Week 5 NFL Picks

I was sitting in horror watching underdog after underdog beat teams I had predicted to win. I figured I’d limp into this week with my proverbial tail tucked between my legs... Until I did the math... 10-6? Really? That’s not too horrible. Especially seeing I picked the Pats, the Dolphins, the Titans.. You know, teams that should have won! And feather in my cap for picking the Rams to beat Dallas. And man, who saw the Bills doing that to Atlanta? I sure didn’t. I guess my bitter snark against them should officially be toned down this week, right?

And who would have thought that after 4 weeks of football, the Bills would be in first place in the AFC East, not the Patriots? Who would have predicted that the Patriots and Jets would have the same record at 2-2? Certainly not anyone I’ve ever seen, read, heard of, or spoken to.

So here I am, walking to my desk, fresh coffee in hand... suddenly a sneeze comes and I spill it on my desk... It dawns on me, I have officially decided to take a couple games that should be competitive and ask my trusted confidant who could sneeze next to you and you wouldn’t notice for help. And not only that, but change it up in a few of these picks by showing my questions and her replies. Should be a fun read. For the rest, I’ll still do my normal input, but for a few, it will be a bit different. Enjoy!

Last Week: 10-6
Overall: 41-22

New England Patriots (2-2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) NFLN 6:25 TNF
Pete: I saw a stat that said that the Patriots are 6th all time in points allowed so far. To put that into perspective, in the entire history of the NFL, only 5 teams have had a worse defense than the 2017 Patriots, and one of them was the 2011 Patriots! They truly are pretty pathetic when it comes to that side of the ball, which is odd seeing Bilichick usually has wrinkles to take things away from opposing offenses. Hightower is also coming back which should help, but I'm not sure how much it will help. The Bucs do pretty decent, but they have their flaws. They have no running game, but that's ok seeing the Pats can't stop the pass. So I'm kinda torn. Do I actually pick the Bucs against the Patriots? That just reads weird, doesn't it? What kinda of crazy world do we live in where that statement might actually be the correct one?

DL: This year’s Patriots are no longer a “reliable” or should I say “FOR SURE” pick. Honestly their Defense don’t know which way is up right now!!Sure NE is 2^nd in the NFL for scoring BUT is also 2^nd in the NFL for giving up points. LOL. Which is why I think their record is 2-2. Now will Tom Brady do a fair share of scoring…or “attempts” to score? Ab-so-freaking-lutely! BUTTTTTTTT he can’t do it alone!!

On the other hand, the Bucs tend to score when it matters...which is good, not great, but good Tampa really needs to focus on their possession time…As long as they hold on to the ball they will be able to score against this struggling Defense. They are both coming off of short weeks having just played on Sunday. This to me means the Patriots have had almost no time to tweak their defense, which is going to give the Bucs the advantage here. PREDICTION: Patriots 30, Bucs 31

New York Jets (2-2) at Cleveland Browns (0-4) FOX 11:00am
Note to Josh McCown: The Jets are trying to get the #1 overall draft pick. Did you not get the memo? Stop trying to win games! Now back to reality. The Jets still are trying to lose, I haven’t seen defiance like this since Tebow kept winning games for the Broncos when Elway so desperately wanted to get the #1 pick and draft Andrew Luck. But like McCown, Tebow didn’t get the memo. And that’s all the info I need to know that they’ll beat the sad sack Browns. PREDICTION: Jets 17, Browns 13

Carolina Panthers (3-1) at Detroit Lions (3-1) FOX 11:00am
Oh Cam... I swear... I’m just shaking my head in disbelief... Here’s the thing, and I’m not gonna get into what he said in here, especially seeing people LOVE to blow things up way out of proportion, but Cam is usually pretty easy to rattle. And if you rattle him, he plays like hot garbage. I think he’s rattled, and I think the Lions can take advantage of that. If Cam is focused and mentally strong, that changes everything, but I don’t believe this will be the case on Sunday. Give me the Lions. PREDICTION: Panthers 16, Lions 27

San Francisco 49ers (0-4) at Indianapolis Colts (1-3) FOX 11:00am
The Niners are slowly coming around even though their record doesn’t reflect it. The Colts are treading water until Luck gets back, which won’t be for many more weeks. Part of me wants to go with the Colts, but part of me thinks the Niners can actually pull this game out. Who do I trust more? Pretty sure it’s Brian Hoyer, and I can’t believe I just said I trust Brian Hoyer. PREDICTION: 49ers 17, Colts 13

Tennessee Titans (2-2) at Miami Dolphins (1-2) CBS 11:00am
Marcus Mariota went down, and so too did the winning ways of the Titans. Miami can’t score their way out of a wet paper bag, but the Titans just finished giving up 57 points. PLUS they lost their QB. But the Dolphins have Cutler, and after an impressive opening game, he’s kinda gone back into retirement mode. Ugh, this game is hard to predict, but I do know two things: First, this is in Miami, Second, I know off the top of my head who the Dolphins QB is. That’s enough for me. PREDICTION: Titans 13, Dolphins 20

Buffalo Bills (3-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-3) CBS 11:00am
The AFC East first place team storms into Cincinnati to face the Bengals. No, you didn’t read that incorrectly. No, this isn’t an alternate universe. No, you don’t need a new prescription for your eyes, the Bills are the best team in the AFC East. Their defense is stellar, and their offense can at times find a rhythm. The Bengals found a way to actually score a few points, but they still botch things up. Even at home they don’t have much of a chance because I fully expect Dalton to mess things up. PREDICTION: Bills 24, Bengals 16

Los Angeles Chargers (0-4) at New York Giants (0-4) CBS 11:00am
Pete: Someone has to win this game, right? They can't end it in a tie so they both keep their win-less streak going, can they? I think the Chargers are further away from self destructing then the Giants. I think OBJ is a mental midget and more about himself than the team, which I think is hurting the Giants more than he's helping them. But this is in New York, but I'm not sure that matters at this point. The Giants simply aren't good, and the Chargers are just unlucky. I'm leaning towards the Chargers... What do you got?

DL: Ok so Charges VS Giants…both teams blow…and well one will actually get a W this week! Hooray! Both of these teams battle conflict in the same areas…such as, they both have older (Veteran) QB’s, both struggle w/Defense, coaches are still pretty new and last but not least, they both lose ALL THE TIME

I think the Chargers have met their match…they may just come across the perfect team (that being the Giants) that will finally lower their horrendous number when it comes to Rushing Yards. Sure the Giants have some “Top-notch” receivers but that means absolutely nothing if Manning never gets the time to actually throw. There is one thing the Charges can do better than the Giants, and that is getting to the QB. Even with that embarrassing record they do come in 3^rd in total QB sacks…ok, ok, tied for 3^rd but still… I believe the Chargers (although I dislike them) will get their first W this week. PREDICTION: Chargers 23, Giants 20

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) CBS 11:00am
What happened to the Jaguar team that looked so good two weeks ago? They seem to be a Dr. Jeckly Mr. Hyde type of team. And that doesn’t bode well for them heading into the Steel City. I think the Antonio Bryant stuff is overblown, and I think he’s going to be pissed and out to prove that it’s overblown. And that is a terrifying prospect for the Jags. PREDICTION: Jaguars 13, Steelers 33

Arizona Cardinals (2-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (3-1) FOX 11:00am
Fitzy always does good against the Eagles, and the Eagles secondary isn’t exactly intimidating. But the Eagles are a much better team, especially playing at home. Plus it isn’t like the Eagles are allergic to scoring when they have to. PREDICTION: Cardinals 17, Eagles 23

Seattle Seahawks (2-2) at Los Angeles Rams (3-1) CBS 2:05pm
I once again turn to my most trusted of sources and absolute confidant in basically every path of life... DL

Well Seattle is surely favored in the division but the way LA has been playing makes me wonder if this new coach is exactly what they needed.

I mean last year they were 3-1 at this point in the season and then suffered many losses after w/a record of 4-12 (ouch) But this year, THIS TEAM…they are different. They are both playing for the ‘Top Spot” in the NFC West so they are both coming to this game hungry!!

Seattle has one of the best defenses that is most definitely the strength of the team.

But again, the Rams have improved greatly, that being their offense!!

Gurley alone is an Incredible player, making huge moves (I mean he is NFL’s #2 Rusher)

And their QB (who was a rookie last year and suckeddddddddddd) has been putting up some numbers!!

The only thing there is, he struggles under pressure… and you know Seattle is gonna bring the pressure with that Defense!

If Goff lets them get the best of him, it could cost them the game…

I want to go with the Rams because they have vastly improved and they know it…which gives them that motivation and that heart to come with it!

They are playing at home and they haven’t lost at home against Seattle (3 years running…)

I also want to go with the Rams because I hate the Seahawks…Lol.

PREDICTION: Seahawks 20, Rams 23

Baltimore Ravens (2-2) at Oakland Raiders (2-2) CBS 2:05pm
This game suddenly became terribly easy to pick. No David Carr = no chance of the Raiders beating the Ravens. I’d love to say more, but honestly, this game is that easy to predict. PREDICTION: Ravens 27, Raiders 17

Green Bay Packers (3-1) at Dallas Cowboys (2-2) FOX 2:25pm
Pete: The Cowboys lost at home to the Rams last week (which I correctly picked by the way). Will they lose 2 in a row at home? And the Packers don't look quite right, and didn't they have a bunch of injuries last week? I hate picking against Rodgers though, and I certainly hate picking the Cowboys... but man, will the cowboys actually lose 2 in a row at home and have a losing record?

DL: Man this one is tough…this game is extremely important for both teams! The Packers are coming off of a “longer” rest, and Rodgers is doing great and GB seems to be looking quite healthy this season. And their Running back Montgomery…have they announced if he will be playing on Sunday?
Now the Cowboys, they are coming off of that Home Game Loss as you said…BUT one if their TOP D Lineman (Irving…I believe) is coming back from a 4 game suspension which will be a BIG BOOST for the Dallas Defense…But he can’t do it alone…their D is questionable because so many are banged up right now…

I don’t have much to say because this one sure is hard…but I am going to have to go with Green Bay on this one. Oh and about Montgomery…should he play this week…he is a pretty amazing RB so they will have an even better chance of winning if does return! PREDICTION: Green Bay 40, Dallas 33

Kansas City Chiefs (4-0) at Houston Texans (2-2) NBC 6:30pm
Pete: I know, this should be a no brainer as the chiefs are the only undefeated team left... but man, the Texans sure have caught fire with their rookie QB looking like the real damn deal! Plus their defense is still pretty good. Any time you have JJ Watt on defense, you'll have a chance, right? But the Chiefs really are great right now. They had a scare with the redskins, but came through... But the Texans can throw up points... but will they be able to against the Chiefs defense?

DL: Man, you are giving me some tough ones this week. Overall, Houston is just a BETTER team…KC has an edge w/experience…that’s it. Game is in Houston and KC is coming off of a short week which I believe will give Houston the advantage this week. Close game for sure…but KC should say bye-bye to their so far, perfect record. PREDICTION: Kansas City 21, Houston 24

Minnesota Vikings (2-2) at Chicago Bears (1-3) ESPN 6:30pm MNF
The Bears are FINALLY turning the team over to their rookie QB Mitchell Trubisky. Why did it take this long? Simple: John Fox hates playing rookie QBs. He just does. It usually isn’t until he’s forced to do so that he allows them to play. I believe the pressure was on him because of how good Deshaun Watson is doing in Houston. And with their season pretty much over and done with already, why the helll not? Oh yeah, the Vikings are playing in this game too. I almost forgot about them. PREDICTION: Vikings 23, Bears 10