Week 5 NFL Picks (UPDATED!)

These are the condensed versions of picks for the NFL Week 5 games for Winners and Whiners between:

New York Giants at Carolina Panthers
Denver Broncos at New York Jets
Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints

Week 4 Review: In retrospect, I would’ve, could’ve, should’ve done things differently, most notably taking the over for the Vikings/Rams game while picking the Jaguars and giving the points. Those two picks alone, especially the latter while driving back from Madison, Wisc., would’ve reduced some anxieties and been two easy wins. All the struggling offenses seemed to rise up at once last week, which begs the question: Which ones are outliers and which ones are going to continue to be productive?

The other writer’s note is that there will be expanded picks for the three games listed above before Sunday’s early kickoffs. Confidence rating is in parentheses. Note: The 5/5 does not represent the best overall pick of the day’s games, simply the best pick of each individual game.

That said, onto the Week 5 picks!

Thursday, Oct. 4

Indianapolis at New England — Patriots -10 (3/5) — WIN!

Sunday, Oct. 7

New York Giants at Carolina — Panthers -7 (3/5) — LOSS!
New York Giants at Carolina — Under 44.5 points (3/5) — LOSS!
New York Giants at Carolina — Newton TD + Panthers win (4/5) — LOSS!
New York Giants at Carolina — Panthers -3.5 1st Half (5/5) — WIN!
New York Giants at Carolina — Over 21 points 1st Half (3/5) — WIN!
New York Giants at Carolina — Panthers Over 12.5 1st Half (3/5) — WIN!

Denver at New York Jets — Broncos +1 (3/5) — LOSS!
Denver at New York Jets — Over 42.5 points (3/5) — WIN!
Denver at New York Jets — Freeman TD + Broncos win (3/5) — LOSS!
Denver at New York Jets — Jets PK 1st Half (3/5) — WIN!
Denver at New York Jets — Over 21 points 1st Half (5/5) — WIN!
Denver at New York Jets — Broncos over 10.5 points 1st Half (4/5) — LOSS!

Tennessee at Buffalo — Over 39.5 (3/5) — LOSS!
Atlanta at Pittsburgh — Falcons +3.5 (3/5) — LOSS!
Jacksonville at Kansas City — Jaguars +3 (3/5) — LOSS!
Green Bay at Detroit — Under 51 (3/5) — LOSS!
Baltimore at Cleveland — Ravens -3 (5/5) — LOSS!
Miami at Cincinnati — Over 49.5 (4/5) — LOSS!
Oakland at Los Angeles Chargers — Chargers -5 (3/5) — WIN!
Arizona at San Francisco — Under 41 (3/5) — LOSS!
Minnesota at Philadelphia — Under 45.5 (3/5) — WIN!
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle — Seahawks +7 (3/5) — WIN!
Dallas at Houston — Under 46 (4/5) — WIN!

Monday, Oct. 8

Washington at New Orleans — 1st Half Over 26.5 points (5/5)
Washington at New Orleans — Redskins +6.5 (3/5)
Washington at New Orleans — Over 52.5 points (4/5)
Washington at New Orleans — Longest TD over 47.5 yards (3/5)
Washington at New Orleans — Redskins +3.5 1st Half (3/5)
Washington at New Orleans — Yes to score in 1st 6:00 (3/5)

Previous Week’s Record: 5-9 (.357)
Season Record: 18-32 (.360)

1-Star Pick Record: 0-0 (.000)          Season (0-0, .000)
2-Star Pick Record: 0-0 (.000)          Season (0-0, .000)
3-Star Pick Record: 4-6 (.400)          Season (14-18, .437)
4-Star Pick Record: 0-2 (.333)          Season (1-9, .100)
5-Star Pick Record: 1-1 (.500)          Season (3-5, .375)