Week 5 Matchups: Ryan and Griffin Grab Spotlight Falcons (4-0) at Redskins (2-2) Sunday, 1 p.m. Line: Falcons by 3 There is a matchup this week between more famous quarterbacks (see below), but in the N.F.L. an eye should always be kept on the future. While the Tom Bradys and Peyton Mannings of the world still have plenty to offer, Matt Ryan and Robert Griffin III, part of the next generation of elite signal callers, make this must-watch television. In Ryan's case, the future appears to be now. With a win this week, the Falcons would be off to the team's first 5-0 start, and Ryan is the biggest reason. He has led the N.F.L. with a 112.1 quarterback rating and has thrown 11 touchdown passes against just 2 interceptions. As effective as he has been, he would not have had nearly as many opportunities to score if not for Atlanta's solid defense. The Falcons have produced 12 takeaways, which they have converted into a league-high 43 points. Griffin has so far been the N.F.L.'s version of Sisyphus, the mythical King of Ephyra, who was cursed to continually roll a boulder up a hill only to watch it roll back down. Griffin has thus far put on a display of ruthlessly efficient scoring, only to see his team's defense allow opponents to slowly catch up. There are games, like last week's win over the Buccaneers, in which Griffin can overcome his defense's shortcomings and will his team to victory, but Ryan and the Falcons should so thoroughly dominate the Redskins' defense that the gap will be too far to close. Pick: Falcons Broncos (2-2) at Patriots (2-2) Sunday, 4:25 p.m. Line: Patriots by 7 Baseball is littered with stories of veteran pitchers who through injuries or aging lose velocity on their pitches and are forced to relearn their craft, relying on creativity and the ability to fool batters with pitch placement. In last week's win over the Raiders, Peyton Manning looked to have become the N.F.L.'s version of a junkballer. At a quick glance, the statistics appeared to be vintage Manning. He finished the game with 338 yards and 3 touchdown passes, but in a sharp departure from the days of old, he featured almost exclusively passes that traveled less than 5 yards in the air, a departure from his days of airing the ball out in the Colts' offensive machine. That strategy will do him well against teams like the Raiders, who lack coverage skills and struggle to adjust. But this week he will be facing a team coached by Bill Belichick, the sport's master of adjustments. The Broncos' best hope to win is for their pass-rushers to get to Tom Brady and force him out of the pocket. Rattling Brady will be a tough task a week after he led the Patriots to 45 second-half points. Pick: Patriots Eagles (3-1) at Steelers (1-2) Sunday, 1 p.m. Line: Steelers by 3 In some versions of the popular video game Tetris, you can choose to start with a number of pieces stacked on top of each other in random patterns. The idea is to make things more difficult for an advanced player. Considering the Eagles have trailed at the two-minute warning in all four games this season, yet currently have a 3-1 record, it seems as if someone decided quarterback Michael Vick needed his difficulty level raised. Depending on how things shake out on the team's injury report, the Steelers could make it hard for Vick to add another improbable comeback to his collection. The defensive stalwarts James Harrison and Troy Polamalu are likely to return, giving some relief to a defense that has allowed an uncharacteristic 25 points a game. But the key for Pittsburgh is the potential return of Rashard Mendenhall. As effective as Ben Roethlisberger can be in the passing game, the Steelers need to have some sort of ground attack to set the tone of the game, and Isaac Redman is not providing that. Pick: Eagles Bills (2-2) at 49ers (3-1) Sunday, 4:25 p.m. Line: 49ers by 10 If you are wondering where all of the good running backs are and why your favorite team does not seem to have one, the Bills and 49ers are hogging them all. The Bills have averaged 158 yards a game on the ground, getting great production out of C.J. Spiller and Tashard Choice, while having Fred Jackson available should either falter. The 49ers have been even better, averaging 167 yards a game, including 245 in a win over the Jets last week. Frank Gore is still the team's primary ball carrier and one of the league's best, but he is regularly given a breather by Kendall Hunter, who is averaging 4.6 yards a carry. Should those two require a respite, the 49ers also have Brandon Jacobs, Anthony Dixon and the rookie LaMichael James. The 49ers took it to the next level against the Jets, employing an explosive version of the Wildcat offense. The backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick rushed five times for 50 yards and narrowly missed on a deep pass to Randy Moss that should keep defenses honest moving forward. On defense the teams are less similar. The 49ers have allowed an average of 16.3 points, good for fourth in the N.F.L., while the Bills have more than doubled that at 32.8. Pick: 49ers Chargers (3-1) at Saints (0-4) Sunday, 8:20 p.m. Line: Saints by 4 In an 0-4 start, it is important to look for positives. For instance, the Saints held an opposing team to less than 200 yards rushing last week, which sadly qualifies as an improvement over the previous two games. Drew Brees is on the cusp of breaking Johnny Unitas's record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass, set in 1960, but even Unitas would not have had much luck winning with a defense that allows 32.5 points a game. Ryan Mathews should be the next running back the Saints' defense makes look like a superstar, and Philip Rivers has the brash demeanor that should suit him well in a hostile road environment like New Orleans. Pick: Chargers Dolphins (1-3) at Bengals (3-1) Sunday, 1 p.m. Line: Bengals by 3 Bill Walsh once said that Joe Montana was a product of a system, but Dan Marino was a system. No one is confusing Ryan Tannehill, the Dolphins' rookie quarterback, for either of those things. But last week, he broke Marino's team record for passing yards in a game by a rookie. And he broke it by a whopping 99 yards. Tannehill's 431-yard game is not going to make anyone in Miami forget Marino, especially since he has two touchdown passes and six interceptions on the season. But the Dolphins' ability to move the ball would have been encouraging if not for two turnovers in the fourth quarter, and one in overtime, which let the Cardinals escape with a win. "That's just not a good recipe to win games in the National Football League or high school or Pop Warner," Miami Coach Joe Philbin told reporters after the game. The Bengals, having recovered from a rough loss in Week 1, will put up enough points that Tannehill may need to go for another passing record to keep up. Pick: Bengals Ravens (3-1) at Chiefs (1-3) Sunday, 1 p.m. Line: Ravens by 6 Whether the call at the line is a run or a pass, the ball tends to end up in Ray Rice's hands. Rice, a fifth-year running back, has carried the ball 64 times this season, averaging 5.0 yards a carry, and has caught 22 passes. The duel threat draws so much attention in the Ravens' no-huddle offense that Joe Flacco is able to find Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin downfield with regularity. The Chiefs' best bet to compete against the Ravens is for the crowd noise at Arrowhead Stadium to interfere with Flacco's ability to call plays at the line. Known for occasional deafening volume, the Chiefs' crowd is fairly reliable, which is more than the team can say for quarterback Matt Cassel, whose seven interceptions make fans wonder if he is aware which team he is playing for. Pick: Ravens Browns (0-4) at Giants (2-2) Sunday, 1 p.m. Line: Giants by 8 The Browns have mastered the art of nearly not losing. In an 0-4 start, they have yet to lose by more than 10 points,  and multiple games have come down to the final drive. Yet each week Cleveland finds a way to end up on bottom. It is nothing new for a team that has not won since Nov. 20 of last year, a stretch of 10 games. The Browns' biggest weakness is a secondary that has allowed 286 passing yards a game. The Giants' biggest strength is piling up yardage through the air. At least this one should not be a heartbreaker for the Browns. Pick: Giants Seahawks (2-2) at Panthers (1-3) Sunday, 4:05 p.m. Line: Panthers by 3 Carolina features a pair of talented high-priced running backs who through injury, and occasionally strategy, have rarely played much of a role in the Cam Newton era. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart may be looking across the field longingly at Seattle's Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks put the ball in Lynch's hands time and again, hoping the exuberant running back can get into what he has called Beast Mode, breaking through countless tackles on his way to the end zone. When it comes to passing the ball, the Seahawks were expected to have a controversy on their hands when they chose to start the rookie quarterback Russell Wilson over the high-priced free agent Matt Flynn. The Panthers were probably not expecting quarterback questions, but Newton's inconsistent play has been one of the reasons for the team's slow start. Pick: Seahawks Bears (3-1) at Jaguars (1-3) Sunday, 4:05 p.m. Line: Bears by 6 Chicago's defense put on a fantastic show last week, intercepting five of Tony Romo's passes on the way to a decisive win on national television. Jacksonville is unlikely to provide similar opportunities, with a strategy based almost entirely on avoiding mistakes and trying to pound the ball on the ground. A ball-control offense can certainly be effective, and Maurice Jones-Drew is the perfect running back for it. But the strategy would work much better if the Jaguars' defense was not allowing 405 yards and 24.3 points a game. Pick: Bears Titans (1-3) at Vikings (3-1) Sunday, 4:25 p.m. Line: Vikings by 6 The rumors of Chris Johnson's demise may have been exaggerated. The Titans finally found a forward gear for Johnson, who rushed for 141 yards in a loss to Houston last week. To keep his momentum moving forward, Tennessee will have to commit to grinding out runs against a stingy Minnesota defense. The urge to start passing, even with quarterback Jake Locker out with a separated shoulder, could be great if Christian Ponder and the surprising Vikings offense continue to impress. Pick: Vikings Packers (2-2) at Colts (1-2) Sunday, 1 p.m. Line: Packers by 7 Andrew Luck has shown glimpses of why the team chose him to succeed Peyton Manning at quarterback, but it is worth noting that Manning went 3-13 as a rookie. This week could be another learning experience. Dwight Freeney is expected to return for the Colts, adding a valuable player to the team's defense. But Aaron Rodgers and the Packers looked much more comfortable last week, and when Rodgers is comfortable, he is hard to stop. Pick: Packers Texans (4-0) vs. Jets (2-2) Monday, 8:30 p.m. Line: Texans by 9 If the Jets were a race horse, the trainers might be tempted to put them out to pasture. After losing by 34-0 to the 49ers last week, the team announced that receiver Santonio Holmes would be out for the year with a foot injury. He joins the star cornerback Darrelle Revis, also out for the season. There will be no time to mourn the devastating loss or the injured players, as the Jets have to face a red-hot Houston team that has been crushing the competition. On offense, the Texans are doing it through solid play from quarterback Matt Schaub and the typically brilliant running of tailback Arian Foster. On defense, J.J. Watt has been crushing the opponents in a more literal sense, tallying a league-high 7.5 sacks. If the Jets want Mark Sanchez to survive the game, they may want to put Tim Tebow in for pass protection rather than running plays. Pick: Texans Times are Eastern. Picks do not reflect the betting line.