2024 NFL Week 5 Outrights
by Dan Angell | by Tyler Doty
Week 5 NFL Highlights
The best thing to do in week 5 is look at which teams have been the most consistent. A few teams have been pretty reliable, while others have been far more erratic. If you can find the teams that you can count on week after week, you can usually count on some intriguing battles. A few teams have been consistently poor, and you can use that to steer clear of watching those teams. For example, if it’s a beautiful fall day and you’d rather look at the fall foliage than watch the Miami Dolphins attempt to play offense without a solid quarterback, nobody would blame you.
These games should be more interesting to watch than what Miami is bringing to the table. Here’s a look at Week 5 for your NFL picks and predictions.
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
One of two things is going to happen in this game. Either the Jacksonville Jaguars will give themselves something resembling hope, or the NFL’s weirdest streak will finally end. It has been 10 years since the Colts last won a game in Jacksonville. It hasn’t mattered how bad the Jaguars were, how good the Colts were or what was on the line, the one thing Jacksonville fans have been able to count on since 2014 is a win over Indianapolis when the Colts travel to Duval County.
Even in the 2021-22 season, when the Jaguars finished 3-14 and earned the No. 1 overall pick, they still managed to beat a Colts team that was playing for a playoff spot. Indianapolis came to Jacksonville with everything to play for and promptly got blasted, 26-11. And that’s why the Jaguars are still expected to win despite a 0-4 start.
If there was ever a year for Indianapolis to finally end the streak, this is the year. Not only are the Colts seemingly rounding into form, but they have an excellent opportunity to roll into Houston at 5-2 for a game that could decide the AFC South. Tennessee doesn’t look capable of competing for the division, and the Colts could officially bury Jacksonville here. If the Jaguars keep the streak going, all it would take is one Houston loss to get them right back into the race.
New York Jets vs. Minnesota Vikings
Everything seems to be coming up Sam Darnold this season. After never getting a fair shot in New York and landing in a worse spot in Carolina, Darnold is now thriving in Minneapolis. And now he gets a shot at the first team that gave up on him, which is once again dealing with quarterback issues.
Of course, saying the Jets are dealing with quarterback issues is like saying the sun rose in the East, because the Jets have been dealing with quarterback issues since the 1990s. Unless you want to count Chad Pennington, New York really hasn’t had a reliable quarterback option for more than a season or two since Ken O’Brien. Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be the piece that put the Jets over the top, but so far, he’s showing his 40 years of age in a tepid start.
Rodgers picked apart the Patriots’ poor secondary, but otherwise, he’s thrown for 225 yards or less every time this season. On paper, this should be a matchup where Rodgers thrives, as he’s used to facing Minnesota and the Vikings’ biggest weakness is their pass defense. But this game is in London, which means rain and ugly weather. That’s not a great way to cure what ails the Jets.
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
Getting a win was a big step forward for Cincinnati. Now the Bengals have to win something in their own division. The Bengals went 1-5 last year against the AFC North, which is why they missed the playoffs by a game and finished last in the division. Cincinnati ended up one game out of the postseason, while Baltimore ended up winning the division and playing in the AFC North title game.
And part of the reason was the Ravens’ sweep of the Bengals. Baltimore won 27-24 in Cincinnati and 34-20 at home, which proved critical to the Ravens’ cushion. However, don’t mistake that as the pendulum swinging to the purple side in this rivalry. Since the Bengals opened Paycor Stadium in 2000, these teams have been remarkably even. The score over the past 24 seasons is 25 wins for the Ravens, 24 for the Bengals.
Baltimore looked very good in roughing up Buffalo last week, but that also occurred because the Ravens hit the big play early. That’s not likely to repeat itself on the road, and the Bengals will be much more desperate than the Bills were. Buffalo probably has the AFC East on lockdown; Cincinnati has no margin for error to get back in the playoff race. This game’s going to be a lot tougher on the Ravens.
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
Speaking of the Bills, it’s now time for them to prove if they really are among the AFC’s elite. They’re 3-1 record looked impressive until Baltimore crushed them, and now it’s fair to take a hard look at Buffalo’s strength of victory. And truthfully, it’s not great. Miami barely looks capable of handling an SEC defense without Tua Tagovailoa, Jacksonville has yet to win a game and Arizona has just one win to its name. When the three teams you’ve beaten are a combined 2-10 and one of the wins was against one of the other two, it’s fair to wonder.
Houston had its bounce-back moment last week against Jacksonville, and the young Texans are anxious to find out where they stand in the AFC. Unless Indianapolis can make the AFC South a two-team race, the Texans know they’re going to have to beat one of Kansas City, Buffalo or the AFC North champion in the second round if they want to reach their goals. This is their first chance to see if they’re ready for that kind of contest. A win for C.J. Stroud would be huge in Houston’s development.
