Seahawks vs. Buccaneers: NFL experts make picks for Week 5 matchup

The Seattle Seahawks are headed into a big game this weekend against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will be visiting Lumen Field on Sunday afternoon. This matchup could have major playoff implications - and in fact if the season were to end today these two teams would be preparing for Wild Card round matchup.

Both teams hold a 3-1 record going into Week 5 and are jockeying for position in a tight NFC playoff race. Let's see who the experts are predicting will win this one.

MMQB: Buccaneers

First up, we go to SI's MMQB, where it's a close call. Four out of seven experts there are picking the Buccaneers to win this week.

ESPN: Seahawks

It's a different story at ESPN, where Seattle has dominated their picks. Eight out of their 10 experts have picked the Seahawks.

CBS Sports: Seahawks

Over at CBS Sports, seven out of eight experts are predicting a win by Seattle. Pete Prisco is the lone predicable holdout for Tampa.

NFL.com: Seahawks

Seattle also took the vote at the official league website, where four out of five experts took the Seahawks over the Bucs.

Bleacher Report: Buccaneers

The big outlier this week is Bleacher Report, where all seven of their experts have picked Tampa to win Sunday's matchup.

USA TODAY: Buccaneers

B/R wasn't alone in heavily leaning towards Tampa, though. Five out of six experts polled at USA TODAY are picking the Bucs.

You get the idea - there are other sites to pull from but the experts seem to be pretty much evenly split between these teams. For what it's worth, history is on the side of the Seahawks, who have won nine of 15 all-time matchups with Tampa, including their last meeting in Germany

As for the oddsmakers, they're also on Seattle's side. The Seahawks opened as 2.5-point favorites for this one last week and they're currently favored by 3.5 points, according to the latest figures available at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Our pick: Seahawks

This is a tough one, especially since the Seahawks' home-field advantage has not lived up to the hype more often than not in recent years. Week 3's blowout win over the Saints snapped a streak of losing seven out of eight at home for the Seahawks. Then again, the Buccaneers aren't exactly the most well-travelled fanbase in the league - and that big win should have done much to exorcise those demons. We think it will be close, but we'll stick with Seattle. Seahawks 27, Buccaneers 23.