
5. New Orleans Saints (2-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)-Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET ESPN
This is another cross-conference battle, but the personnel involved are familiar foes. The Saints quarterback, Derek Carr, will be facing the Chiefs for the 18th time this Sunday but owns a dreaded 3-14 record against his former divisional rivals while playing with the Raiders. In fact, Carr’s only victory against Patrick Mahomes was in 2020, and he averages at least one interception in each contest. Ouch! Last week, the Saints allowed the Falcons to make a dramatic comeback to win in regulation. I think the Chiefs will win this, but both quarterbacks will struggle because the defenses are dominant. The Chiefs have shown they have the experience to win the ugly games. Mahomes makes the plays at the end to win the game.
Chiefs 23-Saints 21
Last Week: 4-1
Overall Record: 11-9