Well Week 5 proved that the NFL is truly an unpredictable game where anything can happen. To recap, here are the games I picked to win last week:
Pick #1: Denver Broncos over Dallas Cowboys (51-48) Won
Pick #2: Atlanta Falcons over New York Jets (28-30) Lost
Pick #3: St. Louis Rams over Jacksonville Jaguars (34-20) Won
Sleeper Pick: San Diego Chargers over Oakland Raiders (17-27) Lost
As I forewarned in last week’s article, Week 5 had no sure things and it was no surprise that two of my four teams in the Falcons and Chargers lost in close games, with the Falcons losing on a last second field goal (Julio, why?!). I went with the Rams in my survivor pool so I am still alive just like many of you. This is the last week in my pool where we can pick any team we want, so forgive me if I jump on the bandwagon and pick the team with the largest spread in NFL history…
Top 3 Locks for Week 6
If for some miraculous reason you haven’t chosen the Broncos (5-0) in your survivor pool, this week is without question the best week to do so if you want to guarantee a ticket to Week 7. The Broncos are currently a 26.5 point favorite over the winless Jaguars after opening up at a record-breaking 28 points. The Broncos are at home and should put this game away by halftime.
The Seahawks (4-1) are coming off their first loss of the season to the hands of the Colts and will be looking to steer the ship back in the right direction again at home against the Tennessee Titans who are led by incumbent QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Titans are coming off a loss to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs and will face another tenacious D on the road against the Seahawks. This will be a low scoring affair with the Seahawks D making their case for a run at the Super Bowl.
This pick is my Thursday Night Special. The Bears (3-2) are coming off a disappointing loss the Saints last week and will be looking to exact revenge against the 0-5 New York Giants in front of their home crowd. QB Eli Manning has been struggling all season and they have little to no run game to speak off with the injury to David Wilson. Manning will be forced to air the ball out which plays right into the hands of the vaunted Bears secondary and their All-Pro cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman.
Sleeper Pick
New York Jets over Pittsburgh Steelers
The Jets (3-2) are coming off a last second victory against the Atlanta Falcons and the confidence in young QB Geno Smith couldn’t be higher. He has led the Jets to an improbable start and will be facing a banged up 0-4 Steelers team that is coming off a bye week. With all the injuries to the Steelers front line, I expect the Jets D to be in QB Ben Roethlisberger’s face all night which will result in a couple of turnovers. The Steelers are a one point underdog on the road against the Jets, but I see them losing by at least a touchdown. Pick the Jets if you have used most of the top teams already.
That’s all my picks for Week 6. Stay tuned next week so that you can be the last man standing while watching your competition drop like flies as the season goes along. Feel free to ask me questions about your survivor pool picks on Twitter @MikeMital.
