Laugh at Bill’s Week 5 NFL Picks; Plus Updated Packers Season Predictions

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are on their bye, which means there won’t be another embarrassing outcome on their schedule or the special teams won’t deliver a critical blunder this week.
Here are the Week 5 NFL predictions along with a Packers update.
Week 5 NFL Predictions
Thursday: Rams over 49ers
Sunday early: Vikings over Browns; Ravens over Texans; Panthers over Dolphins; Colts over Raiders; Giants over Saints; Cowboys over Jets; Eagles over Broncos.
Sunday afternoon: Cardinals over Titans; Seahawks over Buccaneers; Lions over Bengals; Chargers over Commanders
Primetime: Bills over Patriots; Chiefs over Jaguars.
Last week: 10-6.
Season: 44-20.
Updated Packers Predictions
Following the Micah Parsons trade, I had the Packers starting 3-1, which isn’t bad, with the caveat that I had the Packers losing to the Lions and beating the Browns and Cowboys.
I’m still bullish on the Packers, no matter that they wasted wins at Cleveland and Dallas the last two weeks. Here’s I see the rest of the regular season shaking out.
Week 6: Cincinnati Bengals
With one of the worst defenses in the NFL, the Bengals were a flawed team with Joe Burrow. A bad defense with a bad quarterback? This should be a layup.
“Right now, it feels kind of like a kick in the gut,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “It definitely feels more like a loss than anything else, just talking about this last game. I think what’s disappointing is when you have opportunities to win games, which we had an opportunity in both games to win the game, and when you don’t win the game, it’s disappointing.
“You look around the league, though. You can’t take anything for granted. You see it every week, somebody who’s supposed to win the game not win the game. This league is competitive. That’s why you can’t take it for granted. You gotta give your best shot every week. Otherwise, you will get beat.”
Lesson learned.
Prediction: Win (3-1-1)
Week 7: at Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have a quality defense, but they’ve got two running backs on injured reserve and a quarterback who’s never quite been the sum of his talented parts.
Prediction: Win (4-1-1)
Week 8: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are 3-1 through four games but haven’t really been impressive in any of the wins. They are 30th in yardage differential. Aaron Rodgers is off to a strong start and you know he’s going to want to prove a point in what might be his farewell season. Still, Green Bay’s defense is too fast for all the underneath passes that Rodgers throws.
Prediction: Win (5-1-1)
Week 9: Carolina Panthers
The Panthers looked like a team ready to make at least a little noise. Instead, they’re 1-3. Their lone win was a blowout at home against Atlanta, which they followed up with a blowout loss at New England.
Prediction: Win (6-1-1)
Week 10: Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles haven’t done anything well. Their offense and defense are both below average, meaning they are 29th in yardage differential. But good teams find ways to win close games. The Eagles, obviously, are a good team. And they’re coming off their bye.
Prediction: Lose (6-2-1)
Week 11: at New York Giants
Jaxson Dart to Malik Nabers was a fun combination until Nabers wrecked his knee last week. What a horrible blow to that franchise’s momentum. New York’s pass rush is real but that’s about it.
Prediction: Win (7-2-1)
Week 12: Minnesota Vikings
First-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy was off to a poor start before he missed a couple games. Was that early growing pains or serious concerns about last year’s first-round pick?
Prediction: Win (8-2-1)
Week 13: at Detroit Lions
The Packers had all offseason to think about Detroit’s dominance in the series. With the addition of Micah Parsons, they trounced the Lions in Week 1. The Lions have rebounded and now they’ll want revenge.
Prediction: Loss (8-3-1)
Week 14: Chicago Bears
The Bears have shown some glimmer of life with the marriage of quarterback Caleb Williams and coach Ben Johnson. The Packers will have a few extra days to get ticked off about losing to Chicago and Lambeau last year.
Prediction: Win (9-3-1)
Week 15: at Denver Broncos
Bo Nix looks like a solid complementary quarterback to one of the best defenses in the NFL. The Packers are 1-8 all-time in the Mile High City.
Prediction: Loss (9-4-1)
Week 16: at Chicago Bears
Nothing like facing a division rival twice in a span of three weeks. The Bears haven’t beaten the Packers at Solider Field in forever – a rough guess but perhaps correct. That’s got to change sometime. This isn’t that time, though. The Packers need to have this game and get it.
Prediction: Win (10-4-1)
Week 17: Baltimore Ravens
In any meeting between two really good teams, the hungriest team generally wins. The Packers might have clinched a playoff berth by now. The Ravens, after a rough start, might still be in catch-up mode.
Prediction: Loss (10-5-1)
Week 18: at Minnesota Vikings
Last year, coach Matt LaFleur tried to walk a fine line of keeping his team sharp but healthy in Week 18 against Chicago. Neither happened. Lesson learned, with the Packers stepping on the gas to build some momentum for the playoffs.
Prediction: Win (11-5-1)
Packers In the Playoffs
Green Bay is really good. Don’t let what happened the past two weeks fool you. This is a team capable of getting to the Super Bowl. It won’t quite get there, though, as it will lose at the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.
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