NFL picks Week 5: Packers-Giants and every other game
Will the Green Bay Packers pick up where they left off before the bye week and win at Lambeau Field?
The NFL season is flying by, now entering Week 5. The Packers’ bye is out of the way, and they now face at least 13 weeks of football straight without a break. First up is the New York Giants at Lambeau.
How will the Packers, as well their NFC North rivals, fare this week? Here’s my picks for all 14 games.
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
The Packers (2-1) are back in action this week, looking to build on an impressive offensive performance against Detroit two weeks ago. Sam Shields‘ continued absence is concerning for the secondary, but the roster as a whole looks much healthier than before the bye. That’s good news, and the Pack pulls it off at home.
Pick: Green Bay 30, New York 20
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Arizona (1-3) has been a mess all season, and now enters a potentially do-or-die matchup with San Francisco (1-3), sans Carson Palmer. Drew Stanton leads the Cardinals to the road victory to prevent their playoff ambitions entering life support.
Pick: Arizona 17, San Francisco 14
Houston Texans at Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota (4-0) is flying high, seemingly unstoppable on home turf (or away for that matter). Packers fans won’t be happy about it, but it’s easy to see them slowing down a talented Houston (3-1) offense and staying perfect.
Pick: Minnesota 24, Houston 17
Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts
Brian Hoyer looks better than Jay Cutler at this stage, as the Bears (1-3) found a way past the Lions last week. Indianapolis (1-3) has home field advantage, and that is the only reason I’m picking them. An interesting story to follow is that they are the first team to return home from London without a bye.
Pick: Indianapolis 24, Chicago 21
New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers
Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing awful football, and the Jets (1-3) secondary is a real concern. If there’s one offense you don’t want to play with a struggling secondary, it’s the Steelers (3-1).
Pick: Pittsburgh 32, New York 17
Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins
Ugh.
Pick: Tennessee 17, Miami 16
Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions
Detroit (1-3) has looked great offensively in two games, yet poor in the other two. Philadelphia’s (3-0) defense needs to be taken seriously, and they matchup well with this Lions team. Carson Wentz will continue his strong start against a banged up Detroit defense.
Pick: Philadelphia 27, Detroit 18
New England Patriots at Cleveland Browns
Cleveland (0-4) keeps finding ways to lose, but New England (3-1) will do that for them this week. Tom Brady‘s return means bad, bad things for the poor Browns.
Pick: New England 38, Cleveland 14
Washington Redskins at Baltimore Ravens
Every week features a few games almost impossible to predict, and this is one of them. Baltimore (3-1) are the masters of winning ugly, and they do so again at home.
Pick: Baltimore 24, Washington 21
Atlanta Falcons at Denver Broncos
Atlanta (3-1) has been outstanding on offense, Julio Jones‘ 300-yard performance stunning the Panthers a week ago. But on the road against this Denver (4-0) defense, it’s too much for Matty Ice to handle.
Pick: Denver 20, Atlanta 14
Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys
Dallas (3-1), led by Dak Prescott, has played admirably without Tony Romo under center. Cincinnati (2-2) has been up-and-down to this point. Finding a way to stop the rising Ezekiel Elliott remains the challenge for this Bengals defense, but I believe they do enough on offense to pull off the road win.
Pick: Cincinnati 23, Dallas 20
San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders
At some point you need to feel for Philip Rivers. Every week he’s forced to lead a fourth quarter comeback because his team is unable to hang onto leads. On the road, the ever-improving Raiders (3-1) take it at home. Michael Crabtree is in sync with Derek Carr and the two are carving through defenses.
Pick: Oakland 30, San Diego 27
Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles (3-1) might be the worst team to own a winning record in the league. Buffalo (2-2) enter this one on the back of a two-game win streak, but shutting out the Tom Brady-less Patriots last week was Rex Ryan’s Super Bowl, and his team slides this week.
Pick: Los Angeles 14, Buffalo 10
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
Jameis Winston is a turnover machine, but he might lead his Tampa Bay (1-3) team into Carolina (1-3) without the reigning league MVP Cam Newton. The Panthers have all sorts of problems, particularly in their secondary, and this could be a big day for the red hot Mike Evans. The Panthers started 2015 14-0, but they slip to 1-4 this time around.
Pick: Tampa Bay 30, Carolina 26