NFL: All predictions and tips for Week 5

Week 5 in the NFL marks the beginning of a kind of strategic shift for several teams: The Steelers and the Falcons meet in Pittsburgh for the crisis summit, both must win absolutely. The same goes for the Lions at home against Green Bay and the Vikings in Philly, while the Chiefs receive Jacksonville for a thrilling duel. SPOX takes a quick look at all games of the upcoming matchday – including the forecast by NFL editor Adrian Franke, the Sunday games are as usual in the RedZone conference live on DAZN.

Against Miami the run game of the Patriots finally worked out, the growing role of Josh Gordon will open the offense about Rob Gronkowski more again – and now Julian Edelman comes back. The Colts-Defense is a positive surprise so far, but it will be a really tough test. Conversely, it will be exciting to see if the more stable Pats-Defense Andrew Luck, who looked really good last week, can stop again with Trey Flowers and Patrick Chung.

Tip: Patriots vs. Colts 30:21.

Cruel game of Josh Allen against the Packers, with an overarching theme: When coverage gets more complex, Buffalo’s rookie quarterback gets huge problems – and the Titans are one of the better teams when it comes to hiding coverages and speed cameras. In this respect, it should be another difficult game for Allen and the Bills Opense, while Marcus Mariota and the Titans Passing Opense are getting better and better rolling. If Buffalo can’t put pressure on Mariota against the strong Titans tackles, another hard working day awaits the Secondary.

Tip: Bills vs. Titans 10:24.

Tyler Eifert’s injury is really bitter and will take a few percentage points away from a very good Bengals-Offense. Conversely, Joe Mixon’s return is not good news for the Dolphins Defense, which fell apart without William Hayes against the Patriots’ run game. Cincinnati should have the firepower to put Miami’s Secondary in front of big problems even without the zeal of Green, Mixon, Bernard and the absolutely positively surprising Tyler Boyd, while the Dolphins Offense is massively inconstant and doesn’t get their run game rolling at all. Against the Bengals defense with the returnee Vontaze Burfict one should not necessarily expect a quick improvement.

Tip: Bengals vs. Dolphins 24:14.

The fact that Ravens vs. Browns is a game in which both offenses are fun has not existed for a long time. That’s exactly what’s happening now, in Cleveland the offense has a completely different face with Mayfield, while in Baltimore Joe Flacco plays more aggressively than he has in a while. Can Cleveland cause problems in the Pass-Rush and with his variety of Blitzes Baltimores strong Line? And vice versa: How does Mayfield cope with the complex Ravens defense on all levels?

Tip: Browns vs. Ravens 17:24.

Detroit’s Offense finds its rhythm better and better with a very good Offensive Line, one of the best Receiver-Trios of the league and Matt Stafford, who can decompose a Secondary out of clean Pocket. So the Packers must be able to put Stafford under pressure, with their aggressive defense they are also able to do so. Conversely, this statement about the Lions’ pass rush cannot be made, which makes the task against Aaron Rodgers quite difficult.

Tip: Lions vs. Packers 21:24.

Maybe THE game of the week! The Chiefs-Offense against the Jaguars-Defense is a great matchup, and it will be exciting to see what ideas Andy Reid has against Jacksonville. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback of the first four weeks of this season and KC should be able to stand up comparatively well against the Jags in the offensive line. If the Jaguars Defense can’t keep Kansas City’s offense under control, Blake Bortles must have one of his good days – which is easily imaginable against this Chiefs Pass Defense. The fact that Leonard Fournette is out may also make Jacksonville more aggressive again.

Tip: Chiefs vs. Jaguars 27:24.

The jets have to be more offensive and courageous in play calling, otherwise it will be difficult in every game. This also applies to the duel with the Broncos Defense, even though Von Miller, Bradley Chubb and Co. New York’s offensive line should be clearly superior. And vice versa? Gang Green was extremely susceptible to the Underneath Passing game against Jacksonville, which must change quickly against Denver. Case Keenum can easily be trusted with a few picks against the Jets-Secondary, but at the same time the Broncos shouldn’t get too big problems in pass protection.

Tip: Jets vs. Broncos 17:21.

Absolute must-win game for both teams – and it should be another shootout with Falcon’s participation, number three in a row. Much too puny is Atlanta due to the critical injuries in the defense, while Pittsburgh’s defense has decidedly more problems than answers. The safetys are shaky, the cornerbacks were extremely weak against Baltimore and the pass rush needs lightning help. That the linebackers are susceptible to coverage is not surprising. So the question arises: Which (passing) offense is currently better? That’s where the pendulum should be headed for Atlanta and Matt Ryan.

Tip: Steelers vs. Falcons 30:33.

Chargers sticking to their more aggressive approach? Against the Niners L.A. finally flashed more, which helped the toothless Pass-Rush noticeably without Joey Bosa. That should also be the approach against Oakland, because pressure is still the biggest problem for Derek Carr. If the Chargers succeed in building up pressure here, there should be a home win – because the Raiders have neither the secondary nor the run defense means to stop this Chargers open with the most dangerous running back duo of the league over the first four weeks.

Tip: Chargers vs. Raiders 30:21.

Another critical matchup for both teams, but especially for Minnesota. The Vikings are defensively so far a disappointment, even individually too many players simply do not reach their previous year’s level. It’s not enough for Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs to look really good – Minnesota has to be careful not to lose this game to Philadelphia’s Pass-Rush on the Line of Scrimmage. The run-blocking doesn’t get much together anyway, and Philadelphia’s Offense will only (constantly) increase in lineup with Jay Ajayi and Alshon Jeffery.

Tip: Eagles vs. Vikings 23:20.

Surprisingly good performance of Garoppolo representative C.J. Beathard against the Chargers. Arizona’s Pass-Rush should also cause problems for a vulnerable Niners-Line, so the task won’t be much more pleasant. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are the only team still without a win, but Josh Rosen’s more than promising starting debut gives a completely different feeling in the desert for the rest of the season. Is there a first victory now? More courage in play calling would help. Very much so.

Tip: 49ers vs. Cardinals 20:21.

The Seahawks Open is perhaps the least inspiring in the NFL when it comes to play calling. The attempt to establish the run game is not only convulsive but also predictable and not at all contemporary, while Russell Wilson throws parallel passes noticeably less long than last year. And this even though the line even holds up halfway. The defense will suffer a huge setback due to the injury of Earl Thomas – not good news before the duel with the NFL’s most dangerous offense next to Kansas City.

Tip: Seahawks vs. Rams 17:30.

Carolinas Offense is one of the positive surprises of the season so far, and this is especially true for the run designs. Here the Giants are awaiting a hard test, all the more so as the Panthers come from the (very early) Bye-Week with additional recovery. Conversely, the Giants-Offense is very, very conservative and careful, Carolina’s front should be able to dominate this part at and around the Line of Scrimmage.

Tip: Panthers vs. Giants 21:14.

The offensive line of the Texans is a huge problem, one that doesn’t go away in time. This should also make itself felt against Demarcus Lawrence, but the good news for Houston is that Deshaun Watson is increasingly stabilizing. The Texans should be able to score with Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins against this cowboy defense – and vice versa I’m not so sure with Dallas. J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney are going to be a bigger and bigger problem for enemy offenses, Prescott will feel that too.

Tip: Texans vs. Cowboys 24:16.

The Saints-Offense is simply a lot of fun. With Michael Thomas New Orleans has one of the top receivers of the NFL, Alvin Kamara is currently perhaps the best matchup weapon in the league. The line is good and Drew Brees is still extremely accurate – Washington had a good pass defense over his first three games, but that will be a very different test. And that the Redskins, where Adrian Peterson is stricken, with their general approach and focus on the short pass game, can offensively contest a shootout, has yet to be proven.

Tip: Saints vs. Redskins 27:21.