NFL Week 5 Preview | Top NFL Picks for Week 5
We have already arrived at Week 5 of the 2024 NFL campaign. When next Monday comes and goes, all but four teams will be more than a quarter done with their regular seasons. Yes, Week 5 marks the beginning of byes – starting with the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans. Although the schedule is therefore a little bit smaller, it is an intriguing one. The London Series kicks off with the undefeated Minnesota Vikings facing the New York Jets, while Sunday Night Football features the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let’s take a look at some of our NFL predictions for Sunday’s NFL Week 5 slate.
Predictions
Pick #1: Baltimore Ravens -2.5 over Cincinnati Bengals (-115)
Pick #2: Washington Commanders -3 over Cleveland Browns (-120)
Pick #3: Buffalo Bills -1 over Houston Texans (-110)
Pick #4: Arizona Cardinals +7.5 over San Francisco 49ers (-110)
The Ravens are a modest 2-2 through four weeks, but they will take it since they started 0-2. Following wins over the Cowboys and Bills, Baltimore is looking like one of the best teams in football – as it was expected to be before the year began. Lamar Jackson and company were especially impressive against a previously undefeated Buffalo squad on Monday Night Football in Week 4, dominating en route to a 35-10 victory. Jackson, the reigning NFL MVP, has accounted for seven total touchdowns compared to just one interception so far this season.
Can the Bengals keep up with a high-powered offense led by Jackson and a resurgent Derrick Henry? Maybe not. They are better than their 1-3 record suggests, but they also don’t look like the team that reached the Super Bowl a couple of seasons ago. Former running back Joe Mixon is now with the Houston Texans and Cincinnati has gotten nothing out of the rushing attack in 2024. Baltimore is already ranked No. 1 in the NFL in rushing defense, so count on the Bengals’ offense being very one-dimensional this weekend.
The Commanders are 3-1 and the talk of the NFL right now. Jayden Daniels, specifically, has set the world on fire out of the gates. The No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft has already racked up 897 passing yards, 218 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns. Daniels has Washington in the midst of a three-game winning streak heading into Week 5 and it has posted 38 and 42 points over the last two outings.
Although the Browns’ defense is solid, it has its work cut out for it on Sunday. The visitors would probably have to hold Daniels and company to fewer than 20 points if they want to be competitive given the ineptitude of their offense. Not too surprisingly, the Deshaun Watson signing has been a disaster on and off the field. Cleveland’s running game has suffered without Nick Chubb and the passing attack is so poor that no one has reached the 200-yard receiving mark after four weeks. A red-hot Washington squad should win this one going away.
The Bills’ Monday night performance was not great, but it came against the Ravens and in all likelihood it was an aberration as opposed to the rule. After all, Buffalo has won its other three games. Josh Allen is playing like a potential NFL MVP and is a big reason why his team scored 34, 31 and 47 points in the first three weeks.
A road date with the Texans on a short week seemed daunting when the 2024 schedule was released, but now it may not be as scary. After all, Houston got humiliated by the Minnesota Vikings 34-7 in Week 3 before just barely scraping past the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20. On offense, RB Joe Mixon, WR Tank Dell and OT Laremy Tunsil are all questionable for Sunday’s showdown. Even if those guys are able to play, the Bills have a great chance to get back in the win column.
Early returns on the Cardinals have been all over the place. They were extremely competitive against Buffalo in their opener and destroyed the Los Angeles Rams 41-10, but since then they have lost to Washington and the Detroit Lions. On the bright side for Arizona, it ranks fifth league-wide in rushing at 153.3 yards per game. Combine that with the dangerous Kyler Murray-to-Marvin Harrison Jr. connection and this offense is dangerous on any given day. Harrison has scored four touchdowns in the last three contests.
The 49ers may be the more talented team, but they have already taken losses to the Rams and Vikings. With Christian McCaffrey on the sidelines, this team is far from a well-oiled machine at this point in the year. On the other side of the ball, linebacker Fred Warner and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott suffered ankle injuries this past weekend. All things considered, giving more than a touchdown is too much in this division rivalry.
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