NFL picks against the spread, Week 5: SuperContest picks, all picks

We are a quarter of the way through the season, and I’m doing fairly awful when it comes to picking games against the spread. I am 24-38-1, and can’t pick a whole lot of much. Of course, if I had stuck with the San Francisco 49ers each of the past three weeks, I’d be doing fairly well. I took them the past two weeks, and add in the Seahawks game and the 49ers stand at 3-1 against the spread. They’re winless in the standings, but they’re playing some really close games.

For the fourth straight season, I am back for the Westgate SuperContest. SB Nation's partners over at Odds Shark are sponsoring my entry again. The contest requires selecting 5 games each week and picking them against the spread. This year's contest is expected to have over 2,700 participants, which is a new record for the SuperContest. SB Nation is represented by myself, Matt Ufford, and Jason Kirk, and there are folks from all over the blogosphere involved. I am off to a weak start, with now four straight 2-3 performances out of the gates. It was not ideal, but I suppose it could have been worse. Not much, but definitely worse. There is a running leaderboard here, but you can check how I’m doing against my Odds Shark teammates here. You can follow my standings under the name "Fooch.”

Here are my Week 5 SuperContest picks:

BENGALS (-3) over Bills
STEELERS (-8) over Jaguars
49ers (+1.5) over COLTS
Panthers (+2.5) over LIONS
Seahawks (+1) over RAMS

This might be the week the 49ers finally burn me, but what the heck. I am a little concerned about the Colts getting some emotional lift from retiring Peyton Manning’s jersey. Other than that, the Colts aren’t a good team. The 49ers don’t have many strong chances to win the next few weeks, so maybe they can snag a win in the middle of this road trip.

Other than that, I went with home favorites and road underdogs. I think we see the Bengals get their season moderately on track, while the Steelers are generally much better at home than on the road. I think the Lions are a bit overrated right now, and the Panthers present their biggest defensive challenge.

That Seahawks-Rams game is an interesting one. If the Rams get the win, it could represent a bit of a changing of the guard. But I actually think Thomas Rawls emerges in place of Chris Carson this week and helps keep the Rams strong defensive front at bay. I am pulling for the Rams in this one, but I think the Seahawks get the W.

Here are all my picks for Week 5. I was 5-11 last week, which brings me to 24-38-1 for the season.

BUCCANEERS vs. Patriots (-5.5): Bucs - WIN
GIANTS vs. Chargers (+3.5): Chargers
BENGALS vs. Bills (+3): Bengals
BROWNS vs. Jets (Pk): Browns
STEELERS vs. Jaguars (+8): Steelers
DOLPHINS vs. Titans (-3): Dolphins
COLTS vs. 49ers (+1.5): 49ers
EAGLES vs. Cardinals (+6.5): Eagles
LIONS vs. Panthers (+2.5): Panthers
RAMS vs. Seahawks (+1): Seahawks
RAIDERS vs. Ravens (+2.5): Ravens
COWBOYS vs. Packers (+2): Packers
TEXANS vs. Chiefs (Pk): Texans
BEARS vs. Vikings (-3): Vikings