Week 5 started off on Thursday of last week with a ‘surprising’ 19-14 win by the New England Patriots over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Surprising because the Patriots, despite a brave effort by quarterback (QB) Tom Brady, leaned on their NFL’s last-ranked defence to hold off the Tampa Bay. Of course, the exploits of the Buccaneers were not helped by their kicker Nick Folk who missed three field goals.

The rest of the Week 5 provided mostly lacklustregames, and were it not for the Green Bay vs Dallas game late Sunday afternoon and the Kansas City vs Houston game on Sunday night, the weekend would have been disappointing.

The Green Bay Packers visited the Dallas Cowboys and gunslinger Aaron Rodgers orchestrated a 35-31 win. It was a tale of two halves where Dallas dominated the first and Green Bay took the second. Despite Cowboys’ RB Ezekiel Elliot rushing for his first 100-yard game of the season, the Green Bay team found more than enough resilience to dominate the fourth quarter and go home winners.

The Sunday night game brought together the best rookies this season; RB Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs and QB Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans. The thriller of a game ended 42-34 and, on the performance of Alex Smith, Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs remain undefeated (5-0).

Of note from Week 5:

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger threw an astounding five interceptions in a 30-9 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars

The Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants remain winless at 0-5 and are pretty much preparing for next season.

The Los Angeles Chargers got their first win of the season by defeating the New York Giants 27-22. On enduring their fifth loss, the Giants (who won 11 games last season) lost most of their receiving core to injuries, including the outstanding Odell Beckham Jr.

The New Orleans Saints on Tuesday traded RB Adrian Peterson to the Arizona Cardinals.

Here are some eagerly anticipated matchups of Week 6.

PACKERS (4-1) at VIKINGS (3-2) — This is considered one of the most intense rivalries in the NFL and that may be due to the fact that both states (Minnesota and Wisconsin) are geographical neighbours. Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers is 12-6 against Minnesota, the third-most wins against any team, but fewest against an NFC North Division foe. However, Rodgers, with a depleted offensive unit, is coming off a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Cowboys and must be on a high. The Minnesota Vikings’ QB Sam Bradford re-injured his knee on Monday night and was replaced by Case Keenum who managed to engineer a 20-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. However, prior to Monday’s game, Keenum is 1-2 this year and may not provide enough fire power to overcome the Green Bay assault. Pride is on the line, but expect the ‘Cheese heads’ to emerge victorious.

PATRIOTS (3-2) at JETS (3-2) — The New England Patriots will face their first AFC East opponent this week when they travel to the MetLife Stadium on Sunday. In a game that will probably turn out to be the most anticipated showdown of Week 6, this will be a battle for first place in the AFC East and it will surprisingly involve the Jets. Patriots’ QB Tom Brady owns a 23-6 record against the Jets as a starting quarterback in regular-season games, but visiting the Jets has not been easy for the Patriots in recent seasons. New England have split its last four road games at the Jets, with the two losses coming in overtime and the average margin of victory less than four points. The Jets have not impressed much this season but Tom Brady has been battered behind his offensive way too frequently. Expect the Jets’ pass rush to reach Brady very often, and it is left to be seen if he is able to fight through this. JustBet offers the Patriots as 10-point favourites, but even if they are victorious, the margin of victory may not be that ambitious.

STEELERS (3-2) at CHIEFS (5-0) — These two teams met twice last year with the Steelers winning both games, including an 18-16 play-off win at Arrowhead Stadium. However, betting against the Chiefs this year has basically been the same thing as setting your money on fire. The Steelers have the top passing defense in the NFL heading into Week 6 as they have allowed 139.6 yards per game, but the run defense has been an issue. Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles threw just one second-half pass last Sunday while the team gained 231 total yards on the ground in a 30-9 win at Pittsburgh. In the Steelers’ other loss this season, the Chicago Bears ran for 222 yards in a 23-17 overtime victory on September 24. With Chiefs’ RB Kareem Hunt leading all rushers in the league, expect him to run hard and often, but the presence of Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell, receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, and linebacker T J Watt should provide needed balance to the game. This will probably be the must-watch game for Week 6, but the edge must be given to the home team based purely on execution this season.

JustBet continues to offer attractive odds on all NFL games each week and for the Division, Conference and Super Bowl winners.

Despite their stumbles so far this season, the New England Patriots have odds of 5:00 to win the Superbowl; the Green Bay Packers at 6.50 and the Kansas City Chief at 7.50 rounding out the top 3. For maximum winnings, place your bets early for the best odds at one of the over 120 JustBet locations island-wide.