We are entering the fifth week of the season, with most of the NFL through the first quarter of their schedule. Washington and Carolina had a bye last week, and Chicago and Tampa Bay are on bye this week. The week gets started with old rivals not real in the same sphere right now squaring off as the New England Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday Night Football.
It’s time once again for our pick ‘em and Survivor pool contest options. We have the weekly prediction contest this season, and you can make those picks here. We also have a traditional “Pick ‘Em” contest. If you still want to join, the group name is Niners Nation, the group ID is 45734, and the password is go49ers. You’re pretty far behind, but feel free to join.
After a wild Week 3 knocked out a lot of Survivor contestants (or game them their first of two strikes), things settled down in Week 4 with most of the big favorites winning.
This week, the San Francisco 49ers might actually be an option for some folks in their Survivor pools. They host the Arizona Cardinals, and are 4.5 point favorites. The 49ers almost knocked out a whole bunch of folks this past week when they came close to upsetting the Los Angeles Chargers. I suspect we see some people try and sneak through Week 5 with the 49ers.
Divisional picks are shaky in Survivor, which is why this game and the Raiders-Chargers game have me a bit hesitant. The easiest pick is the Patriots over the Colts tonight, but I suspect we see a fair amount of people picking the Carolina Panthers to beat the New York Giants this Sunday. The Giants are not good, and the Panthers are coming in rested. I’m leaning that way, but we’ll see.
Tonight, Week 5 opens with the Patriots hosting the Colts. The Patriots are a 10-point favorite, although sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark have seen the line climb up to 11. touchdown favorite in this one, even with a host of injuries piling up. I think the Colts defense keeps this game close enough, and while I’m not loving it, I’ll take the points with Indy.
Here are the rest of my straight-up picks. I was 12-3 last week, bringing my season record to 41-20-2. I’ll have my picks against the spread later this weekend.
Colts @ Patriots: Patriots
Titans @ Bills: Bills
Dolphins @ Bengals: Bengals
Ravens @ Browns: Ravens
Packers @ Lions: Packers
Jaguars @ Chiefs: Chiefs
Broncos @ Jets: Jets
Falcons @ Steelers: Steelers
Giants @ Panthers: Panthers
Raiders @ Chargers: Chargers
Vikings @ Eagles: Vikings
Cardinals @ 49ers: 49ers
Rams @ Seahawks: Rams
Cowboys @ Texans: Texans
Washington @ Saints: Washington