This is going to be an article that will come out after every week of NFL action. Every week, I’ll be writing a short summary of the previous week, I’ll give my take on the Bears, and then our “experts” will give their picks for the upcoming week.

Feel free to leave a comment below. Let us know what you think about the content and what you want to see from this weekly section moving forward.

Week Five Takeaways

On paper, week five may not have had many high quality games, but week five ended up being an eventful week in the NFL.

Here are some takeaways from week five:

• Cowboys: Dak is hurt, and that Giants game was way too close. The only thing Cowboys fans have to be happy about right now is that the rest of the NFC East is playing just as bad, if not worse.

• Panthers: Carolina looks all right, they’ve won three straight, and if they can keep it up, it looks they could be yet another team in the NFC wild card conversation this year.

• Cardinals: The Cardinals got back on the right track, but considering the quality of the NFC West, they’re going to have to play real well to make a playoff run.

• Chiefs: What happened to Kansas City this week? Simply a bad game for the Chiefs, no real reason for Chiefs fans to be concerned, but there is only 1 playoff bye spot this year, so they have got to be cautious not to slip up again.

• Raiders: The Raiders look good. While they are only 3-2, they have 2 impressive wins over the Chiefs and Saints, and after this week, they certainly look like they could be a playoff team.

• AFC North: This year is setting up to be an interesting season in the AFC North. The Browns had an impressive win over the Colts, the Steelers managed a win against the Eagles, and, to nobody’s surprise, the Ravens dominated the Bengals. The Steelers sit atop the division at 4-0, just ahead of the Browns and Ravens who are both 4-1.

• NFC West: The Rams and Seahawks kept rolling in week five. That Seahawks game was very exciting, and Russell Wilson is playing like an MVP week in and week out. Right now, the Seahawks are better than the Rams, but this could turn into an interesting divisional race down the stretch.

• Saints: The Saints looked bad and Drew Brees’s age is starting to become a problem. I still think this team will win their division, but Brees has to play better if they are to go anywhere in the playoffs.

• Buccaneers: On paper the Buccaneers look like they could be one of the favorites to win the NFC, but through five weeks, that is clearly not the case. They are 3-2, they don’t have any notable wins, and their schedule only gets more difficult from here on out. In my mind, they would be lucky to finish with a record any better than 8-8.

• Titans: This Titans team is legit. The AFC South looks weak, so they shouldn’t have a problem winning their division, but after that dominant performance against the Bills, they look like they could compete for a top two seed in the AFC.

• AFC East: Before this week, I thought the Bills would take this division, but now I’m not so sure. Newton and the Patriots have looked solid so far this season, so I expect a close race in this division.

• Giants: The New York Giants scored a season high of 34 points this week against their division rival. Unfortunately, Daniel Jones still struggled, as he wasn’t able to score a touchdown, and he had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. After this week’s loss, the are Giants 0-5. Neither the Giants nor the Jets have a win this season, it’s been a tough year so far for New York. But on the bright side, things can’t get any worse, right?

• Le’Veon Bell: The Chiefs are a good fit for Le’Veon Bell. While I, along with many other Bears fans, would have liked to see him end up in Chicago, it was simply unrealistic. If Le’Veon Bell wants to sign a half-decent contract next season, he needs to perform well the rest of this season. Considering the Bears rank 27th in rushing yards per game, I think Le’Veon Bell made a wise decision not to come to Chicago.

What’s up wit Da Bears?

A win over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers certainly helps boost confidence, but something still doesn’t seem right. For optimistic fans, it is easy to be excited because the Bears are 4-1. But the offense is not quite where it needs to be. The Bears put up 20 points against the Buccaneers defense which, entering week five, was giving up an average of 23 points per game. That’s not terrible, but the Bears only had 276 yards of total offense. Foles put together one very nice touchdown drive to get the Bears on the board, and they drove the ball on their first possession of the fourth quarter, which resulted in a field goal. But other than those two drives, the Bears offense struggled to get going. Foles was sacked three times, the Bears turned the ball over twice, and they only rushed for 33 yards. The run game has to be more effective if the Bears are to continue winning games. The one bright spot in the offense right now is Allen Robinson, who put together another nice game, hauling in 10 passes for 90 yards.

The defense, on the other hand, is playing great. Right now, the defense is the 4th best scoring defense in the league (20.0 PPG), and is ranked 9th in yards allowed (344.0 YPG). Against the Bucs, not only did the Bears defense limit Tom Brady’s offense to 19 points, the least they have scored all season, but the defense essentially set up the Bears’ second touchdown, and the Bears game winning field goal. The first half did not look great for the Bears defense, but things turned around in the second half. The Bucs only scored six points in the second half, Brady was constantly under pressure, and the Bears managed three sacks. If the defense continues to play the way they did this week, the Bears will have a good chance to win some football games moving forward.

Things are going to get tougher for the Bears in upcoming weeks, as their next four games are against above .500 teams. Next week, the Bears travel to Charlotte to take on the Panthers, who have won three straight games. Even though there are some concerns with this Bears team, the Bears sit in a good spot at 4-1.

Trapeze NFL “Expert” Week 6 Picks

Sunday 12 P.M.

Bears at Panthers

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Bengals at Colts

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Broncos at Patriots

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Lions  at Jaguars

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Falcons at Vikings

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Football Team at Giants

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Ravens at Eagles

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Browns at Steelers

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Texans at Titans

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Sunday 3:05 P.M.

Jets at Dolphins

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Sunday 3:25 P.M.

Packers at Buccaneers

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Sunday at 7:20 P.M.

Rams at Niners

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Monday 6 P.M.

Bills vs Chiefs- Moved from Thursday Oct. 15

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Monday 7:15 P.M.

Cardinals at Cowboys

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