Week five of the National Football League kicked off with a mild upset on Thursday, the Chicago Bears getting their first win of the season in Washington, ironically on the night where the world lost the legendary Dick Butkus.
Jacksonville and Buffalo will kick us off early on Sunday morning in London, but an 8:30 a.m. Central Standard Time start here.
The dinner-time game, if you will, features the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers (4-0) hosting the once-beaten Dallas Cowboys (3-1) in a game that might, maybe, possibly play into the NFC home field advantage picture down the way.
Monday’s game, of course, has Green Bay in Las Vegas to face the Raiders.
The entire NFL schedule, from Sunday morning through Monday night (with all times Central):
Sunday’s games
Jacksonville (2-2) vs. Buffalo (3-1), 8:30 a.m., NFL Network – Same name game: QB Josh Allen vs. linebacker Josh Allen when Bills face Jaguars in London
Houston (2-2) at Atlanta (2-2), noon, FOX – Falcons QB Desmond Ridder facing questions about job security in test against C.J. Stroud, Texans
Carolina (0-4) at Detroit (3-1), noon, FOX – Lions host winless Panthers, aiming for 3rd straight win to stay atop NFC North
Tennessee (2-2) at Indianapolis (2-2), noon, CBS – Colts defense still searching for a way to slow down Derrick Henry with Titans coming to town
New York Giants (1-3) at Miami (3-1), noon, FOX – McDaniel, Dolphins expect improved Giants offense; Miami also has protection issues
New Orleans (2-2) at New England (1-3), noon, CBS – Saints, Patriots trudge into latest matchup looking to spark dormant offenses
Baltimore (3-1) at Pittsburgh (2-2), noon, CBS – Lamar Jackson and the Ravens head to Pittsburgh with a chance to take early control of the AFC North
Philadelphia (4-0) at L.A. Rams (2-2), 3:05 p.m., FOX – Rams know they will have to dig deep to stop both the Eagles and the ‘tush push’
Cincinnati (1-3) at Arizona (1-3), 3:05 p.m., FOX – Burrow-led Bengals try to get season back on track in road game against the Cardinals | AP News
New York Jets (1-3) at Denver (1-3), 3:25 p.m., CBS – Broncos and Jets insist Payton’s ridicule of Hackett last summer is ancient history as teams collide
Kansas City (3-1) at Minnesota (1-3), 3:25 p.m., CBS – The Vikings have never lost to Patrick Mahomes. Hint: They’ve never played against him, either
Dallas (3-1) at San Francisco (4-0), 7:20 p.m., NBC – Cowboys look to get over the 49ers hurdle that ended their last 2 seasons
Monday’s game
Green Bay (2-2) at Las Vegas (1-3), 7:15 p.m., ABC – Packers and Raiders try to avoid season sliding away when they meet Monday night
Staff picks
Well, I just can’t seem to catch a break, or make my own breaks in our NFL staff picks.
I had an awful week to start the season, and trying to climb out of the hole, but wow, it’s hard when you’re going 10-6, like I did last week, as opposed to what photographer Alex Nabor did – he went 14-2 last weekend.
Also from last week among our staff, assistant editor Clayton Fletcher went 12-4 (and that’s good, because he’s stinkin’ it up in the college picks); videographer Jacob Lucas went 11-5; correspondent Mitchell Molandes and my daughter, Ashtyn Lucas, each went 10-6, as did I; correspondent Shelby Thompson Molandes went 9-7; and my lovely wife, Jenna Hagler Lucas, had an uncharacteristically off week, going 7-9.
Here’s how we see this week’s games coming out.
Jacksonville vs. Buffalo: Will the real Jacksonville please stand up? Are you the solid youthful but up-and-coming AFC contender, ready to make the next step? If you are, then beating Buffalo, one of the best teams in the AFC, would be a great place to start. It’s likely the Bills have other ideas. Our staff picked the Bills unanimously in this game (8-0), although in London, neither team is likely to have any kind of home-crowd advantage.
Houston at Atlanta: I love Demeco Ryans, Houston’s first-year coach, and covered him in college at Alabama. But who would have thought, with a rookie quarterback and the mess that the Texans appeared to be in over the last two years, that the Texans would have a 2-2 record? And they actually won our staff over, with five of our staffers taking the Texans, and three of us – myself, Fletch and Ashtyn – taking the homestanding Falcons.
Carolina at Detroit: Bryce Young is having a less-than-memorable rookie season, having sat out a game with injury (against Seattle) and it’ll be coach Frank Reich’s job to make sure this is a fast rebuilding effort. But our staff took the Lions, unanimously, for this pick.
Tennessee at Indianapolis: Some of us, including myself, must be caught in a time warp. We apparently think we’re watching the Titans of two years ago, because six of us took the Titans to win this game on the road, including me, and I already sort of regret it. Jenna and Jacob both took the Colts to win. The pick is 6-2 in favor of Tennessee.
New York Giants at Miami: I think I’ve seen all I need to see of the Giants without running back Saquon Barkley, who was injured during their comeback win at Arizona and hasn’t been able to play since. This one was a unanimous pick in favor of Miami, 8-0.
New Orleans at New England: An even split here (4-4) with myself, Jenna, Jacob and Fletch taking the Patriots, and the rest of the four taking the Saints. With Saints quarterback Derek Carr out, the Saints’ offense is a crap shoot. But New England just looked like crap, without the shoot, last Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Baltimore at Pittsburgh: Surprisingly, not a single soul picked the Steelers (8-0 the pick, in favor of the Ravens), although they’re 2-2 and playing at home.
Philadelphia at L.A. Rams: Can the Eagles stay unbeaten, even though the Rams are looking better and got wide receiver Cooper Kupp back off injured reserve for this game? I say no, and took the Rams for the pick. Everyone else said, Mitchie, you’re stupid, and took Philadelphia, the 7-1 winner among the pickers.
Cincinnati at Arizona: One team that has been disappointing (Cincinnati) against a team that everyone pretty much thought would be bad without quarterback Kyler Murray (Arizona). Actually, the Cardinals haven’t been awful with Josh Dobbs at quarterback, and their home win against Dallas was impressive. If they can knock the Bengals down to 1-4 – Joe Burrow down to 1-4 – seeing if the Bengals can climb out of the hole will be very interesting. The pick: 5-3, in Cincinnati’s favor.
New York Jets at Denver: Speaking of misery loving company, the Jets are feeling better about themselves, apparently, with a loss-close-game against the Kansas City Chiefs, but it’s a different world on the road. Denver’s only win was a 31-28 comeback over Chicago. The pick: appropriately, a 4-4 split.
Kansas City at Minnesota: As mentioned above in the preview headline, the Minnesota Vikings are the one team that KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes hasn’t played. Nothing influenced the staff, though, as it’s a unanimous pick in favor of the Chiefs (8-0).
Dallas at San Francisco: This looks like the marquee game of the week, and in the recent past, the 49ers have been kryptonite for Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. Will that continue? Well, it’s a 4-4 split, with all of the Cowboys fans (sorry, guys) voting for Dallas (Jenna, Alex, Mitchell and Shelby) and the rest of us taking the Niners.
Green Bay at Las Vegas: Some of us think Green Bay will drop this road game, although two of us (me and Fletch, of course, it would be myself and Fletch) maintain we don’t have a lot of faith just yet in Packers’ first-year starter Jordan Love as an NFL quarterback. I simply need to see more. The pick is 6-2, with everyone taking Green Bay except myself and Fletch.
