I’m not sure there’s a point in continuing to try to predict the outcomes of games that may or may not be played. But at least for one more week, I’m doing it anyhow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I lost power due to a storm on Wednesday evening and didn’t get it back until close to midnight Thursday, as a result of which I wasn’t able to post my Tampa Bay-Chicago pick before the game. So I’m just going to have to ask you to trust me when I say I was going to take the Bucs and give the 4.5 points. So that’s me 0-1 straight up and against the spread so far this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I went 10-5 straight up and 6-7-2 with the points in week four, which landed me at an illustrious 43-19-1 (.690), 25-35-3 (.421) on the season coming into the weekend. Let’s see how much worse it can get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s what not to expect (even if you expect any games to be played at all).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carolina<\/a> (+2.5) at<\/strong> Atlanta<\/a><\/strong> Las Vegas<\/a> (+11) at<\/strong> Kansas City<\/a><\/strong> Arizona<\/a> (-7) at<\/strong> NY Jets<\/a><\/strong> Philadelphia<\/a> (+7) at<\/strong> Pittsburgh<\/a><\/strong> LA Rams<\/a> (-7) at Washington<\/a><\/strong> Cincinnati<\/a> (+11.5) at<\/strong> Baltimore<\/a><\/strong> Jacksonville<\/a> (+5.5) at<\/strong> Houston<\/a><\/strong> Miami<\/a> (+8) at<\/strong> San Francisco<\/a><\/strong> Indianapolis<\/a> (+1) at<\/strong> Cleveland<\/a><\/strong> NY Giants<\/a> (+7.5) at<\/strong> Dallas<\/a><\/strong> Minnesota<\/a> (+7) at<\/strong> Seattle<\/a><\/strong> LA Chargers<\/a> (+8) at<\/strong> New Orleans<\/a><\/strong> Buffalo<\/a> (-6.5) at<\/strong> Tennessee<\/a><\/strong>
With matchups like this on the schedule, it’s easy to understand why the NFL persists with this mistake of a season. Falcons by four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chiefs are better than the Raiders by enough that they should<\/em> be able to win by more than 11 at home. But, you know, division rivalries are weird. Kansas City by eight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far this season, the Cardinals haven’t lived up to expectations. But the Jets certainly have lived down to theirs. Arizona by six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It looks like the only thing that can keep the Steelers from spending the entire season beating up on weak opponents is Covid-19. We’ll see how that turns out. Pittsburgh by 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surprisingly, it works out that halfway changing the name of a football team does not dramatically change that team’s ability to compete. Rams by 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This might be a pretty good matchup. Next season. For now, let’s just figure the division rivalry factor keeps it closer on the scoreboard than it is on the field. Ravens by a touchdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I guess the thinking in Houston was that this season didn’t have enough disruptions built into it already. Texans by three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don’t even know who’s playing in this game. And I’m not sure I care. San Francisco by four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pretty even matchup between what appears to be a pair of fairly good, but ultimately unbalanced teams. In a situation like this, you go with home team by three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cowboys can’t really be as bad as they’ve looked. Unless they are. The Giants can definitely be as bad as they’ve looked. Dallas by nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a slow start, the Vikings have a solid one-game winning streak working. That might be as good as it gets for Minnesota this season. Seahawks by 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Saints are almost certainly a better team than the Chargers. But maybe not by quite as much as one might have anticipated. New Orleans by four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best bet is that the game doesn’t get played. If it does … eh, Bills by seven.<\/p>\n