NFL Football Picks

The Week 5 NFL trickly line of the week hails from the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Los Angeles Rams game, where the sportsbooks are listing the Eagles as short -4 road favorites. Do the L.A. have the offensive line to deal with the beastly Eagles defense? Get Loot’s Phi/LAR free pick here.

The Buffalo Bills absolutely laid the wood to the Miami Dolphins last week! Jacksonville beat up an Atlanta Falcons team that is running a very uncreative offense. What happens in Week 5 NFL? Get Loot’s Buf/Jax pick here!

When these teams met in week 3 with identical 1-1 records in Atlanta, the Falcons were 4 point favorites. Both teams were considered top 3 teams in the NFC, both had an equal chance to be 9-1 coming into this game, and it would take a lot of injuries for one of the teams to be 4-6, but the Falcons were considered a slightly better team. Since winning that week 3 game in overtime, everything has clicked for New Orleans, and everything has gone wrong for Atlanta. Atlanta looks to turn it around as players look at the sportsbook’s juicy +12.

There is a paradox in the Tampa aerial-offense, as they constantly shift between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston. Last week in the loss to the Giants, Fitzpatrick was behind center, but after three picks, Winston was put in and threw 2 touchdowns, but also a pick. It might surprise some that Tampa puts up more yards aerially than any other team in the league. They put up a lot of points. But the mistakes are plenty, with Winston and Fitzpatrick having combined for 23 picks through just ten games—an alarming figure. Can TB throw the ball to players on their own team on Sunday? LL has your NFL prediction.

Sportsbooks FINALLY opened a line on this game yesterday putting the birds as 3 point favorites. Change is certain to be in the air in Cinci after last week’s blowout loss to the Saints. The Bengals have fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin but you can also expect a shakeup on the offensive side. Exactly what that will mean for the offense is unclear, but Andy Dalton was out of sorts against the Saints without top target A.J. Green, who’s out indefinitely with a foot injury. He tried turning to speedster John Ross in Green’s absence but that was only good for 2 catches for 39 yards last time out. What can the Bengals do versus the Ravens? Rick Wise has his NFL prediction.

To simply say the Raiders are bad doesn’t do much justice. It’s been hard to watch. It is one thing to unload all your big talent in an attempt to build for the future, but the product they’re putting out there is majorly substandard. It’s bad enough to lose a bunch of games, but Oakland is now forcing betting sites to push the boundaries of good-taste when setting these numbers. Here they are only 4 point dogs but maybe that isn’t enough. Loot breaks down the match up!

The Chargers have been very tough at home since losing to the high-powered Chiefs in week one. Even so, after two straight on the road, the Chargers could be a bit weary. There have been some close calls recently. And even against the woeful Raiders last week, they didn’t get their act together until later in the game and had their season-low in total yardage. Can the Bolts get it together at home or will Loot Levinson convince you to pick Broncos plus the points?

The idea of forfeiting 14.5 million dollars might seem kooky to us and maybe it is, but that’s just what Le’Veon Bell has done by not reporting to the Pittsburgh Steelers by Tuesday. He will sit out the rest of the 2018 NFL season and presumably part ways with the team where he made his bones. Bell will be 27 in February and when he’s in in the game, he’s perhaps the biggest offensive difference-maker in the league. He’s always at the top of the league in rushing, with ball-catching stats that would be the envy of a lot of receivers. So he won’t come cheap. Books are starting to put up prop bets for which team Bell will sign with for the 2019 NFL football season. Let’s take a look at each team on the board, the odds, and how likely it is for each team to land the dominant back!

Sportsbooks have the Saints valued heavily at -7.5. Last week the Eagles failed to establish the run against Dallas and it’s one of the reasons they came up short. In the Jacksonville win they mixed things up well, attempting 30 passes to 28 runs. It was the opposite against the Cowboys, 44 passing attempts to just 16 runs. Which Eagles offense shows up Sunday? Rick Wise has his prediction.

While it took some time to come to fruition with a slow start to the season, the Minnesota offense is starting to look good and it could get even better. Kirk Cousins looks like he’s going to pay off this season, as he is getting a lot of his key guys involved. But the Chicago defense is getting better every game and Bears backers only need a FG to beat the bookmaker. Levinson has your NFL selection.