NFL Week 5 Point Spreads 2011: Ladies and gentleman: the Detroit Lions are for real! Having been one of the harshest critics and biggest skeptics of the Lions early success this season, I’ve finally caved into the fact that this team is here to stay in the NFC North. The fact that these youngsters finished the season strong had very little positive effect on me, as I was operating under the assumption that any team can play relaxed football when games don’t matter anymore.
You see, to me, the character of a solid, playoff team comes out when playing in significant games with a lot on the line. In my eyes, the importance of Detroit’s ability to close out the 2010 season unbeaten at 4-0, was minimized given that all playoff hopes for this team were long gone by that point. Thus, the growth and maturity the Lions displayed at season’s end, went by unnoticed to me, and to many others.
I can now say that, if healthy, this team is not only going to be in the 2011 postseason, but they might make some noise come early 2012. Just think about it, the Lions are 8-0 since turning the corner at the end of last season. Two top NFL draft picks in, Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh, have turned an 0-16 embarrassment, into a team currently sharing the top seed in its Division with none other than the defending Super Bowl champions, Green Bay Packers.
That has to be the ultimate compliment for these guys’ efforts, especially coming off a very telling, 27-3, come-from-behind victory over what was supposed to be a respectable Cowboys defense led by Rob Ryan. According to the Lions players, the turning point in Sunday’s game came during a huddle, as their young signal-caller showed his maturity as a leader, and the others followed.
“He told us, ‘It’s about that time, let’s loosen up, have fun and score on these guys,” recalled Lions receiver Titus Young when asked about Stafford’s speech in the huddle. “Then, we started to rally.”
This week, the invincible (4-0) Detroit Lions [-6] will have to pass another trial by fire, as they take on a team they hope to replace come playoff time. Stafford, Megatron & Co. will go up against Brian Urlacher and the NFL Odds underdog (2-2) Chicago Bears [+6] defense on Monday Night. This great NFC North battle gets underway at 8:30 PM ET on ESPN. The projected OVER/UNDER is currently set at a combined total of 47½ points scored. Get $50 in Free NFL Picks Here!
Here’s the rest of the schedule and (if available) the NFL Week 5 Point Spreads 2011:
(1-3, Road: 1-1) Philadelphia [-3] vs (3-1, Home: 2-0) Buffalo [+3]
(1-3, Road: 0-2) Arizona [+3] vs (0-4, Home: 0-2) Minnesota [-3]
(1-3, Road: 0-2) Seattle [+9½] vs (3-1, Home: 1-0) NY Giants [-9½]
(1-3, Road: 0-2) Kansas City vs (0-4, Home: 0-2) Indianapolis
(3-1, Road: 1-1) Tennessee vs (2-2, Home: 1-0) Pittsburgh
(2-2, Road: 1-1) Cincinnati [+2½] vs (1-3, Home: 1-1) Jacksonville [-2½]
(3-1, Road: 1-1) New Orleans [-6] vs (1-3, Home: 1-1) Carolina [+6]
(2-2, Road: 1-1) Oakland [+6] vs (3-1, Home: 2-0) Houston [-6]
(3-1, Road: 1-0) Tampa Bay vs (3-1, Home: 1-1) San Francisco
(3-1, Road: 0-1) San Diego [-4] vs (1-3, Home: 1-1) Denver [+4]
(2-2, Road: 0-2) NY Jets [+9½] vs (3-1, Home: 1-0) New England [-9½]
(4-0, Road: 2-0) Green Bay [-6] vs (2-2, Home: 1-0) Atlanta [+6]
(2-2, Road: 0-1) Chicago [+6] vs (4-0, Home: 1-0) Detroit [-6]
