Walden’s NFL Four Downs: Making due with what you’ve got in Week 5

First down

Rams at Packers, 11 a.m., Ch. 2 • For St. Louis to have a shot, their Aaron must be able to affect Green Bay's Aaron. After all, Aaron Rodgers has 11 TDs and 0 INTs this season. He's thrown 486 passes without a pick at Lambeau going back to Dec. 2, 2012. He's got WR James Jones tied for first in the league with six catches of 25-plus yards and WR Randall Cobb tied for first with four TD catches in the red zone. Oh, and Green Bay's rush offense isn't bad, either, ranking third in the NFL.

So what are the Rams to do? Their offense is last in the NFL, Nick Foles is 28th in passing, and he'll be facing a Packers pass rush that has 17 sacks (T-2nd NFL) this season, including at least one in a franchise-record 40 straight regular-season games. So just give it to Todd Gurley, right? He did run for 146 yards last week vs. the Cards. Except Green Bay's defense has limited starting running backs to 36 yards on 11 carries over the last three games, and 106 of Gurley's yards came in the fourth quarter. You think the Rams will be close enough to the Pack to be running in the fourth quarter? Only if Aaron Donald — the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year whose 31/2 sacks lead a defense that also has 17 total — can affect Aaron Rodgers. Seems a better strategy, anyway, than hoping Tavon Austin can return punts for touchdowns every week.

Second down

Seahawks at Bengals, 11 a.m., Ch. 13 • It's a battle between the second-ranked offense and second-ranked defense, but Seattle won't have the mythical, mystical powers of the north end zone of CenturyLink Field to push it over the edge this week. It also won't have Marshawn Lynch, who's out again with a hamstring injury. What it better have is better protection for Russell Wilson, who's already been sacked 18 times — on pace for 72 over a full season. Only two quarterbacks have been sacked 70 times in a season in NFL history: the Eagles' Randall Cunningham in 1986 and the Texans' David Carr in 2002. The defense — despite being just one of three teams in the league without an interception — is at least shutting opponents down. They've allowed just a field goal in their opponents' past 18 offensive possessions. Of course, there's some weird end zone mojo and a ref who doesn't know the rules partly to thank for that.

Is weird mojo also to blame for the turnaround of the Ginga Ninja? (Soft G's, people — soft G's.) Andy Dalton is second in the league with a 123 QB rating (behind only Rodgers' 125.9). Who saw that coming? Meanwhile, a big part of Cincy's 4-0 start has been rolling opponents early. They've outscored teams 66-18 in the first half, thanks to the defense allowing zero TDs before the break. As a result, the Bengals have trailed for less than 2 minutes combined this season. If they keep that up, they'll have their first 5-0 start since 1988 — when they reached the Super Bowl.

Third down

Broncos at Raiders, 2:25 p.m., Ch. 2 • Denver has won seven straight in this series, but getting to eight may well come down to whether the Broncos can sack the Raiders' Derek Carr more often than they allow Peyton Manning to be sacked by Oakland. The numbers are startling on both sides. On the one hand, DeMarcus Ware has an NFL-best 4 1/2 sacks and the Denver D leads the league with 18 total. The 4-0 Broncos are on pace to tie the NFL single-season record (72, by the '84 Bears). But then, their disastrous offensive line has already let Manning be sacked 10 times — on pace for 40 this season. His career-high is 29 in 2001.

Oakland, meanwhile, is hoping some golden oldies can make some history. Charles Woodson, who beat out Manning for the '97 Heisman then went three picks after him in the '98 Draft — has 62 career interceptions, but none against Manning. Meanwhile, 37-year-old kicker Sebastian Janikowski, the 17th overall pick in the 2000 Draft, will break Tim Brown's franchise record for most games played, and with four points will pass Lou Groza for 15th on the league's all-time scoring list. Perhaps all that can distract from the fact that opposing tight ends have 32 catches for 388 yards and six TDs against Oakland this season."I haven't seen that, but now that you mention it, I guess I'll go look for it," Manning told reporters. "Thanks for the tip. I appreciate that."

Fourth down

49ers at Giants, 6:30 p.m., Ch. 5 • You remember that scene in "This Is Spinal Tap" where filmmaker Marty DiBergi is talking about critics' hatred of the band, and reads the two-word review of the album "Shark Sandwich": "S--- Sandwich"? On a TOTALLY unrelated note, San Francisco has 172 yards passing combined in its last two games, and the Niners are second-to-last in total offense, and last in passing offense, yards per play and points per game. Colin Kaepernick's 67.7 QB rating also ranks 32nd in the league, partly thanks to his 0-5 TD-INT ratio the last two games. With no defense taking Kappy seriously, opponents are practically putting 11 in the box against Carlos Hyde, who, after running for 168 yards in the opener, has 114 total in the last three. Also TOTALLY unrelated, San Fran's on a three-game losing streak in which it's been outscored 107-28.

They've been such a "S--- Sandwich," even Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. — who in the last week was called a "prima donna" by the Bills and a "one-year wonder" by Antonio Cromartie — feels bad for them; even the Giants' pass defense — which ranks last in the league in allowing 316.3 pass yards per game — feels bad for them; even the UConn jalapeño-and-bacon mac-and-cheese kid feels bad for them.

ewalden@sltrib.com

Twitter: @esotericwalden