Every week in the NFL is important. Some are just more important than others. Here are the teams most desperate for a win in Week 5.
5. Kansas City Chiefs:No one expects the Chiefs to win Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, but crazier things have happened. A loss would put them 0-3 at Arrowhead Stadium on the year. A win over a quality opponent could give them momentum with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders next on the schedule. I haven't given up on this team quite yet.
4. Tennessee Titans: A lot of folks like the immortal Dave Dameshek pegged the Titans as a sleeper playoff team. They are 1-3 and underdogs against the Minnesota Vikings, with Matt Hasselbeck leading the way for the Titans offense, but it sets up as a good matchup for Tennessee. The Titans can't stop explosive plays and Minnesota has not made many.
3. New York Jets: Everyone thinks the Jets' season is over, but we've seen this story too many times under coach Rex Ryan. This is a tough squad to kill. They are 2-2 and tied for first place in the AFC East. A win over the Houston Texans would give the Jets a lot of confidence, even if it was misplaced.
2. Carolina Panthers: Dropping a home game to the Seattle Seahawks would be devastating for this young Panthers team. It's not too late for them to get their season turned around after their best performance of the year
last week against the
Atlanta Falcons. It was nice to see the Carolina defense aggressive and creative for a change. They badly need a win to get to 2-3.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers:It's hard to make the playoffs after starting 1-3. It would be harder to win the AFC North with the Ravens looking so good. The Steelers looked like a Super Bowl contender before the year, but they have played like a bottom feeder with two awful road showings. The Philadelphia Eagles have been lucky and sloppy to get to 3-1, but they are coming off their best game. This is the game of the weekend other than Brady-Manning.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
