NFL Picks Week 5: Houston Texans and 3 Favorites Who Won't Cover

There are three things on this earth that I fear more than anything else.

The first is heights, the second is spiders—and the third is big point spreads. I just don't trust any of them, least of all the point spreads.

Thankfully (and this has a lot to do with bye weeks kicking in), there are only a handful of big point spreads to go around in Week 5. Some of them actually seem to be pretty legit. Others strike me as a little suspicious.

For example, here are three favorites that I think have virtually no shot of covering the spread.

Note: all spreads come from Bodog.

Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants (-10)

The Giants come into Week 5 on a three-game win streak, and it's abundantly apparent that they are much better than we thought they would be.

Meanwhile, I think it's also becoming apparent that the Seahawks are not as bad as we thought they were going to be. They beat the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 and very nearly beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.

The one thing we overlook about the Seahawks is that their defense is actually halfway decent. They rank in the top half of the league against both the run and the pass, and you have to think that's going to help them keep things close against a Giants offense that is closer to being mediocre than it is to being good.

Because of that, I just can't see the Giants winning by 10 points. They'll win, but not by that much.

Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans (-6)

After years of teasing us, it looks like the Texans might actually be for real this year.

However, the Texans are going to be without Andre Johnson when they take on the Raiders on Sunday, and that means they're going to be without the one guy who would have given them a huge advantage.

Without Johnson, Matt Schaub is going to have a much more difficult time making plays in the passing game, and that could have a residual effect on Arian Foster.

Besides, let's not sell the Raiders short as an offensive team. They had a tough one against the Patriots, but they still have weapons that few other teams can boast.

If they don't win outright on Sunday, they'll at least be able to keep it close.

New York Jets at New England Patriots (-9)

Speaking of the Patriots, they get to host a Jets team that is an absolute wreck on Sunday. In fact, it's a wonder that the Pats are only favored by nine.

That being said, the Jets do present a matchup problem for the Patriots.

We all know what Tom Brady can do, but the Jets currently have the second-best pass defense in the NFL. If they can use it to keep Brady in check, this game is going to be a close one.

One thing that would help the Jets would be if they're able to run the ball effectively. They say they want to get back to doing that, and I think we can all agree that this decision could not come at a better time.