Predicting Week 5: NFL Picks for Broncos-Patriots, Eagles-Steelers and more

The Minnesota Vikings have not been favorites very often lately, but when it happens, they seldom cover the spread.

So despite their surprising spot atop the NFC North, bettors are nervous laying points when they host the Tennessee Titans at the Metrodome. Minnesota is a 5.5-point home favorite at most sportsbooks tracked by OddsShark.com.

Seattle bettors hope to continue profiting on their team as an underdog in Week 5, as the Seahwks visit Carolina to take on the Panthers.

In 14 games as an underdog, Seattle is a moneymaking 11-2-1 ATS, making the 3-point NFL betting line a tempting one.

The Philadelphia Eagles hope to hold on to their spot atop the NFC East with a tough road win this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field.

Bettors get them as 3-point road underdogs, but many are focused on the OVER 43 wager because of an intriguing Pittsburgh trend.

You look at Cleveland’s nine-game road losing streak and wonder why anyone would bet on them Sunday as 10-point underdogs against the New York Giants.

But that record does not show they are 5-0-1 ATS in their past six road games - losing on the scoreboard, but winning at the sportsbook window.

The Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars have played five times since 1995 and the home has covered the spread each time.

If history repeats itself, that will mean a Jaguars cover as 5.5-point home underdogs Sunday in Week 5 NFL betting action.

New Orleans heads for its bye week with more motivation than any other NFL team and the Week 5 NFL point spread reflects this reality.

The Saints need this Sunday night win against San Diego badly and historically, they have been money in the bank in the week befofe their bye.

A majority of CBS Sportsline’s expert team likes the Bills (2-2) in Sunday’s game. Five of the website’s eight experts pick Buffalo in an upset, while Pete Prisco, Clark Judge and Jason La Canfora like the 49ers.

Mike Silver and Jason Cole of Yahoo! both like the 49ers on to come out on top.

The New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers will take the field in New Orleans for a Sunday Night Football matchup in Week 5, and NFL experts appear to think that the Saints will snap their four-game losing skid and topple the Chargers.

CBS Sportsline’s stable of eight experts has six picking the Saints, while Will Brinson and Josh Katzowitz pick the Chargers to come out on top.

So, with both teams coming off blowout victories against division rivals, what do the experts think will occur in this pivotal game for both squads?

Well, in short, they don’t see a Broncos victory.

Over at ESPN.com, Yahoo.com and CBSsports.com, every single one of the experts picked Houston to beat Gang Green in their own back yard. At CBS, every analyst not only picked the Texans straight up, but also against the spread.

The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs have never played an OVER in six games at Arrowhead Stadium dating back to 1980.

But this could be the week as handicappers make their Week 5 football picks and focus on the over-under of 46.5. Those six games have seen five bettors win five UNDER bets with a single push.

The Atlanta Falcons are favored to remain undefeated this Sunday when they visit the Washington Redskins at FedExField.

The Redskins will be trying to snap a five-game losing skid in games where they are home underdogs.

The Minnesota Vikings will ride their surprisingly fast start to the 2012 campaign into Sunday’s game with the Tennessee Titans at Ball of America Field in Minneapolis.

The Vikings are 3-1 on the young season, with back-to-back wins over San Francisco and Detroit in recent weeks. Tennessee enters Sunday’s game at 1-3, off a 38-14 Week 4 loss to Houston, the team’s third double-digit loss of the year. Halfback Chris Johnson provided a silver lining for the Titans, exploding for 141 yards on 25 carries.

That is close to a toss-up, and that perception of the game is spelled out across expert picks at ESPN, CBS and Yahoo. Of the six NFL experts at ESPN, three are picking the Cardinals and three -- Adam Schefter, Seth Wickersham and Tom Jackson -- are siding with the Rams. ESPN’s prediction machine, Accuscore, is picking the Cardinals, as is ESPN’s community base. At CBS, five of their eight experts are picking the home team while only three are going with the Cardinals. CBS’ “Prediction Machine,” though, is going with the Cardinals. Yahoo’s experts, though, are split, with Mike Silver picking Arizona and Jason Cole picking the Rams. Yahoo’s user base is sticking with Arizona.

At Yahoo! Sports, Mike Silver, Jason Cole and the collective Yahoo! users have all picked Chicago. Of the experts at ESPN.com who have made their picks, only Adam Schefter stands out. Schefter is in third place in the competition with his fellow ESPN pundits, and he sees the Jaguars as a likely candidate for a Week 5 upset. Over at CBS Sports, where picks are made both straight-up and against the spread, Josh Katzowitz is the only man favoring Jacksonville. Katzowitz likes the Jags both with the spread and for the win.

CBS expert Jason La Canfora is the one standing on an island alone. At CBS, that group grows a bit when picking against the spread, where four of CBS’ eight experts like the Dolphins to cover the three-point spread. Regardless, though, a Dolphins victory would be a surprise around the league.

Miami enters the game 1-3, but may be better than their record appears. In each of their last two games, the Dolphins have held a lead late in the fourth quarter only to lose by a field goal in overtime. Miami is 2-2 against the spread this season.

The Baltimore Ravens (3-1) travel to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to take on the Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) in what should be another tough road test for the AFC favorites.

The Ravens have featured a relatively high-scoring offense built around Joe Flacco’s ability to run the no-huddle offense. With Sunday’s game taking place in one of the loudest venues in the NFL, some are questioning just how effective the offensive attack for Baltimore will be.

ESPN seems to agree, as all six analysts who have submitted their picks are taking Carolina. However, CBS Sports feels quite differently, with six of its eight analysts going with Seattle. Yahoo! Sports is currently split, with one expert yet to submit his picks.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 ET Sunday, with television coverage available on Fox.

On ESPN, the six experts who have made picks are split between the two sides. Over at Yahoo, both Mike Silver and Jason Cole went with Mike Smith’s squad.

CBSsports.com only had one analyst, Mike Freeman, go with the Redskins straight up. Against the spread, Ryan Wilson joins Freeman on the Washington bandwagon.

Pittsburgh has some more believers at CBSsports.com, with five of the eight men siding with the home team against the spread. When picking straight up, only the prediction machine went with the Eagles.

Here’s what usually happens when the Arizona Cardinals visit St. Louis - Rams bettors lose.

Over the past seven seasons, the Cards have never lost here, while going 5-2 ATS. Their two ATS losses were a 21-13 win (just missing the 9-point spread) and a 34-31 (just missing the 3.5-point spread).

We’re getting back on track with our NFL picks this weekend. These ones are all accurate, starting with an upset on Thursday Night Football.

A month ago, this looked like a boring NFC West game. Now, it’s much better: an undefeated team going on the road to secure a win against an improving Rams team. The Cardinals are 4-0 for a reason -- their defense is lights out. Count me among those people who didn’t realize how good that side of the ball was. St. Louis is getting better, and if they have a healthy Steven Jackson, which they should, I’m going with the upset. Arizona’s luck ends on Thursday night in St. Louis.