Survivor Picks Week 5

Ladies and gentleman, we did it!

It took until week four, but we finally successfully picked one single team to win a game correctly. Thank you Houston. I’m sorry for the Astros (not really).

Let’s do a quick recap of where we’re at so far.

1. Bengals over Patriots
2. Ravens over Raiders
3. Raiders over Panthers
4. Texans over Jaguars

Given I went 0-3 to start things off I’m not alive in any survivor pools. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still dream. Let’s take a look at some gaves to avoid and potential options this week.

Games to Avoid

Baltimore Ravens -2.5 at Cincinatti Bengals
After handling Dallas and Buffalo in back-to-back weeks the Ravens have equalized their record at 2-2. The Bengals got into the win column for the first time with a win over the Carolina Panthers. It wasn’t a dominating win in Carolina. Baltimore may be the better team, but the Bengals are desparate and will want to avoid a 1-4 start.

Buffalo Bills -1 at Houston Texans
Buffalo seemed like a steamroller through the first 3 weeks of the season. Then they got absolutely flattened by the Baltimore Ravens running game. The Bills have given up 5.7 yards per attempt and rank 30th in rushing yards against at 626. Which is impressive considering how often they had big leads the first 3 weeks. The Texans run game is not the Ravens, but the Texans are also a more capable team than the Arizona, Miami, and Jacksonville. We can find worse teams to bet against this week.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots -1
Speaking of worse teams we have 2 right here. The problem is they play each other. Do you really want to put your survival hopes in the current iteration of the Miami Dolphins or New England Patriots. Then you might be forced to watch this game and that’s a fate worse than death.

Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers -2.5
In theory Dallas should be able to play with anyone. Can they for real though? On the other side the Steelers were not expected to be 3-1 and were a bad penalty call away from having a legit chance to get to 4-0 with a comeback in Indianapolis. Right now, I think Pittsburgh is closer to their true identity than Dallas. Dallas could be good, or they may just be bad. Stay tuned and avoid this one.

Games to Consider

New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks -6.5
Seattle sits at 3-1 after getting handled in Detroit on Monday night 42-29. That said they still looked fiesty and capable. The Giants could be without Malik Nabers. If that’s the case smash Seattle on this one. Even if Nabers plays I like Seattle at home.

New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs -5.5
The Chiefs sitting at 5.5 point favorites without Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice seems a bit high considering how the Saints started the season. Of course the Chiefs have done nothing but find ways to scrap together wins all season. Those have all been single score wins at 7, 1, 5, and 7 point margins of victory. I don’t suspect the Saints to go into Kansas City and walk out victorious on Monday night though it could be tight.

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers -7
After a fiesty week 1 against the Bills and a demolition of the Rams in week 2 the Cardinals looked spunkier than expected. They’ve come back to earth a bit with losses to Detroit and a blowout loss to Washington to the tune of 42-10 on Monday night. San Francisco is surprisingly at 2-2 though they easily handled the New England Patriots 30-13 last week in a game I forgot even happened. I expect San Francisco to roll in this one.

Cleveland Browns at Washington Commanders -3.5
Washington has been one of the bigger surprises this season led by Jayden Daniels who has been absolutely electric. The Cleveland Browns meanwhile are the exact opposite of electric. The have yet to break the 20 point threshold through 4 weeks. You could argue Cleveland is one of the tougher defenses Daniels has faced thus far, but an offense that inept impacts the defense

The Pick

Give me the Seahawks to handle the Giants easily in Seattle. I haven’t been more confident in a pick all season…uh oh.