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Through the first five weeks of the season, there have been plenty of close games and the standings remain tight.
Entering Week 6, there are 17 teams with a .500 or better record. That's three behind the most such teams (20) through the first five weeks of a season in NFL history (2001, 2010).
"It's hard every week," says New England Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK about the competition in the NFL. "Every week we go against another good team, good players and good coaches. It's hard every week. This is the National Football League."
And in the National Football League, the only thing predictable continues to be the unpredictability.
Of the 17 teams with a .500 or better record, more than half of them (nine) won eight games or fewer a year ago. Those nine clubs, who have a combined 28-15 (.651) record this season, finished 2011 with a 54-90 (.375) mark.
"It's still early and there's so much more football to be played," says head coach LESLIE FRAZIER of the 4-1 Minnesota Vikings, a team that has already surpassed last season's win total (3). "We all know there have been a lot of teams that have gotten off to great starts and then you don't see them in December. We don't want to be one of those teams. We're going to work as hard as we can and play one game at a time and do our best to get prepared for our next ball game."
Two teams – Atlanta (5-0) and Houston (5-0) – lead the way with undefeated records. There are five teams – Arizona (4-1), Baltimore (4-1), Chicago (4-1), Minnesota (4-1) and San Francisco (4-1) – right behind them with just one loss.
"Right now, 5-0 is just a start," says Falcons head coach MIKE SMITH. "It's just a start. That's all it is."
Some of the key games this weekend:
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (2-2) at TENNESSEE TITANS (1-4) (Thursday, NFL Network, 8:00 PM ET)
The Steelers travel to Nashville for a Thursday-night contest to kick off Week 6.
Pittsburgh evened its record at 2-2 with a 16-14 win over Philadelphia last week. SHAUN SUISHAM kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the Steelers the victory. The team got a boost from the return of running back RASHARD MENDENHALL, who rushed for 81 yards and a TD in his season debut. With Mendenhall back, the Steelers gained 136 yards on the ground in Week 5. In the team's previous three games, Pittsburgh had rushed for a total of 195 yards.
"It felt great to be back," says Mendenhall. "But there is a lot more work to be done."
That work will continue in Tennessee where the Titans will look to get back on track.
"We have a game on Thursday night against a very good football team," says Titans head coach MIKE MUNCHAK. "Playing in four days against a good team might be the best thing for us. We can play much, much better. This is the group we have and with this group, we have to play much better, and we have to do it quickly."
**
NFL FACTOID: Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHNNY UNITAS' 47-game streak with a touchdown pass was 113 percent longer than the previous record (22 games by CECIL ISBELL). New Orleans Saints quarterback DREW BREES, whose 48-game streak is now the longest in NFL history, would need to extend his active streak to 100 consecutive games to surpass Unitas' mark by 113 percent.
**
*NEW YORK GIANTS (3-2) at SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (4-1) (Sunday, FOX, 4:25 PM ET) *
The Giants will return to San Francisco for a rematch of last season's NFC Championship Game, which was won by New York 20-17 in overtime en route to a victory in Super Bowl XLVI.
Last week, the Giants defeated Cleveland 41-27 as running back AHMAD BRADSHAW rushed for 200 yards and wide receiver VICTOR CRUZ had three touchdown catches. It marked the first time since 1960 that a team had a 200-yard rusher and a player with at least three TD catches in a game. On December 18, 1960, St. Louis' JOHN DAVID CROW (203 rushing yards) and SONNY RANDLE (three receiving TDs) accomplished the feat.
New York's offense ranks second in the NFL and leads the NFC averaging 429.2 yards per game. The Giants have gained 1,877 yards in their past four games, the highest total over any four-game span in franchise history.
"San Francisco is a very good team," says Giants head coach TOM COUGHLIN. "We'll have to be at our best."
The 49ers recorded a franchise-record 621 yards last week in a 45-3 win over Buffalo. In the victory, San Francisco became the first team in NFL history to gain at least 300 yards rushing (311) and 300 yards passing (310) in a game. The 49ers have won each of their past two games by 30 points, the first time the team has accomplished that since 1961.
"I'm very pleased with our guys," says San Francisco head coach JIM HARBAUGH about the team's Week 5 performance. "Good football. Good team victory. A lot of plays were made. It was a great team victory."
The 49ers had a 300-yard passer (ALEX SMITH, 303 yards), 100-yard rusher (FRANK GORE, 106 yards), and two 100-yard receivers (MICHAEL CRABTREE, 113 yards and VERNON DAVIS, 106 yards) in the same game for the first time since November 19, 1961.
"The Giants are an outstanding team," says Harbaugh about his club's Week 6 opponent. "They've got an explosive offense. They're very balanced. They're just an all-around top team in the league."
*GREEN BAY PACKERS (2-3) at HOUSTON TEXANS (5-0) (Sunday, NBC, 8:20 PM ET) *
Houston, one of the two remaining undefeated clubs in 2012, will host the Packers, last year's final unbeaten team.
Two of the premiere defensive players in the NFL will be in the spotlight on Sunday night: Green Bay's CLAY MATTHEWS and Houston's J.J. WATT. Watt leads the NFL with 8.5 sacks and Matthews ranks second with 8.
The Texans improved to 5-0 with a 23-17 win at the New York Jets on Monday night. Houston running back ARIAN FOSTER had 168 scrimmage yards and reached the 5,000-yard mark in his 40th game, the third-fastest in NFL history to do so (EDGERRIN JAMES, 36 games and Pro Football Hall of Famer ERIC DICKERSON, 39).
"Arian stepped up and played huge," says Texans quarterback MATT SCHAUB. "We're very excited to be 5-0."
The Packers aim to get back to .500 after dropping to 2-3 with a 30-27 loss at Indianapolis.
"We're not quite where we need to be," says Green Bay head coach MIKE MC CARTHY. "We're 2-3 and that was a tough loss. I'm focused on the specifics of our football team and that we're not where we need to be."
*DENVER BRONCOS (2-3) at SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (3-2) (Monday, ESPN, 8:30 PM ET) *
San Diego will host Denver on Monday night as the top two teams in the AFC West clash in primetime. The Chargers enter Week 6 in first place in the division, one game ahead of the Broncos. Both teams are looking to bounce back from a loss in Week 5.
In his career, Denver quarterback PEYTON MANNING has won 11 of his 15 Monday starts and has a 96.3 passer rating in those contests. Last week, Manning registered the 66th 300-yard passing game of his career, the most in NFL history.
"It's important that we improve throughout the season in some areas," says Manning. "We're not quite where we want to be. Obviously, we'd like to be 5-0 and have a winning record. We're 2-3 and have a pivotal division game, so the key is that we keep making progress."
San Diego's PHILIP RIVERS is 7-3 on Monday nights and has 17 touchdowns and a 105.2 passer rating in those 10 games. Rivers is 40-8 (.833) in his career when he starts and posts a rating of at least 100.
"This team is close, believe me," says Rivers. "I hate losing, but the way we fought (against New Orleans in Week 5), that's something good."
2012 NFL STANDINGS
American Football Conference
East Division
Team
W
L
T
Pct
PF
PA
Home
Away
Conf
Div
Streak
New England Patriots
3
2
0
.600
165
113
1-1-0
2-1-0
3-1-0
1-0-0
Won 2
New York Jets
2
3
0
.400
98
132
1-2-0
1-1-0
2-2-0
2-0-0
Lost 2
Miami Dolphins
2
3
0
.400
103
103
1-1-0
1-2-0
2-2-0
0-1-0
Won 1
Buffalo Bills
2
3
0
.400
118
176
1-1-0
1-2-0
2-2-0
0-2-0
Lost 2
North Division
Team
W
L
T
Pct
PF
PA
Home
Away
Conf
Div
Streak
Baltimore Ravens
4
1
0
.800
130
89
3-0-0
1-1-0
4-0-0
2-0-0
Won 3
Cincinnati Bengals
3
2
0
.600
125
129
1-1-0
2-1-0
2-2-0
1-1-0
Lost 1
Pittsburgh Steelers
2
2
0
.500
93
89
2-0-0
0-2-0
1-2-0
0-0-0
Won 1
Cleveland Browns
0
5
0
.000
100
139
0-2-0
0-3-0
0-3-0
0-2-0
Lost 5
South Division
Team
W
L
T
Pct
PF
PA
Home
Away
Conf
Div
Streak
Houston Texans
5
0
0
1.000
149
73
2-0-0
3-0-0
5-0-0
2-0-0
Won 5
Indianapolis Colts
2
2
0
.500
91
110
2-1-0
0-1-0
0-1-0
0-1-0
Won 1
Jacksonville Jaguars
1
4
0
.200
65
138
0-3-0
1-1-0
1-2-0
1-1-0
Lost 2
Tennessee Titans
1
4
0
.200
88
181
1-1-0
0-3-0
0-3-0
0-1-0
Lost 2
West Division
Team
W
L
T
Pct
PF
PA
Home
Away
Conf
Div
Streak
San Diego Chargers
3
2
0
.600
124
102
1-1-0
2-1-0
3-0-0
2-0-0
Lost 1
Denver Broncos
2
3
0
.400
135
114
2-1-0
0-2-0
2-2-0
1-0-0
Lost 1
Oakland Raiders
1
3
0
.250
67
125
1-1-0
0-2-0
1-3-0
0-2-0
Lost 1
Kansas City Chiefs
1
4
0
.200
94
145
0-3-0
1-1-0
0-3-0
0-1-0
Lost 2
National Football Conference
East Division
Team
W
L
T
Pct
PF
PA
Home
Away
Conf
Div
Streak
Philadelphia Eagles
3
2
0
.600
80
99
2-0-0
1-2-0
1-1-0
1-0-0
Lost 1
New York Giants
3
2
0
.600
152
111
2-1-0
1-1-0
2-2-0
0-2-0
Won 1
Dallas Cowboys
2
2
0
.500
65
88
1-1-0
1-1-0
2-2-0
1-0-0
Lost 1
Washington Redskins
2
3
0
.400
140
147
0-2-0
2-1-0
2-2-0
0-0-0
Lost 1
North Division
Team
W
L
T
Pct
PF
PA
Home
Away
Conf
Div
Streak
Minnesota Vikings
4
1
0
.800
120
79
3-0-0
1-1-0
2-0-0
1-0-0
Won 3
Chicago Bears
4
1
0
.800
149
71
2-0-0
2-1-0
2-1-0
0-1-0
Won 3
Green Bay Packers
2
3
0
.400
112
111
2-1-0
0-2-0
2-2-0
1-0-0
Lost 1
Detroit Lions
1
3
0
.250
100
114
1-1-0
0-2-0
1-2-0
0-1-0
Lost 3
South Division
Team
W
L
T
Pct
PF
PA
Home
Away
Conf
Div
Streak
Atlanta Falcons
5
0
0
1.000
148
93
2-0-0
3-0-0
2-0-0
1-0-0
Won 5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1
3
0
.250
82
91
1-1-0
0-2-0
1-3-0
1-0-0
Lost 3
Carolina Panthers
1
4
0
.200
92
125
1-2-0
0-2-0
1-4-0
1-2-0
Lost 3
New Orleans Saints
1
4
0
.200
141
154
1-2-0
0-2-0
0-3-0
0-1-0
Won 1
West Division
Team
W
L
T
Pct
PF
PA
Home
Away
Conf
Div
Streak
Arizona Cardinals
4
1
0
.800
94
78
3-0-0
1-1-0
2-1-0
1-1-0
Lost 1
San Francisco 49ers
4
1
0
.800
149
68
2-0-0
2-1-0
2-1-0
0-0-0
Won 2
St. Louis Rams
3
2
0
.600
96
94
3-0-0
0-2-0
3-2-0
2-0-0
Won 2
Seattle Seahawks
3
2
0
.600
86
70
2-0-0
1-2-0
3-2-0
0-2-0
Won 1
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS OCTOBER 4, 7-8
Thursday, October 4
Sunday, October 7 cont'd
ST. LOUIS 17, Arizona 3
Seattle 16, CAROLINA 12
Chicago 41, JACKSONVILLE 3
Sunday, October 7
NEW ENGLAND 31, Denver 21
Miami 17, CINCINNATI 13
MINNESOTA 30, Tennessee 7
INDIANAPOLIS 30, Green Bay 27
SAN FRANCISCO 45, Buffalo 3
Baltimore 9, KANSAS CITY 6
NEW ORLEANS 31, San Diego 24
NY GIANTS 41, Cleveland 27
PITTSBURGH 16, Philadelphia 14
Monday, October 8
Atlanta 24, WASHINGTON 17
Houston 23, NY JETS 17
2012 WEEK 6 SCHEDULE (OCTOBER 11, 14-15)
(All times local)
*Byes: Carolina, Chicago, Jacksonville, New Orleans *
Thursday, October 11
Sunday, October 14 cont'd
Pittsburgh at Tennessee, 7:00 PM (NFLN)
Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM
Buffalo at Arizona, 1:05 PM
Sunday, October 14
New England at Seattle, 1:05 PM
Oakland at Atlanta, 1:00 PM
NY Giants at San Francisco, 1:25 PM
Dallas at Baltimore, 1:00 PM
Minnesota at Washington, 4:25 PM
Cincinnati at Cleveland, 1:00 PM
Green Bay at Houston, 7:20 PM (NBC)
St. Louis at Miami, 1:00 PM
Indianapolis at NY Jets, 1:00 PM
Monday, October 15
Detroit at Philadelphia, 1:00 PM
Denver at San Diego, 5:30 PM (ESPN)
