Andrew Wilsher
NFL Week 5 is upon us, and after seeing our first-ever NFL game in Dublin, we move a little further east for the first of 3 London games on Sunday. The Vikings are remaining in Europe and look to rebound from last week’s defeat to the Steelers when they battle the Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That matchup kicks off at 9:30 am ET, which means we have 14 straight hours of football to get excited for, rounding off with Patriots vs Bills on Sunday Night Football! And here at Pickswise, we have you covered on EVERY GAME in Week 5! You can find out our NFL picks on the side and total, with our expert handicappers boasting a 75-54-1 record so far this season for +37.1 units! But for now, let’s break down our NFL best bets from our top experts.
NFL best bet: Vikings -3.5 over Browns (-110)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing.
This is not a game that will excite many NFL fans this weekend, and for good reason. After all, this game is being played in the very early window in London, and features a couple struggling offenses going up against a pair of defenses that should dominate the game from the opening kick. With that in mind, I’m going to target the favorite, especially when considering the situational spot in this game.
The Vikings will have the benefit of staying overseas after just competing in Europe, while the Browns are coming off a non-competitive loss against the Lions and will have to head back to the states for a game against the Steelers in just over a week’s time. All of this sets up for a pretty sluggish Cleveland team that should be expected to struggle against a Vikings defense likely to feast against a depleted Browns offensive line and wide receiver corps.
As for Minnesota, the Vikings’ defense has been a top 10 unit in football without a doubt, and Brian Flores should have new Browns rookie starter Dillon Gabriel in a world of hurt in his first-ever NFL start. On the other side of the ball, Carson Wentz has been perfectly serviceable as a starter in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, and even though I have serious concerns about his propensity to turn the ball over, the Vikings should ride the ground game and look to grind out scoring drives against Cleveland’s stout defense. All it should take is a few scoring drives for Minnesota to win and cover this number in a spot where they’ll hold a massive travel and body clock edge on Sunday.
Read our full Vikings vs Browns prediction
NFL best bet: Eagles -3.5 over Broncos (-110)
Odds available at Fanatics Sportsbook at time of publishing.
The Philadelphia Eagles will be looking to remain undefeated when they host the Denver Broncos in Week 5 of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Philadelphia (4-0) has kicked off its Super Bowl title defense with victories over Dallas, Kansas City, the Rams and Tampa Bay. Given that the Eagles are not only the superior team but also playing at the friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field, my Broncos vs Eagles pick is on the home team to win and cover. Philadelphia is on a 10-game winning streak dating back to last season and it is 16-1 SU in its last 17 overall. It is also 5-1 ATS in its last 6, 8-2 ATS in its last 10 and 13-4 ATS in its last 17. Denver is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 4, 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 and 0-2 ATS in its last 2 head-to-head with Philly.
Denver is winless on the road this season. In fact, its only wins have come at home against lowly opponents in the Titans and Bengals. In his 2nd year as a pro, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has already been picked off 4 times. The visitors now run into an Eagles defense that has 5 takeaways (3 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries). These 2 teams have squared off just twice in the past decade; Philadelphia is 2-0 with a 51-23 blowout in 2017 and a 30-13 success in 2021. This one probably won’t be quite that lopsided, but let’s back the Birds to prevail by the necessary margin.
Read our full Broncos vs Eagles predictions
NFL best bet: Dolphins ML over Panthers (-115)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
This is not exactly a marquee matchup in Week 5 when the Miami Dolphins take on the Carolina Panthers, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for value. It’s the first game for Miami since Tyreek Hill’s devastating knee injury, and while they’d certainly rather have Hill out there, I still like them in this spot. The Panthers are just completely lifeless at the moment and already look checked out.
Outside of one win against a Falcons team that Bryce Young has randomly always had success against, Carolina has looked absolutely awful. Last week, things boiled over in an ugly 42-13 loss to the Patriots, and it’s clear to me at this point that Young is never going to be their franchise QB. There was a lot of talk last year about Young’s improvement, but he was never actually any good. People were just comparing him to his rookie year, and it wouldn’t have been possible for things to be any worse than that. This year, he’s averaging a pitiful 5.2 yards per attempt, while the ground game averages less than 4 yards per attempt. To make matters worse, Chuba Hubbard is banged up with a calf injury that had him out of practice on Thursday.
Miami started 0-3, but those 3 losses were on the road to very good Colts and Bills teams, and a very close one to the Patriots. The Dolphins finally picked up their first win of the season this past week against the Jets, and De’Von Achane broke out with his most rushing yards of the year by far. If they can get him going again here, they should win this one easily.
Read our full Dolphins vs Panthers predictions
NFL best bet: Bills -7.5 over Patriots (-110)
Odds available at Caesars Sportsbook at time of publishing.
The Bills had a little scare against the Saints at home, but eventually, the inevitable happened. Buffalo ran away with a 2-score lead in the 4th quarter, and they still outpaced the Saints in total yards (356 to 298) and yards per play (6.2 to 4.6). Josh Allen had an uncharacteristic interception, but ultimately it was a clean, if not underwhelming, operation by Buffalo. For elite teams, it isn’t always pretty (just ask Philadelphia), but Josh Allen and his teammates know how to answer when they need to. So far, no opponent has been formidable enough to stop them.
The Patriots are off a week where the NFL media is singing their praises. Undoubtedly motivated by the news of defensive coordinator Terrell Williams stepping away to battle cancer, they ensured a dominant win at home in Week 4. Following a kick-off return for a touchdown, New England’s offensive line bullied Carolina’s defense in the run-game and let loose from there, taking advantage of a myriad of special teams mistakes by the visiting team. Suddenly, the Panthers’ offense stuttered, too, succumbing to a predictable pass-first approach that New England sniffed out.
We’re also hearing much praise for Drake Maye after Week 4, which he somewhat deserves, but an adequate game against one of the worst teams in the NFL is not a reason to fall in love with a quarterback (with Bryce Young at QB, the Panthers are 1-17 on the road). Drake Maye has shown growth and signs of a true franchise quarterback, but in Weeks 1-3, the Patriots’ offense was only scoring 16.7 points per game. They have their issues. Not to mention, while they put up 41 points in Week 4, nearly every scoring drive was set up with a sensational punt return; Maye wasn’t slicing and dicing the Panthers’ defense (breaking news: he only had 17 pass attempts).
The Bills have been playing with their food, but this is still a fantastic spot for them at home before they go to Atlanta on Monday Night Football in Week 6. The same cannot be said for the Patriots, who start a 3-game road trip at Orchard Park. It’s a big spread, but the Bills should have several opportunities to pull away.
Read our full Patriots vs Bills predictions for SNF
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