NFL Predictions Week 5: Odds, Predictions and Advice for Ideal Underdogs

While Week 4 wasn't exactly full of NFL upsets, a few underdogs did go home with the win. Notably, the Cleveland Browns embarrassed the Dallas Cowboys in Texas, while the Philadelphia Eagles got their first win of the season over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.

Other underdogs that won outright were the Carolina Panthers and the Minnesota Vikings.

Week 5 might not feature as many outright underdog victories, but there are a few quality dogs to back where the lines are concerned. We'll dig into those in a moment, but first let's run down the latest lines and over/unders from DraftKings Sportsbook and some updated score predictions.

NFL Week 5 Lines, Over/Unders and Predictions

Thursday, October 8

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5, 44) at Chicago Bears: 27-20 Tampa Bay

Sunday, October 11

Cincinnati Bengals (+13.5, 51) at Baltimore Ravens: 38-27 Baltimore

Buffalo Bills (n/a) at Tennessee Titans: 34-27 Buffalo

Las Vegas Raiders (+12, 56.5) at Kansas City Chiefs: 38-24 Kansas City

Philadelphia Eagles (+7, 43.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers: 28-24 Pittsburgh

Arizona Cardinals (-7, 47) at New York Jets: 30-20 Arizona

Los Angeles Rams (-7.5, 45.5) at Washington Football Team: 24-17 Los Angeles

Jacksonville Jaguars (+6, 54) at Houston Texans: 26-23 Houston

Carolina Panthers (+2, 53.5) at Atlanta Falcons: 31-27 Atlanta

Miami Dolphins (n/a) at San Francisco 49ers: 24-22 San Francisco

New York Giants (+10, 54) at Dallas Cowboys: 35-22 Dallas

Indianapolis Colts (-2, 47) at Cleveland Browns: 22-21 Cleveland

Denver Broncos (n/a) at New England Patriots: 17-14 New England

Minnesota Vikings (+7, 57.5) at Seattle Seahawks: 36-31 Seattle

Monday, October 12

Los Angeles Chargers (+8, 51.5) at New Orleans Saints: 26-24 New Orleans

Cincinnati Bengals (+13.5) at Baltimore Ravens

This is the one big line that seems to really favor the underdog. While the Baltimore Ravens have dominated opponents when they've won, they haven't been a true lockdown unit on defense.

Baltimore ranks 11th in yards per pass attempt allowed and 26th in pass defense. This is relevant because the Cincinnati Bengals have shown that they're willing to lean on rookie gunslinger Joe Burrow. If the Bengals can manage to protect Burrow against Baltimore's pass rush, Cincinnati should put up a fair amount of yards and points.

The Bengals have averaged nearly 29 points over the last three games.

Now, we're not calling for an outright upset here because that's probably not going to happen. However, the Bengals should be able to deliver enough offense, especially in garbage time, to cover a two-touchdown gap against a division foe.

Philadelphia Eagles (+7) at Pittsburgh Steelers

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

The Eagles upset the 49ers last Sunday night, and they looked reasonably good while doing it. The defense flustered quarterbacks C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens, while signal-caller Carson Wentz showed enough of his Pro Bowl form to deliver a close win.

Expect another similar performance on the road this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With a healthy Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback, the Steelers have a more potent offense than San Francisco. They're also better at generating pressure, as they have 15 sacks through three games. It's worth noting, though, that Pittsburgh has picked on the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans in the first three weeks.

Expect the Eagles to put up a more formidable fight. While it is rightfully considered an underdog, Philadelphia should find a way to keep this one within a touchdown.

Los Angeles Chargers (+8) at New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints sit at 2-2, and they aren't exactly rolling offensively. This is largely due to the absence of wide receiver Michael Thomas. While Thomas may return in Week 5, he was limited in practice last week and ultimately didn't play against the Detroit Lions.

The Los Angeles Chargers, meanwhile, have been very competitive with rookie Justin Herbert under center.

"I did not see him accelerating this fast," Trent Dilfer told FS1's Colin Cowherd (h/t Nick Kosko of 247Sports).

L.A. has now narrowly lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Herbert at quarterback. It should do so again in New Orleans this week.

Now, this is assuming the Herbert gets the start, and the Chargers have not yet made a decision between him and the injured Tyrod Taylor. However, the Saints only beat Detroit by six. The Herbert-led Chargers should be able to keep it within eight.