NFL Predictions 2016: Week 5

Last Week: 7-8
Overall: 25-38

Atlanta is good, Denver is great, Arizona might be screwed, Carolina is in trouble, Buffalo isn't out of it, Le'Veon Bell makes a huge difference, LA is better than expected but still not great, New Orleans and San Diego are just crazy and Tom Brady is now back. Week 4 was ridiculous just like every other week so far, but injuries are starting to pile up and teams are soon going to reach do or die mode.

Arizona Cardinals @ San Fransisco 49ers (ARI -3.5) -> San Fransisco 49ers
Houston Texans @ Minnesota Vikings (MIN -7) -> Minnesota Vikings
Tennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins (MIA -3.5) -> Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots @ Cleveland Browns (NE -10.5) -> New England Patriots
New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers (PIT -7) -> Pittsburgh Steelers
Washington Redskins @ Baltimore Ravens (BAL -4) -> Washington Redskins
Philadelphia Eagles @ Detroit Lions (PHI -3.5) -> Philadelphia Eagles
Chicago Bears @ Indianpolis Colts (IND -4.5) -> Indianapolis Colts
Atlanta Falcons @ Denver Broncos (DEN -5.5) -> Denver Broncos
Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Rams (LA -2.5) -> Buffalo Bills
San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders (OAK -3.5) -> Oakland Raiders
Cincinnati Bengals @ Dallas Cowboys (CIN -1) -> Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers (GB -7.5) -> Green Bay Packers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers (CAR -7) -> Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A couple notes...
- Lock of the Week: San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders. With Verrett out, and pretty much everybody else on San Diego but Phillip Rivers out too, Oakland has a decent chance to blow this game out. Rivers is incredible, and he's the only reason it could be close, but Oakland's defense is starting to perform better, and their offense should have another stellar week.
- Upset of the Week: Cincinnati Bengals @ Dallas Cowboys. Dallas is at home, and their offense is starting to roll. Dak has been great and Elliott leads the league in rushing. Cincinnati is a great team, but Dallas' O-line should be able to give Dak just enough time against a great interior rush to pull out a win here.
- I don't know how to predict Arizona and Carolina. With Carson Palmer out and Cam Newton most likely out too, these are two good teams that have performed poorly all year, but they are going up against two weaker teams as well. Derek Anderson can be solid so I could see Carolina winning, but man Drew Stanton is just not good. Even against San Fran and with a much more talented roster, Stanton could just throw the game away and I wouldn't be surprised.
- Denver vs Atlanta should be incredible. I think Matt Ryan's hot start is stymied a bit with this Denver D. Brandon Marshall, Todd Davis, Sylvester Williams and T.J. Ward are going to be really important to slow down Devonta Freeman, so they can force Matt Ryan to throw and try and get him to make mistakes.
- I could see Odell go for 200+ yards against Green Bay, but I still can't see New York stopping Green Bay's offense. Eli should be under pressure a lot of the game. Nick Perry and if Clay Matthews is back should both absolutely eat up NY's OT's. They should chip with TE's and RB's a lot to give OBJ, Cruz and Sheppard more time.
- I think this is a big game for Philly. Detroit hasn't been great this year, but they are on the road and I want to see what their offense can do after a bye week. Their defense should DESTROY Detroit's offense though. Jim Schwartz return game narrative.

NFL Predictions: Week 5

Back to .500! After the hole I dug myself in the first week, I'm back with a vengeance and on a bit of a streak. Two solid upset picks against the points with Minnesota keeping it close against Denver and Detroit keeping it very close against Seattle. Hopefully I can keep it up this week.
Last Week: 8-6-1
Total Record: 31-31-1

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans (HOU -4.5) -> Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB -3) -> Jacksonville Jaguars
Buffalo Bills @ Tennessee Titans (BUF -2.5) -> Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens (BAL -6.5) -> Baltimore Ravens
Washington Redskins @ Atlanta Falcons (ATL -7.5) -> Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears @ Kansas City Chiefs (KC -9.5) -> Chicago Bears
New Orleans Saints @ Philadelphia Eagles (PHI -4.5) -> Philadelphia Eagles
St. Louis Rams @ Green Bay Packers (GB -9) -> Green bay Packers
Seattle Seahawks @ Cincinnati Bengals (CIN -3) -> Cincinnati Bengals
Arizona Cardinals @ Detroit Lions (ARI -2.5) -> Arizona Cardinals
New England Patriots @ Dallas Cowboys (NE -9) -> New England Patriots
Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders (DEN -5) -> Denver Broncos
San Fransisco 49ers @ New York Giants (NYG -7) -> San Fransisco 49ers
Pittsburgh Steelers @ San Diego Chargers (SD -3) -> San Diego Chargers

A couple notes...
- Luck isn't playing tonight, makes the Houston game easier, but the Texans have been dreadful on offense this year. Tough one either way.
- Lock of the Week: Give me the Cincinnati Bengals. I have been so unimpressed with the Seahawks at the start of this season, and it took me awhile but I am firmly on this Bengals bandwagon. Cincinnati is a great team, and their strengths can take advantage of Seattle's weaknesses. They're a much better team then the Detroit Lions and they should handily win against a Seattle team that has struggled to achieve any success on offense this year. Honorable mention: Denver against Oakland.
- Upset of the Week: Jacksonville Jaguars. Once again I'm picking the Jaguars in an upset, and hopefully I can be right for the second time too. Tampa Bay is a young team, and Jameis will make his fair share of mistakes, so Jacksonville just needs to capitalize on that. Blake Bortles has been much better this season, and their team as a whole is playing more sound football. Should be a competitive game between two young teams but I think Jacksonville is just better.
- There are a lot of lopsided games this week, as the Packers, Patriots, Denver, Atlanta and Baltimore should all win handily.
- New Orleans @ Philadelphia should be a terrific game. I clearly am a glutton for punishment when it comes to the Eagles, but I still think they are a good team. Bradford played arguably his best game of the year last week, and it should be very competitive against Drew Brees (if he's healthy) and the Saints.