We saw not one, not two, not three, but FOUR game winning field goals this weekend. We’ve also seen how having a good kicker can make or break a game, and a season for that matter. While Green Bay’s Mason Crosby missed an unprecedented five kicks against Detroit, the Browns, Bills, Panthers, and Texans placekickers came through in the clutch, two occuring in overtime. Will we see another fantastic finish in Week 6?
Week 5 Prediction Record: 10-5
Total Prediction Record: 45-31-2
Week 5 Awards:
Most Entertaining Game: Giants vs Panthers
Upset of the Week: Bills over Titans
Player of the Week: Isaiah Crowell, Jets, (219 yards rushing, 1 TD)
Team of the Week: Pittsburgh Steelers
Rookie of the Week: Denzel Ward, Browns (1 INT, 1 Blocked Kick, 3 PDs, 5 tackles)
Is it time to panic? No, not yet. For both the Eagles and Giants, the NFC East is back to being a dumpster fire. Philadelphia has struggled on offense since Wentz’s return. I think it will take him another game or two before we see the MVP-caliber quarterback in action. RBs Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement will have to carry the load with Sproles dealing with his ailments since Week 1 and Jay Ajayi out with a torn ACL. New York finally showed some signs of life despite coming up just short in Carolina. Odell Beckham Jr finally reeled in his first touchdown of the year but also had a crucial drop on fourth down. I see-sawed back and forth on this game and in the end, I’m calling the #UpsetSpecial card here as the Giants take down Philly in Metlife.
New York Giants 20, Philadelphia Eagles 17 (TNF)
It hasn’t been the ideal start for Matty Ice and the Falcons. I’d never thought I’d say that this matchup against the Buccaneers becomes a “must-win” situation but they will have to rebound quickly in a challenging NFC South with Carolina and New Orleans the clear front-runners up to this point. Julio Jones has zero touchdowns and the Falcons have been decimated with injuries. The defense has allowed 121 points in its last three contests, good for dead last in the league. Meanwhile, the Bucs, who are fresh off a bye, need to get back on track after two lackluster performances. They’ll be without the services of TE OJ Howard who will miss the next week or two with a sprained MCL. Cameron Brate should fit in just fine though. Atlanta has their backs against the wall so at home, I can’t see the Falcons blowing this one.
Atlanta Falcons 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
The Browns and Chargers always seem to play in some interesting games. In fact, the last time these teams matched up at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Browns picked up their only win of 2016 off a last-second miss by former LA kicker Josh Lambo. Cleveland has been competitive this entire year. They are actually +1 in point differential and are undefeated at home. In addition, they currently lead the league in takeaways. I’ve been really impressed with the defense, save the Oakland game. And their top three rookies, Mayfield, Ward, and Chubb have been playing great. Los Angeles may be overshadowed by their crosstown rival but what they’ve been able to accomplish is just as solid. If you take a look at Rivers and Mahomes passing stats, they’re virtually the same. If he keeps up this level of play, the ceiling is the roof for the Bolts. Chargers escape with a close one.
Los Angeles Chargers 24, Cleveland Browns 21
Gang Green is the definition of Jekyll and Hyde in 2018. A somewhat pointless stat this early in the season but when Isaiah Crowell runs for over 100 yards, the J-E-T-S W-I-N. Sam Darnold will be a solid quarterback but when you have two running backs that can carry the load, Darnold doesn’t need more than 25-30 passes a game. The Colts have been competitive in basically every game so they are not far off. However, the fact that Andrew Luck can’t get the correct velocity more than 20 yards down the field is a major concern. He’s still the best option at quarterback but he doesn’t have the same zip that he had three years ago. I flipped back and forth on my pick but the Jets seem to be the more complete team so in a tight one, I’ll take NYJ.
New York Jets 23, Indianapolis Colts 22
Seattle isn’t that bad of a team. However, after the Raiders game this weekend, it could start to get challenging with games against the Lions, Chargers, and Rams. Mike Davis has been a nice surprise for the Hawks’ in Chris Carson’s absence. Oakland doesn’t have much going for them. They’ve gotten solid performances out of Jared Cook and Marshawn Lynch this year but the defense is allowing chunks of big plays week after week. I expect the fans in London to get a pretty entertaining game until Seattle pulls away late to improve to 3-3 on the year. Sorry Jon Gruden. I think it’s time to move to Vegas now.
Seattle Seahawks 27 Oakland Raiders 16
Gano lo Gano! Carolina ripped victory out of the jaws on defeat with a near NFL record 63 yard FG at the end of regulation by kicker Graham Gano to send Riverboat Ron and Co. to 3-1. The Panthers defense had an off day, allowing 326 yards passing and two touchdowns through the air to Eli Manning. Despite their struggles, Pro Bowl LB Thomas Davis is slated to return off a four-game PED suspension which should provide a boost to that side of the ball. For the Skins, they were victim to the Drew Brees show in a tough, but predictable loss in primetime. The key matchup here will need to be Chris Thompson against a stout Carolina front seven. If he becomes a force in the passing game, the Skins could take the dub. Overall, this game should be fun but Cam Newton is undefeated against the Redskins in his career (4-0) so I’ll take the Panthers to improve to 4-1 this season.
Carolina Panthers 31, Washington Redskins 26
Despite winning two straight, I’m not sure I’d consider the Texans “good” quite yet. Houston was able to spin their way to victory in a sloppy affair. I’m still waiting for the Watson magic of 2017 and at this point, I doubt we’ll see the fireworks. They have a great opportunity to .500 with a win but they need to watch out for a classic “trap” game. The Bills are hot and cold but their defense has settled down after a terrible Week 1. LB Matt Milano is a player that I wasn’t too familiar with until his ten tackles last week, a team high. Tremaine Edmunds is someone who is in the DROY chase as well. I could see Buffalo pulling off the win but with Houston on a two-game winning streak, I believe they are hitting their stride just in time.
Houston Texans 20, Buffalo Bills 16
No one is going winless this year! Yay! What will the Cardinals do for an encore? Receiver Christian Kirk certainly be looking to explode for the second straight contest. For the Cardinals to pull off the stunner, David Johnson will need to break out of his surprisingly pedestrian play. Josh Rosen is the real deal. He has shown a lot of poise and seems like he’ll be Arizona’s future for a while. RB Dalvin Cook has been a limited participant at practice as his hamstring continues to heal. Latavius Murray hasn’t impressed in his absence as Minnesota’s 65.8 rush yards average ranks 31st in the league. Could I see the Cardinals winning this one? Sure. Could I also see Kirk Cousins winning the Super Bowl? Sure. Just not this year.
Minnesota Vikings 26, Arizona Cardinals 16
Le’Veon Bell is losing serious leverage by the game. James Conner is having an outstanding season and looks to be the real deal. For Cinci, this is a statement game. They showed their grit after being down as many as 17 to Miami at home. If the Bengals can’t beat the Steelers now, they never will. I really want to pick the home team but no matter what the circumstance, the Steelers always seem to beat up on their little brother. It happens so much that it becomes a mentality. It would take a lot to see that changing this weekend.
Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cincinnati Bengals 30
I love how Tarik Cohen is being used in Chicago’s offense. Before the bye week, he had a stellar game. Mitchell Trubisky probably isn’t gonna toss six touchdowns in a game again this season and if he does, the NFL MVP may be living in the Windy City. Meanwhile, the Dolphins have fallen off after a hot start to the year. They still have time to rebound, especially with three of their next four at home, but Chicago’s defense will be the best they’ve seen all year. I want to see Danny Amendola have a great game. Since he signed his two-year, $12 million contract, he only has 151 yards to show for it. I envision a low-scorer with Chicago coming up big late to cash in on a victory.
Chicago Bears 17, Miami Dolphins 13
The Broncos were uninspiring on the road. The defense got toasted, specifically Bradley Roby getting roasted on several occasions. Now, they get to take on the Rams who averages 34.6 PPG. This is one of those “lock” games for me. Case Keenum has been underwhelming up to this point and Goff has rocketed into a top flight quarterback. There is one X-factor however: the snow. FOX31 Denver reports that inclement weather is on track to affect the game this Sunday. Weather can also create issues so maybe that will help the home team...or make things worse.
Los Angeles Rams 40, Denver Broncos 17
The Ravens and Titans are interesting cases. Both teams seem to play to the level of their competition which can cause many issues. That’s why these teams lost to the Browns and Bills respectively last weekend. We know that both defenses can keep themselves in any game this season so chances are, this game will be low scoring and close throughout. This game could go a long way towards potential playoff scenarios and tiebreakers down the road so this should be treated as a playoff game in my mind. Marcus Mariota continues his below average play and there isn’t much else that can be done. If the Mariota that played Philly shows up, Tennessee will run away with this one. If the Mariota that played Buffalo suits up, Baltimore will feast. Ultimately, I’ll take the Ravens here.
Baltimore Ravens 14, Tennessee Titans 9
Two much maligned quarterbacks take flight in Jerry World for this unpredictable matchup. The Jaguars offense can be good but when its bad, its bad. The Cowboys haven’t had a great game on offense yet despite Ezekiel Elliott leading the league in rushing yards. Despite the doom and gloom on offense, the Cowboys D has played like a top ten unit. Rookie Leighton Vander-Esch (14 tackles) and third-year player Jaylon Smith (12 tackles) have been a nice duo in light of the oft-injured Sean Lee. Jalen Ramsey and the Jags should have a relatively easy time against a struggling receiving core in Big D. Jacksonville isn’t usually the team to run away from anyone so expect this game to stay close but never really in doubt.
Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Dallas Cowboys 13
AFC Championship preview? This could be the matchup of the year. The Chiefs have pummeled the Patriots in two consecutive regular season matchups but I can’t see a repeat this time around. Both Kansas City’s Kareem Hunt and New England’s Sony Michel, my preseason candidate for Rookie of the Year, has excelled in the past two weeks. Their statlines have been nearly identical in those respective contests. Patrick Mahomes continues to amaze while Tom Brady has a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio, which is a little high for him at this point in the year. My pick for the Super Bowl to represent the AFC will henge on this game. Will the Chiefs annual drop off occur or will Andy Reid’s squad finally live up to the billing. I expect the latter.
Kansas City Chiefs 34, New England Patriots 27 (SNF)
This seemed like a competitive matchup a couple of weeks ago. Now, I’m not so sure. The 49ers are settling for 2019 and the Packers desperately need a win to keep pace with the Bears...never thought I’d be saying that...in the NFC North. There’s not much to be said here. If the 49ers pull off the upset, it would be one of 2018’s biggest. Alas, I do not see this game being particularly close.
Green Bay Packers 31, San Francisco 49ers 14 (MNF)
Bye Weeks: Lions, Saints
Game of the Week: Chiefs vs Patriots
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