With a Houston Texans victory over the New York Jets, Week 5 is officially done and what a week it was.  For the sake of brevity, I will hone my focus on the NFC North where the games were close and the injuries are potentially game changing.

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears showed their dominance against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  The Bears were unrelenting, especially during the second half that saw them score 35 unanswered points. The Bears won the game 41-3

The Bears have won three consecutive games and much of the credit for their wins can go to their defense.  Their defense has returned five interceptions in their last three games.  The game also marked the first time since 1950 that the Bears have managed to score off interceptions three games in a row.

The offense also deserves some credit.  Jay Cutler had 292 yards and two touchdowns.  He also threw one interception.

It was not all rainbows and butterflies for the Bears in Week 5.  The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Alshon Jeffery has a fractured hand and will miss 4-6 weeks of action.  Jeffery is a rookie wide receiver but has proved to be a real difference maker, regardless.  His presence will be missed by the Bears offense.

The Bears will have a bye week in Week 6.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers suffered a disappointing loss to the Indianapolis Colts, drearily slipping to a 2-3 losing record.

The Packers lost the game by only three points 27-30, but the loss seemed much worse for the Packers who were leading at the end of the first half 21-3.  They also had the chance to force overtime at the end of the game, but failed to come up with a 51-yard field goal.

The Packers were able to conceal their defensive weaknesses last season by riding on the back of Aaron Rodgers, but it seems Rodgers’ arm is not going to be enough to get them by this year.  They clearly need some defensive work if an inexperienced offense like the Colts are able to throw all over them.

Thing are not going to get easier for the Packers as they will play the 5-0 Texans in Sunday Night Football.  The early point spread for this game according to betonline.com currently has the Texans at -3/5 to the Packers +3.5.  The moneyline for is +170 for the Packers and -195.  The over/under is at 48.

Detroit Lions

The Lions had a bye week in Week 5.  They will return to action in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Eagles games have been consistently close ball game all season, but a decisive win for either of these teams could turn each of their respective seasons around.

Betonline.com has the Lions as the underdogs in the game with a moneyline at +180 and -210 for the Eagles.  The point spread is at 4.5 over/under is 48 points.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a dominant performance against the consistently mediocre Tennessee Titans.  They beat the Titans 30-7 moving to 4-1, hanging with the Chicago Bears as NFC North division leaders.

No one expected the Vikings to perform as well as they have been this season, but their schedule has not been that tough.

Three of their four wins come from games with the Jaguars, Lions and the previously mentioned Titans.  They also have a loss handed to them by the Colts.  Their only impressive victory comes way of a defeat of the San Fransisco 49ers, which may have been more of a slip by the 49ers than the Vikings play that well.

The Vikings will go into a game with the Washington Redskins in Week 6.  If the Vikings can get a win over RGIII and his offense then I will take them a bit more seriously.  The Vikings are still the favorites to win this game, though, according to the odds at betonline.com