The fifth week of the NFL regular season has arrived. My Week 4 picks didn’t go as well as I had hoped, matching my Week 3 performance with another 10-6 record. Through four weeks I’m sitting at 45-19
with predictions. That puts me right at 70-percent for the season. This week, there will be two less games with bye weeks kicking in for the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thursday Night Football — San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams
Winner: Rams
It’s another NFC West matchup this week for Thursday Night Football. Both these teams are currently 3-1, with the 49ers dropping last week’s matchup against the Jaguars and the Rams beating the Colts. I like the Rams at home here, since they have proven to be more efficient on offense and are a lot healthier than the 49ers.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns (London)
Winner: Vikings
This game is an international affair across the pond in London. The Vikings are 2-2 on the season with the Browns sitting at 1-3. Dillion Gabriel has been named Cleveland’s new starting quarterback for this matchup. I expect Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores to bring the heat against the rookie. I’ll take Minnesota with that considered.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Las Vegas Raiders at Indianapolis Colts
Winner: Colts
After dropping their first game of the season to the Rams last weekend, the Colts are hoping to bounce back with a victory against the Raiders at home. I’m confident they will be able to just that and notch their fourth win of the season.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Denver Broncos at Philadelphia Eagles
Winner: Eagles
As much as I’d like to take my Broncos in this game, I’ve got some concerns about their ability to defeat the defending champions on the road. The Eagles are undefeated but haven’t been performing as well as they did last season. Whoever can control and dictate the pace of the game on the ground and protect the ball should come out with the dub. I think that team will be Philadelphia.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
Winner: Ravens
Color me surprised that both of these teams are 1-3 to start the season. The Ravens have scored the third most points in the NFL but have given up the most. The Texans’ defense has been stout, but C.J. Stroud and their entire offense look awful without Joe Mixon and Tank Dell. I’ll take the Ravens at home.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers
Winner: Panthers
Neither of these teams with 1-3 records seem all too impressive. Things didn’t exactly get better for the Miami, who lost Tyreek Hill due to a season-ending knee injury last week. That’s going to hurt their offense a lot, which has already been struggling. I’ll pick Bryce Young and the Panthers to impress and secure a much-needed win at home.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets
Winner: Cowboys
The Cowboys wound up tying in a thriller against the Packers last weekend. On Sunday, they should find a way to come away with a victory on the road against the winless Jets. Their offense isn’t firing on all cylinders and has already given up the ball seven times in four games. To make matters worse, they don’t generate turnovers on defense. I’ll take Dallas here.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — New York Giants at New Orleans Saints
Winner: Giants
Jaxson Dart and the Giants upsetting the Chargers last weekend was probably the biggest surprise of any game. Unfortunately, that win came at a significant cost with Malik Nabers suffering a season-ending injury. I’m not sure how well they will do the rest of the year with him out, but the Saints are 0-4 and struggle offensively and defensively. I’m predicting another road victory here and taking the Giants.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Tennessee Titans at Arizona Cardinals
Winner: Cardinals
The Cardinals haven’t been overly impressive in either of their victories this season, but the Titans haven’t found a way to win at all and were just shut out by the Texans last weekend. I expect their struggles to continue and think they are poised to stay winless through the first five games of the Cam Ward era. I’ll take the hometown Cardinals.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Seattle Seahawks
Winner: Buccaneers
This is probably one of my favorite matchups this week. Both teams are 3-1 and seem to be doing great things offensively. What team’s defense steps up to the occasion in this one will make all the difference. It’s safe to say the Seahawks have performed better in that respect thus far, but I have a feeling Tampa Bay will pull off a big road victory.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Detroit Lions at Cincinatti Bengals
Winner: Lions
The Lions are riding a three-game winning streak and have one of the best, if not the best, offense in the entire NFL. The Bengals? Well, they just got trounced by the Broncos in Denver. I can’t really think of a way they could manage to pull off an upset at home against Detroit. I expect the Lions to win this one by double digits easily.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Washington Commanders at Los Angeles Chargers
Winner: Commanders
With Jayden Daniels being back for this matchup, I feel a lot more comfortable picking another road team. The Chargers suffered a big setback losing Joe Alt due to an ankle injury against the Giants. If he is unable to play, that could cause Los Angeles to have even more problems protecting Justin Herbert. I’ll give the edge to the Commanders in this one.
Sunday Night Football — New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Winner: Bills
Second-year signal caller Drake Maye has been impressive in recent weeks and has the Patriots offense trending in the right direction. Unfortunately, the Patriots will have a tough go of it going up against a feisty Bills team that is the last unbeaten team in the AFC. I’ll take Josh Allen and the Bills at home in this one.
Monday Night Football — Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars
Winner: Chiefs
The Jaguars are riding a two-game winning streak and sport a 3-1 record, while the Chiefs have crawled back to a .500 ball club after dropping their first two games of the year. I think this will be a hard-fought battle and a close game. However, I’ll ultimately give the edge to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs—but I hope I’m wrong with this prediction!
