Week 5 in the NFL brings viewers and fans many competitive matchups, when some teams will be looking to improve on their current records while other teams attempt to keep their perfect win streak going.
Due to some particularly unfavorable matchups and sketchy performances thus far, though, four teams already appear to doomed for Week 5.
Washington football
The 2-2 Washington football team faces the 4-0 “Hot-lanta” Falcons. Currently, the Falcons offense is nearly unstoppable averaging 34.3 points per game, which is the second-best in the league.
As for Washington, which version of Kirk Cousins and Co. shows up will directly influence whether or not this is a high-scoring affair. The inconsistent quarterback has either surprised with a clean performance or carelessly tossed multiple interceptions.
One point in favor of Washington is the fact they lead the NFL in rushing yards. However, the team could be playing from behind against the fourth-rated Falcons passing offense.
The key for Washington will be trying to contain Devonta Freeman, who has scored a ridiculous seven rushing touchdowns in two weeks. Fortunately, Washington’s defense has only allowed one rushing score all season.
Even if the Falcons fail to score on the ground, they’ll still rely on Matt Ryan and the NFL’s No. 1 receiver, Julio Jones. The combination be too powerful for Washington to stop.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have been performing adequately with Brandon Weeden under center. However, they’ve lost their two last games with him as a starter.
Dallas’ patchwork team will be no match for the New England Patriots when they come to town on Sunday. The Patriots are fresh coming off of a bye week, and the Cowboys are trying to hold down the fort without Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and top pass-catching running back Lance Dunbar.
Additionally, while Weeden is struggling and needs to attempt longer passes to improve the team’s chances of scoring against the Patriots, that’s easier said than done.
The Dallas secondary has surrendered the 14th-most passing yards through four games and just allowed 359 yards and two touchdowns to Drew Brees. Tom Brady could easily top Brees’ mark, connecting with star tight end Rob Gronkowski and Co. for a few scores in Week 5.
Should Weeden outplay Brady and the Cowboys win, it would go down as one of the most stunning upsets of the 2015 season. But we’re not banking on that.
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams have upset a couple of teams in the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals, but pulling off a win against a seemingly unbeatable 4-0 Green Bay Packers team at Lambeau Field is not likely.
At 18.5 points per game, St. Louis is simply not scoring enough points. Meanwhile the Packers offense has posted an average of 28.3 points. Furthermore, they have scored a combined 65 points in their two home games.
Aaron Rodgers hasn’t thrown an interception at Lambeau in almost three years, and the Rams won’t be able to contend with the reigning league MVP.
The Rams defense has allowed 235.3 passing yards per game, which could limit Rodgers just a bit. However, opposing quarterbacks are also completing an average of 75.7 percent of their passes, which is the second-worst mark in the league. To date, Rodgers is completing 72.4 percent of his passes and has already scored 11 touchdowns.
As for the St. Louis offense, quarterback Nick Foles and the Rams receivers draw no comparison to Rodgers and his weapons. Although Todd Gurley could beat up Green Bay’s rush defense that currently ranks 22nd in the NFL and has allowed opposing running backs 4.8 yards per attempt, the Packers did limit Marshawn Lynch to 41 yards.
Overall, the Packers at home against an inconsistent 2-2 Rams unit spells doom for St. Louis.
Detroit Lions
How unfortunate it is to see the 0-4 Lions in this list. Sadly, the Lions host the Arizona Cardinals, who despite the loss to St. Louis last week are among the NFL’s best teams. Detroit has the No. 30 offense and No. 25 defense, while Arizona ranks Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.
It’s going to be challenging for Detroit’s secondary to slow down Carson Palmer. The Arizona quarterback has tallied 288.8 passing yards and 2.5 touchdowns per game.
Plus, the Cardinals are averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The Lions pale horribly in comparison, since they’ve managed only 47 rushing yards at a sluggish rate of 2.7 yards per attempt.
We could go on all day long about how lopsided this matchup is, but there truly is nothing substantial enough to put on paper that favors the Lions.