The NFL Roundup Week 5 - The Most Fascinating Games to Watch on Sunday and Monday

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Week 5 is officially under way and already we are seeing teams completely and utterly evolve for various reasons. One of the biggest and most common points of evolution for a team is based on injury, and with four weeks of punishing football on the books, we are seeing new starters in place due to injury...and different results because of that necessary change. 

Evolution is simply part of life in the NFL and as the injuries begin to mount, or players find themselves comfortable and complacent, it will continue to occur as coaches demand the best of the next man up, or send someone to the bench to give their team a spark. Either way, these changes mean we are in for some fascinating games this weekend, and here are the ones we will be keeping an eye on tomorrow...and Monday.

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HOUSTON TEXANS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS
1:00 pm. EST - CBS

The Houston Texans secured a close win against the Tennessee Titans last week in order to shake off the pain of the shutout New England served upon them on Thursday Night Football. But come tomorrow, they are going to be in for one hell of a fight. The Minnesota Vikings are playing lights out football in every single phase of the game. Sam Bradford is playing like a man possessed, the run game is functional without Adrian Peterson in the backfield and that defense is scary to say the least. Houston is going to have to find a way to neutralize the Vikings on offense if they expect to have a chance, and without J.J. Watt in the lineup, that is easier said than done. I imagine the Texans will also plan to go with a heavy run game early on to try and wear down the Vikings Defense in order to set up the pass, but also expect Minnesota to bring their 'A' game and make life hell for Brock Osweiler and quite frankly, I get the funny feeling Minnesota is walking out of this game with another win.

ATLANTA FALCONS AT DENVER BRONCOS
4:05 p.m. EST - FOX

The Atlanta Falcons are looking incredible on offense right now. Julio Jones is a tough receiver for any cornerback to face and it seems that this team can more or less score at will and demoralize an opposing defense. But their greatest challenge arrives this week when they travel to Denver to face the World Champions, because the Broncos defense is still the best in the league. They continue to shut down one top tier quarterback after another and you know they're looking to make a statement by keeping Jones and Matt Ryan from having a big day. But what should really make this game entertaining, is that as of press time, Rookie Paxton Lynch was just named the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos for tomorrow's game. Yes, I'm sure Atlanta watched all the film out there on both Lynch and Siemian, because they would be silly not to, but Lynch brings a Peyton Manning-esque fold into the game since Denver can now operate the Gary Kubiak Zone Run system...and play a little spread offense as well, and that worked out pretty darn good for the Broncos in Tampa Bay last week. I firmly believe Denver wins this game on the strength of their defense, but with Lynch at the helm, the score may be a little more lopsided in Denver's favor than anyone originally expected.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS
1:00 p.m. EST - CBS

Let's be honest, there's really nothing that anyone is looking forward to seeing from the Cleveland Browns in this game. The offense will be mediocre at best barring some of kind of surprise. The defense will be porous and exhausted from being on the field for too long. So why on earth will this game be fascinating? Because it features the return of Tom Brady, and he is going to unleash four weeks of football fury on this squad. It's going to be a passing clinic in Ohio this weekend and well, when a QB lets loose like Brady is no doubt going to...it's the stuff of magic. Every single pass that man is going to make tomorrow, be it a bubble screen or an outright bomb, is going to be on target and the score will reflect that. This is simply going to be a rare treat to watch and I feel bad that Cleveland has to be on the receiving end of Tom Brady's fury. 

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS
Monday Night Football - 8:30 p.m. EST - ESPN

A funny thing happened last week when Cam Newton was removed from the game by way of the league's concussion protocol...the Carolina Panthers were suddenly competitive. They put up 23 points in the fourth quarter with Derek Anderson taking over and really, what has this game on my radar, is whether or not they can replicate that kind of success for an entire game this week. By virtue of their opponent, they should. Tampa Bay does not look good at all this year, and they showed how little stamina they have in the game against Denver, and that's bad news for a team facing off against a desperate opponent. Expect Derek Anderson to repeat what he did against the Falcons, air it out and find the end zone and along the way, he'll do what Cam Newton has been unable to do all season...lead. The big reason this team was so fiery when he took over is because Anderson ignited a spark for this squad and sometimes that's all a team full of talent needs in order to do something special. Expect the Panthers to win and win big in this game on Monday Night.