Sorry, Vikings fans, but the guess here is only one of the six undefeated teams will fall in Week 5 — and it won't be Seattle on Sunday night against the Vikings.
Mark Craig's Week 5 NFL picks against the spread
Will any of the other five unbeatens lose this week? No.
October 10, 2020 at 10:03PM
Look for the Chiefs, Steelers and Bills — who (might) face the undefeated Titans — to also win while Green Bay gets the early bye.
As for those four winless teams — the Texans, Falcons and the East Rutherford roommates — look for only Houston to win as interim coach Romeo Crennel draws the Jaguars at home.
Elsewhere, look for Teddy Bridgewater to go to 3-2 in Carolina and the wobbling defending NFC champion 49ers to fall below .500 for the first time since 2018.
Last week's picks: 10-5; vs. the spread: 9-6.
Year to date: 39-23-1; 35-27-1
Vikings games: 2-2
Vikings (+7) at Seahawks: Seahawks by 10
With Seattle's vaunted 12th man sidelined, the Vikings should be able to move the ball easily on the 32nd-ranked defense. But Kirk Cousins won't outscore MVP front-runner Russell Wilson. Seahawks 41, Vikings 31
Panthers (+2½) at Falcons: Panthers by 3
It's tough to picture the Falcons stopping anyone at this point. So give Matt Rhule and Teddy Bridgewater a three-game winning streak.
Raiders (+13) at Chiefs: Chiefs by 14
Someone is going to pay for the Patriots slowing K.C.'s offense to a slog. Might as well be a suspect Raiders defense.
Broncos (+11½) at Patriots: Patriots by 3
No team outside of Tennessee has been dealt more blows during this global pandemic than New England. But as long as Bill Belichick has enough players to hike a ball, the Patriots will beat Denver on Monday.
Rams (-7½) at Washington: Rams by 10
This is LA's third trip to back East in four weeks. Doesn't matter. The Rams offense will roll.
Jaguars (+6) at Texans: Texans by 7
A good week for the winless, Bill O'Brien-less Texans. The typical Week 1 interim coaching bump that Romeo Crennel will enjoy coincides with a game against the Jags.
Bills (-1) at Titans: Bills by 7
This game is now scheduled for Tuesday as the Titans work to control their COVID-19 outbreak. They're out of sorts, and also were not very good in their win over the Vikings two weeks ago. And, oh yeah, the Bills are just too darn good.
Cardinals (-7) at Jets: Cardinals by 10
Is there a situation in which a team from Arizona welcomes back-to-back road trips to the East Coast? Yes. When the second game is against the Jets.
Eagles (+7) at Steelers: Steelers by 10
Not being able to play the Titans last week probably did nothing more than make the Steelers mad enough to dominate the Eagles.
Bengals (+13½) at Ravens: Ravens by 20
Hang on, Joe Burrow. These ain't the Jaguars.
Giants (+9½) at Cowboys: Cowboys by 7
It's hard to give 9½ points to anybody with the way the Cowboys are playing defense. But, either way, the Giants should put a rare smile on Mike McCarthy's face.
Colts (-1½) at Browns: Colts by 3
No team has posted more than 269 yards against the Colts. The Browns ran for 307 against Dallas last week but are without Nick Chubb this week.
Chargers (+7½) at Saints: Saints by 3
Justin Herbert will remember these games for a lifetime. But a week after almost beating Tom Brady, he'll almost beat Drew Brees on Monday night.
UPSET SPECIAL Dolphins (+8) at 49ers: Dolphins 28, 49ers 25
It feels really right to pull the trigger on a FitzMagic upset here. So, what the heck, Miami goes out to San Francisco and drops the beat-up 49ers under .500 with a second straight loss.
Last week's upset special: Bears (+2½) 27, Colts 24. Result: Colts 19, Bears 11.
Upset special record: 1-3.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
