Week 5 analysis ... Somebody hand Sage Rosenfels a cigarette, because Indy just made him their woman ...

Let's get straight to the games! Washington vs. Philadelphia: Nobody else is going to win two road games against NFC East teams, so you have to tip your hat to the Redskins for that accomplishment. But Philly, why must you beat yourselves? Missed field goals, stupid penalties that gave Washington excellent field position, poor play-calling. Should Andy Reid be fired? Not because of what's happened so far. But Reid looked hesitant to use Westbrook, and they don't have a running game without him. Doesn't help that your two best players, Westbrook and McNabb, average almost a full separate injury per person. But give Washington credit. They ran the ball effectively, Portis is looking good, and Jim Zorn's plays work better when he has WR's that can catch. And yes, that is a direct shot at Seattle. Funny, for a team that "didn't have a two-minute offense" in week 1, the Redskins are now running the best 2 minute drill in the league. Seattle vs. New York Giants: Best team in football, the Giants. Not much else to say. San Diego vs. Miami: L.T.'s injury is harder to hide in the red zone. It limits their play selection, because his effectiveness as a decoy has declined. Why are the Chargers taking so long to wake up? And why couldn't they just smash that Widlcat offense? Ronnie Brown is now officially the most underrated player in the league. When a running back lines up as the QB that many times and can remain effective, then he's doing something right. The Dolphins are now a longshot to make the playoffs, but those are odds any "Phins fan would've taken at the beginning of the year. I'll say it again: Rest L.T.! Man needs some recuperative time, and they can survive with Sproles for a week or two. Indianapolis vs. Houston: If any player has ever proven why they are a career backup, it was Sage Rosenfels this weekend. Granted, Houston usually needs a hero, but they didn't need one yesterday and Sage shouldn't have tried so hard to be one. Protect the football! Indy's defense ratcheted up to a pro level in the 4th, but they were nonexistent the rest of the game. They can still be run on, and even the passing game was clicking early against their Sanders-free secondary. Major alarms going off in Indy. Atlanta vs. Green Bay: Gotta hand it to my boy Bzr034, he pulled out the major onions picking the Falcons on the road, and it paid off. Is Aaron Rodgers all right? Can't tell if he's playing hurt or if opposing defenses have figured him out, but it didn't help that the Packers running game has all but disappeared. Don't they remember how they got so far last year? It was rushing, all the way. The Falcons controlled the line of scrimmage, and Michael Turner seems to be head and shoulders above anyone else for ROY. Chicago vs. Detroit: This one was the bad beating the worst. Nobody thought Detroit would resemble a professional football team on Sunday, and they were right. I wish the 49ers played them twice a year, the NFC North gets all the luck ... Kansas City vs. Carolina: Carolina made a point early, calling six straight running plays en route to their first touchdown. But it didn't really matter what they did, it worked yesterday. KC showed just how real that upset victory over Denver was: not at all. This one was ugly, Carolina could be a good team if they improve their consistency. But given this year so far, consistency would be the exception rather than the rule. Tennessee vs. Baltimore: The first of the two games that tested the remaining undefeated AFC teams. A defensive battle, to be sure. Collins was rattled early but managed the final drive admirably. Sign for concern: Tennessee couldn't run the ball at all. If they had been able, it wouldn't have been nearly this close. Tampa Bay vs. Denver: What's there to say? No seriously, I can't think of anything interesting to say about this game. Denver wins. Bucs lose. New England vs. San Francisco: So we're up 14-7 and we pick Cassel for the second time in the 2nd quarter. And I'm thinking, the only way we can keep this up is if we win the turnover battle. Then J.T. throws an INT deep in Niners territory that leads to a touchdown that puts NE up 10. Three drives later, after we scored to get the game back down to 9 and stopped the Pats, momentum on our side, and he throws another pick that pretty much seals the deal. The 49ers will never beat a quality team making that many mistakes. Cincinnati vs. Dallas: T.O. can complain all he wants, but this is how the Cowboys should be winning games. Their rushing attack is the best aspect of their offense, and it sets them up perfectly. Cincy started drives in Cowboys territory four times, and came away with 15 points. If they could've capitalized on that field position, the game would've been theirs. Dallas really needs to get its cover teams straightened out. Buffalo vs. Arizona: The second test for an undefeated AFC team. The margin was wide enough that it's fair to question whether or not Edwards playing a full game would've changed anything. I think the game would've been completely different, but then again Edwards wasn't allowing all those passing TD's, the defense was. It was unlikely that Trent would've given up three turnovers by himself. I want to give Michaeldeluca credit for picking the Cards, but I don't think he called that injury. He won this week, for the second week in a row, so he's not lacking in accolades. Pittsburgh vs. Jacksonville: This game was chalk full of stupid penalties that kept drives alive and moved the ball down the field when punts should've occurred. The Jacksonville offensive line is in dire straits if they can't get their running backs more yardage than that. Big Ben is an NFL titan, but even he can't survive a full season with this kind of pounding. They rarely win games that don't involve a highlight run from either Mojo or Taylor. Tomorrow: Team Rankings