Sanders's Week 5 NFL Predictions

Week 5 NFL Predictions

Wow. We are already a quarter of the way through the season. Can you believe it? Neither can I .  But HEY. I am a positive man. That means we still have 12 MORE WEEKS OF FOOTBALL! WOO! Get hyped. In fact, I am so hyped, I’ll just jump into the predictions!

Sanders went 8-7 last week to make a 37-26 season so far. Yikes! RIP Sanders.

Thursday Night game:

Arizona Cardinals vs San Francisco 49ers

It’s hard to believe that this is going to be a “must-win” for the Cardinals but they wil be 1-4 if they lose. For a  team with Super Bowl aspirations, they are not headed in the right direction. Outside of Patrick Peterson, there have been blown coverages, not much of a pass rush, and Mathieu just isn’t the MVP he was last year. As for the offense, Arians needs to stop his “no risk it no biscuit” philosophy until the Cards can start winning again. Throwing it deep ALL THE TIME isn’t going to win games. Need to keep the enemy honest. Speaking of keeping the enemy honest, they can do that by giving David Johnson the rock more and doing screen passes to Andre Ellington. Then maybe the deep shots will work. On the side of the 49ers, they just don’t have much talent and it looks like Chip Kelly has shown they can look decent but not good when he maxes out that minimal talent. I am officially waiting for the time when Kaepernick comes on the field.

Key Matchup: Cards WRs vs 49ers secondary

Cards 20  49ers 13

Washington Redskins vs Baltimore Ravens

I had this originally penned as a Ravens win. But let me examine both sides before I say why. The Ravens are at 3-1 and have the No. 1 total defense. Now, this just means that teams have gained the fewest yards against Baltimore.  They are 7^th in scoring. The Redskins, meanwhile, are 30^th in total defense and 25^th in scoring. On the other side of the ball, the Redskins are 7^th in total offense and 13^th in scoring while Baltimore is 19^th in points and 20^th in total offense. The matchup looks good for Baltimore on paper but the Redskins are a pesky team fighting to reclaim their spot on top of the NFC East. This game is 50/50 and can go either way. I’m think this comes down to a Tucker field goal for a Baltimore win. He is the key advantage.

Key Matchup: Kirk Cousins vs Baltimore Secondary

Redskins 23  Ravens 24

New England Patriots vs Cleveland Browns

Well. You know it. I know. Even your grandmother knows it. Tom Brady is back, baby! (ensuing boos) Yeah, yeah, you all hate Brady. Whatever. The guy is the greatest quarterback you are ever going to get to watch play this game. Sit down and admire greatness instead of booing him winning. Also, the Bills shut Bellichick out last week. So what does that mean? While they Pats did go 3-1, it means they DO NEED Brady to function like the Patriots should. So none of this “Brady was only successful because of Bellichick” non-sense. The two go hand in hand and are the perfect duo. But what about the Browns? My answer: They are the only winless team. Pesky. Entertaining. Can give the Patriots all they can handle. But Tom Brady isn’t losing his first game back. He is about to show the NFL that they all better hide and run.

Key Matchup: Browns run game vs Patriots front seven

Patriots 28  Browns 17

UPSET OF THE WEEK!

Philadelphia Eagles vs Detriot Lions

The Eagles are white hot at 3-0 and put a convincing win over an AFC favorite. So what does this all mean? While I believe in the Eagles, we need to slow down on some people saying they are headed for a 13-3 season. It’s possible but we have to see more. As Wentz plays more and more, teams will get more tape to analyze and find his weaknesses. The Lions have 3 games worth of tape on him and I believe that can pull off an upset here. The Lions are 1-3 but look closely at those 3 losses and see that they were super close and could have won all 3 of those games. They beat the Eagles in an upset and show the Eagles aren’t immortal

Key Matchup: Eagles defensive front seven vs Lions O-line

Eagles 16  Lions 24

Chicago Bears vs Indianapolis Colts

What a spicy matchup. Dull team vs VERY dull team. Not gonna lie, I feel as if the Bears are actually going to pull this one out but I still feel like Andrew Luck can show why there is hope for the Colts. Not hope to save their season, but hope for the future because this team isn’t going anywhere. It has no defense and the GM refuses to give Andrew Luck any support. Unfortunate and it’s an absolute waste of his prime years. As for the Bears, it’s hard to decide where they are as a team. Them winning or losing will provide some clarity.

Key Matchup: Andrew Luck vs Bears’s Secondary

Bears 17 Colts 23

Tennessee Titans vs Miami Dolphins

So what’s good Miami? You finally gonna show up or just put up duds every week? It’s hard to not criticize Miami. They have one of the more talented rosters in the NFL but never can produce with it. I do hope Adam Gase isn’t blamed though. This guy can coach and he needs at least 3 years before evaluation. The Titans on the other hand just can’t seem to score. They are 32^nd in the League when it comes to points scored. Yikes. The offense is producing numbers but those numbers need to turn into points if they want to win. The Dolphins defense is a perfect matchup to get back on track.

Key Matchup: Demarco Murray vs Dolphins front seven.

Titans 17  Dolphins 14

Houston Texans vs Minnesota Vikings

The Purple People Eaters 2.0 is here. I am not afraid to say it. Are they the best defense in the NFL right now? Debatable. I have them at No. 2 with Denver at No. 1. Yes, the Vikings have shown the talent and skill to take over Denver but who do you think would win the matchup? That’s really opinion based and I think Denver but let me know what you think! @jcs436 The Texans are a good team but without J.J. Watt, their defense isn’t the same and the Vikings offense is fully capable of taking advantage. Give me the smothering Vikings defense to win the game with a defensive TD.

Key Matchup: Brock Osweiler and Co. vs Vikings Secondary

Texans 13  Vikings 24

New York Jets vs Pittsburgh Steelers

I hate to say it, but the Jets look awful. Last year, the Jets had a dominant defense that let Fitzpatrick just play his average game. Now, the Jets are letting the opponent score points and forcing more responsibility on Fitzpatrick. Not good. Not good at all. The Steelers just laid out Kansas City flat, the team who made the Jets commit 8 turnovers just two weeks ago. If you’re following me on this you already know who I’m gonna pick.

Key Matchup: Steelers WRs vs Jets DBs

Jets 13  Steelers 31

Atlanta Falcons vs Denver Broncos

This is an exciting matchup. What looks like this year’s unstoppable offense will meet the immovable defense in the Denver Broncos. However, everytime we have seen this matchup, the defense is what wins the game. I think the same thing happens here. The real and only issue Denver needs to worry about is containing Julio Jones. He can light up the scoreboard but if Denver holds Atlanta to field goals, then it doesn’t matter. Also, Paxton Lynch looked fine last week. He should have a solid performance against an Atlanta defense allowing 31 points per game.

Key Matchup: Julio Jones and Matt Ryan vs Denver secondary

Falcons 19  Broncos 23

Cincinnati Bengals vs Dallas Cowboys

The Bengals sit in a rather weird position at 2-2 and 3^rd in the AFC North. Not exactly what you want in such a rough and tumble division. It’s hard to say where the Bengals are headed because Dalton has proven he can excel without Hue Jackson yet he really is missing the amount of diverse weapons he had last year. The Cowboys are sitting pretty at 3-1 with solid play from rookie QB Dak Prescott. Dallas looks like a tough out but they haven’t faced anyone of Cincinnati’s caliber yet. While I don’t doubt Dallas’s ability to win, I think Cincy is the better team here and they need to win this game to stay in competition with the Ravens and Steelers for the AFC North title.

Key Matchup: Dallas O-line vs Bengals D-line

Bengals 28  Cowboys 24

Buffalo Bills vs LA Rams

This is a tale of two teams. The Rams are 3-1 and the Bills are 2-2 but the Bills look like the better team after handing a beating to the Cardinals and shutting out the Patriots. The Bills look like a team that is playing for their coach so he can keep his job. No surprise there as Rex Ryan as always been called the players coach. I think this theme continues and the Bills show they aren’t out of the playoff race yet. Don’t underestimate them. As for the Rams, it’s hard to say how they will perform. Depends on which offense decides to show up. The offense that scored 37 points last week for the offense that scored 9 points week 2.

Key Matchup: Bills Pass Rush vs Rams O-line

Bills 17  Rams 14

San Diego Chargers vs Oakland Raiders

The Chargers have an issue. They can’t finish games. They failed to close out two games against both KC and New Orleans, teams that they were dominating. This team should be 3-1 but something is up. Whether it’s discipline or coaching strategy remains to be seen but the Chargers can’t be trust to finish a game. The Raiders, however, have the opposite story. They are learning to comeback and close games as well just as they did last week against Baltimore in a tight 28-27 win. The Raiders offense is a lot of fun to watch and should be able to put some points up early on the Chargers.

Key Matchup: Brandon Flowers vs Michael Crabtree

Chargers 20  Raiders 24

New York Giants vs Green Bay Packers

The Giants are struggling on offense. If you want me to be honest, I blame Odell Beckham Jr. The guy’s emotions aren’t helping him in the game anymore. They are doing the opposite and losing your best weapon on offense isn’t a winning formula and a defense can only do so much. The Packers are just starting to find their rhythm and should continue to do so against a secondary that hasn’t been the best when it comes to crucial plays.

Key Matchup: Eddie Lacy vs Giants run defense

Giants 17  Packers 28

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Carolina Panthers

The Bucs look flat out awful. In fact, it looks like Jameis Winston as regressed from his progress last year. Not good. The Panthers look out of shape at 1-3 as well. They seem to be in the same position as the Cardinals. They need discipline and this game is a must win if they want to get back to the playoffs. The Panthers should win here.

Key Matchup: Mike Evans vs Carolina secondary

Buccaneers 13  Panthers 21