NFL Picks, Week 5: Predictions For Every Game On The Schedule

SB Nation’s own Andrew Sharp posted his weekly NFL picks column on Friday, though, and he went with the smart money and picked the Packers.

Back to the picks, though, and it looks like Yahoo! Sports has picked the Packers across the board. CBS Sports did the same, not surprisingly, and ESPN was unani... had NFL expert Chris Mortensen pick the Falcons in the upset. Toldjya someone would pick against the Packers!

The panelists over at ESPN might also be weary of a jinx as the Bears vs. Lions tilt didn’t end up unanimous as both Ron Jaworski and Seth Wickersham submitted their picks in favor of the visiting Bears. CBS Sports didn’t have the same qualms, however, as they were unanimous in picking the Lions. At Yahoo!, only Jason Cole went against the Monday Night Football host team.

To read more on this game, be sure to visit Bears blog Windy City Gridiron and Lions blog Pride of Detroit.

Winning last week was apparently enough for Las Vegas to make the Chiefs 3-point favorites in Indy. Most of all, this game seems to have the experts throwing up their hands, shrugging and taking a guess -- while giving a slight edge to the Colts.

The ESPN.com expert mega-panel likes the Colts with seven out of eight picking Indy. The CBSSports.com crew is 3-2 in favor of Indy. On the other hand, the NFL.com staff is leaning toward the Chiefs 3-1. SB Nation’s own Andrew Sharp likes the Chiefs as well in his NFL Picks column.

It’s Week 5 in the NFL, and after a month of pro football in 2011, there’s plenty left to be answered, starting Sunday. For now, though, we hold the following truths to be self-evident.

Tony Romo is just screwin’ with everyone at this point.

Nobody on earth can stop Calvin Johnson.

Oh, and Wes Welker. We have to say something about Wes Welker. Just look at him compared to Calvin Johnson, who just finished putting together the most impressive month we’ve seen from a receiver in years. The New York Times had a quick piece comparing the two:

SB Nation’s resident picker Andrew Sharp, however, has some advice that goes against that grain -- though is certainly agreeable when thinking about it.

The experts at CBS Sports apparently assume that Newton can’t keep his performance consistent as all five of their experts picked against the Panthers this week. Considering the Carolina defense has given up an average of over 25 points per game this season, it’s pretty difficult to blame anyone for picking against them this week. The Yahoo! experts were also unanimous in their selection of the Saints as well, but that isn’t quite as surprising consider they have just three pickers on their panel.

For more on the Chargers, visit Bolts from the Blue. Check out Mile High Report, for all things Broncos.

The Patriots are favored by 9 points and everyone on the Internet seems assured they are going to win. The Picks: The CBSSports.com crew is 5-0 in favor of the Patriots and the NFL.com staff is likewise unanimous with it’s selection of New England. On ESPN.com, 8 of 8 experts picked the Pats to beat the Jets, and Sports Illustrated’s Peter King agrees.

Pete Prisco says to look for Adrian Peterson as the difference maker for the Vikings.

Only one of Prisco’s CBS colleagues pick the Cardinals for this game. Peter Schrager at Fox says Fitzgerald is the super star difference maker in this game.

Peter King sees that defense being the difference for the Bengals.

For more on the Jaguars, check out Big Cat Country. To get the scoop on the Bengals, head over to the Cincy Jungle.

For more on the Bucs, head over to Bucs Nation. For the latest on the 49ers, check out Niners Nation.

Seattle makes the dreaded cross country flight for a matinee game at the Meadowlands, one that starts at 10 a.m. on Seattle clocks. That’s a tall order for any team, especially one that has failed to win on the road since last November.

Look for a big Giants win, according to Peter Schrager at Fox.

Peter King predicts a Pittsburgh win this week too. The panel at CBS does have one outlier for the Titans, and ESPN’s game picking unit has a few more taking the Titans this week.

For more on the Steelers, check out Behind the Steel Curtain. For more on the Ttitans, head over to Music City Miracles.

Peter King agrees with that assessment, as do the experts on ESPN’s panel.

Experts seem to mostly be picking the Eagles to pull it off this week. Pete Prisco at CBS explains why picked the Eagles:

Peter King picks the Eagles as well. ESPN’s panel of experts, and two super human robotic picking machines, all went with the Eagles, save for one holdout.