Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is soon upon us. The fifth week of the regular season is sure to bring much surprises, upsets and fun. The games I'm going to keep an eye on are the Rams-Seahawks, Browns-Chargers, and Bills-Chiefs games. In this post, I'll do a week preview and my picks for the week's games. Let's get to work!
Week 5 Preview
The fifth week of the NFL's regular season will start in Seattle, Washington and ends in Baltimore, Maryland. All 32 teams will be playing in a 16-game slate. The week that will be will have a Thursday night game, a Sunday morning game, eight early games, four late games, a Sunday night game and a Monday night game. CBS will have the single, regional game and FOX will have the doubleheader this week. Let's get to the picks!
Week 5 Picks
Note: TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate. All game times are in US Eastern.
LA Rams (3-1) @ Seattle (2-2) (FOX/Amazon/NFL Network; 8:20 pm): TW: Rams; CV: Rams
The Rams lost to the Cardinals and the Seahawks beat the 49ers last week. The period of trashy Thursday night games are over as two division contenders square off. LA looked a bit off against the Cardinals and a lot of it was on the defense. On a short week and going on the road against the 12th man could be a tough sell to some people picking the Rams. Sean McVay will get them back in order I feel but it'll be a close one.
NY Jets (1-3) @ Atlanta (1-3) (NFL Network; 9:30 am): TW: Falcons; CV: Jets
The Jets won against the Titans and the Falcons lost to the Football Team last week. New York got a great win against the Titans and earned their first win. Both teams will be going to the United Kingdom so it'll be truly morning football. Both teams aren't really good. I like the Falcons offense against the Jets defense if Atlanta can keep them on the field. Zach Wilson looked promising last week but this could be a tough one to handle for him. I'll take the Falcons.
Denver (3-1) @ Pittsburgh (1-3) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Steelers; CV: Broncos
Both teams lost last week as the Broncos lost to the Ravens and the Steelers lost to the Packers. Both teams have solid defenses, though I would give the Steelers a slight advantage in that department. Denver has its issues on offense but I would give the Steelers the edge in offensive woes. Can I trust a banged up Ben Roethlisberger over a healthier Drew Lock? I think the game will be a defensive battle but I feel the Steelers will take it in the last possession.
Detroit (0-4) @ Minnesota (1-3) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Vikings; CV: Vikings
Both teams lost last week with the Lions losing to the Bears and the Vikings losing to the Browns. Detroit came close to getting their first win over the Bears but they're going up against a Vikings team that is better than their record shows. Kirk Cousins has thrown well so far this week but I question how well their running game can do against Detroit. In spite of that if they can get themselves a decent game and give Kirk Cousins a break they have a great shot to win.
Green Bay (3-1) @ Cincinnati (3-1) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Packers; CV: Bengals
Both teams won last week as the Packers beat the Steelers and the Bengals beat the Jaguars. Green Bay's offense has been doing well since the Week 1 fiasco over the Saints. Cincy's offense is just as good and I think the reason for that is them running the ball with Joe Mixon. I like the Packers in the matchup if their defense can slow down Joe Mixon and make Joe Burrow throw the ball more often.
Miami (1-3) @ Tampa Bay (3-1) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Buccaneers; CV: Buccaneers
The Dolphins lost to the Colts and the Buccaneers beat the Patriots last week. Miami looked lost against the Colts as their defense really let Carson Wentz look good. Their offense just doesn't hold up a lot of promise to keep up with the Buccaneers. Tampa didn't look great against New England but a win is a win. Tom Brady is still playing well and that doesn't spell good for Miami who are looking to bounce back.
New England (1-3) @ Houston (1-3) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Patriots; CV: Patriots
Both teams lost last week as the Patriots lost to the Buccaneers and the Texans lost to the Bills. New England stayed with the defending champs and almost won but almost doesn't count. Their defense will look a bit different without Stephon Gilmore who was picked up by Carolina this week. If Davis Mills has the game that he had last week then this will be a tough one to sell for the Texans in terms of pick 'ems. I think Bill Belichick will get his guys back to focus.
New Orleans (2-2) @ Washington (2-2) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Football Team; CV: Saints
The Saints lost to the Giants and the Football Team beat the Falcons last week. New Orleans is a weird team. They play well one week and shit the bed the next. Washington is somewhat of the same. If I didn't have to pick this game I would but that would just not be fair. If there's one thing that the Saints don't do well is stopping the run and Saquon Barkley's run last week was somewhat of a telling sign. I'll take the underdog in Washington.
Philadelphia (1-3) @ Carolina (3-1) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Panthers; CV: Panthers
Both teams took losses last week as the Eagles lost to the Chiefs and the Panthers lost to the Cowboys. Philly's offense looked fairly unstoppable against the defending AFC champs in the Chiefs. Jalen Hurts has done well with his arm and legs in that offense. Devonta Smith has been a great target for Hurts to throw to. Carolina won't likely have Christian McCaffrey again but they will have an addition on defense with Stephon Gilmore who was acquired by trade from New England. Sam Darnold will have to pick up the slack on offense but I think he can do it.
Tennessee (2-2) @ Jacksonville (0-4) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Titans; CV: Titans
Both teams lost last week as the Titans lost to Jets and the Jaguars lost to the Bengals. Tennessee lost a really tough game against the Jets. They really let that one slip away as the Jets did enough to win. I think they'll rebound back against a Jaguars team that is not playing well both on the field and off the field as Urban Meyer's actions last weekend will take far more of a distraction than needed. Derrick Henry will have a field day against the Jaguars defense.
Chicago (2-2) @ Las Vegas (3-1) (CBS; 4:05 pm): TW: Raiders; CV: Raiders
The Bears beat the Lions and the Raiders lost to the Chargers last week. Both teams are dealing with injuries on the rushing offense as David Montgomery won't be playing in this game and Josh Jacobs hasn't been able to stay healthy yet so far this year. Justin Fields played better but he didn't look great against Detroit. Jon Gruden's defense will be ready to contain him and play well. Derek Carr could face a challenge in keeping Khalil Mack off balance but I think the Raiders will take this one.
Cleveland (3-1) @ LA Chargers (3-1) (CBS; 4:05 pm): TW: Browns; CV: Browns
Both teams won last week as the Browns beat the Vikings and the Chargers beat the Raiders. Cleveland has done well in offense with a good balance of run and pass. Their defense has been probably the biggest factor for them as Myles Garret has led a bunch of great defenders. They'll need to play great against one of the best offenses in football in the Chargers. Justin Herbert has played spectacular and Austin Ekeler has ran well. This game should be a great watch but only one can win. I'll go with a slight nod to the Browns but I think it will be close.
NY Giants (1-3) @ Dallas (3-1) (FOX; 4:25 pm): TW: Cowboys; CV: Cowboys
Both teams won last week as the Giants beat the Saints and the Cowboys beat the Panthers. New York avoided the dreaded 0-4 start by beating a Saints team that was imploding. What they face off against is an improved Dallas team that beat up a Panthers team without Christian McCaffrey. Dallas had great success with their running game as Ezekiel Elliot had one of his best games in a few seasons. I think it'll be a tough road for the Giants to win but I think Dallas will pull it off.
San Francisco (2-2) @ Arizona (4-0) (FOX; 4:25 pm): TW: Cardinals; CV: Cardinals
The 49ers lost to the Seahawks and the Cardinals beat the Rams last week. Jimmy Garoppolo won't likely see action in this game and will thrust rookie Trey Lance into the spotlight. Lance has had some playing time and has done good in limited action with 162 passing yards with three touchdowns and 44 yards rushing with one touchdown. The Cardinals defense was what impressed me over their win against the Rams last week. They seemed to know everything the Rams were doing. The Cardinals remain to be the last unbeaten left in the league and I think the unbeaten streak will continue on for at least another week.
Buffalo (3-1) @ Kansas City (2-2) (NBC; 8:20 pm): TW: Bills; CV: Bills
Both teams won last week as the Bills beat the Texans and the Chiefs beat the Eagles. Old school AFC matchup on NBC. This game will be a rematch of the AFC championship game last year. Buffalo has came out and destroyed opponents as they have scored 118 points and allowed 21 points since Week 2. Kansas City's defense looked a bit off against Philly as they practically couldn't stop them last week. That doesn't spell good news for the Chiefs in this one. They just seem to have enough defense to stop them.
Indianapolis (1-3) @ Baltimore (3-1) (ESPN; 8:15 pm): TW: Ravens; CV: Ravens
Both teams won last week as the Colts beat the Dolphins and the Ravens beat the Broncos. Indy avoided a dreaded winless start against Miami. This Colts team is still trying to find its identity I think. Baltimore proved that the Broncos were pretenders last week. I think the Ravens will win on their running game and Lamar Jackson can do both run and pass. Carson Wentz could be a factor in the game but he just seems quite off this season.
Early and Late Game TV Pairings (courtesy of 506sports.com):
Note: Game in bold is being shown in my area
CBS Single
Miami @ Tampa Bay
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
New Orleans @ Washington
Spero Dedes, Jay Feely
New England @ Houston
Andrew Catalon, James Lofton
Tennessee @ Jacksonville
Tom McCarthy, Tiki Barber
Chicago @ Las Vegas (LATE)
Ian Eagle, Charles Davis
Cleveland @ LA Chargers (LATE)
Kevin Harlan, Trent Green
FOX Early
Green Bay @ Cincinnati
Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma
Philadelphia @ Carolina
Joe Davis, Greg Olson
Denver @ Pittsburgh
Brandon Gaudin, Mark Schlereth
Detroit @ Minnesota
Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston
FOX Late
NY Giants @ Dallas
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman
San Francisco @ Arizona
Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez
For more information on which game is being shown in your area check out: NFL 2021: Week 5 Maps. Check local listings.
2021 Pick'em Records:
My record:
Week 1: 7-9
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 9-7
Total: 36-28
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 6-10
Week 2: 12-4
Week 3: 13-3
Week 4: 10-6
Total: 41-23
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
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