NFL Picks Week 5

This week is a difficult week to pick.

There are 5 undefeated teams each playing teams with 2-2 records. The Bengals, Packers and the Falcons are all playing at home while the Patriots and the Broncos are on the road. The Bengals will face the toughest competition in the Seahawks but the Rams could present trouble for the Packers. The Patriots face a "Romoless" Cowboys team that searches for a QB solution. If the Raiders can harass Manning that game could be very interesting.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are 3 contests showcasing teams with 1-3 records. The Bears face the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium in a game the Chiefs should dominate. The Saints take on the Eagles with the loser all but out of playoff contention, and possibly Chip Kelly facing an early exit from Philadelphia. The Browns, with their own QB problems, cruise into Baltimore to face a Ravens team that knows with a win they could still possibly challenge the Bengals for a Division Championship.

Here are my predictions. I was 9-6 last week and I am now 36-27 overall. A perfect week would be nice.

Indianapolis @ Houston   (W)Colts 21-17   Hasselback leads the Colts over the hapless Texans
Washington @ Atlanta   (W)Falcons 33-14   The Falcons should have an easy time of this one
Seattle @ Cincinnati   (W)Bengals 17-13   I like the Bengal's "D" and the 'Hawks "O" is struggling
St. Louis @ Green Bay   (W)Packers 21-19   Maybe different if played in STL
Buffalo @ Tennessee   (W)Bills 21-16   Tossup but Rex Ryan's QB is getting better every week
Chicago @ Kansas City   (L)Chiefs 28-12   Cutler picked off 3 times with 2 "Pick 6's"
New Orleans @ Philadelphia   (L)Saints 28-24   Eagles can't seem to get it together
Jacksonville @ Tampa Bay   (L)Jaguars 21-20    Bortles v Winston what a matchup!
Cleveland @ Baltimore   (L)Ravens 27-21   Flacco finally realizes preseason is over
Arizona @ Detroit   (W)Cardinals 41-14   Batted balls, stolen playbook, Lions lose
New England @ Dallas   (W)Patriots 28-17   NE comes out with "guns blazin"
Denver @ Oakland   (W)Broncos 21-13   Could easily be the biggest upset of the weekend
San Francisco @ NY Giants   (W)Giants 31-27   No way the Giants lose, right?
Pittsburgh @ San Diego   (L)Chargers 24-20   Vick is not the answer for the Steelers

Carolina, Minnesota, Miami and the NY Jets have the weekend off.

Finished 9-5 thanks to the Chiefs, Jaguars, Ravens and the Chargers really terrible defense.

Oh well...45-32 overall...I promise I'll do better this week.

NFL Picks Week 4

Well...the Cowboys didn't have enough adrenaline to hold off the Falcons, the Ravens defense couldn't stop the juggernaut that are the Bengals and the Colts recovered from their 0-2 record to top the Titans. I went 13-3 to improve my overall record to 27-21.

This week the Patriots and the Titans have the week off so I only get to pick 15 games.

Here they are:

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh   (W)Ravens 21-10   It'll be a dog fight against Vick and the Steelers "D"
NY Jets @ Miami   (W)Jets 28-24   Dolphins are not very good offensively
Houston @ Atlanta   (W)Falcons 24-10   Atlanta outruns the Texan's "D"
NY Giants @ Buffalo  (L) Bills 31-30   Ryan needs this win to stay relevant
Oakland @ Chicago   (L)Raiders 28-17   "I'm a Believer"
Kansas City @ Cincinnati   (W)Bengals 21-10   Bengals have a very good "D" and can score
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis   (W)Colts 28-20 Luck vs Bortles at home...revitalized
Carolina @ Tampa Bay   (W)Panthers 24-17   Cam is old enough to win this one
Philadelphia @ Washington   (L)Eagles 21-19   Kelly's heroes pick up steam
Cleveland @ San Diego  (W) Chargers 35-21   Who is "Da Man" in Cleveland?
Minnesota @ Denver   (L)Vikings 29-24   Vikes roll...Manning stumbles
St. Louis @ Arizona   (L)Cardinals 24-12   Offense too much for Rams
Green Bay @ San Francisco   (W)Packers 35-17   Maybe 5 more TDs for Rodgers
Dallas @ New Orleans   (L)Cowboys 24-20   Battle of QB backups
Detroit @ Seattle   (W)Seahawks 31-21   The 'Hawks already know the plays

Check back late Monday for the results. I should be 42-21 after then.

9-6 for the week. It took an overtime win by the Colts and a fumble at the 1 yard line by Calvin Johnson to get me to that. Of course the Eagles and Raiders didn't help.

36-27 overall. 4 teams with a by next week. Jets, Miami, Minnesota and Carolina all get to relax.

NFL Picks This Week

Here are my NFL picks for this week. I did fine last week until the last three games where I totally screwed up.

Browns @ Bengals  -  Browns 24-3     Just Kidding!!
Chiefs @ Bills  -  Chiefs 27-17     Alex Smith controls the game. Bills have no RBs
Cowboys v Jaguar  -  Cowboys 35-13     A shame Londoners have to see the Jaguars
49ers @ Saints  -  Saints 28-27     Saints don't lose in the dome
Titans @ Ravens  -  Ravens 30-13     Raven's defense is too much for Titans offense
Steelers @ Jets  -  Steelers 28-6     Big Ben held to just 4 TD passes this week
Falcons @ Buccaneers  -  Falcons 24-14     Buc's say wait'll next year
Broncos @ Raiders  -  Broncos 28-10      Oakland's defense is better but Manning is Manning
Rams @ Cardinals  -  Cardinals 24-10     No trick plays here and no Ram offense
Giants @ Seahawks  -  Seahawks 27-13     After all Eli is Eli
Bears @ Packers  -  Packers 30-20     Rogers is still saying "relax"
Panthers @ Eagles  -  Eagles 17-14     Cowboys win so Eagles must, please no butt fumbles

If you don't believe me, read what Phil Sheridan and David Newton of ESPN.com have to say and see if my picks aren't better.

'Skins Dump Cowboys 20-17 In Overtime

The Washington Redskins, behind Texas native Colt McCoy, held off the Cowboys in regulation and won the game on a field goal in overtime, 20-17.

McCoy was 25 of 30 for 299 yards. Although he had no passing touchdowns he did score on a 7 yard run near the start of the 4th quarter that put the Redskins up 17-10.

DeMarco Murray had his 8th straight game with 100+ yards rushing and tied eight other NFL players with 1000 yards rushing in their team's first eight games.

The Cowboys were 17-1 in games where Murray had 20 or more carries. Murray only carried the ball 19 times in last night's game. Those 19 rushes were good for 141 yards. Demarco is on a pace for an NFL record 2108 yards on the season.

Dallas has lost three overtime games under coach Garrett. Interestingly the two previous OT losses were followed by losses in the next game.

Read the full ESPN recap article here.