The NFL season continues without regard to my selections. Week 4 didn't go as I expected as I hit a 9-8 record for the week. The Week 5 slate offers some very exciting matchups, which means I'm bound to go the wrong direction in a few toss-ups.
Season Record: 32-30
Thursday Night
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons
Tampa Bay has been on a three-week rollercoaster, but its next turn is tough to predict. Just as tough to predict is whether the Falcons can take over the NFC South after a big win against New Orleans last week. Given the longstanding nature of this division, expect some fireworks on Thursday night.
Winner: Buccaneers, 27-20
Sunday Morning
New York Jets @ Minnesota Vikings
The Jets struggled in the elements in a strange loss to the Denver Broncos. The Jets have shown they aren't awful, but there is something that isn't clicking. Primarily in regards to Garrett Wilson's target share. As for the Minnesota Vikings, everything is clicking, even if Green Bay gave them a bit of a late scare.
Winner: Vikings, 32-21
Sunday Early Window
Carolina Panthers @ Chicago Bears
The Panthers showed a bit of consistency against the anything-but-consistent Bengals. Andy Dalton is preparing to play another former team that doesn't look much different than when he left them. Caleb Williams is taking small steps. Stacking another strong performance can get them rolling.
Winner: Bears, 26-20
Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals
The Ravens have discovered that their running game really is as good as advertised. The Bills don't have the strongest run defense in the world, but the primetime effort alerted the rest of the league of a serious problem. Cincinnati struggled to stop Carolina early and hasn't been particularly promising in any regard at 1-3. Baltimore takes the early lead in the AFC North.
Winner: Ravens, 33-20
Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots
The Dolphins offense can't function without Tua Tagovailoa - which might say a lot about Tagovailoa or head coach Mike McDaniel. Either way, the loss against Tennessee is concerning, and with no timetable for Tagovailoa's return, things might get uglier before they get better. This is the bounce-back win New England has been looking forward to.
Winner: Patriots, 24-8
Cleveland Browns @ Washington Commanders
Fun fact about Cleveland this week: The Browns have the worst first-down offense in the NFL. Washington came out firing against Arizona and looks like one of the most confident young teams in the league. They can show a positive note in handling success with a win over Cleveland.
Winner: Commanders, 24-14
Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Between the Colts' upset win over Pittsburgh and the Jaguars playing the Texans close, this AFC South matchup is a real toss-up. Conventional wisdom would say the Colts are riding a better momentum wave, but the Jaguars are backed up into a corner at home. I think they get their first win of the season here.
Winner: Jaguars, 18-14
Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans
The Bills didn't look great against Baltimore and a road trip to Houston certainly doesn't look inviting. Fortunately for Buffalo, the Texans have played a bit closer to earth the past couple of weeks. Both teams need to shake off some negativity to prove early on they are among the elite AFC teams.
Winner: Texans, 24-23
Sunday Lat Window
Las Vegas Raiders @ Denver Broncos
The Raiders are dealing with serious drama with Davante Adams putting one foot out the door, but they're still winning. The Broncos are also .500 despite themselves. It's a strange game where either team could come away with the win in a tight divisional rivalry. Sneaky fun game, that I see Denver stealing away.
Winner: Broncos, 17-16
Green Bay Packers @ Los Angeles Rams
The Packers probably expected a better performance in their first NFC North home game, but Minnesota had other plans. Still, the Packers showed some fight in the comeback attempt. The Rams aren't going to sneak up on anyone after shocking the 49ers as they wait impatiently for the injury report to be shortened.
Winner: Packers, 28-17
New York Giants @ Seattle Seahawks
The Giants have a Daniel Jones of the most frustrating design. Jones completed a ton of passes and gave Malik Nabers more than enough targets and still couldn't get the ball into the endzone. Seattle has no such issues. Their efficiency is too much for a chaotic mess like New York.
Winner: Seahawks, 23-14
Sunday Night
Dallas Cowboys @ Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers' defense against Indianapolis was not a performance to be proud of. A home game in primetime is the environment they can thrive in to ensure that level of effort isn't repeated. On offense, Justin Fields is taking command, and knowing he won't have a healthy Micah Parsons chasing him down could lead to another solid performance.
Winner: Steelers, 21-17
Monday Night
New Orleans Saints @ Kansas City Chiefs
The Saints are making quite the habit of playing stronger competition closely but falling short of victory. It's tough to make the effort to turn that around against the Chiefs on a Monday night. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense will have to find a way to continue to show improvement without Rashee Rice. That's a tall order, but not one that dampens their chance of victory enough for me.
Winner: Cheifs, 31-24