NFL Week 5 slate will conclude with Drew Brees and the Saints taking on his former Chargers team led by rookie quarterback Justin Herbert.
In between, there’s going to be some fun matchups on tap. Can the Philadelphia Eagles pull off another upset win after taking out the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4? How will the Cowboys’ league-worst defense perform against a 32nd-ranked Giants offense?
Looking at that and more, we check in on NFL Week 5 odds and point spreads with a quick one liner for each matchup.
Related: NFL Week 5 schedule, predictions
NFL Week 5 Thursday Night Football
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears
NFL Week 5 point spread: Buccaneers -3.0 (over/under 44.5)
Final score: Chicago Bears 20, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19
The Bears were coming off a dismal Week 4 performance against the Indianapolis Colts after benching Mitchell Trubisky for Nick Foles. In what was a tight game, Chicago came out on top by the score of 20-19. The game itself was not the prettiest affair. With that said, a win is a win for the now 4-1 Bears.
NFL Week 5 Sunday games
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
NFL Week 5 point spread: Falcons -2.5 (over/under 54.0)
Carolina’s 31-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4 represented the team’s second win in eight days. Prior to that, the Panthers had gone 329 days without securing a victory. This just goes to show us how vastly improved Matt Rhule’s squad is heading into Week 5. Atlanta might be the favorite here, but look for Carolina to make yet another statement with Teddy Bridgewater continuing to do his thing.
Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
NFL Week 5 point spread: Chiefs -11.5 (over/under 54.5)
Following last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas’ defense has given up 30-plus points in three of four games this season. Its defense has recorded a total of four sacks in four games. As for the Chiefs, they have dropped 30-plus in six of their past eight games dating back to last season. The Chiefs have also outscored Las Vegas 103-22 in their past three outings. Math isn’t hard.
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Los Angeles Rams at Washington Football Team
NFL Week 5 point spread: Rams -7.0 (over/under 46.0)
Washington has now scored less than 20 points in 10 of its past 14 games dating back to last season. That very same span has seen the team yield 30-plus points in half of their outings. Taking on former assistant Sean McVay and the Rams in this one, Washington will be facing an offense that’s averaging 26.5 points on the season. The last time Washington met this threshold? Back in 2012 when Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur and McVay were assistants in D.C. Yes, that was actually once a thing.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
NFL Week 5 point spread: Texans -5.5 (over/under 54.5)
Anemic against anemic in this one. After moving on from Pro Bowl pass rushers Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue, the Jaguars have recorded four sacks in as many games. As for the Texans’ disastrous offensive line, they’ve allowed 35 sacks of Deshaun Watson over the past eight games. Comparatively, Jags quarterback Gardner Minshew has been taken down 14 times this season. The moral of this story? Take that under and don’t think twice about it. That’s especially true with Bill O’Brien now gone from Houston.
Related: Top NFL defenses heading into Week 5
Arizona Cardinals at New York Jets
NFL Week 5 point spread: Cardinals -7.0 (over/under 47.0)
Update: Joe Flacco to start over Sam Darnold (shoulder)
Adam Gase is supposedly an offensive mind, right? This unit ranks 32nd in total yards, 32nd in yards per play, 32nd in first downs, 32nd in passing, 31st in scoring, 31st in time of possession, and 31st in yards per play. Regardless of the Cardinals’ struggles over the past two weeks, they should be able to win going away. Just be wary about the over. It’s not like the Jets’ offense is going to help out much in that regard. That’s especially true with Joe Flacco getting the start.
Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers
NFL Week 5 point spread: Steelers -7.0 (over/under 44.5)
Despite last week’s win, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has thrown seven interceptions and has been sacked 14 times in four games. Those are not numbers indicative of a winning team in today’s NFL. Do you know what numbers are? Pittsburgh has yielded six passing touchdowns compared to four interceptions while sacking opposing quarterbacks 15 times in three games. With an additional week off after Sunday’s game was postponed, look for Mike Tomlin and Co. to take advantage of this.
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
NFL Week 5 point spread: Ravens -12.0 (over/under 50.0)
Injury update: Lamar Jackson (knee) expected to play
Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow has now thrown for 300-plus yards in three consecutive games after leading his team to its first win of the season last week. The reigning Heisman winner is on pace to tally nearly 4,500 yards with to go with 28 total touchdowns and just eight interceptions. Keep that in mind with Baltimore as a near-two touchdown favorite against its division rival.
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Miami Dolphins at San Francisco 49ers
NFL Week 5 point spread: 49ers -8.0 (over/under 51.0)
Injury update: Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) returns to practice
Following last week’s terrible three-turnover performance from backup quarterback Nick Mullens, the defending NFC champs moved to 2-2 on the season. San Francisco is now 5-21 in games that Jimmy Garoppolo has not started since the beginning of the 2017 campaign. The team is 20-6 in his 26 starts during that span. The math lines up here. If Garoppolo can go, take the 49ers and the points. If not, this could be an upset special.
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
NFL Week 5 point spread: Cowboys -7.5 (over/under 52.5)
First off, this 54.0 over/under is pretty hilarious. Dallas is averaging 31.5 points per game through the first four weeks. It is also on an historically bad pace defensively, giving up 36.5 points per outing. Sure New York ranks dead last in offense. But the Cowboys couldn’t stop a drunken sloth from doing damage against this defense. Take the Cowboys and the over. As for the nine-point spread, these Giants are losing by an average of 12.2 points per game.
Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns
NFL Week 5 point spread: Colts -1.0 (over/under 48.0)
Cleveland finds itself at 3-1 for just the second time since the 1994 season. It has scored the most points in a three-game stretch for the organization (118) in over a half-century. Meanwhile, the Colts have given up 29 points over the past three games. In a battle between two surprise three-win teams, this is strength against strength. Maybe consider the over given Cleveland’s struggles on defense (31.5 point per game against).
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NFL Week 5 Sunday Night Football
Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks
NFL Week 5 point spread: Seahawks -7.0 (over/under 56.0)
Even when he’s not at his best, Russell Wilson is doing things that defy logic. The MVP front runner threw just his second interception of the season in last week’s win over the Miami Dolphins. Through the quarter pole in the season, Wilson is on pace for north of 5,100 passing yards to go with 64 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Vikings? Well, they are yielding 31.3 points per game and an opposing quarterback rating of 105.2.
NFL Week 5 Monday Night Football
Denver Broncos at New England Patriots (Postponed until Week 6)
NFL Week 5 point spread: Postponed
Injury update: Patriots QB Cam Newton (COVID-19) unlikely to play
Game update: NFL reschedules game for Monday due to COVID-19
Following Brett Rypien’s debut in Week 4’s win over the Jets, Denver has now started three quarterbacks in four weeks. Given the struggles from these signal callers (six touchdowns, six interceptions), it stands to reason that an elite Patriots defense will help keep this game under 45.5. Of course, that’s dependent on the status of Cam Newton after he missed Week 4 following a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. As of now, Newton is unlikely to go. Either Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham will be under center.
Los Angeles Chargers at New Orleans Saints
NFL Week 5 point spread: Saints -8.0 (over/under 50.0)
Presumed Chargers starter Justin Herbert was not even born yet when Drew Brees made his college debut for Purdue back in 1997. When Brees joined the Saints after five seasons with the Chargers, Herbert was a mere eight years old. In fact, he just celebrated his birthday when Brees made the move to Nola. That really doesn’t have much of an impact on the betting lines here. However, 12 of the Chargers’ 14 losses since the start of last season have come by one score. Think about taking New Orleans minus the points here.
NFL Week 5 Tuesday Night Football
Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans
NFL Week 5 point spread: Bills -1 (over/under 49.0)
Update: Game postponed until Tuesday due to COVID-19
Bills quarterback Josh Allen has accounted for 15 total touchdowns compared to one interception at the quarter pole of the season. This has him on pace for what would be a record 60 touchdowns from the quarterback position. Allen is also on pace for 5,636 total yards. These are video game Joe Burrow-like numbers, circa 2019. With a week off due to a COVID-19 outbreak, how will the Titans defend this?