NFL Picks - Week 5

The fourth week of the NFL regular season was not a good one for me, except for the Chargers win. I was 7-6 picking winners (36-24 on the year), while Las Vegas was 10-3 picking winners (42-17-1 on the year).

Here are my picks for Week 4 (Las Vegas odds in () ):

Sunday, 5 October:

San Diego (2-2) (-7.5) at Miami (1-2): San Diego by 10
Indianapolis (1-2) (-3) at Houston (0-3): Indianapolis by 7
Tennessee (4-0) (-3) at Baltimore (2-1): Baltimore by 3
Kansas City (1-3) (+9.5) at Carolina (3-1): Carolina by 6
Washington (3-1) (+5.5) at Philadelphia (2-2): Washington by 3
Chicago (2-2) (-3) at Detroit (0-3): Chicago by 10
Atlanta (2-2) (+7) at Green Bay (2-2): Green Bay by 3
Seattle (1-2) (+7) at New York Giants (3-0): New York Giants by 17
Tampa Bay (3-1) (+3) at Denver (3-1): Denver by 7
New England (2-1) (-3) at San Francisco (2-2): New England by 7
Buffalo (4-0) (+1) at Arizona (2-2): Buffalo by 9
Cincinnati (0-4) (+13) at Dallas (3-1): Dallas by 24
Pittsburgh (3-1) (+4) at Jacksonville (2-2): Pittsburgh by 3

MONDAY, 6 October:

Minnesota (1-3) (+3) at New Orleans (2-2): Minnesota by 3

BYES: Oakland, Cleveland, New York Jets, St. Louis

The Chargers had another one of those games where the offense was impotent in the first half, behind 15-0 at half time. We scored a field goal in the 3rd quarter to make it 15-3, went ahead 18-5 but were tied by the Raiders at 18-18, then scored 10 points to make the final score 28-18 Bolts. The defense played the run much better in this game, had 6 sacks and a decent pass rush, and defended the long pass well.

This week, the Chargers are in Miami, which had a bye last week after beating the Patriots badly at New England. I think the Chargers are on a roll - I call it 34-24 Chargers.

At the risk of being laughed at, here are my NFL power ratings after four weeks:

1. New York Giants (3-0) -- 30
2. Tennessee Titans (4-0) -- 30
3. Buffalo Bills (4-0) -- 29
4. Dallas Cowboys (3-1) -- 26
5. Denver Broncos (3-1) - 24

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) -- 24
7. Tampa Bay Bucs (3-1) -- 24
8. Washington Redskins (3-1) -- 23
9. Carolina Panthers (3-1) -- 23
10. San Diego Chargers (2-2) -- 23

11. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) -- 23
12. Baltimore Ravens (2-1) -- 23
13. Green Bay Packers (2-2) -- 21
14. New Orleans Saints (2-2) -- 21
15. Chicago Bears (2-2) -- 21

16. New York Jets (2-2) -- 20
17. New England Patriots (2-1) -- 19
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) -- 19
19. Arizona Cardinals (2-2) -- 19
20. San Francisco 49ers (2-2) -- 19

21. Atlanta Falcons (2-2) -- 19
22. Seattle Seahawks (1-2) -- 19
23. Indianapolis Colts (1-2) -- 18
24. Miami Dolphins (1-2) -- 17
25. Cleveland Browns (1-3) -- 16

26. Minnesota Vikings (1-3) -- 16
27. Oakland Raiders (1-3) -- 15
28. Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) -- 14
29. Houston Texans (0-3) -- 12
30. Cincinnati Bengals (0-4) -- 12

31. Detroit Lions (0-3) -- 9
32. St. Louis Rams (0-4) -- 8