Philly had a huge second half and finally got things going offensively, so my New Orleans pick was a bad loser. I split the week with the Bears cashing a SU win as nearly double digit dogs on a late TD.
How bad is the AFC South? The Luck-less Colts have as many wins as the rest of the division combined. The win at Houston with Hasselbeck under center was huge, as the Colts have now played (and won) all of their divisional road games (also, what kind of scheduling madness is that?)
AFC divisions are interesting this year, as the AFC North, East, West, and South all have division leaders with commanding early-season leads. Three of the four have undefeated leaders, and second place in the North and West are .500. The Jets are 3-1, but does anyone really expect an over-achieving Jets team with a weak-ish early schedule to challenge the Pats?
Of the undefeated teams, the Pats and Packers look the best, but the most impressive 5-0 start is probably Cincy-- they seem to have figured out (at the moment at least) how to win games they would have lost in previous years. The comeback win against the Ravens and this weekend's OT thriller to beat Seattle are both impressive, gritty wins.
Speaking of the Seahawks, the NFC West is interesting-- Arizona got back to its winning ways this week, but the Seahawks and Rams lost. Despite a scrappy performance, the SF defense gave up the go-ahead TD late. The Niners are playing better on offense, but their defense just isn't the same (the front office might take note of Jim Harbaugh's Michigan defense that has pitched 3 shutouts in a row-- the fist time that's happened in 20 years in college football). Still, this race is competitive with Arizona now on top at 4-1. At 2-3, the Rams and Seahawks have some work to do.
The Giants are now in sole possesion of first place in the NFC East, as Dallas just can't find a way to make Weedon a winner. Philly is looking less a disaster, and I don't love the match-up with the Giants defense, which couldn't stop Kaepernick in the second half (who came into Sunday's game with one of the worst QBRs in the NFL). The Giants can't run the ball, so I'd expect that Eli will be throwing for his life the rest of the year.
The NFC North has panned out much like the AFC-- Green Bay is in clear control of the situation there. The NFC South-- last year's worst division-- has two undefeated teams. Atlanta gutted out a win over a bad Washington team in OT on a bad throw from Cousins. Carolina is 4-0, but against Tampa Bay, Houston, Jacksonville, and New Orleans (combined record 5-15) and now face a schedule that includes Seattle, Philly, Indy and Green Bay. Err, enjoy that 4-0.
And how about the Steelers on MNF? What a gutsy call at the end of the game-- the Chargers look nearly dead in the water in the division unless Denver crashes and burns (and with the injuries, that could well happen). The Steelers needed that game badly, as they will have an uphill battle chasing down Cincy for the rest of the season.
NFL 2015 Week 5: 1-1
NFL 2015 Season Total: 7-5
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