Week 5 NFL Predictions

Whoops…silly Fall Break. I completely forgot about making picks. Just the picks and a short explanation now; I’ll try to elaborate later.

It’s the week of the underdog this week, though. I’m feelin’ it.

*Week 4: 9-5

Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills: This game saddens me. If any team is as bad as the 2008 Lions, it’s this Bills team. Too bad they’re just good enough to win against a lousy Jags team at home.

Bills over Jaguars: 23-17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals: I wasn’t wrong about the Bengals. Lucky for them, though, I’m not wrong about the Bucs. That undefeated record is going to seem like it was years ago for the Bucs.

Bengals over Buccaneers: 31-14

Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns: Peyton Hillis is legit. The Falcons’ run D is not. But I just can’t see Cleveland holding on against two high-caliber quarterbacks in a row.

Falcons over Browns: 24-14

St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions: I swear the schedulers did this on purpose for all the bad teams. St. Louis is far better than it was last year, but so is Detroit, and playing at home should be enough for the Lions.

Lions over Rams: 34-26

Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts: Poor Chiefs. No recognition so far, and not going to receive any after Peyton Manning vents.

Colts over Chiefs: 35-17

Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins: Green Bay worries me. Shouldn’t be giving up 26 points to the Lions, who can barely run. Rodgers will also be facing his hardest test this season.

Redskins over Packers: 21-17

Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers: Remember what I said about the talent gap in the NFL last week? Yeah, Carolina isn’t that much worse than everyone else. And they get a Jay Cutler-less Bears at home.

Panthers over Bears: 17-14

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens: The reason I don’t get on the Cutler bandwagon is because I’m too busy on the Kyle Orton one. But Denver’s a one-dimensional offense, and Baltimore has to love that.

Ravens over Broncos: 27-17

New York Giants at Houston Texans: Yes, Schaub will take sacks. He did it all last year and still led the league in passing. Eli Manning faces a porous secondary, but this is Eli, not Peyton.

Texans over Giants: 24-20

New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals are disgustingly bad. Seriously, teams should not lose by as many points as they do. Plus, Max Hall is making his QB debut … against the Saints. Not smart, Whisenhunt.

Saints over Cardinals: 27-10

Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys: This one gives me the most trouble. Cowboys as a whole are schizophrenic, while the Titans seem good enough, but not willing to put games away.

Cowboys over Titans: 17-16

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders: Oakland’s getting better, but the defense needs to work on stopping Philip Rivers, which it hasn’t done since Rivers got the starting nod in Oakland. Plus, Ryan Matthews is pretty good, while Darren McFadden is out.

Chargers over Raiders: 23-16

Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers: I can’t say I like the 49ers this week, but they’re not 0-4 bad. Plus, look for Kevin Kolb to be jittery behind the Eagles’ porous O-line, and keep in mind, Philly has to switch its offensive game plan depending on the starting QB.

49ers over Eagles: 17-14

Minnesota Vikings at New York Jets: The Vikings have Moss, so this cures all their problems now! ... Right? Wrong. He’ll stretch the field, but the Jets are just too good, and seriously, Brett Favre is too old. And the game’s in New York. Uh-uh old man.

Jets over Vikings: 27-21