While there were impressive performances last week, there is an even larger concern due to COVD-19.

Article by Dave Nguyen, AKSM Sports

PHILADELPHIA - The NFL is four weeks in the books. While there were impressive performances last week, there is an even larger concern due to COVD-19. Here is some news and notes: 

• COVID Strikes the Titans: News struck last week that a few players and staff on the Tennessee Titans tested positive for COVID-19, which caused their game against the Steelers to be rescheduled. News broke that more players and personnel have tested positive. Since September 24th, the Titans have had 23 positive test results. If no more positive tests show, their game against the Bills will be rescheduled for Tuesday at 6pm.  

• COVID Hits the Pats: The Patriots-Chiefs game was moved to this past Monday after Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19. A day later, it was reported that 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore tested positive as well. As a result, the Patriots-Broncos game has been moved from Sunday to Monday at 5pm.

• Herbert Named Starter: Chargers rookie Justin Herbert was named as the starting quarterback for the team going forward this season on Thursday afternoon. He has played great in place of Tyrod Taylor and Head Coach Anthony Lynn has confidence in the rookie from Oregon, as Lynn played a big role in selecting him sixth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. 

• Joe Flacco Sighting: After a brief appearance on Thursday Night Football last week against the Broncos due to a minor injury from Sam Darnold, Joe Flacco played a series in the Jets loss to the Broncos. On Wednesday Flacco was named the starter as Darnold will be out for this week's game against the Cardinals.

• Haskins Out: After their loss to the Ravens, Washington Football Team Head Coach Ron Rivera made the decision to bench quarterback Dwayne Hasins and named former Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen as the team's starter going forward.  

• Bill O'Brien is Done in Houston: Earlier this week, the Houston Texans decided to fire GM/HC Bill O'Brien after their loss to the Vikings. The Texans have named Romeo Crennel as the interim Head Coach. 

• Three Winless Teams: After four weeks of play the Texans, Falcons, and Jets have yet to win a game this season. Of the three teams, the Texans may have the best chance to put a "1" in the win column as they face the Jaguars this week. 

• Foles vs Brady:  In a rematch of the Super Bowl 52 quarterback battle, Tom Brady faced off against Nick Foles as the Bears and Buccaneers squared off in Chicago on Thursday Night. Foles led the Bears to victory, as he led Chicago to a game-winning field goal drive in the fourth quarter. What was more interesting is that it appeared that Tom Brady forgot what down it was on the Buccaneers last drive of the game, as he was smothered by Khalil Mack and the Bears defensive line throughout the contest. Foles is now 2-0 against Brady, as the former MVP of Super Bowl 52 threw for 243 yards and a touchdown in the winning effort. 

Here's my picks for Week Five: 

Sunday 1 PM

Panthers (2-2) at Falcons (0-4): Teddy Bridgewater has led the Panthers to two straight wins after starting 0-2. In Carolina's win over the Cardinals, Bridgewater threw for 276 yards, two touchdowns, and racked up 32 yards and a touchdown on the ground on six rushes. The Falcons, on the other hand, are still looking for their first win of the year. Matt Ryan, who has thrown for seven touchdowns and over 1,200 yards, hopes to put the Falcons in the win column. Prediction: Falcons 31-28.

Raiders (2-2) at Chiefs (4-0): This is the third of three straight tough games for the Raiders, as they lost to the Patriots and Bills the previous two weeks. In those two games, the Vegas offense has scored 20 and 23 points on offense. The defense, on the other hand, has allowed a combined 66 points in those contests, and it's not going to get easier against Patrick Mahomes. The former MVP has the Chiefs rolling on all cylinders with 1,242 combined yards and 12 total touchdowns. Prediction: Chiefs 35-21.

Cardinals (2-2) at Jets (0-4): Joe Flacco will be making his first start for the Jets this season as they take on the Cardinals. Flacco last started in week eight last year as a member of the Broncos, and hopes to give them their first win of 2020. The issue for Flacco is that the Cardinals have a solid offense led by Kylar Murray and DeAndre Hopkins, who have connected 39 times for 397 yards and a touchdown. Both players look to add more to those statistical categories on Sunday. Prediction: Cardinals: 30-17.

Eagles (1-2-1) at Steelers (3-0): A battle for bragging rights in the Keystone State will take place in front of 5,500 fans at Heinz Field as the Eagles travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. Big Ben and company are well-rested as they are coming off an unpredicted bye-week after their game against Tennessee was rescheduled. With two weeks to prepare for the Eagles, Mike Tomlin had plenty of time to develop a game plan. Carson Wentz looked better than the first three weeks of the season in the Eagles win against the 49ers, but a linebacking core of Devin Bush, TJ Watt, and Budd Dupree will bring a ton of pressure come Sunday. Prediction: Steelers 27-20.

Rams (3-1) at Washington (1-3): The Rams offense struggled through the first three and a half quarters against the Giants until Jared Goff hit Cooper Kupp for a 55-yard touchdown with just under seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter. As the Rams offense looks to re-group, Aaron Donald and their defense will be facing Kyle Allen, as Washington named him the starter over Dwayne Haskins this week. Prediction: Rams.

Bengals (1-2-1) at Ravens (3-1): The Bengals offense had a total of 505 yards last week as Joe Burrow earned his first NFL win against the Jaguars.Burrow shouldn't expect to put up those kind of offensive numbers every week, especially against the Ravens. A solid defense with star rookie linebacker Patrick Queen and last year's MVP Lamar Jackson will give the Bengals fits on Sunday. Jackson leds the Ravens in passing and rushing yards while combining for eight touchdowns so far this season. Prediction: Ravens 35-20. 

Jaguars (1-3) at Texans (0-4): With Bill O'Brien gone, the Texans hope to play with a spark and get their first win of the season. Deshaun Watson looks to lead the charge, with 1,092 yards and six touchdowns through the air, against Gardner Minshew and the Jaguars, who have lost their last three games after defeating the Colts in Week one. Prediction: Texans 31-26.

4:05 PM

Dolphins (1-3) at 49ers (3-1): The 49ers clearly miss Jimmy Garopollo, as Nick Mullens struggled against the Eagles and was pulled from the game in the fourth quarter for CJ Bethard in their loss on Sunday Night Football. Jimmy did return to practice this week but it has not been reported whether he will play Sunday against the 49ers. If he does, he will give Kyle Shannahan the best chance to win this Sunday against the Dolphins. Regardless of who is playing under center, they know that George Kittle is back after his performance last week: 15 receptions on 15 targets, 183 yards, and a touchdown. The Dolphins are coming off an eight-point loss against the Seahawks, but Ryan Fitzpatrick has found a connection with second-year tight end Mike Gesicki. The vetran quarterback has connected with the former Penn State alum 13 times for 190 yards and a touchdown, normally locating him for important possessions on drives throughout the course of a game. Prediction: 49ers 30-21. 

4:25 PM

Colts (3-1) at Browns (3-1): The Browns demolished the Cowboys last week on all phases of the game, especially on the ground, as a running back committee, led by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, amassed 307 yards on the ground in their 49-38 win in Dallas. The bad news for Cleveland is that Chubb suffered an MCL injury and won't be back on the field anytime soon. Hunt will lead the way for the Browns ground attack, as he has 50 rushes for 275 yards and three scores, as the Browns hope to extend their win streak to four. They will have a tough task against the Colts, who have the number one defense in terms of yards allowed per game (236.3), led by star linebacker Darius Leonard. It was Leonard and the defense that helped give the Colts a victory over Nick Foles and the Bears, limiting them to 268 total yards and 11 points. Phillip Rivers has found a new target in former VCU basketball player Mo Allie-Cox, who has 11 receptions for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Prediction: Browns 24-23.   

Giants (0-4) at Cowboys (1-3): Dak Prescott is playing at an unbelievable level right now, as he threw for 502 yards and four touchdowns in their loss against the Browns. If someone were to think why Dak leads the NFL in passing yards with 1,690 yards, it's because the Cowboys defense has allowed 438.8 yards and 36.5 points per game, that Dak has had to play from behind a majority of this season. Playing from behind ruins the game plan of setting the tone offensively by feeding Zeke Elliot the ball and letting the run game set up the pass in more of a ball-controlled style offense. The Giants, on the other hand, have not won a game this season and are still trying to figure out how to survive without Saquan Barkley. The Giants defense played well against the Rams last week, until Jared Goff found Cooper Kupp in the fourth quarter for a 55 yard touchdown. Even with the acquisition of former Falcons Running back Devonta Freeman, the Giants may have a tough time against the Cowboys, who are looking to get back in the win column. Prediction: Cowboys 35-21. 

Sunday Evening

Vikings (1-3) at Seahawks (4-0): The Vikings were able to scratch out their first win of the season last week after defeating the Texans in Houston last week. Kirk Cousins and the Vikings will have their hands full this week as they travel to Seattle to take on Russel Wilson and the Seahawks. Wilson is playing at an MVP level with 1,285 yards and 16 touchdowns on 103 completions, and has helped the improvement of DK Metcalf. The former Ole Miss wideout is tied for second in receiving yards with 403, and has three of his 16 receptions for touchdowns. The Seahawks seem like a team that can't be stopped and are serious Super Bowl contenders this year. Prediction: Seahawks 35-28.

Monday 5:00 PM

Broncos (1-3) at Patriots (2-2): Brett Rypien was able to win his first NFL game last Thursday, throwing for 242 yards and two touchdowns, in the Broncos 37-28 win over the Jets. What Rypien will need to work on will be turnovers, as he threw three interceptions, one of which was a pick-six, at MetLife last week. Melvin Gordon was able to break out, with 23 rushes for 107 yards and two touchdowns, and rookie receiver Jerry Jeudy hauled in his first touchdown catch in the NFL. The Patriots are coming off a 26-10 loss to the Chiefs, in part due to Cam Newton not playing because he contracted COVID-19. While his status to play is still unknown, the Patriots defense looks to have a better performance than they had in Kansas City last week. Prediction: Patriots 28-17.

Monday Evening

Chargers (1-3) at Saints (2-2): After two weeks of play, Justin Herbert has been named the starting quarterback for the Chargers going forward by Head Coach Anthony Lynn. The rookie from Oregon has been impressive so far, throwing for 931 yards and five touchdowns, and played well in his duel with Tom Brady last week with 290 yards and three touchdowns in the air. The difficulty for the Chargers is that they have faced Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady in the last three weeks and now have to square off against another future Hall of Famer in Drew Brees. The Saints were able to get back in the win column against the Lions, overcoming a 14-point deficit as Drew Brees led the Saints offense to five straight touchdowns in their 35-29 win in Detroit. Alvin Kamara continues to be a horse in the absence of Mike Thomas, leading the Saints in rushing and receiving yards so far this season while combining for seven touchdowns. The Saints have too much offensive firepower for the Chargers to defend, as there may be questions surrounding the job security of Matt Patricia after this game. Prediction: Saints 35-27. 

Tuesday 7:00 PM

Bills (4-0) at Titans (3-0): A clash of unbeaten teams with weird circumstances heading into this matchup. As noted before, members of the TItans contracted positive COVID-19 test results, that pushed this game to Tuesday instead of playing in its original spot on Sunday. The Titans had to reschedule their game last week against the Steelers to later in the season, while Josh Allen and the Bills look like an AFC contender though the first quarter of the season. Through four weeks, Allen has thrown for 1,326 yards and 12 touchdowns while having three more touchdowns and 83 yards on the ground. Stefon Diggs continues to be a solid weapon for the Bills offense, as he is tied for second in the NFL in receiving yards with 403 along with two touchdowns this season. The Titans are well rested, but they will have their hands full on Tuesday at home. Prediction: Bills 27-24