NFL Week 5 Predictions
October 11, 2015
Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs
Ethan Katz: Chicago-24 Kansas City-20
Brevin Fleischer: Kansas City-27 Chicago-14
Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals
Ethan Katz: It has been an extraordinary start to the season for Cincinnati. They’ve been clicking on all cylinders. Andy Dalton has been exceeding all preseason expectations, and their defense is giving the offense a chance to win every game. All good runs, however, must unfortunately come to an end at some point. If any team were to end a team’s undefeated run, it would be Seattle. They have the necessary personnel to beat this Bengals squad. Their defense will be able to contain Andy Dalton, and in what will be a close game, I think this Seattle offense pulls away in the last few minutes to lead them to victory. This certainly has the potential to be the game of the week in the NFL.
Ethan Katz: Seattle-24 Cincinnati-21
Brevin Fleischer: Cincinnati-27 Seattle-17
Washington at Atlanta Falcons
Brevin Fleischer: How has the Falcons’ schedule been this easy?? The Eagles, Cowboys, Giants, Titans, and now Washington combine to create the easiest schedule in the league. Ranked 32nd overall, their strength of schedule has probably actually dropped considering how disappointing the Eagles have been and considering the Dallas injuries. This easy schedule combined with exceptional play from Julio Jones and Matt Ryan has led to an undefeated start, a start that I expect to continue against this below-average if not abysmal Washington team.
Ethan Katz: Atlanta-31 Washington-24
Brevin Fleischer: Atlanta-35 Washington-27
Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans
Ethan Katz: Buffalo-30 Tennessee-20
Brevin Fleischer: Buffalo-17 Tennessee-13
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Brevin Fleischer: Florida football might finally be on the upswing. In Tampa, you have a rookie quarterback who has struggled a bit while still showing flashes of brilliance paired with one of the best young receivers in the league in Mike Evans. In Jacksonville, you have one of the youngest corps in the league, led by a deep group of young wide receivers, a second-year quarterback, and a rookie running back. Finally, even UFlorida looks to be on the upswing after that big win against Tennessee. All that being said, I anticipate a high-scoring, turnover-laden game in which Bortles beats Winston.
Ethan Katz: Tampa Bay-20 Jacksonville-14
Brevin Fleischer: Jacksonville-28 Tampa Bay-21
New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles
Ethan Katz: New Orleans-30 Philadelphia-17
Brevin Fleischer: New Orleans-24 Philadelphia-21
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
Brevin Fleischer: Baltimore’s schedule and luck have been equally brutal this year, but just from the eye test, once can tell that they’re a good team with a record that doesn’t reflect their talent level. Luckily for them, they’re going up against a Browns team whose record does reflect their talent level. Flacco and that rugged defense led by C.J. Mosley should eat this Cleveland team up.
Ethan Katz: Baltimore-24 Cleveland-21
Brevin Fleischer: Baltimore-20 Cleveland-14
St. Louis Rams at Green Bay Packers
Ethan Katz: Green Bay-34 St. Louis-17
Brevin Fleischer: Green Bay-30 St. Louis-20
Arizona Cardinals at Detroit Lions
Ethan Katz: The Lions are the sole winless team through the first four weeks of the season. Take a closer look and you would see that these were close games against talented teams. A three-point loss in Seattle, a five-point loss in San Diego, and a loss to the undefeated Broncos. It’s unfortunate that this team is winless. They have a lot of talent and need a win to boost their confidence and to potentially keep their playoff hopes alive. The Lions will do whatever it takes to get a win on Sunday. They’re hungry, talented, and ready to take on a challenge, and they’ll pull off the upset over the Cardinals.
Ethan Katz: Detroit-30 Arizona-20
Brevin Fleischer: Arizona-24 Detroit-13
New England Patriots at Dallas Cowboys
Ethan Katz: New England-35 Dallas-20
Brevin Fleischer: New England-30 Dallas-24
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
Ethan Katz: In the last few years, no one would give the Oakland Raiders a chance here. Even this year, the majority of people would give Denver the edge. It’s true: Denver has more talent, more experience, and more wins than Oakland, but this team has young, fresh talent that has excited this fanbase. The duo of Derek Carr and Amari Cooper has been great to watch early on. 2-2 is their best start in a while, and they’re looking like an Oakland team that should be taken seriously this season. Denver seems to have the advantage in most categories, but Peyton Manning has been mediocre thus far, and the Denver run game has been extremely weak. Oakland is hungry, and they’ll rally behind their outstanding fans to produce the upset of the week around the league.
Ethan Katz: Oakland-27 Denver-21
Brevin Fleischer: Denver-24 Oakland-20
San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants
Ethan Katz: New York-27 San Francisco-14
Brevin Fleischer: New York-20 San Francisco-17
Pittsburgh Steelers at San Diego Chargers
Ethan Katz: Pittsburgh-20 San Diego-17