NFL Week 5 Picks: Predictions for Vegas Odds Before Thursday Night

Though Monday night's doubleheader went largely as expected, the fourth week of the 2020 NFL season did have some surprises. Among them was the Philadelphia Eagles' stunning upset of the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns' utter ground domination of the Dallas Cowboys.

It remains unclear if these games represent a return to form for the Eagles and a coming out for the Browns, or if it's a sign that the 49ers and Cowboys are in serious trouble. What's certain is that knowing what any team is at this point of the season is a tall challenge.

That's not going to stop us from trying to predict where the potential upsets and blowouts lie for Week 5, though. Here, you'll find predictions for every game, along with a closer look at some top plays and latest lines and over/unders from DraftKings Sportsbook.

NFL Week 5 Lines, Over/Unders and Predictions

Thursday, October 8

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3.5, 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 (+13, n/a) 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 (+1, 54.5) at Atlanta Falcons: 31-27 Atlanta

Miami Dolphins (9, n/a) at San Francisco 49ers: 24-22 San Francisco

New York Giants (+9.5, 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

* Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions on bye

Arizona Cardinals (-7) at New York Jets

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

While the Arizona Cardinals are on a two-game skid, they are at least a couple of tiers above the struggling New York Jets. The Cardinals have two big things that make this so. They have a proven Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback in Kyler Murray, and they have a dominant No. 1 receiver in DeAndre Hopkins.

The Jets, meanwhile, have a ton of questions. Is Sam Darnold still a quarterback of the future? Why does Adam Gase still have a job? How the heck did the defense just give up 37 points to a third-string quarterback on an injury-depleted team?

New York has been offensively inept all season—it averages just over 16 points per game—and it is set to start journeyman Joe Flacco at quarterback.

It's highly unlikely that Flacco is going to give the Jets the jolt they need to upset Arizona. If the Denver Broncos can win by nine in New York, Murray and the Cardinals should be able to win by more than seven.

Jacksonville Jaguars (+6) at Houston Texans

This one could get interesting. The Houston Texans recently fired head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien. Romeo Crennel becomes the interim head coach, and there's a chance he provides the competitive spark Houston needs to be better.

Schematically, however, not much is going to change.

"I hope our attitude and energy is different, and then I hope that our performance is different," Crennel said, per ESPN's Sarah Barshop. "I mean, you're not going to come in and put in a new offense or new defense just overnight, because it takes time."

This means that Jacksonville and budding running back James Robinson will face the same Texans defense that ranks dead-last against the run. With the Texans also struggling on offense—they rank 29th in scoring—there is some legitimate upset potential here.

Even if the Jags don't win outright, they're built to be able to grind and keep it close. Expect Houston to pick up its first win, but by a slim margin.

Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns UNDER 47 Total Points

The Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns both sit at 3-1 and are about to engage in what should be a hotly contested battle. Just don't expect it to be a shootout. While the Browns dropped 49 on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, they'll be going up against the league's No. 1 scoring defense.

Indianapolis, meanwhile, will face a Browns defense that isn't elite but ranks fifth against the run and has logged 10 takeaways on the season.

Expect the Browns to limit the ground game, force a couple of turnovers and keep Indianapolis' 17th-ranked scoring offense relatively in check.

While Philip Rivers and Baker Mayfield have both been playing well the past few weeks, the Colts and Browns like to utilize run-oriented attacks. This should be a fast-moving ground struggle that flows quickly and leaves the final score south of 47 points.