NFL WEEK 5: Our Official Predictions For Who Wins This Weekend
I have nothing witty to say to start this column!
Sorry!
Let's do some picks. All lines come from Las Vegas Hilton.
My record thus far is 12-12-1. I went 0-4-1 last week, which was fairly humiliating. But I got last night's game right, so there's reason for hope that I do better this week!
The Philadelphia Eagles are 7 point favorites at home against the St. Louis Rams.
Man, this is one suspect line. Only 7 points? At home? Really? Is there any 3-1 team that gets less respect than the Eagles? I don't think so.
The Rams have a decent defense, but no offense. I hope that St. Chip and Nicky Franchise can recover after last week's egg to win this one handily.
The pick: Eagles -7.
The Dallas Cowboys are 6-point favorites at home against the Houston Texans.
Really? Are we all that high on the Cowboys after they blew away a weak New Orleans Saints. Let's see how the Boys handle a real defense with the Texans. Maybe my disdain for the Cowboys as a Eagles fan is clouding my judgement, but I just don't see how the Cowboys can cover this number. I expect them to win by 3, not 6.
The pick: Texans +6
The Indianapolis Colts are 3.5 point favorites at home against the Baltimore Ravens.
Wikimedia CommonsA raven
I like the Ravens here. I don't have any real reason. I could easily be wrong! But it seems like the Colts are in tight games against good teams. They blow away the dregs of the league, though, which makes them seem slightly better than they really are.
The pick: Ravens +3.5
The San Diego Chargers a 6.5-point favorites at home against the New York Jets.
YouTube / Dan RobinsonA few charges.
I think Rex Ryan is a good coach, but unfortunately, I think this season is his last as the head coach of the Jets. They're just not good enough to win enough games for him to keep his job. Geno Smith, despite flashing some signs of talent from time to time isn't good enough.
So, what happens to Ryan next? Will he do TV where he'd be a natural? Or will he be paid a ton of money to be a defensive coordinator somewhere. I would love for him to be the Eagles' defensive coordinator, but I don't know if he could co-exist with Chip Kelly.
The pick: Chargers -6.5
The Cincinnati Bengals are 1-point favorites on the road against the New England Patriots.
This line is weird. The Bengals are a good team on defense and offense. The Patriots are a bad team on offense, and a bad team on defense. The Bengals are coming off a bye week where they could rest up and prepare.
Basically, nobody thinks Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are going to lose two games in a row. And since it's only 1 point, you're essentially betting the money line here.
Nothing lasts forever. Maybe this is it for the Patriots. Maybe they're finally going to have a down year after years of excellence.
There's simply no reason to pick the Patriots other than "because". There is no strong football reason, so I'm going with the Bengals.
The pick: Bengals -1