A Gander Across the Gridiron: Week 5

Oct 10, 2020

Hello FTN Faithful, last week was devastating. The Niners blew a very winnable game with a horrid performance by Nick Mullens. But the Cardinals and Bears lost which is fantastic news. My predictions for scores were pretty spot on, and I did all right with the lines. So once again I’ll be giving my thoughts and predictions for next week’s game, excluding the Niners. I’m just hoping these games will all be played.

Last Week’s Scores: 11-3

Last Week’s Lines: 8-6

Overall Scores: 42-16-1

Overall Lines: 31-28

Buccaneers @ Bears

5:20 pm (TNF) PT TB -3

Note: This was written before the Thursday game. And as you can see, I was wrong about this one. Not a great start.

It’s a Super Bowl QB matchup! After a hot start against the Falcons, Nick Foles came back to reality against the Colts. He went 26/42 for 249, with one touchdown and one interception. Tom Brady on the other hand had a great 5 touchdown game against the Chargers. It took some time for Brady to look good, but last week gave me a lot of faith in Tampa. If he is able to keep performing against good pass rushers and without guys like Chris Godwin and OJ Howard, the Bucs look poised for a deep playoff push.

Shana’s prediction: TB wins 31-17

Panthers @ Falcons

10:00 am PT ATL -1

Atlanta currently holds a 5 game winning streak over Carolina, and has won 8 out of the past 9 games. But I don’t have faith that streak will continue. The Panthers are handling life without Christian McCaffrey pretty well. Mike Davis has done a good job filling in, and Teddy Bridgewater is playing well. Much better than I expected going into this season. The Falcons have a very injured defense and while Matt Ryan looks good, he is unable to keep up. Division games are naturally hard to predict, and it’s tempting to say Atlanta is due for a win this season. But they just have been so poor in the first half of the season in recent years, while Carolina is hot.

Shana’s prediction: CAR wins 33-28

Raiders @ Chiefs

10:00 am PT KC -12

Speaking of division streaks, the Chiefs have also won their past 5 games against the Raiders. And 10 out of the past 11 games. Mahomes had a relatively rough night Monday against the Patriot defense, and is on a short week. This rough night ended up with a stat-line of 19/29 for 236 and 2 TDs, which is pretty good for a down game. The Raiders are getting healthier with Trent Brown and Henry Ruggs likely returning. This is great news for their prospects of winning a Wild Card spot, but Vegas is still doomed against the Chiefs. They are just too good right now.

Shana’s prediction: KC wins 40-26

Cardinals @ Jets

10:00 am PT ARI -8

The Jets still have Adam Gase around for some reason, even after the disaster that was their TNF loss to Denver. Darnold is injured, so elite Joe Flacco should be the starter. And to make matters worse, they had to send everyone home on Friday because someone tested positive for Covid (false positive). The Cardinals are on a losing streak, but get several injured players back this week including Budda Baker, Kenyan Drake, and Justin Pugh. The latter two left mid-game last week. As Niners fans experienced, the Jets are the perfect bounce-back team, perfect for Arizona.

Shana’s prediction: ARI wins 36-17

Eagles @ Steelers

10:00 am PT PIT -7

Do we have to talk about the Eagles? They still have major injury concerns and won’t be bailed out by terrible QB play again. Jeffrey and Jackson are still ruled out, leaving Wentz with few options. The Steelers defense is still pretty stout and their injury report is barren; the biggest player missing is their fullback Derek Watt. Pittsburgh is coming off an early bye, courtesy of the Tennessee Titans, and will be well-prepared for the Eagles.

Shana’s prediction: PIT wins 24-13

Rams @ WFT

10:00 am PT LAR -7

The big news coming into this game is Washington QB Dwayne Haskins being benched. Even Alex Smith is currently ahead of him on the depth chart. Former Panther Kyle Allen is the starter, which is far from ideal. I don’t have much faith in Haskins, but I have zero in Allen after watching him play last season. Ramsey will shut down Terry McLaurin, the front 7 will be able to stop a breakout running back in Antonio Gibson, and Allen will be under pressure all day. The Rams performed poorly in their win against the Giants, but they won’t need to do much to beat Washington.

Shana’s prediction: LAR wins 27-17

Bengals @ Ravens

10:00 am PT BAL -12

Congratulations Joe Burrow, you got your first NFL win last week. He is off to a great start for a rookie. He just needs Cincinnati to build a line for him. The Bengals will finally be able to play DT Geno Atkins. The Ravens have a few questionable players, including corners Marcus Peters and Jimmy Smith. I’m not sure if they will play, but the Bengals have good receivers and might be able to take advantage. The Ravens are a much better team, but I’m excited to watch Burrow against them. The Chargers were his toughest competition until this week.

Shana’s prediction: BAL wins 38-33

Jaguars @ Texans

10:00 am PT HOU -5.5

The Texans just fired Bill O’Brien, and I couldn’t be happier. I am still angry about the disaster that was the Deandre Hopkins trade. Romeo Crennel is the interim coach. He is the oldest coach in NFL history at 73, and is a former defensive coordinator for Houston. Since he worked with O’Brien for so long, I’m not expecting any big changes in the next few games. Houston typically plays very well against Jacksonville, who has not looked good since Week 1.

Shana’s prediction: HOU wins 24-23

Colts @ Browns

1:25 pm PT EVEN

I did not think the line would be even. The Browns are hot right now, but have not played against many good defenses. Nick Chubb’s injury is a big blow, even with Kareem Hunt available. The Browns defense is struggling, giving the Indy offense a chance to get on track. And by offense, I mean setting up a lot of field goals. Blankenship is tied with Bengal Randy Bullock for the most FGs made this season. They will need to get touchdowns to beat tough competition, and this week needs to be the start.

Shana’s prediction: IND wins 30-27

Giants @ Cowboys

1:25 pm PT DAL -8.5

Dallas is such a disappointment. Their defense is truly awful, and they just lost OT Tyron Smith for the season. Luckily for them, the Giants don’t have much of an offense to challenge them. The Cowboys offense puts up great numbers when they are far behind, especially in the 4th quarter. But I want to see if they be more consistent throughout the game, which they have largely failed at. They have the talent to do it.

Shana’s prediction: DAL wins 36-28

Vikings @ Seahawks

5:20 pm PT (SNF) SEA -7

The Vikings have not won this matchup since 2009, despite fielding strong teams for much of the decade. Even with a very poor start to the season, the Vikings have some hope. Cousins has looked better since his first couple of starts, and the Seahawks tend to play down to their opponents. Injuries hit Seattle early, and Jamal Adams is among the players expected to be out. While I obviously want to see the upset, I do not not see it happening.

Shana’s prediction: SEA wins 30-20

Broncos @ Patriots

2:00 pm (Monday) PT OTB

One of the games postponed due to Covid, I’m not really sure why this game is happening just one day later. It doesn’t make much of a difference. Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore both tested positive for New England. As of writing this, the Patriots have not said whether Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham would start against Denver. Hoyer had the start last Monday and looked horrible. Stidham got unlucky with a deflected pick 6 (should have been caught by Edelman), but looked much better than the veteran. Brett Rypien will be the likely starter for Denver if Drew Lock cannot play, but he is practicing. This game will be a battle of coaching and defense, which heavily favors New England.

Shana’s prediction: NE wins 21-13

Chargers @ Saints

5:15 pm PT (MNF) NO -7.5

The Saints have gotten a lot of attention for Drew Brees’ decline in performance. So far the Saints have still managed to score 34, 34, 30, and 35. Not too shabby, and this was mostly without star WR Michael Thomas, who can return this week. Alvin Kamara has been fantastic for the Saints, and is keeping their offense a threat. The Chargers are not a pushover with Justin Herbert, but the Saints should get back to a winning record.

Shana’s prediction: NO wins 32-25

Bills @ Titans

4:00 pm PT (Tuesday) OTB

Tennessee was playing well, but has major issues regarding Covid. Players held joint workouts after the facility was shut down following a wave of positive tests, and now the game has been delayed following an early bye. Hopefully the team will be heavily punished for how they let the outbreak spread. I doubt it will happen, but I am rooting for a forfeit this week to make sure the Bills can stay healthy.

The good news for the Titans is that they are well rested with an early bye. The Bills get a slightly longer week than usual, which helps after Josh Allen got banged up against Vegas. He will be healthy enough to play, and is off the injury report. There really isn’t too much to note about practices so far because they keep getting cancelled.

Shana’s prediction: BUF wins 35-27

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