NFL Week 5 Game Predictions

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Last week was without a doubt my best week, I went 12–3. There was a chance I could’ve gone 15–0, but I didn’t expect the Steelers, Bengals, and the Colts to lose. My record this season is now 36–25. My percentage is at 59% right now and I’m going to get that up to at least 65% or above by the end of this week.

Jacksonville Jaguars (2–2) @ Buffalo Bills (3–1)

After defeating the Falcons 23–7, the Jags are returning to London to play the Bills. The Bills have Tre’Davious White and Greg Rousseau listed as out while they have Von Miller listed as questionable to make his season debut. The Jags will be without Devin Lloyd, Dawuane Smoot, Christian Braswell. They also have Zay Jones and Jamal Agnew listed as questionable. Last week the Bills went against the very hyped up Miami Dolphins and I predicted their defense would be able to slow them down and they did that and more. Josh Allen played like an MVP candidate and their defense really showed out. Like I said earlier, they will unfortunately be without Tre’Davious White due to a season ending Achilles injury so it will be important for the Jags to utilize that and target Calvin Ridley. While the Jags also got into a good grove and back on track last week, the Bills are playing like Super Bowl contenders and I don’t think the Jags will be able to slow them down.

Houston Texans (2–2) @ Atlanta Falcons (2–2)

The Texans have Shaquill Griffin, John Metchie III, Laremy Tunsil, and Maliek Collins listed as questionable. As for the Falcons, their entire team will be present for this game. If I were to have predicted this game before the season started, I would have said the Falcons at home easily. That would be before I knew C.J. Stroud has been playing like a top 10 QB. He has been playing unreal. The way the offense is set up is very simple and just lets Stroud show you his talent without having to do too many flashy or complicated plays. The duo of Stroud and Nico Collins has been without a doubt top 5 so far this season. The Falcons are still a great team, but I don’t see them keeping up with the Texans. The Falcons have been a fantastic run first team so far centered around Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, but the passing game with Desmond Ridder, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts has not been there at all. The only way I see them winning is if Ridder plays lights out and is able to outscore Stroud, but frankly, I wouldn’t bet on that.

Carolina Panthers (0–4) @ Detroit Lions (3–1)

The Panthers are officially the only winless team in the NFL. They have Donte Jackson listed as questionable, where the Lions on the other hand have Brian Branch and Amon-Ra St. Brown listed as out, and Taylor Decker, Jahmyr Gibbs, Kerby Joseph, Josh Reynolds, Jameson Williams, and Frank Ragnow listed as questionable. All of these injuries on the Lions side makes me want to lean the Panthers just because they still have a full team, but even with the Lions at 50% my gut is saying to go with them. They are at home and are a fairly deep team so although the injuries suck and will hurt them, they have a lot of startable players on that roster that can step up and make plays. I would like to see Bryce Young get his first NFL win, but unfortunately, I don’t think this will be his week.

Tennessee Titans (2–2) @ Indianapolis Colts (2–2)

As of right now, the only players the Titans will be without is Treylon Burks and Teair Tart. The Colts have Shaquille Leonard, Quenton Nelson, and Kwity Paye listed as out and Jonathan Taylor listed as questionable. Taylor had 3 full practices this week and although he does have a legitimate ankle injury that is listing him as questionable, I think it’s more of him maybe not being ready to play due to him only having his first 3 practices in the past 300 days. The Titans really surprised me last week blowing out the Bengals in a game where the defense was able to get a lot of pressure and Derrick Henry played like the running back we know he is. Henry is notorious for having 100+ yards and at least 1 touchdown against in division opponents and while I still think that is definitely possible and will most likely happen, I am going with the Colts. I really like what I am seeing from Anthony Richardson and with the possibility of Taylor playing I have to go with them at home.

New York Giants (1–3) @ Miami Dolphins (3–1)

I predicted the Giants to be a 10 win team this year and let’s just say that wasn’t my best prediction. The Giants have Andrew Thomas as out, and Saquon Barkley and Daniel Bellinger listed as questionable. On the Dolphins side, they have Jaelan Phillips listed as questionable and Terron Armstead has been placed on IR. There’s no way in my mind the Giants win this game. If Barkley plays, I could see this being semi-competitive within like the 25 point range due to the time management by the Giants, but if he’s out, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to move the ball down the field consistently while taking their time and keeping it away from the Dolphins. On the defensive side for the Giants, Armstead will be out so that’s a plus, but that Tua-Tyreek duo is too quick and explosive for that injury to make that huge of a deal. I have the Dolphins by at least 10–15 points.

New Orleans Saints (2–2) @ New England Patriots (1–3)

Without a doubt the worst game of the week. The Saints won’t have Juwan Johnson and Lonnie Johnson for this game. On the injury report the Patriots have basically their entire team listed as questionable but the only players that are expected to miss the game are Christian Gonzalez and Matt Judon who both had season ending injuries. Mac Jones was benched for Bailey Zappe last game. He will be the starter for this game and the rest going foward, but that’s not a good sign at all. Derek Carr looked hopeless out there for the Saints just checking it down to Alvin Kamara every other play. I honestly have no idea who I want to win or who I think will win, I’m just going to base it off of injuries. The Patriots have Gonzalez and Judon out so I am rolling with the Saints.

Baltimore Ravens (3–1) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (2–2)

Until the Steelers make a change with Matt Canada or I see some offensive adjustments I will not be picking them unless it's against the Panthers or the Broncos. The main injury concern for the Steelers was QB Kenny Pickett with a knee injury, but he was able to practice in full on Thursday/Friday and he doesn't have an injury designation for this game. Pat Freiermuth will also be out with a hamstring injury. For the Ravens, they have Odafe Oweh as out, and Odell Beckham Jr., Justice Hill, Marlon Humphrey, Keaton Mitchell, and Ronnie Stanley listed as questionable. There's not much to say about this game. Like I said earlier, the Steelers are not a team that I can pick to win games. Their defense will play amazing one week and single handedly win them a game, and then get 30 points dropped on their head by a rookie QB and a first year head coach. It's unsustainable to win games with the poor offense that they have. The Ravens have been iffy this year as well, but compared to the Steelers they're the better team by far and will win this game.

Philadelphia Eagles (4–0) @ Los Angeles Rams (2–2)

The Eagles have Fletcher Cox and Sydney Brown listed as out. As of the time I am looking at the injury report, they are fully healthy and will be getting Cooper Kupp back for this game. I don't know how much they'll use him in this first game but I do think he will be an impactful player for them. I don't know why, but I feel like the Rams will win this game. At some point the Eagles are going to lose, and with Kupp coming back I think this may be the game. The Rams have looked pretty good and while the Eagles are the overall better team and more consistent, the Rams will get the best of them and the duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua will be very hard for the Eagles to stop. I have the Rams winning by 3, and I think it will be an overtime game with Brett Maher securing it for them.

Cincinnati Bengals (1–3) @ Arizona Cardinals (1–3)

The Bengals have Tee Higgins, Chidobe Awuzie, and Trey Hendrickson listed as questionable but Higgins is expected to not play this week due to them having a bye next week as well. The Cardinals have Garrett Williams and Jonathan Ledbetter listed as out. To be honest, I have no idea who those players are lmao. At some point the Bengals have to get back on track. I re-watched the film from last week of Burrow and I think it was a mixture of the Titans pressure and just the overall awkwardness between him and the receivers. There were a couple times where a receiver was wide open and it was just a miscommunication issue that ended up being an incompletion and then leading to a punt. The Cardinals and Joshua Dobbs have been exceeding expectations every week and I don’t want to be the idiot to bet against them but I am sadly going to be that guy. I can’t pick against Burrow and the Bengals. I have to trust that they get back on track and find their groove to get the season under control.

New York Jets (1–3) @ Denver Broncos (1–3)

D.J. Reed and Brandin Echols will be unavailable for the Jets this week and the Broncos have Randy Gregory and Baron Browning listed as out as well. Zach Wilson and the Jets should have had a better chance at winning that game against Mahomes and the Chiefs last week. I don’t care what anyone says, the refs altered that game and took the chance away from Zach Wilson to go on a game winning drive. I’m not saying it was a guarantee he goes 75 yards for a touchdown, but with the way he was playing, I wouldn’t have counted it out of the possibilities. The Broncos got “back on track” after coming back against the 0–3 Bears. In all honesty, the Broncos may be the worst team in football. It’s between the Panthers and the Broncos for me, but just out of hatred due to me being a Chargers fan, I pick the Broncos. The Jets defense has been pretty good and if they can play the same way the did on offense last week, this week, there’s no way the Broncos win.

Kansas City Chiefs (3–1) @ Minnesota Vikings (1–3)

The Chiefs have Nick Bolton listed as questionable, and the Vikings have Lewis Cine and Marcus Davenport listed as questionable. This game will be very exciting and fun with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, etc. and should be fairly high scoring. In any high scoring game, I have to go with Mahomes. I am still salty after that Sunday night game against the Jets and the Chiefs had so many calls go their way, but even with them not deserving that win against the Jets, they’re still better than the Vikings. I hope Kirk Cousins will be able to close out a game so the Chargers can get back on track for the division, but in all reality that’s not happening.

Dallas Cowboys (3–1) @ San Francisco 49ers (4–0)

In my opinion, this game will easily be the game of the week. The Cowboys vs. 49ers rivalry has been very active these past couple years. The 49ers hold a 2 game win streak against them and those 2 wins were both in the playoffs. This year the 49ers have looked like the overall better team. Their offense has been unstoppable and while I would give the edge to the Cowboys on defense as the #1 in the league, the 49ers are #2. Christian McCaffrey will be a huge X-Factor in this game and honestly, if the Cowboys can contain them they have a shot at winning. The problem is, I don't think they can. He's scored a touchdown in 13 consecutive games and has scored 17 tds in those 13 games. He's been the driving force of this 49ers offense and until I see otherwise, no one can stop him. The 49ers at home makes me feel a little bit better about going with them but I think it'll be a very close game with the playoff atmosphere and the 49ers will win by 4 points.

Green Bay Packers (2–2) @ Las Vegas Raiders (1–3)

With this game being on Monday night, the injury reports may not be 100% accurate to who actually plays, but I am just going off of what I see and my judgement to how bad those injuries are. Starting with the Packers, De’Vondre Campbell and Zayne Anderson should be the only players that have a good chance at being ruled out. For the Raiders, Jimmy Garoppolo is no wback and healthy, and Davante Adams and Nate Hobbs are listed as questionable. For Adams, I do think he will play. He hurt his shoulder in the first half against the Chargers, and then came back and still played very good and almost had a touchdown. I think he is skipping out of practice for caution purposes and will practice tomorrow, (Saturday), and will play on Monday night. I think the Packers will win this game. With Aaron Jones and Christian Watson being back and basically fully healthy it’ll be great to see how Jordan Love can work with basically a whole new team. Jaire Alexander guarding Davante Adams will be a fun matchup to watch throughout the game. The Packers defense should be able to contain Adams and Josh Jacobs pretty well and I think the weapons of Aaron Jones, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Luke Musgrave, A.J. Dillon, etc. is just too much for the Raiders defense to handle and keep up with. I am going with a Packers win by about 6 points.

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